Author: Rick Mc

Oh no.

SHOCK! Ana Porgras withdraw only 18! World Champion in 2010 and a beam of hope for gold in London gave up gymnastics

That’s the headline on Sport.ro.

The 2010 World Champion on Beam made the decision after an elbow injury at a Christmas training camp in France.

Read the article via Google Translate.

She won the 2011 Longines Prize Of Elegance in Tokyo. This is a terrible loss for Team Romania, especially on Bars. And for gymnastics fans everywhere.

Update – the Prosport interview translated by Fangymnastics:

From the moment I made this decision there is no turning back. I said stop and I’m not coming back.

(via Fangymnastics on Facebook)

Not many predicted Italy would be the #1 team. (Eric did.)

They won Floor as a team. Ferrari had the highest AA. … But the big reason was the margin (PDF) by which they won Beam as a team.

Watch their highest Beam score, Carlotta FERLITO on YouTube.

14.533 (Difficulty : 6.00, Execution : 8.533).

Click PLAY or watch Francesca D’Agostini on YouTube. 14.525

Slightly over-scored, I’d say.

But a win’s a win. Italy did a fantastic job.

Their Men grabbed the last team qualification spot with a strong performance, too.

I got those links from Between the Olympics, the best page to find routines from London.

Kristina Vaculik does one of the best Geingers in the world. (Def?)

You really can see the Bar most of the time … if you fly high enough. 🙂

Watch her prelims routine on YouTube. 14.333 (5.8) – qualifying for Finals.

She and Peng Peng had the highest Execution score in those Finals – 8.666.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

One of the BIG good news stories of Test Meet and the coming Olympics is Kieran Behan from Ireland.

Here’s a kid who was warned he might never walk again at age-9. Was hospitalized 8wks at age-12 with brain damage. In 2008 he ruptured a cruciate knee ligament. In 2010 he did the same to his other knee.

He wouldn’t quit …

… selling sweets and washing cars to finance his trips in search of world ranking points. His father Phil, a builder, and mother Bernie, their son admits, “have put every spare penny they have into me.” His coach Simon Gale revealed that, “It’s been a struggle for him. Gymnastics Ireland hasn’t been able to fund him really and last year alone he spent thousands competing in places like Japan , Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and the Czech Republic.”…

Living the impossible dream

After all that, Kieran somehow placed 34th AA at Test Meet London, grabbing one of the last Olympic spots. He finished 4th in Floor (VIDEO), a serious contender for Olympic Finals.

Ireland has gone nuts over Kieran, despite the fact he trains in England. Here are some of the Google News stories right now:

• Irish Independent – I was told I’d never walk again — today I’m aiming for the Olympics

• Sports News Ireland – Kieran Behan has indeed ‘come from nowhere’ to gain a place in London 2012

Full Twist has been covering the story closely.

Keiran and entourage were flown last minute to Ireland’s #1 The Late Late Show with Ryan Tubridy. He’s already a national treasure just for qualifying to the Olympics.

From nobody to national celebrity. 🙂 CONGRATS to Keiran.

You can bet on whether he’ll win the Olympic medal or bring out an award winning autobiography.

If you’re like me you have a stack of old t-shirts you never wear.

Stephanie Wiebe, of Rosetown, SK in Canada posted this photo on Facebook.

That’s a gymnastics quilt!

Thanks Stu.

THE ALL AROUND is my go to source for clarification of the bizarrely complicated FIG Olympic selection process. Albert Minguillón i Colomer is more up-to-speed on the rules than MTC, so far as I can see.

Elizabeth Long, TAA Publisher / Executive Editor, has a valuable post clarifying the dirty details on who qualifies to London.

Here’s the speculation on a question on my mind:

… Q. Who is eligible for the Tripartite Commission Invitation?

A. MAG and WAG will each have one available space for a Tripartite Commission invitation. According to the Information Papers of the Tripartite Commission, invitations are given to NOCs with “an average of six (6) or less athletes at the last two editions of the Olympic Games. Only eligible NOCs are permitted to make a request for their best athletes in the sports offering Invitation places.”

To be considered, gymnasts from eligible NOCs must have participated at the 2011 World Championships and/or the Test Event. From information found, Bangladesh (Syque Caesar) and Monaco (Kevin Crovetto) appear to be the only NOCs in Tokyo meeting the six-or-less average requirement …

TAA – Q&A: Clarifying the Olympic Qualifications

In progress, Salzburg, Austria.

Click PLAY or watch a promo on YouTube.

official Facebook page

Interesting edit.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (profanity warning)

(via @TripleTwistBlog)

Funny ad campaign. Especially since hydration is not a problem in Gymnastics. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.