Congress is hosted with Olympic Trials this year, not VISA Championships. The American teams will be named then and there — adding excitement for attendees.

48th ANNUAL
USA GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CONGRESS and TRADE SHOW
Held in conjunction with 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Gymnastics
June 29-July 1, 2012
San Jose Convention Center-San Jose, California

Three days of education with over 150 sessions. Something for everyone — 15 full tracks of education from all 6 disciplines.

Here’s the list of Topics and Presenters, so far. (PDF)

The Friday prior to Congress is normally the independent National Business Conference. But this year it’s been renamed The Business Forum (PDF), an add-on to Congress. Highly recommended!

Check the Registration page for costs and options.

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She’s the most powerful tumbler of the international elites, so far as I’m concerned.

Click PLAY or watch her on Gymnastike.

Watch more video of Workout Wednesday, Season 5 on gymnastike.org

Always suspecting Ali won’t make U.S. teams due to Bars, I’ve been wrong each time, so far.

She’s tough and durable. Having gone ‘pro’, I really do hope she makes the Olympic team. I’ll be in San Jose for trials.

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… Assuming Jonathan Horton heals up just fine, which is expected, he should get one of the five spots, along with Orozco and Leyva. It will be an outright barroom brawl for the other two …

John Orozco Owns Winter Cup, Posts 91.35 to Best Field

Site editor Ron Noe tracks the up-and-coming guys:

… Several juniors made great impressions at this meet. Perhaps the biggest one was made by Chandler Eggleston, whose 2nd place (tied with Sender) finish on VT made the highlight reel. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… Another crowd favorite was Yul Moldauer, who shined on FX, PH, PB and HB. He is one of four juniors competing in the 14-15 age division this season who clearly represent the bright future of the U.S. program. The other three juniors, Akash Modi, Marvin Kimble and Hunter Justus, each placed in the top 20 AA. …

Click PLAY or watch Akash Modi’s Pommels on YouTube.

Depth.

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I agree with Nadia:

… the host nation should have a rhythmic gymnastic presence at the Olympics to inspire the next generation of young women.

“It is important,” said Comaneci, noting that this was a rare opportunity for the sport to promote rhythmic gymnastics at the highest competitive level.

“How many times are the Games in your home country …

Telegraph

Even if they finish last, it would be be a good news story. And a finish in second last place would be a win.

Nadia’s in London for the Laureus World sports awards.

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Blythe posted a recap of the end of his (first) career in 2009:

… The Olympic dream had crashed down on him the year before, when in spite of being the U.S. champion and petitioning directly onto the team after spraining his ankle jumping down from high bar before the Olympic Trials, the men’s selection committee not only not named him to the team, it did not even made him an alternate. (Meanwhile, in spite of his broken hand, Paul Hamm was named to the team and given every opportunity to prove that he was fit for competition before the U.S. men left for Beijing.)

… Three years later, here we are — Sender finished sixth all-around at Winter Cup, earning a place on the national team and signaling that he’s a threat to make the U.S. men’s five-member Olympic team. …

Examiner – Flashback: David Sender, circa 2009

Click PLAY or watch his Yurchenko double back on YouTube.

He was an excellent, artistic and tough all-arounder. With some excellent difficulty, especially on Rings. Though he looked a bit loose at Winter Cup, David’s got a real shot at London.

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John Orozco, USOTC
Danell Leyva, Universal
Jonathan Horton, Cypress Academy
Steven Legendre, Oklahoma
Jake Dalton, Oklahoma
Alex Naddour, Oklahoma
Chris Brooks, Cypress Academy
Brandon Wynn, Ohio State
David Sender, Illinois
Paul Ruggeri, Illinois
Sam Mikulak, Michigan
Jesse Silverstein, U.S. Gym Center II
Glen Ishino, Cal
Adrian de los Angeles, Michigan
C.J. Maestas, Illinois

It’s still possible for Paul Hamm and others to make the Olympic Team.

Right now for LONDON most would pick the top 3 from VISA Championships 2011:

Orozco, Leyva, Horton … and …

Blythe:

… Given that Orozco is looking more and more like a lock for the team, Leyva isn’t bad on horse either, and the general agreement is that the team needs a specialist like Ishino or Alex Naddour to round out their potential, pommels might actually be considered a strong event for the U.S. men in London. …

Winter Cup redux: U.S. Olympic team contenders emerge

Like 2008, it’s not going to be easy for the Olympic selection committee. They could assemble at least 2 very competitive teams from this pool.

Update: Andy Thornton’s top 10 Olympic Contenders:

1. John Orozco
2. Danell Leyva
3. Jonathan Horton
4. Jake Dalton
5. Glen Ishino
6. Steve Legendre
7. Alex Naddour
8. Brandon Wynn
9. Chris Brooks
10. David Sender

Ishino’s surprisingly high on that list, I’m thinking. Wynn a bit low, perhaps. A team including Wynn for Rings and Naddour for Pommels looks interesting — assuming Alex is better overall than Ishino.

I could easily see Sender improving to the point where he’d rival Horton for the #3 spot.

Sadly injuries will likely factor in the final team.

Next 5:

CJ Maestas
Paul Ruggeri
Sam Mikulak
Paul Hamm
Ty Echard

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Britain’s Got Talent winners Spelbound ­limber up for the Olympics – as it was revealed they are being lined up to star in the opening ­ceremony. …

Oldest member Alex Uttley, 25, said: “Being part of the Olympics has always been one of our dreams and it is very close to coming true.”

Mirror

Watch their first audition on YouTube.

Nice to see Simon blown away.

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(via Full Twist)

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… not the greatest Winter Cup of all time.

But things look good for Team USA looking forward to Olympics. No need to peak in February. I’m still ranking USA 3rd behind #1 Japan and #2 China … at this point.

There is no American to challenge Uchimura. But they have a lot of depth. With young stars still improving. Like John Orozco.

He’ll stay focused at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. No NCAA to distract.

related – Examiner – 2012 Winter Cup: Final results

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Score looks too high to me.

Best Ring men of the strong all-arounders: Horton, Maestas, Sender, Silverstein … who else?

Rings and Pommels are the weakest apparatus for USA.

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