My Autograph Collection *UPDATED*

Some of these autographs I was lucky enough to receive in person, others I got back after sending fan mail. I think I added about 4 more since this post was originally published.

 (Maggie Nichols)

 (Ragan Smith)

 (Alexis Vasquez)

 (Nia Dennis)

 (Brenna Dowell)

 (Rachel Gowey)

 (Jordyn Weiber)

 (Mckayla Maroney)

 (Lexie Preissman)

 (Elizabeth Price)

 (Jordan Chiles)

 (Jazmyn Foberg)

 (Bailie Key)

 (Shannon Miller)

 (And Shannon Miller again...)

 (Aly Raisman

(Norah Flatley)

(Jordan Chiles)

(Kyla Ross)

(Carly Patterson)

When I Talk About a Dynamic Floor Routine, I Mean This

I know I went on and on about how lackluster most of the FX's seen at the Olympics were in terms of music and feel. There is one routine and with dance and music that can give me goosebumps on any given day.

Watch. Appreciate.

The song, so many feelings. Now, I don't love the simplicity of the tumbling but the musicality that Lieke shows makes up for it. I love and I hope to see more like it from the USA.

She looks like...

After becoming a serious gymnastics fan, I thought it was time to learn my history. So, about three years ago I went back and watched all of the major United States competitions since the early nineties. It wasn't long until I picked out a few girls who were serious ringers for current elites. Maybe you won't see the resemblance, or maybe you will! Take a look at these four side by side comparisions:

Jordyn Wieber and Kristal Uzalec

This one is MAJOR for me, like they could be sisters.

Hollie Vise and Raegan Smith

This one wasn't as obvious when I put the pictures together but there is definitely something similar about their mouths and they are both tiny!

Aly Raisman and Rachel Tidd

Spoooooky....these two could be twins in these pictures.

Bailie Key and Nastia Liukin

Ok, so I don't think Bailie looks like current Nastia or even 2008 Nastia. I'm talking about vintage 2005/2006 Nastia. The braces certainly help but beyond that, they do look alike.

What do you think? Any other "look alikes" you have noticed??

The Case of Vanessa Atler

Today I tumbled upon this article at Full Twist and it had me scratching my head. A lot of words come to mind when I think of Vanessa Atler but artistic is not one of them.

From what I can tell, the gymternet is pretty split on Atler. Some people think she was a prodigy robbed of her Olympic dream and others think she's a bratty headcase. My take? Somewhere in-between. I think she had talent, you can't really deny that but she wasn't this gift to humanity that the US media made her out to be. Sure she may have had national success but that never translated to the world stage. As far as her attitude goes, I think it's a product of circumstance. From what I can tell, the Rybacki's seem like good people who really cared about Vanessa. However, what the heck was with them not taking out the Comenici salto? I don't care how many times Vanessa hit in practice because she NEVER did in competition (scratch that, she hit one routine at the 1998 nationals). I suppose this probably lead to her departure from Gliders and straight into the arms of Valeri Liukin. By 2000 it was obvious that she was done and didn't seem to want it as much as the other Olympic hopefuls, her attitude showed indifference and annoyance. She was a teenager, it happens.

I recently watched some bits and pieces from her time on the TV show "Starting Over" and it made me sort of sad. Clearly she was living with a lot of regret and emotional baggage. It would totally suck to work so hard for a goal and throw it all away without really even knowing why.

Anyway, that was quite the tangent. Back to Vanessa and artistry...she didn't have any. Let me give her due credit though, her floor routine was absolutely impressive. It was powerful and innovative. But her dance? Not so much. It did work with the music and feel so I can ignore it unlike say, Gabby Douglas (now THERE is horrendous dance, I mean what the heck??).

So yeah, there's my feelings on Vanessa Atler because I'm sure you were all dying to know!

Let's Get This Quad Started

The first camp of the Quad!! Woo!
Let's see who showed up...

From USA Gymnastics

Full Roster:
Shania Adams, Buckeye
Sloane Blakely, WOGA
Jordan Chiles, Naydenov
Christina Desidero, Parkettes
Olivia Dunne, ENA Paramus
Norah Flatley, Chow's
Colbi Flory, Texas Dreams
Margzetta Frazier, Parkettes
Morgan Hurd, First State
Sydney Johnson Scharpf, Brandy Johnson's
Madeleine Johnston, Hill's
Shilese Jones, Buckeye
Sunisa Lee, Midwest Gymnastics
Lauren Little, Everest
Emma Malabuyo, Texas Dreams
Victoria Nguyen, Chow's
Maile O'Keefe, Salcianu Elite
Abby Paulson, Twin City Twisters
Gabby Perea, Legacy Elite
Lexy Ramler, KidSport LLC
Emily Schild, Everest Gymnastics
Alyona Shchennikova, 5280 Gymnastics
Trinity Thomas, Prestige
Olivia Trautman, Twin City Twisters 

I'm so happy to see Norah Flatley back in action. I so badly wanted to see her in Rio but it was not to be. I'm hoping her and teammate Victoria Nguyen have success this quad because both are lovely gymnasts with great form. I'm also partial to Gabby Perea and Emma Malabuyo so good to see them there too. I guess this camp they're only doing conditioning and half routines so there won't be any exciting news about new skills and whatnot. I'm just ready to see what the girls above have in store. It's really weird/exciting to think that some of them will be on the next Olympic team.

That Time I Realized I Was Wrong...

I wrote this post over two years ago. In it, I look back at past world championship winners and how they end up fairing in the Olympic All-Around. All signs pointed to...well bad news for Simone! I was worried that she wouldn't be able to hold her dominance all the way until Rio but guess what, she did! And then some.

I suppose I was wrong, but I'm glad that I was.

2 Year Bloggiversary!

I actually feel like I've had my gym blog for a lot longer than two years. I guess because so much has happened since then! Two world championships and an Olympics. I look forward to having this blog to Tokyo and beyond.

In honor of the two year milestone, I'm going to revise the gymnastics Q and A I completed awhile back, here it is:

Get to know the blogger - Gymnastics edition

Name: (G)race

DOB: Spring, 1994

Gym fan since: 2008ish but not seriously until 2012

Gymnast since: Sadly never. I had scoliosis which gifted me a fused spine which gifted me zero flexibility. But had I been one, I obviously would have won the AA in London. Obviously. (See, "Why I Would Have Made a Perfect Gymnast" post)
Gymnastics coach since: I coached my younger sister in the front yard when I was 14, so that definitely counts.

Favorite Quad to Date: Oooh ok. I love 1996-2000 because there was so much going on behind the scenes but Sydney was a hot mess! So I guess, gymnasts/gymnastics wise, I really enjoy 2004-2008. There seemed to be a lot of variety of styles during that time. You had Shawn's power/nice form and Ivana and Mattie's dance. Asac brought the power and Sloane was just fun to watch.

Favorite Olympics: Hmmm...I really enjoy rewatching Athens for some reason even though that quad tends to bore me. But I have to go with London because that's when I got REALLY into the sport.

Favorite Worlds: Stuttgart, 2007 or Tokyo 2011.

Most Disastrous Competition: 2010 US Nationals, falls galore.

Favorite Gymnast of All-time: Shannon Miller but I also enjoy Lilia Podkopayeva and Shawn Johnson. Shannon takes it though.

Favorite Gymnast Currently Competing: Norah and Morgan Hurd of the US. Larissa Lordache of Romania. Dara Spiridinova of Russia and Shang Chusong of China.

Met any gymnastics celebrities?: Yes! Maybe not all super famous but I met McKayla Maroney, Jordan Chiles and Lexie Priessman in 2014 and Shawn Johnson, Sabrina Vega and Nia Dennis in 2015 and Shannon Miller, Kyla Ross and Carly Patterson in 2016.

Favorite Event to Watch: I love watching uneven bars, always have! Floor is probably second if it has good music and flow.

Gymnastics Pet Peeve: I hate ugly floor choreo, boring mounts (especially beam), front or side ariels on floor, overused wolf turns, bad form/technique in general, sloppy vaults just for difficulty, cowboyed giants...there are more that I can't think of right now.

Favorite Skill: Geinger on bars, completed and well formed triple twist on floor, needle or illusion turn on beam and vault...I don't think I have a favorite. I guess, a clean Amanar. 

So that's all for now, here's to many more blogging years!