Shallon Olsen in Rio

Shallon did so much difficulty so young that many (including me) feared she wouldn’t last through to the 2016 Olympics.

In fact she’s had very few injuries over the years. 🙂

Click the image to watch a TV news spot on CTV.

Shallon

Excalibur has 2 Olympians

Both train at Excalibur Virginia Beach.

olympic-qualifiers-isabella-1

olympic-qualifiers-ariana

Click PLAY or watch Ariana on YouTube. She’s the first Peruvian Olympic gymnast.

(via IG)

Acrozorbing? Zorbnastics?

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

In 1994 Dwane van der Sluis and Andrew Akers conceived the idea for a type of sphere in Auckland, New Zealand, calling their invention the “Zorb”.

first female Presidential nominee

One of the themes of this site is empowerment of women in sport. Women in life. Every girl in America now knows she could be President.

“We’re on our way to breaking the highest and hardest glass ceiling.”

ceiling

Watch the Morgan Freeman narrated VIDEO aired before Clinton officially accepted her historic nomination.

British reserves training at home?

As reported by BritishGymnewstics.

That’s surprising. Team USA has 3 reserves in Rio following the same training regime as the named team. In case of disaster a replacement would be instant and seamless.

(via Couch Gymnast)

pit foam can be dangerous for gymnasts

Courtney Carignan from Harvard sends a link to an update on the research.

… a new study published online in the journal Environment International, co-authored by School of Public Health researchers, reports that popular gymnastics training equipment contains mixtures of flame-retardant chemicals that have been linked to increased risks of ADHD, cancer, and brain development delays.

The study found higher levels of those chemicals in gymnasts’ urine, indicating that gymnastics-training—specifically, pit cubes found in foam pits—are a source of exposure to toxic flame retardants. …

While prior studies have found high levels of such retardants in the air and dust of gyms, the new study, which analyzed foam pits in 11 US gyms, found that 89 percent of pit cubes sampled contained flame-retardants. …

Managers of the gyms reported that they had been required by local fire marshals to purchase equipment containing flame retardants. …

In the short term, one way that gymnasts can reduce their exposure is by washing their hands with soap and water after practice, rather than just with hand-sanitizer, Carignan said. …

Gymnasts Exposed to Toxic Flame-Retardant Chemicals

gymnastics pit foam

For more information gymnastcollaborative.org