“Savona“, as she’s called, is one of the top Canadian gymnasts, having enjoyed success at Rotterdam Worlds, Pan-Ams Mexico, Wild Rose and Gymnix. She was injured last summer competing at the Tokyo Cup and has just returned to full training.
Savona (far right) silver medal team Pan-Ams 2010
GC: You’ve now had ACL surgery on both knees. How does this recovery compare with your first?
My first ACL was tough for me, but it was a different kind of surgery. Back in May 2008, I had surgery on my right knee, and they used my patella tendon to replace the ACL. That recovery was difficult because I had to let the screws / fractures heal into my bones, as well as let my patella tendon heal. It was 6 months before I was able to do anything!
August 2011 — after the injury at Tokyo Cup — I had surgery on my left knee. Instead of replacing the ACL using my own tissue, I got an allograft. Healing has been much faster and far less painful. It’s been only 5 months since surgery and I’m able to do SO MUCH already.
At 5 months with my other knee, I could barely run. Having just been cleared to train, I can already vault!
I do feel some pain, but it is nothing compared to the first knee. (Which is perfect now, by the way.) I expect to be back at 100% relatively soon.
GC: Mustafina had a similar injury a few months before you. Are there any other gymnasts you’ve known who’ve had to come back?
My coach, Kelly Manjak, tells me of the many gymnasts he’s known to come back 100%. Aliya will do it — and I will too.
GC: What’s the hardest thing about recovery?
Personally, the hardest thing is holding myself back. When I feel fresh and powerful, I, as do other gymnasts, feel the need and urge to do more and push myself beyond what I am supposed to do.
Another thing I found difficult this time, was finding things to do in my spare time. Training had many limitations, and my cardio exercises often depended on how strong my knee felt that day.
Also, I only have/had the heart for gymnastics, so I really had to force myself to exercise in other ways even though I hated doing so.
Are there any upsides?
The only good thing about having had 2 knee surgeries is that after the first one, I knew what to expect: what to do, what not to do and when I should do what. I’ve played it safe knowing that the main goal is the 2012 Olympics.
What is your “recovery” timeline for 2012? … When do you want to compete?
I really want to be able to compete at Elite Canada. If I can make that my first meet, even if I compete only some apparatus, that would mark the beginning of my 2012 year. I do not expect to be perfect my first few meets, I just want to put myself out there and get back to competing. Aliya’s first meet back was inspiring. I’d love to do the same thing.
I will be my only judge and no one can tell me otherwise. Give me time and I will make sure that I prepare myself for the most important meets, those that determine the Canadian Olympic team!
(We qualified in London! Thanks Team!)
GC: Are you interested in continuing to College gymnastics?
I’m focused on Olympics first, but I do aspire to compete in the NCAA! I have my sights set on a few Universities, and will apply for a scholarship to the school that’s best for me. And best for them.
GC … Why are you online so much? ?
I am ALWAYS online because (as many may know), I am a very social person. Sometimes I do not get the chance to see my friends or talk to them because I am busy with gym and school, so I take advantage of the World Wide Web to connect with the world beyond my reach! I have gymnastics friends all over the world.
Jessica was just cleared by medical for full training.
Kyle Shewfelt sees Canada in the top 8 at Olympics. With a healthy Savona, I’d bump that up to top 6. This team could have everything: experience, leadership and good balance on all 4 apparatus.
This is Sidney Crosby, the best player in Ice Hockey today.
… In 2010–11, Crosby sustained a concussion as a result of hits to the head in back-to-back games. The injury left him sidelined for ten-and-a-half months. …
… Here, at the elite Neurotrauma Impact Science Laboratory, researchers led by Blaine Hoshizaki are reconstructing a hit similar to Crosby’s first one to establish the relationship between helmet performance and how concussions occur. …
Sid returned on November 21, 2011 against the New York Islanders, scoring two goals and two assists in a 5–0 shutout win. Smart move his team waiting until they were sure he was healthy.
Sidney should have been taken out after the first of his two hits. But athletes want to get up and keep fighting. Coaches and medics need intervene.
The same thing happened at World Championships 2011. Yusuke Tanaka had an obvious concussion on Floor in prelims, yet his team coaches and medical staff kept him in the meet. Dr. Michel Léglise for FIG and meet medical officials made no intervention.
Ivan Cuk, Samo Penic & Dejan Krizaj at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia have been experimenting with technology for measuring springboard actions on Vault.
The new device is composed of a processor unit with LCD display and is connected to accelerometer sensors that are placed under the top desk of the springboard.
… accelerations velocities are calculated … and several parameters such as time to maximal springboard compression and maximal velocity at take-off are determined and displayed. The data is directly transferred to a PC for further analysis ….
Matlab software was used to record, filter and analyze the measured data.
Results are in good agreement with simultaneously obtained results from the force plate and laser displacement sensor measurements (similar time and vertical velocity).
With developed equipment it will be possible to determine typical springboard action parameters for individual gymnast, optimal springboard parameters for a required jump, to analyze repeatability of springboard jumps, to analyze transverse movements and to optimize training and its efficiency. The developed device has good potential for use as a fast information system as well as a device for suitable science/research projects in vaulting.
We’ve not yet seen anyone compete the Jaeger with an extra salto. A recent article linked from Science of Gymnastics Journal analyzed the skill.
… From the data it can be concluded, that the double Jaeger is possible in either tucked or piked body posture …
Despite its feasibility, there may be … arguments why the Jaeger Salto on the high bar is not performed that often in international competitions, and potentially, why the double Jaeger may not be attractive for gymnasts to learn as compared to other release-regrasp skills.
… the Jaeger salto is a forward salto during which the athlete “sees” the high bar relatively late prior to regrasp, and therefore has less time to adjust the regrasp based on visual information, as compared to other flight elements, like the Tkatschev (Gervais & Tally, 1993; Raab, de Oliveira & Heinen, 2009).
… the athlete has to reverse the direction of his rotation when regrasping the bar, as compared to other flight elements, like the Kovacs Salto if he intends to perform a subsequent giant swing. …
Valeri Liukin, Sean Townsend, Justin Spring, Jonathan Horton, Danell Lleyva, Yin Alvarez and others tried and like the Weller spring invented and patented by Scott Weller. The in-gym feedback has been positive.
Dr. Bills Sands did one series of tests comparing the Weller spring vs the AAI springs, used in most gyms in the States.
Dr. Sands concluded that there was not enough difference between the two to recommend the Weller.
It will be some time before the research is published. But Bill Sands is the best there is in gymnastics research. I’ve no doubt his findings will be irrefutable.
… Yet that doesn’t mean that the Weller spring is not a big improvement over what we have now. Merely that the first scientific study couldn’t determine why. I’d trust the gut intuition of an elite coach over any number of research papers when it comes to equipment innovation.
If you want to buy and try Weller springs, email scott@kingbarssports.com
If you’ve tried them and have an opinion, leave a comment. Thanks.
Scott Weller of Weller Spring has been promoting his new revolutionary design for a Floor Exercise spring. Athletes who try it, like it. And a few clubs like WOGA have installed Weller springs into their gym.
But what he really needs is a respected 3rd party to scientifically measure and report the differences between the Weller spring and standard AAI springs, used in most gyms in the States.
Ideally, he’d get Dr. Bill Sands to do the research …
Bella Tucker is a “young gymnast who came down with a near fatal infection on Easter (2010) and underwent quadruple amputation surgery”.
Cathie Lowell, Owner of Phantom Gymnastics reports on Bella’s progress:
… We are happy to report that Bella’s spirits are high despite a few setbacks and additional operations during the last month. She has been in both the Children’s Hospital and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. She has begun some physical therapy to strengthen her core, getting her ready for the Shriner’s hospital in Philadelphia where the real work will begin. Bella will receive prosthetics and she and her family remain hopeful and encouraged.
Bella celebrated her ninth birthday on Aug 12. She continues to have lots of visitors and has learned to use her electric wheel chair, which she operates with her elbow, to get around the hospital and garden. …
She’s also become proficient with her iPad, which allows her to use Facebook to view and respond to posts! …
My original post was much outdated. Bella got home before Christmas last year. She now has her own website. And Facebook page. Donations are gratefully accepted at both.
• energetic, physical and physiological assessment
• training principles
• diet, nutrition and supplementation
• growth and development issues
• kinetics and kinematics
• angular and linear motion
• angular momentum
• stress, anxiety and coping
• motivation and goal setting
• mental skills training for practice and competition
• the psychology of learning and performance.
It’s available in paperback or ebook for $54.95. From that same Routledge link you can preview some pages free. University instructors can request a Complimentary Exam Copy.
The Committee’s President Adrian Stoica (ROU) was very satisfied with the meeting’s outcome, stating:
“With the new World Cup format and the modified qualifying system for the Olympic Games we have implemented important changes in 2011 and look forward to an interesting year. …
Ivan Cuk
Valeri Liukin, Sean Townsend, Justin Spring, Jonathan Horton, Danell Lleyva, Yin Alvarez and others 
