Author: Rick Mc

25yr-old Jessica Lopez seems to compete more than any other international gymnast. She keeps getting better, too.

Her Bars (6.1 difficulty) is one of the most exciting sets in the world now. (Unfortunately she fell on dismount in Ghent prelims.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Brigid McCarthy posted an excellent interview with the fan favourite.

Bea Gheorghisor interviewed her coach Nilson Savage.

Bea posted some personal commentary from the meet too – Ghent: Seen and Heard

First days back can be intimidating. Many are happier at gym than they are at school.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/Nzk0NTA2MDc5?related=1

Watch more video of Challenger Cup Ghent 2011 on gymnastike.org

via @theallaround

With four gold medals, the Chinese gymnasts dominated the the finals of the Challenger Cup, held Sunday in Ghent, Belgium.

Wu Liufang (balance beam), Zhang Hongtao (pommel horse), Wang Guanyin (parallel bars) and Zou Kai (high bar) each walked away with an event title. …

Wu was the most successful gymnast in Ghent with a complete set of medals, including the silver on floor exercise and bronze on uneven bars.

results and more on IG – Chinese Gymnasts Up to Challenge in Ghent

Many are talking about Maria Livchikova’s win on Floor.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

See more on GymNiceTic – The Best of Ghent – EF Videos

If you haven’t seen UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre doing gymnastics, here’s your chance to see him on the rings as he prepares to face the ex-Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz at UFC 137 in . Diaz surrendered his belt to get the chance to face GSP for the UFC title on October 27 in Las Vegas.

MMM Nation

GSP:

… This is the hardest sport I’ve done in my life.

“Gymnastics is going to make my career more long because it’s a good [on the] therapeutic point of view. It stretches my body. It gives me more range of motion, better coordination, and better athleticism.”

Coach: Patrick Beauchamp

Beth Tweddle works the Bar like a guy. Check the amount of rail deflection.

Click PLAY or watch her on YouTube.

related – South Yorkshire Times – Bend it like Beth!

A fun, easy, safe method. It prevents the dread problem of too early twist.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That’s Prince George Gymnastics in northern B.C.

Weird.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

This is the most detailed road map I’ve yet seen on Cirque’s plans.

Cathy Yang in Hong Kong:

… Cirque du Soleil plans to use its current ZAIA showcase in Macau as a “springboard” to further its Asian ambitions, president and CEO Daniel Lamarre told Reuters.

… Cirque is currently touring in more than 350 cities around the world, including (Kooza) Osaka in Japan, and will be coming to Shanghai by the end of September But Macau is as key to its Asian strategy as Las Vegas is in North America. …

… expects it to follow the Vegas model where he says gambling has lost its dominance of the city’s attractions and entertainment is huge. …

“We hope to have three permanent shows in Macau one day and I see a day where we can have a permanent show in big Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing and who knows,” Lamarre said.

But first Lamarre said the Cirque plans to begin regularly touring key cities in China in the next 18 months with a view to establishing permanent shows within four years and spreading out across Asia. …

read more on Reuters

This means many more future jobs for your athletes.