Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click over to Gymnastics Planet to comment – New Floor Skill from Kieran Behan (IRE)

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We’ve got to start talking about John as a potential AA medalist in London.

Click PLAY or watch his Floor on YouTube.

Paul Hamm did not impress, but I’m glad he’s in the mix. Always a threat. The BEST NEWS for Team USA is the return of David Sender. He’s a Ring man and a great AA. I’d love to see him compete London after the silly accident that took him out of Beijing.

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OU’s Jake Dalton on floor (15.900) at Illinois (Jan. 28)

via @StickItMedia

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Here’s a kid who was warned he might never walk again at age-9. Was hospitalized 8wks at age-12 with brain damage. In 2008 he ruptured a cruciate knee ligament. In 2010 he did the same to his other knee.

He wouldn’t quit …

… selling sweets and washing cars to finance his trips in search of world ranking points. His father Phil, a builder, and mother Bernie, their son admits, “have put every spare penny they have into me.” His coach Simon Gale revealed that, “It’s been a struggle for him. Gymnastics Ireland hasn’t been able to fund him really and last year alone he spent thousands competing in places like Japan , Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.”…

Living the impossible dream

After all that, Kieran somehow placed 34th AA at Test Meet London, grabbing one of the last Olympic spots. He finished 4th in Floor (VIDEO), a serious contender for Olympic Finals.

Ireland has gone nuts over Kieran, despite the fact he trains in England. Here are some of the Google News stories right now:

• Irish Independent – I was told I’d never walk again — today I’m aiming for the Olympics

• Sports News Ireland – Kieran Behan has indeed ‘come from nowhere’ to gain a place in London 2012

Full Twist has been covering the story closely.

Keiran and entourage were flown last minute to Ireland’s #1 The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy. He’s already a national treasure just for qualifying to the Olympics.

From nobody to national celebrity. CONGRATS to Keiran.

You can bet on whether he’ll win the Olympic medal or bring out an award winning autobiography.

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… Everyone in the arena is talking about Behan, he is the man of the moment. From the Press, to his fans, to the judges and other delegations, his story has truly touched many hearts in the O2 Arena this week. A star is born. …

Full Twist

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Kieran and his coach talked about possible upgrades for the Olympics, a couple of which he actually warmed up tonight.

Kyle Shewfelt likes the routine, but wants Kieran to add a real dismount.

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Tomás González

The Chilean had a great floor routine that he hopes to increase to a 6.8 D score. One of the skills he plans to include for the Olympics is the Kovalyonov. … On vault, he expects to have two competitive 7.0 vaults, including his Yurchenko 3/1″.

click through to see what these superstars are training:

Valeria Maksyuta
Jade Barbosa
Louis Smith

TAA

LIKE Tomás González fansclub on Facebook

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Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

14.266 (Difficulty : 5.300; Execution : 8.966).

Fact is he had a problem learning these as a young gymnast. His problem? … Intelligence. Why should we deliberately try to land on our heads?

Update: Bob notes that Brandon missed his front layout 2/1 twist dismount. Therefore gets no dismount and no skill as he had done front layout 1 1/2 twist earlier in the routine. Merde.

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This popped up on the Official Facebook Page that was used for the 2011 World Championships in Tokyo. …

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at 1min – standing step in to triple twist … or double?

at 2:25 – ff quad twist … or triple?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Allison Hack for the link.

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A new Examiner post is related – Best of 2011: The men’s floor exercises.

One routine linked from that post:

David Belyavskiy, RUS. The Russian men have been lifted by youngsters like Belyavskiy and his powerful routine, which includes a stunning double full in back pike out and an easy looking triple full to end. In addition, there’s a hint of style and choreography in the sequence after his tucked Thomas. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

A hint of style and choreography does elevate you above the likes of Zou Kai and Stephen Legendre. I like David’s routine.

However … the vast majority of FIG Men’s Floor routines in 2011 are rushed, ugly and repetitive. The rules are responsible. They must be improved in the next Quadrennial.

As you can see, I’m not convinced that the current rules are the best they could be, even though a handful of the best gymnasts in the world are able to show quality routines. They are succeeding despite the rules.

related – IG – Belyavsky Aims for All-Around Maximum in 2012

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