tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
Prashanth Sellathurai from Austalia won Pommels. (16.075)
I mention him specifically because I’m still irked that he did not qualify for the Beijing Olympics. And because he is such a nice guy.
more Men’s results
Here’s the World Cup schedule for 2008. The meet in China will be the most interesting, I reckon.
When will more World Cup events come to North America, do you think?
(Thanks IG)
I prefer Nastia’s routine. It’s so rich in variety of skills. But see who you think won between these two recent routines:
Click PLAY or watch Nastia at American Cup on YouTube. Score 16.60 / A Score 7.5.
Click PLAY or watch He Kexin at the Doha World Cup in Finals on YouTube. Score 16.55.
(via difficulty plus execution)
OK, the Chinese girl “hit” and Nastia “missed”.
Still, I would have to predict He Kexin finishing higher in Beijing because her execution is so much cleaner.
PS
The best review of Tyson American Cup I’ve seen is the one posted by Shannon Miller.
“There’s always a Gretzky out there,” Brian McVey figures. “You just have to find her.”
A nice article by columnist Scott Russell on CBC Sports Weekend looks at the search for talented youngsters.
It features retiring Canadian coaches Brian McVey and Carol-Angela Orchard from Sport Seneca in Toronto.
Carol-Angela Orchard has been coaching Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, now 18, since she was 10 years old.
Nadia’s Legacy – Coaches in Search of Perfection
People have been asking, “Why doesn’t Carol-Angela apply for the job of Canadian National Coach?”
Good question.
Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, rare events like this one are captured:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The gymnast hurt her foot during this accident and did not finish the meet. But has no major injury, according to comments on the video.
Several years ago at Altadore Gymnastics we added a second floor plate on each chain. That way — we hope — if one floor plate pulls out of the ground, the second floor plate will catch the chain and prevent the bars from falling completely.
(via About.com Gymnastics – Equipment Malfunction at Dutch Competition)
Related posts:
A DAREDEVIL ex-SAS soldier is to attempt a record-breaking skydive — from 120,000ft.
Movie stuntman Steve Truglia, 40, will jump from a hot air balloon 24 miles up on the edge of space. …
He will freefall for seven minutes before opening his parachute, and could break the 770mph sound barrier as he hurtles towards the ground. No human has ever travelled at such a speed outside an aircraft — and Steve has no idea how his body will react.
He will need a pressurised space suit in temperatures of -100°C and risks going into an 800 revolutions per second spin.
But Steve, of East London, said: “It’s the last great challenge left on Earth. Obviously it will be dangerous. We’re playing with a lot of unknowns. But it’s my job to assess risk and I don’t believe the problems are insurmountable.â€
Steve is a veteran of 1,200 jumps with 21 SAS Regiment and the Royal Marines. He has since co-ordinated stunts in Bond films.
Space Jump – official website
(via Uncooped)
In Canada we think our Olympians have it rough. Others have it far tougher:
Shin Soo-ji won the top place in the competition to select the rhythmic gymnasts to represent South Korea in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, held at Korea National Sport University on Feb. 3. In the 28th Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in September last year, Shin placed herself on the 17th rank and succeeded in getting the ticket to the Olympics which is given only to top 20 gymnasts.
For South Korea, this is the first time in 16 years since the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games that it has won the ticket to Olympics in rhythmic gymnastics. Shin Soo-ji is the only Asian gymnast to compete in the Beijing Olympics.
… Last year she spent about 200 days abroad to take part in 12 competitions and trainings.
For the moment the biggest enemy for the young gymnast is money. Training in Russia costs 300,000 won per day, and she had been handling it personally. Recently her parents closed their installment savings.
All her suits she wears in competitions are second-hand items. Unable to afford the suits priced above 2 million won per set, she bought ones previously worn by Russian gymnasts.
A small amount of rice, fruits and six nutrition pills per meal are all she eats a day. In the prime of growth, she is tempted by delicious food, but the sad reality says she shouldn’t eat them. When I have something I want to eat, I comfort myself looking at the pictures of food on the Internet, she said. …
I’m excited to see events hosted in Arabic countries. Sport is one of the best ways to break down barriers.
And who wouldn’t want to compete here:
Yet there are very few female gymnasts coming:
The event will see participation of 109 male and 29 female gymnasts from 38 countries. …
Croatia’s Robert Seligman, France’s Yann Cucherat in parallel bars, Greece’s Dimosthenis Tampakos, a Olympic gold medalist, Italy’s Igor Cassina, Japan’s Hiroyuki Tomita, Netherlands’ Lambertus Van Gelder in ring, Germany’s Oksana Chusovitina and Tunisia’s Wajdi Bouallegue are some of the top gymnasts who will be seen in action during this three-day event. …
March 4-6th – Artistic Gymnastics World Cup – official website
Only 29 female competitors?
I have a theory that the current code of points may eventually fail for an unexpected reason. That too few of the member nations of FIG will be able to field athletes.
Even the top 12 nations qualified for the Team Olympics are having problems putting together a competitive team for Beijing.
How long can it be before disgruntled nations force rules change to allow them to be more competitive on the world stage? FIG elections are one nation, one vote.
Sadly, Santa Monica Gymnastics Center in California is closing.
Taking down the gym must be like doing an autopsy.
Not sure exactly what’s happening in this photo:
original – flickr – Wordsmith from Nantucket
more photos – SMGC Deconstruction
Mexico hosted some sort of gymnastics gala. It included top gymnasts in the world including Ivan Ivankov and Alina Kozich.
Elsa Garcia, of Mexico, performs on the uneven bars during the Gala Gimnastica gymnastics event in Mexico City, Sunday, March 2, 2008.
(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Nastia Liukin competes during the uneven parallel bars event of the American Cup gymnastics competition Saturday, March 1, 2008, in New York.
more gymnastics pics – ESPN photo wire
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