Author: Rick Mc

The preliminaries are half finished. Qualifying, so far, to the 6 Team Final competition are:

Oklahoma 357.500
Penn State 357.300
Michigan 354.300

Eliminated: Ohio, Nebraska, William and Mary.

Ohio looks great. Yet — like last year — they didn’t get to the Final.

Nebraska has a big team, rebuilding.

Perhaps the biggest story of the first session of two was Casey Sandy. As expected, he HIT 6 for 6, scoring 90.15. (His #1 qualifying score coming in was 91.08.) Personally, however, I found Casey’s routines “cautious” tonight. He was so careful, I thought it detracted.

Last year Casey only competed in four events because of an ankle injury. But he’s the man to beat so far in 2008.

Jonathan Horton, #4 at World’s 2007, did not compete all-around, after all. His rep is to hit big. And to miss big. That he did tonight. Horton has the top score on Rings and Parallel Bars, so far. But he rolled out of his Handspring double front vault. Fell twice on Horizontal Bar.

Like last year, the NCAA routines on Floor and Vault were strong. Horizontal Bar conspicuously weak.

official website

I already posted on the ESPN report on sexual abuse in gymnastics.

Now Good Morning America did a follow-up. Every coach needs see this video:

Accused Sex Offenders as Coaches

An undercover investigation reveals that background checks often aren’t enough.

ABC News video
(Does not play in every browser.)

Jonathan Horton? David Sender? Wes Haagensen? Sho Nakamori?

I should be calling fellow Canuck, Casey Sandy, ranked #1 coming in. He was a machine last year at Championships, leading Penn State to the title.

But I really don’t know. The all-around is truly low priority compared with TEAM.

Great interview on Inside Gymnastics:

A week away from the end of their college career, Oklahoma seniors Jonathan Horton and Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons sat down together for a no holds barred talk with Inside Gymnastics. So in sync they frequently finished each other’s thoughts, these NCAA champs and U.S. National Team vets opened up about their friendship, their careers and what the future holds for each …

INSIDE GYMNASTICS: No school has ever had two NCAA all-around champs returning on the same squad. What does that do for this team and you personally? Is there more pressure to perform?

JONATHAN HORTON: I don’t feel any pressure towards all-around at all. All-around is a cool thing to be a part of, to say, ‘I’m the national champ.’ But, honestly, we’re so focused on the team that I could go to [NCAAs] and get last place in the all-around, but if my scores helped the team and we win, I’d be happy.

TAQIY ABDULLAH-SIMMONS: I’m not even doing the all-around, so winning the all-around is not even in my mind, and it never has been. Just like Jon, I want my scores to do as much for the team as possible. In years past, if I so happened to do well in the all-around because I did well for the team, so be it, but the thought of winning [the all-around] never entered my mind.

JONATHAN HORTON: I think, and I’ve always thought, that we’ve got the most talented guys in the country right here. I think this is the most talented team I’ve been a part of in my four years of college. … Sure, I’d [like to] win the all-around, but more importantly, let’s get our team back on top. …

read the rest of this article – Inside Gymnastics

And also Part 2 of the same article called ROUNDTABLE.

Related: Horton wins Nissen award – Senior co-captain awarded collegiate gymnastics’ highest honor. – CSTV

The preliminary competition starts today. I’ll be posting live from Stanford.

QUALIFYING SCORE

Stanford 358.930
Oklahoma 358.740
Penn State 358.280
California 356.170
Illinois 355.810
Michigan 353.470
Ohio State 350.790
Minnesota 348.590
Iowa 344.150
Nebraska 342.430
William & Mary 342.150
Temple 340.880

Of many new Cirque shows in creation, people I talk to are most excited about the Criss Angel project.

It will be called …

official website – tickets and a contest to meet Criss already available for the show opening Sept. 1, 2008.

Please be advised: This dramatic production is not for the faint of heart.

Minimum age-12.

I can hardly wait.

Criss explains the name of his new production show with Cirque du Soleil at Luxor in Las Vegas on YouTube.

If you are so old and so uncool that you don’t know who Criss Angel is … Well, you’ll probably prefer Cirque’s new Elvis Presley project. Also in creation for Vegas.

Cirque is the world’s largest employer of gymnasts and acrobats with about 1000 artists on stage in 2008. And they are hiring for many new shows. Click the link top right on any page for more information on jobs.

Dwight Normile on International Gymnast posted on a troubling TV show: ESPN E:60 Roundtable: Violated:

… Male coach touches young girl in wrong places. Girl comes forth, coach goes to prison. Another coach does same, gets hired at another gym while awaiting trial for felonies. …

ESPN Takes Swing at Gymnastics – IG

I haven’t seen it, as yet. But here’s a 40sec teaser video clip:

http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/player.swf?mediaId=3346903

Leave a comment if you’ve seen the entire show and have an opinion.

I’ll say again, as I have before, I feel there are no better protected little girls in my city than competitive gymnasts. That kids are at less risk of abuse at gym than most anywhere else they go.

Mez had much to say after watching the show: Australian Gymnastics Blog

Gymnast Ivana Hong poses for a portrait during the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Media Summitt at the Palmer House Hilton on April 14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.

… Getty has posted a photo shoot of all the gymnasts who are the main front runners for Beijing.

(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

see the rest of the beautiful pics – Live.Breath.Love.Gymnastics

(… How did Durante crash that party?)

And did you read the NY Times interview with Ivan Hong’s mother?

Olympic Hopes Are Rooted in Tale of Escape

Fantastic. Born in Vietnam, Ivana’s Mom was one of the boat people who fled the war torn country after the fall of Saigon.

(via Gymblog)

On the site and forum supporting the (failed) bid to have the last wild card spot for the Olympics awarded to Pegan from Slovania.

Related posts:

So projects a very detailed analysis of the all-around contenders on a new blog called polish101 – gymnastics:

Some of the rationale:

There’s much, much more. Including projections on which girls (two maximum / country) will be pushed by their nations in the all-around:

Steliana Nistor (Romania)
Jade Barbosa (Brazil)
Jiang Yuyaun (China)
Yang Yilin (China)
Sandra Izbasa (Romania)
Daria Joura (Australia)

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Elizabeth Tweddle (GBR)
Anna Pavlova (Russia)
Yulia Lozechko (Russia)
Hong Su Jong (North Korea)

DEFINITELY check out this excellent post: polish101 – gymnastics

image from Go Nastia Liukin (fan site)

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Blythe on the Gymblog feels that Nastia’s weak apparatus is actually Floor.

Awesome. But not as awesome as He Kexin in either execution or composition.

Sadly she was injured colliding with another gymnast during bars warm-up at the Cottbus World Cup and did not compete bars. But here’s an older routine from preliminaries at World Championships 2007.

Click PLAY or watch Yilin Yang on YouTube.

Compare that with her near identical Bronze medal Finals bar routine on (YouTube).

I don’t like the hand shifts. Or very small form breaks.

However, I understand she’s upped her A-score considerably.

The toughest competition on Bars at the Olympics may be which two of the Chinese team qualify for Finals. If everyone HITS in finals … expect the medals to go CHN / CHN / Nastia Liukin 1-2-3.

I’m already on the record as predicting He Kexin will win Gold.

Some quality photos from the 2008 Inter-school Gymnastic Competition in Hong Kong.

original – flickr

original – flickr

I was very surprised to see kids running on hard wood and vaulting over a Swedish box horse.

original – flickr

It must be 25yrs since I last saw a horse like that in competition of any level.

See the rest of this photo set by sebastian on flickr.

That photo reminds me of the old balance bench which was used in school competition decades ago.

You can still buy one.