Month: January 2008

Mac Niles is one psychologically tough gymnast!

Mikaela “mac” Niles from Kamiakin had the bars collapses while she was winding up for dismount at a High School gymnastics meet in Washington State.

But as soon as the equipment was put back up, Niles would re-chalk her hands and get right back on the bars…the equipment would hold up this time…she does a nice double somersault on the dismount…and she sticks it…that’s good for a 9.05 and 1st place in the bars.

Niles would go on to take the all-around title as well…and that would help the Braves to the overall team title.

Click through to see video:

Scary Moment at CBL Gymnastics Meet | KEPR CBS 19 – News, Weather and Sports – Pasco, WA – Pasco, Washington | Local & Regional

I hope someone shows Mac the famous bars collapse video clip of legend Ludmilla Tourischeva.

Thanks Michael.

2006 was the Year of YouTube.

And it’s still growing in 2008, the 4th most visited website on the Internet.

Most of us watch it every day. There are about 60,000 video clips tagged with the word ‘gymnastics’. Certainly there are far more if you add all the acrobatic sports.

Click PLAY to watch a short history of YouTube.

YouTube – Wikipedia

(via The Rise and Rise of YouTube)

How do you “retire” from street acrobatics?

Well, your “Olympics” is on YouTube. So you also retire on YouTube with a farewell video.

Ex-gymnast Alexandre Sayhi from France is respected worldwide as one of the best.

He trained with Joe Eigo in Toronto. Formed Team Chinese Box in France.

Now ankle injury from landing on concrete has forced his official retirement. I’ve often wondered how long street acrobats can continue considering how many flat, hard surfaces they land upon.

It’s surprising we have not heard of more serious injuries of street acrobats. They train far more carefully than most people give credit.

Chinese Box – Alex Sayhi’s Bio

(via Jump Club)

Pretty much anything Aleksas links to on his blog, you want to see.

He likes this montage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

During the preseason, Utah gymnastics coach Greg Marsden declared that as Ashley Postell went, so went the Utes. His words came true Friday in the Huntsman Center, when Postell won the all-around and Utah beat No. 1 Georgia, 196.300-196.200 before a crowd of 13,339.

Marsden’s prophetic statement referred to his All-America senior’s showing at the past two NCAA Championships, when she placed second in the all-around to Georgia’s Courtney Kupets and Utah placed second to Georgia as a team.

Until the very end of the 2008 season opener for both teams, it appeared as though history would repeat itself, as Georgia led by a relatively comfortable 147.525-147.275 margin. But two falls by the three-time defending NCAA champions on the balance beam cracked the door for Utah. Even so – in a large part due to steps out of bounds on two Ute routines – Georgia held a two-tenths of a point edge going into Postell’s routine. The 15-time All-American erased that and more with a 9.90 score that pushed the Utes ahead on the final routine of the night.

In addition to her second straight all-around victory over Kupets (Postell won the all-around during team finals at last April’s NCAA Championships), the senior won the balance beam with a 9.90 and tied for first on the floor (9.90). …

Ute coach Greg Marsden was pleased with the victory, which snapped an eight-meet losing streak to the SEC rival that dated back to the first round of the 2003 NCAA Championships. “It wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. …

CSTV.com: #1 in College Sports

University of Florida opened with 197.125, by the way, at another competition.

… former AIS elite gymnast Alex Croak is competing at the National Diving Championships in the hopes of being selected for the Beijing squad. …

Australian Gymnastics Blog: One Step Closer

Blythe covered this happy story as well:

… Croak, who represented the Australians in Sydney, rang in the new year by winning the Australian Open Diving Championships, ABC News reported.

Former Aussie Olympian Alex Croak’s diving success « The Gymblog

Many of the best divers in the world started as gymnasts.

The Adventure Blog posted a great video clip.

… from the movie Dodgeball. After watching this, you’ll never want to quit anything ever again. Trust me. Oh, and just to make you feel just a teensy bit better, Lance went on to win two more Tours …

More Inspiration From Lance!

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube:

The registration folks at Woodward Lake Owen:

Greetings from snowy Lake Owen Camp!

We are getting ready for another great summer and wanted to let you know that we will be offering a $50.00 discount to anyone who registers prior to January 31, 2008.

Home » Early Registration Discount

Household names …

Inside Gymnastics reports:

Johnson, Liukin, Worley, Horton, Hamm.

Household names in the gymnastics world are set to headline the 2008 Tyson American Cup. Scheduled for March 1, at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the competition kicks off the road to Beijing. And the marquee event boasts an all-star roster including last year’s champs. 2007 all-around world champion Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Jonathan Horton of Houston, who finished fourth in the world in the all-around, are set to defend their 2007 Tyson American Cup titles.

2004 Olympic all-around champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wis.; 2007 balance beam world champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas; and 2007 team world champion Shayla Worley of Orlando, Fla., are also representing the red, white and blue. …

In terms of the international field, Fabian Hambuechen of Germany and Hisashi Mizutori of Japan, the 2007 all-around world silver and bronze medalists from the 2007 World Championships, have already accepted their invitation to compete. …

News – Inside Gymnastics Magazine

Tickets sell from “cheap” up to $200 / seat.

Coach Don Anweiler sent me a link to photos of a clinic in Iceland. Much enjoyed by coaches and athletes.

Workshop ´07 :: 2.1.2008 – photos