Author: Rick Mc

Try this Romanian link.

(THANKS Full Twist Gymnastics Blog on Facebook for the link.)

She injured her knee landing Amanar on Vault. (photos)

What a shame …

THE ALL AROUND at European Championships:

… The answer seems to be: Probably not.

The All Around has yet to find a coach that would happily send his or her gymnasts to Japan in October. With many of the female competitors at Worlds likely to be minors, the main concern is the pressure parents face in making a decision of whether to let their children compete despite the potential health hazard. …

… The FIG has taken the decision to wait [before making a final decision] until the Council meeting May 19-20 in San José. …

The General Secretary of the Japanese Gymnastics Federation is due to arrive in Berlin over the weekend to discuss the situation with FIG officials.

According to FIG Executive Committee member Wolfgang Willam stated that so far the only official offer to take over from Tokyo had been received from Moscow …

Notes from Berlin I

Blythe is hearing the same thing.

This guy is smiling.

In a thriller …

details and full results on Gymnastics Examiner

From prelims.

Click PLAY or watch her Bars on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch her Beam on YouTube.

On Bars our World Champion will win more often than not against He Kexin and Beth Tweddle. She’s awesome and consistent.

But she fills me with unconfidence on Beam.

For fun I’ve been reading some articles from “content mill” or “content farm“ sites mentioning gymnastics. They are hard to avoid in 2011.

Low quality crap written to get a high Google ranking, pushing Google ads deceptively.

The best known (and most banned) is eHow.

Here’s an amusing one from All Expert Articles:

… There are plenty of fresh and also enjoyment toys in a gym. Nevertheless possibly the almost all fun doll in the health and fitness center is actually a stuff security gap.

There’s 2 varieties * a shed memory foam hole and also a resi-pit. A loose polyurethane foam hole is a lot like a major, enormous pool area filled up with quite gentle space-age foam hinders alternatively of water. Resi-pits resemble major big soft cushions, generally one yard thick developed down into the floorboards. …

How to Have Fun With Gymnastics by ElenovskajaMedlents

It seems to have been written by a computer programed to include key words at any cost: nudists, Huge Playthings for ladies, etc.

Don’t Let Anybody Wreck Ones Gymnastics Enjoyable

related – Read Write Web – Content Farms: Why Media, Blogs & Google Should Be Worried

I’ve predicted that Louis Smith from England will win Pommels, over Berki and the rest. … He qualified to the Final with the 4th highest score.

I like Louis’ attitude under pressure. And I respect his coach.

Duncan White on The Telegraph:

Paul Hall
The Coach

I can’t remember the exact day when Louis first came down to the gym, he was just one boy among a group. I noticed there was something special about him early on, but it wasn’t special in terms of gymnastics.

He was hard work, very different to the other kids. He had a very poor attention span and was mischievous. He was always messing around, getting into trouble. …

I’ve known Louis most of his life. At the start I was very dictatorial, shouting and screaming at him, with lots of strong discipline. That changed as Louis matured. It has been a learning curve for both of us.

As Louis has grown I have changed my methods, tried to approach him more as an adult. It’s as much about understanding motivation as it is about training. …

Louis Smith
The Gymnast

When I was young I was probably the worst kind of kid to coach: the problem child from hell. I had ADHD, a short attention span and I was just crazy. …

Paul was strict with me and sometimes he’d get me to focus, he tried his best. It was certainly clear I paid more attention to things that I enjoyed doing. That was probably why I had problems at school, because it didn’t interest me. …

I have become more independent in some respects. Paul has adapted to that well and he understands how to treat me individually. …

read the entire interview – London 2012 Olympics: gymnast Louis Smith and coach Paul Hall are raising the bar

Every blogger on the most recent Gymnastics Examiner Discussion picked World Champion Aliya Mustafina to win. They pretty much guarantee it.

She modestly refutes.

International Gymnast – Mustafina: No Guarantee of European Victory

Blythe:

On the men’s side, I’m torn between the sheer athleticism of Philipp Boy and the supreme elegance of Maxim Devyatovskiy. Deviatovskiy’s gymnastics is a little prettier in some places, but Boy is absolutely on fire, and he’s basically in his hometown. …

read The Discussion: 2011 European Championships all-around podiums?

Tim McNeill, the best gymnast in Cal history, was named Head Coach this season following the retirement of Barry Weiner.

… The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation named McNeill its coach of the year on Monday.

In his first year at the helm, McNeill has led Cal to a 5-7 overall record, going up against top-five teams in all but two meets. …

Cal Bears

Congratulations.

related – Gymnastics Examiner – Commentary: At Cal, women’s gymnastics preserved, men’s gymnastics down the tube

Andrew Hampy of Cal Gymnastics Forever set-up a twitter account to keep people up-to-date up on what is happening with the effort to save Cal Men’s Collegiate Gymnastics