Author: Rick Mc

Couch Gymnast asks … who is this lovely lady with the Romanian Team at Worlds?

… I noticed a couple of times this week that Ana Porgras (I can’t think if I saw the other girls do it) would go over and get the woman to grab her hands and hold them in hers. At first I thought she needed something medical done to them, or maybe she needed some reassurance for her nerves. I saw her do it today before beam, and the woman also said something to her as she held her tiny little hands. …

ROMANIA’S LUCKY CHARM?

Answer from the comments:

… Everybody (coaches, gymnasts, fans) calls her “Doamna Eta“,

Mrs. Eta. She’s been a (nurse) for the national team since forever and has just come out of retirement to help some more. No other (younger) doctor wanted the job, since the monthly pay is around 120-130 euros. She is, undoubtedly, one of the unsung heroes of Romanian gymnastics.

Dutch J&F were demonstrating an excellent piece of equipment at Worlds.

Love the internal storage compartment.

Two of these can be used together to make a circuit.

Also of interest is their JF-Multikast, an update of the traditional Swedish box horse.

Both have many attachments.

The descriptions are in Dutch. But having purchased equipment from J&F bringing it to Canada before, I can tell you it’s very expensive.

Cool.

I’ve never used this exact variation.

… Texas Dreams Coach Travis Cherrier shows a drill he uses with his TOPS gymnasts to teach a smooth transition from the kip to a front hip circle in compulsory uneven bars.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://videoplayer.flocasts.org/player.swf

Shannon Miller attended the meet in Rotterdam.

The excellent Dutch website GymPOWER posted the longest interview EVER.

GymPOWER: … the women of China have made big mistakes on Bars and Beam, They have lost some important points, luck is for the USA or the pressure by the Chinese women too high?

Shannon: The Chinese have a history of making major mistakes When They Are within-range or clenching the gold. They Were Able to Overcome That history at the 2008 Olympics but it Seems to have returned. That a Deduction With the heavy fall bring it is more important Than to ever be playable to hit your routines. While a high StartValue certainly helps, in the end, whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins!

GymPOWER: Mustafina was the star of the Russian team, Also the number one by the next round?

Shannon: She’s got my vote. In what an incredible talent. Mustafina reminds me a lot of myself (although i believe she is much more talented). She does not take anything for granted and is very focused on her goals. What a beautiful gymnast and exquisite in her performance. She is certainly making a name for herself with the judges and audience alike. I Could See Her defeintly Taking the AA title.

read more via Google Translate – Shannon Miller’s vision on the Worlds in Rotterdam

Disclaimer. I love Shannon Miller, one of the greatest gymnasts ever. We should listen to this legend even though she’s been a bit distracted of late with baby Rocco.
🙂

(via Full Twist)

Check this one out.

home page

An older and wiser, healthy Paul Hamm is the closest rival to World Champion Kohei Uchimura, in my opinion. They share a freakish ability to train full routines on all 6 apparatus and make it look effortless.

Now that Paul has relocated to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, what’s the plan?

… “I’m trying to find a way to beat them,” he said of the Chinese and Japanese gymnasts now atop the world’s gymnastics rankings. “That’s what I’m trying to do right now — develop routines that are consistent and world-class that will allow me to be at the top.” …

That’s from a great interview posted by USAG – Paul Hamm returns to the gym

Paul would be almost 30yrs-old in London. But I actually think that could help his all-around. He could be stronger on Rings, his weak apparatus.

The bigger question is … “Why does any Olympic Champion not retire at the top?” … It seems crazy to risk losing your title. It’s easy to be knocked off the top of the podium.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js

I admire Paul for this serious comeback.

related – Why Kyle Shewfelt came back after 2004

UPDATE. The English version of the clinic now linked. Thanks Wordsmith.

The world’s second most successful coach of all time, Dieter Hoffmann, did a clinic in conjunction with World Championships in Rotterdam. (Now that Belu is back, he can try to catch up with Hoffmann in terms of medal count at Worlds and Olympics.)

Part of a promotion of Janssen & Fritsen equipment.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Hofmann spoke on possible improvements to apparatus including this one.

… one end of the balance beam could be broadened, to allow gymnasts to jump off more naturally …

He also wants to change the rails on P Bars and Assymetric Bars so that so much time isn’t required to get them ready. Great idea, if possible.

I saw this skill at Worlds … Kip to V-Cross … but did not catch the name of the gymnast.

It was Fede Molinari from Argentina. Sounds like they’ve submitted it to FIG for consideration. Update: One commenter reports that Sejima Ryuzo competed this last year at Japan Juniors. You need to do it at Worlds or Olympics for FIG “naming” consideration, though.

Check an interview in Spanish on gimnasialatina.com

high resolution version available via Gymnastics Training Tips