tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
And Kohei, age-32, for the plus one pick.
In the complicated and very competitive Japanese selection procedure, Kohei tied with Yonekura Hidenobu, the Vault specialist.
Kohei got the tie-breaker for his higher world ranking.
Simone and Kohei Uchimura will be the biggest NAMES in Gymnastics at the Olympics.
Fan favourite Rebeca Andrade (56.700) has qualified another spot for Brazil in Tokyo. It’s certain she’ll be chosen to join Flavia.
Rebeca has had to come back from SO MANY injuries. I hope she feels it’s all been worth it.
Luciana Alvarado (50.833) will represent Costa Rica at the Olympics. I’m certain she’ll get the spot, as well. Congratulations.
I do feel badly for Canadian gymnasts who might have won an extra Olympic spot. Canada opted not to attend due to Covid.
Click PLAY or watch Rebeca’s 4 routines on YouTube.
I’m one of those who feel we should resist calling out mainstream media when they make mistakes.
Bite your tongue for a few months. Let’s take advantage of increased attention.
After Tokyo, popular media will go back to mostly ignoring Gymnastics.
Natalia Yurchenko:
“This vault is in the code of points under my own name.
Indeed, I was the first gymnast to do this vault during an official competition. It was in Moscow during the Competition in 1982. …
Few people know that the first gymnast who performed this vault was a male gymnast!
It was invented by Russian gymnast Victor Levinkov during a national competition in Former USSR.
But this vault was not well accepted in the male Russian gymnastics. So my trainer has decided that I should do it and I began to learn it.
First I thought that my coach has gone crazy and wanted me to break my neck. …
NataliaYurchenko.com
Click PLAY or watch Natalia in 1982 on YouTube.
Someone named Simone did well yesterday …
But it was 32-year-old mother of two, Chellsie Memmel, getting the loudest ovations.
Watch her reaction on bringing back the DTY.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch Brody’s Vault on Twitter.
Mikulak + Diab are the only two, so far, who have qualified for National Team and Olympic Trials.
I was lucky enough to see Natalia Yurchenko compete in person. She instantly became one of my favourite gymnasts.
Natalia was the first woman to compete her eponymous vault, at 1982 Moscow News.
The element was controversial at first, Yurchenko explained. Another parallel to Biles’ daring innovations.
“There were a lot of debates to allow it or not to allow it,” Yurchenko recalls. “I performed it in America, and the American judges, some of them, were really against it because it seemed way too dangerous …
A boycott of the 1984 Games in Los Angeles meant Yurchenko never got the chance to compete her element at the Olympics.
Natalia Yurchenko on Simone Biles’ feat: “I was dreaming about seeing it”
Exactly nobody ever claimed the Women’s Code was logical.
They can’t even find consistent spellings of named skills.
6.6 is the provisional value.
Spencer:
… It’s low for me.
I’ve mentally had this at 6.8 since we heard about it, and I still agree with me. But honestly it’s not as low as I thought they were going to go, and not as egregious a case of undervaluing as the beam dismount from 2019.
The problem with Simone’s double double beam dismount in 2019 being given an H value is that it did not adhere to any kind of recognizable precedent or logic established by previous values of other beam dismounts.
On beam, a double tuck dismount is a D.
Adding a full twist to that bumps it up three tenths to a G.
And then adding another full twist bumps it up…1 tenth? To an H?
Any logical progression falls apart pretty quickly, and the FIG’s post hoc explanation of the value as an effort to preserve the safety of gymnasts was fully laughable coming from an organization that, for example, doesn’t allow a touch warmup for event finals …
Balance Beam Situation
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.
Making HISTORY … again.
Amazing.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
It’s this kind of thing that keeps the greatest of all time motivated.
Nancy Armour – Simone Biles maintains gold standard despite 19-month layoff between competitions
Gymnastics Coaching.com 