Entries Tagged 'Olympics' ↓

It looked bad when the Chinese #1 AA was carried out of National Championships in China after a fall on Vault. But reports are she’s OK. But not competing, as a precaution.

Yao is the first Beam routine in a recently posted FIG FX / Beam highlights video from Tokyo Worlds 2011.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (28min)

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A couple of carefully edited clips from the April Women’s National Team Camp at Karolyi Ranch.

Click PLAY or watch Price’s Bars on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Finnegan’s Beam on YouTube.

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Alexa Ainsworth:

… Men’s Qualifier in Colorado Springs on Saturday, where he posted an impressive 91.750 to top the field.

… Orozco appears to have rebounded from a difficult showing at the American Cup in March, where he finished a disappointing fifth. In addition to the highest all-around score in Colorado Springs, the 2011 U.S. bronze medalist also finished first on pommel horse, parallel bars and high bar and was top-4 on floor, rings, and vault. It is the 15.150 on pommel horse and his consistency across all six events that make him a near lock for the five-man London Olympic Team.

… The 19-year-old’s biggest domestic competition, Danell Leyva, competed on floor, vault, and parallel bars at the qualifier and was competitive with Orozco on those events – finishing first on vault, second on parallel bars and sixth on floor. …

read more on NBC

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I think so. They are certainly the favourites on the Men’s side. Check out the guys named alternates.

Kohei Uchimura
Kazuhito Tanaka
Koji Yamamuro
Ryohei Kato
Yusuke Tanaka

Surprisingly, missing from this team are Makoto Okiguchi, Kenya Kobayashi and Shogo Nonomura.

Full Twist – Kohei Uchimura leads Japans 2012 Olympic Team

Both Tanaka boys on the Team. Sister Rie will be in London, as well.

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Says Andres Montoya:

Jordan Jovtchev’s competed something like 15 Olympics and 37 World Championships. Something like that.

Here’s Jotchov’s excellent Ring Strength Training VIDEO.

via @TumblTrak and Luke Wiwatowski

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I’ll be attending as a spectator, but there’s no media credential for this blogger.

From Susan P. Shaw by email:

Thank you for your interest in the 2012 Visa Championships/U.S. Olympic Trials – Gymnastics, but unfortunately, we are unable to approve your media credential request.

Due to high demand and in order to maintain a professional work environment, it is necessary to limit available work space.

The USA Gymnastics Communications Staff

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The E Panel ponders why the Team gold is prioritized over AA and individual apparatus.

(I’m not sure Sports Canada cares whether one of their athletes wins Floor, or the Team gold.)

… Sadly, (Event Finals) may take a hit a little at this Olympics.

With tiny teams, specialists have a harder time and so we may see fewer athletes being brought for one routine for the team and one routine for EF. Some fields are looking depleted too: on vault, for instance, the probable lineup is really quite similar to Beijing.

Furthermore, unless Pena cleans up that double front and takes the gold (which I think is not only improbable but would be bad for the sport – sounds mean, but that vault is scary) it may be the first time in modern gymnastics history where the OG gold medallist on vault wins with the same or less difficult two vaults as the previous OG winner …

read more – Are all gold medals equal?

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Jordyn and Danell are on the home page of the Bleacher Report list.

Check Andy’s predictions (so far) on who will qualify for the American Olympic teams:

1. Jordyn Wieber
2. Gabrielle Douglas
3. Aly Raisman
4. Kyla Ross
5. McKayla Maroney
6. Sarah Finnegan
… see more

1. Danell Leyva
2. John Orozco
3. Jake Dalton
4. Jonathan Horton
5. Glen Ishino
6. Alex Naddour
… see more

related – NBC – Model Olympian: Danell Leyva (photos)

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Fabian and Uchimura are the two best Horizontal Bar men of all time, in my opinion.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Fabian Hambüchen on Facebook)

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Wall Street Journal:

Two Brothers, One Goal: Land the Only Spot at the Olympics
U.S. Can Send Only One Male Contestant to Trampoline Event; ‘We Both Want It’

… “I am not going to let my little brother beat me this year,” says Steven Gluckstein, 21 years old.

Counters Jeffrey Gluckstein, 19: “Hopefully my best is just a little better than his.” …

… Their styles are different. Steven looks and trains like a Marine, wearing a crew-cut and rising early each day to follow a strict regimen. In addition to jumping for three hours a day, Steven goes to a gym most nights to work with weights, do exercises to strengthen his core or swim sprints across the pool. He keeps meticulous notes of his practices. His sports psychologist urges him to take time off training, Steven says, but in order to aim for the Olympics, Steven put college on hold.

By contrast, Jeffrey is taking classes at a local community college. Invariably arriving late to practice, he works out with weights when he can find the time and files the required monthly log of his workouts to the sport’s national federation just before they are due. …

read more on the WSJ

Awesome article.

Thanks to Trampoline Pundit for recommending it.

Jason Burnett (CAN), Ueyama Yasuhiro (JPN) and Anna Dogonadza (GER) have all confirmed that they are named Olympians for 2012.

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If you failed to get tickets for the Olympics, why not take part? The London 2012 video game from Sega is due for release on 26 June, for XBox, Playstation 3 and PC. You’ll be able to play over 30 different events, including highlights from track and field, gymnastics and stuff in the pool.

Londonist

via @gymnewstics

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Gymnasts from five nations won gold medals Sunday as competition concluded at the FIG Challenger Cup in Osijek, Croatia. …

Vault champion Ellie Black (Canada) took her second gold medal of the competition with the women’s floor exercise title. Black outscored Steingruber and Ontario’s Silvia Colussi-Pelaez, who represents her parents’ native Spain. …

IG – Canada’s Black Grabs Second Title in Osijek

H BAR:
1. Vlasios Maras
2. Yann Cucherat
3. Andreas Bretschneider

Click PLAY or watch Ellie’s FX on YouTube.

Only 3 tumbling passes. Unique choreography. NOT boring.

A year ago most fans worldwide would not recognize the name Ellie Black. They know her now.

related – Gymnastics I Love – Ellie Black Attack

Read Blythe’s commentary – Ellie Black, Giulia Steingruber on top as Osijek World Cup ends

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More ready than Russia, perhaps.

At their last competition in Ulm, Germany:

… Romania arrived with all of their top guns, including Larisa Iordache, who has consistently been staking her claim as a serious all-around medal threat for London these past weeks, and Olympic champions Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa. Izbasa warmed up with the team but then withdrew citing an injury to her left foot. …

Iordache zipped through four strong routines for an all-around total of 59.750. She left out the double-double on floor but posted a massive 6.8 D score on beam for a routine that included a ff-full, a double turn and a triple twist dismount. The number of skills she manages to confidently cram into ninety seconds is astonishing even if it leaves no room for choreography. …

TAA – Romania Dominates, Jarosch in Doubt for Europeans (results, videos)

Click PLAY or watch Larisa’s Beam on YouTube.

Chris was at the meet for Couch Gymnast – ROU-GER-GBR Meet Report

related – American Gymnast – Diana Bulimar…The Overlooked Romanian

In that post, Andy Thornton likes Raluca Haidu as Romania’s potential Bar specialist, if that’s not an oxymoron.

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