10 Reasons I Love Aimee Boorman

Anne Josephson:

3. She understands that the number one reason kids quit sports is that it is no longer fun—so she makes it fun. “We knew early on that it had to be fun for Simone and if it wasn’t fun, she wasn’t going to want to do it. She would go pick another sport …”

9. She has cares more about the big picture for her athletes than the results. “I just want her to love life,” Aimee said. “That’s it. Whatever she wants to do, whatever she wants to become, I’m always going to be there for her.” …

10 REASONS WHY I LOVE AIMEE BOORMAN

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Boorman

Rio Paralympics successful

Once again, congratulations Rio. Congratulations Brazil.

ANYONE who tuned into the 2016 Paralympic games, which were held in Rio de Janeiro in the fortnight leading up to September 18th, would agree that this year’s edition has been a success. In the days before the opening ceremony, it seemed more likely that the event would be a flop. …

Yet out of adversity came triumph. A last-ditch appeal to the Brazilian public worked. They flocked to the venues, snapped up cheap tickets (some for as little as ten reals, or $3) and turned the games into the second-most attended in Paralympic history. Total sales surpassed 2m last week, topping the 1.5m sold in Beijing in 2008; the final number could rival the 2.8m record set in London four years ago. Nearly 170,000 spectators thronged to the Olympic Park on September 10th, a greater crowd than at any point during the Olympics. …

As the fortnight ended, perhaps the only obvious blemish was the death of 48-year-old Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who suffered a cardiac arrest in the road race on September 17th. …

The Rio Paralympics were successful, but the disability classifications are not

There were problems too, obviously. Click through for a breakdown of those.

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Russian post-Olympic Festival

Balance Beam Situation LOVES Alexei Nemov’s whoop de whoop. 🙂

Click through for … highlights?

HOW TO GYMNASTICS EXHIBITION, STARRING RUSSIA

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coach Jordyn Wieber

Jordyn’s been on Tour. AND getting ready for her new role as UCLA assistant coach.

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Maile O’Keefe interview

Excelle Sports: What do you feel is your biggest strength right now? What do you feel that you need to improve on?

Maile O’Keefe: My biggest strength right now is beam only because I have a lot of difficulty and I’m pretty consistent on that event. Even though I improved a little bit on bars, I really feel my bars could use a little bit more work and a little bit more difficulty and consistency. …

Excelle Sports: Who is your gymnastics role model and why?

Maile O’Keefe: I really look up to Laurie Hernandez. She’s so happy and so bubbly. She does so well on the competition floor. I really have a role model in the gym too. One of my teammates, Olivia, she really helps me through the tough times and I help her. We just get each other.

Maile O’Keefe reflects on becoming the junior national champion

Click PLAY or watch an amazing Beam series on YouTube.