Author: Rick Mc

… Sawao Kato, a sixty-seven year old gymnastics legend from the 1970s, is stepping down from his position on the FIG Men’s Artistic Technical Committee after twenty years of devoted collaboration. …

FIG

Click PLAY or watch some of his 1968 Floor on YouTube.

Sawao Kato … (born October 11, 1946) is a former Japanese gymnast and one of the most successful athletes of all time at the Olympic Games. In three Olympics, he gathered a total of twelve medals, including eight gold medals. …

He is one of only ten athletes to have won eight or more Olympic gold medals. …

Chelsea Werner is a world class gymnast with Down syndrome needing fundraising for travel and training for the 2013 season.

Sports – Danville, California, United States

Recall the inspirational 2011 news story?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

She’s now age-21. And still competing.

… While in Atlanta, she was also invited to participate in “World Gym For Life Challenge” in South Africa in the summer of 2013.

We need extra support

Since Special Olympics has dropped the gymnastics program in Northern California, Chelsea and her coach, Dawn Pombo, are not eligible for any reimbursements for travel, training etc. Chelsea’s coach is required to be with her at any event she competes in. Many opportunities are becoming available for Chelsea to share her talent and love for gymnastics! However funding is needed to allow her to continue her training and to pay for travel to competitions. We are looking to raise $10,000 for her 2013 season. …

details on the fundraiser

A very entertaining and personal report on last weekend’s competition.

197.300 to 196.175

My Saturday at Stegman by Katy Jones:

Without having any sort of friend, familial, or geographical connection to the University of Georgia, I’ve been a fan of the Gym Dogs for the better part of a decade. …

The highlight of the first rotation for me was marked by Brandie Jay’s vault. I (and apparently one of the judges) thought it was worthy of a 10, but a 9.975 was awarded instead. …

Georgia finished the rotation with a season-high 49.55 and a ton of energy, but the Gators had an impressive showing themselves on bars. The 9.925 and 9.95 posted by former elites Mackenzie Caquatto and Bridget Sloan, respectively, contributed to the 49.375 Florida bar total and definitely set the tone for how the rest of the Gators’ day was going to go. …

read more on gymnewstics – A first-hand account of UGA vs UF

And an attempt at 5 1/2 twist.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Greg Roe on Facebook)

Confirmed.

I’m on staff for Tony Retrosi’s 2013 Camp. Looking forward to my first time there.

WHEN: June 21-23, 2013

WHERE: At the NATIONAL GYMNASTICS TRAINING CAMP, Huguenot, NY.

The focus of this camp will be on OPTIONAL LEVEL GYMNASTICS for gymnasts moving into Level 7 up through 10 and Elite.

TOPS skills and Physical Abilities will be covered with appropriate groups.

Click PLAY or watch a 2012 highlights photo gallery on YouTube.

Camp Registration details.

More than a thousand people gathered at the 17th Street Boardwalk in Virginia Beach on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, to break the Guinness World Record for “most people performing cartwheels at the same time.”

1,086 cold cartwheelers were involved in breaking the previous record of 482, set by Schothorst, a community in the Netherlands.

Excalibur Gymnastics organized the event as part of the Excalibur Cup, an international gymnastics competition held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. (Sarah Hutchins | The Virginian-Pilot)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Making the Tamayo look easy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That was linked by Stick it Media’s summary NCAA post from this past weekend:

Hitting a team score of 440 or better is becoming old hat for three teams in NCAA men’s gymnastics. Now the race is on to see which team will become the first to bust through 450.

Michigan became the 3rd team to crack the 440 barrier this weekend, as they established the nation’s third-best team score of the season (446.15), with their big road win over Ohio State (435.65). Stacey Ervin had a big day for the Wolverines, setting a school record and NCAA season-high on FX (16.15), and placing tied for 3rd on PB (14.70). …

The weekend’s biggest shocker was Iowa’s (428.45) big road win over defending NCAA champs Illinois (428.40). The Hawkeyes won the meet with superior performances on PB and HB, winning team titles on both by a margin of 4.25 points. The Illini suffered a veritable meltdown on PB, scoring a season-low team total of 67.85. …

Top 4 Teams Solidify Rankings in NCAA Men’s Gymnastics

Unlike the Collegiate ladies, Men’s College results are very unpredictable.

With virtually no budget over the last quadrennial, Canada is suddenly a contender in every major international competition.

Congratulations to the coaches of the designated “High Performance” gymnasts across the country.

Arabian Punch Front recently posted gymnast bios:

On The Rise: Team Canada

On The Rise: Team Canada Part 2

I’m anticipating Part 3. … And possibly Part 4. 🙂

Futures Jr and Sr gymnasts at Elite Canada.

Photo by Grace Chiu.

Update – Montage Monday: Team Canada

Lance Ringnald. Back in the day.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We trained this dismount at my gym, back in the day. Ours were much uglier than this.

GYMmedia:

… the Executive Committee of the International Gymnastics Federaition (F.I.G.) the 37-years old exceptional athlete Oksana CHUSOVITINA is qualified again for her native country Uzbekistan.

… Chusovitina, who has a German passport since 2006, wants to start again for her native country, where her incredible career begun about a quarter of a century.

Her athletic goal is to retake the 2016 Olympics in Rio – the 7th time in a row!

related – GymNewstics – The Secrets behind Longevity in Women’s Artistic Gymnastics