On the American Gymnast blog, Andrew Thornton linked to videos of some of the gymnasts who qualified for the Nastia Liukin Cup this coming weekend.
… an AMAZING beam combination that is one of the most difficult ever done: … front aerial to a back handspring full …
Click PLAY or watch Kimberly on YouTube.
Andrew does have some questions about who can qualify for this competition, however. For example, Kimberley:
… I didn’t realize that gymnasts 18 and over could compete in this competition. Kimberly Jacob won her “Level 10” session at the Circle of Stars Meet in Indiana, but she has competed as a senior gymnast since 2007. In fact she competed in the SENIOR US Nationals in 2008 and 2009, placing 17th and 12th, respectively. She is 18 and will be competing for Alabama this fall. I thought the Nastia Liukin Cup was for “up-and-coming” Level 10 gymnasts? I did look at the rules at the Circle of Stars Meet, and it said that the winners of the Level 10 sessions, regardless of age, would qualify for the Nastia Liukin Cup. …
They should somehow change the selection criteria for the second annual to truly bring in up-and-coming Level 10s. Kimberly’s career, for example, is already fixed. She doesn’t need this additional experience.
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