Author: Rick Mc

I had a few good words to say yesterday about NBC.

Let’s see how their embedded video works on this blog. …

NOPE. No embedding allowed.

At least I can watch their excellent content on NBCsports.com …

(some play, some don’t)

Try it from your “region” — NBCsports Gymnastics – click VIDEO

Right. NBC wants me to go back to YouTube.

Will do.

The only thing worse than a dinosaur corporation that doesn’t “get” the internet, is a dinosaur corporation that “half gets” the internet. They tease us into thinking their site will be useful.

Slovenia is hosting 2 World Cup meets in April: Rhythmic and Artistic.

One of the prettier landing pages I’ve seen for a competition.

Check it out – home page

Of course that’s the home of Aljaz Pegan, the horizontal bar legend who’s friends have lobbied hard to gain for him a Beijing Olympics Wildcard spot.

They will not be happy there tonight as Pegan was not chosen.

I know nothing at all about the AmeriKids program in the USA nor Mike Stanner, National Chairman.

The website states:

AmeriKids now has registered 21,700+ athletes and over 90 clubs from 25 different states.

AmeriKids.com

Looks like one of the major reasons to join is a savings on insurance cost.

The organization hosts their own National Gymnastics Championship on June 13-15, 2008 at VETs auditorium in Des Moines Iowa.

Leave a comment if you have experience with the program. More choices for participants is a good thing, so long as the alternative is safe and well managed.

The Hard Gainer Helper site has a catchy animation. It’s worth clicking through.

No endorsement of their products implied.

As reported by International Gymnast:

The final remaining berths for the 2008 Olympic Games have been awarded to a female from Vietnam and a male from Yemen.

Vietnam’s Thuong Di Thi Ngan and Yemen’s Nashwan Al-Hazari are the reported recipients of the Wild Card berths selected by a tripartite commission.

The commission consists of the International Olympic Committee, the International Gymnastics Federation and the Association of National Olympic Committees. Geographic representation at the Olympics is one of the factors for designating Wild Card berths.

Thuong, 19, finished 110th at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart. She competed three events at the 2007 World Cup in Ghent, Belgium.

Al-Harazi competed five events at the 2007 Worlds, finishing 176th in preliminaries. …

IG

Congratulations to both. Certainly this will be a big boost for gymnastics in their nations and regions.

There are some disappointed athletes today including Aljaz Pegan (Slovenia) and Elsa Garcia (Mexico).

Yuri van Gelder (Netherlands) and Krisztian Berki (Hungary) are two other superstars who will be missed in Beijing.

larger photo of Krisztian Berki – BERKI2.JPG – Gymnastics Australia

As a coach I always told my athletes not to let some committee decide whether or not they would be selected. An “appeal” is always a gamble. The goal must be to qualify automatically.

Regardless of the “wildcard” system used by FIG, someone deserving will be excluded. In 2004 the best athlete excluded was Leszek Blanik (Poland), 2000 Olympic Bronze medallist on Vault. Leszek did qualify for 2008.

Should “wildcard” spots be eliminated?

Should the selection system be revamped?

I don’t know. Leave a comment if you have an opinion.

Dwight Normile of International Gymnast magazine has a great way with words. Read that title quote and more in this interview:

Georgia junior Courtney Kupets has been through a lot recently, beginning with a torn right Achilles’ tendon March 1 during a home meet against Arkansas. Two days later, at the Athens Orthopedic Surgical Center, Dr. Dan Moye reattached the tendon on the second Kupets sister in as many years. Though the injury finished gymnastics for Ashley Kupets, who was a Georgia senior in 2007, her sister Courtney feels fortunate that she still has another year to compete.

…

Kupets, the 2002 world champion on uneven bars, had been through this before. She ruptured her other Achilles’ tendon on the same trick during training at the 2003 World Championships in Anaheim, Calif. She made it back in time to win the 2004 U.S. Championships, Olympic Trials and two medals at the 2004 Olympics (team silver, uneven bars bronze).

Now she’s got her sights set on 2009. “That’s what’s keeping me motivated,” she says.

Though she will miss the chance for her third consecutive NCAA titles in the all-around and with her team, Kupets says she would like take on a “new role” as a team leader this April in Athens. That’s when the Gym Dogs will shoot for their fourth NCAA title in a row. Should they succeed, their total will climb to nine and match the record set by Utah. …

Kupets Ready to Rebuild – IG

larger original – flickr – Staff photo by Lauren Carroll. ATHENS Ga. 1/14/06

related posts:

In gymnastics coaching courses, when talking about the principle of progressive resistance in strength training, we often refer to the legend of Milon of Croton.

Milon of Croton (late 6th century BC) was the most famous of Greek athletes in Antiquity.

He was a six time Olympic victor; once for Boys Wrestling in 540 BC at the 60th Olympics, and five time wrestling champion at the 62nd through 66th Olympiads. Milo kept on competing, even well after what would have been considered a normal Olympic Athlete’s prime: by the 67th Olympiad, he would have been over 40 years of age. …

He was most likely a historical person, as he is mentioned by many classical authors, among them Aristotle, Pausanias, Cicero, Herodotus, Vitruvius, and the author of the Suda, but there are many legendary stories surrounding him. …

Ancient sources report he would show off his strength by holding his arm out, with fingers outstretched, and no man could even bend his little finger. … Another legend has it that he would train in the off years by carrying a newborn calf on his back every day until the Olympics took place. By the time the events were to take place, he was carrying a four year old cow on his back. …

Wikipedia

It’s a great visual. The “load” gets heavier every day.

Moscophores, young man carrying sacraficial calf, Acropolis Museum – PBase

Here’s how Australian gymnastics superstar Daria Joura tells it:

To get stronger and fitter, a boy once hauled a bull calf onto his back and proceeded to carry the calf up a steep hill. Everyday, the boy returned to the hill with his calf and repeated the process. After some time, the boy was the most desired bachelor in his village – all the girls were impressed by his magnificent strength. He could carry the largest bull in the vicinity on his back. The bull that started as a wee calf needing no more effort to carry than on day one, due to his persistence.

read the rest of Daria’s blog post – Perth Now

Her version appeals more to the teenage female athlete. I think Dasha’s is already one of my favourite athlete blogs, along with Kyle Shewfelt.

She’s soon to compete in the Friendship Classic in Pennsylvania, the start of a 3wk trip to the USA. Good luck!

With their kids:

Victoria Beckham had her hands full yesterday afternoon, taking her three sons to gymnastics class in Sherman Oaks, California.

Celebrity Gossip

Actually, that’s the Calgary Gymnastics Centre Rec gym in Canada. They didn’t let the paparazzi into the Sherman Oaks gym.

USA Gymnastics – Pacific Alliance 2008 presented by Gillette Venus, March 28-30, in San Jose, California. Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline. This will be a great show. Tickets start at only $15 / session.

Names of the participating gymnasts are being announced by each country. The American Men: Paul Hamm, Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar. Women not yet named.

Partial list of competitors – Olympic, world medalists highlight field for Pacific Rim Championships – USA Gymnastics

(via Gym Chat)

NBC Sports will televise on April 13 at 4:30 p.m. ET so the best routines will soon after be uploaded to YouTube. Someday TV will steam our meets much more quickly and allow fans worldwide to pay them money for the service. Until that time, networks should expect us to watch for free on YouTube.

This is an Olympic preview. People would gladly pay money to see it. Hey NBC, why not put it on HULU.com so at least Americans could see it sooner? Two weeks after the competition? Do people want to watch the Superbowl two weeks later?

On the bright side, depending on where you live, you may get to enjoy NBC Olympic coverage with Tim and Elfi much more quickly in Beijing.

NBC Sports will produce a daily two-hour gymnastics program to air on cable network Oxygen from 6-8 p.m. ET, each weeknight of the Games. …

Inside Gymnastics

I grudgingly admit that NBC is doing a few things right trying to reinvent itself as relevant media in 2008. We are lucky they have the Olympics, and not other American networks.

For example, NBC Sports has a dedicated Gymnastics page. But they weren’t savvy enough to give it an RSS feed.

Lets get this Aussie climber into the gym …

Warren Macdonald became trapped beneath a one tonne slab of rock while climbing Queensland’s Hinchinbrook Island. Two days later he was rescued only to have both legs were amputated. Ten months later he climbed Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain using a modified wheelchair and the seat of his pants. In 1999 he reached the summit of Federation Peak on an epic 4 week journey using a pair of prosthetic legs. …

Warren inspires audiences to believe in themselves, demonstrating through action that “nothing is impossible if we dare to face our fears and believe in ourselves.” That achieving success requires taking positive steps forward, and that each step we take, no matter how small, moves us closer to our goals. His presentation reinforces the importance of recognizing change as an opportunity to transform our lives and turn negatives into positives. …

Saxson Speakers Bureau via Best Hike

If he can climb Kilimanjaro with no legs, Warren can do some serious strength parts on rings.