Category: safety

Russians can compete Paris Olympics

After dragging their feet for as long as possible, the IOC made it official.

Still, it’s unlikely any in Gymnastics sports will be able to qualify. Valentina Rodionenko said the coaches of the National Team had decided they didn’t want to try for Paris under these restrictions.

“The executive board of the IOC has decided that individual neutral athletes (AINs) who have qualified through the existing qualification systems of the International Federations on the field of play will be declared eligible to compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 in accordance with the conditions outlined,” the Olympic body said on Friday. …

… six “strict eligibility conditions” for AINs at Paris 2024 reflecting the same conditions under which they have qualified.

It said among the 4,600 athletes who have so far qualified for the Games, only 11 were AINs – eight with a Russian passport, three with a Belarusian passport.

BBC – Paris 2024 Olympics: Russian and Belarusian athletes allowed to compete as neutrals

The conditions for their participation are as follows:

  • Qualified athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will be entered as, and compete as AINs.
  • Teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered.
  • Athletes and support personnel who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or to compete.
  • Athletes and support personnel contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be eligible to be entered or to compete.
  • Any AIN, like all other participating athletes, must meet all anti-doping requirements.
  • The sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian states and governments remain in place, including: No flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications of Russia or Belarus will be displayed in any official venue or function at Paris 2024, and no Russian or Belarusian government or state officials will be invited or accredited.
Photo by Sima Ghaffarzadeh on Pexels.com

Dictator Putin invaded Ukraine

With no end in sight after more than 21 months of war, the number of people killed in the hundreds of thousands, intelligence estimates suggest.

It’s a mistake to allow any Russian athletes to compete Paris, in my opinion.

Gymnastics banned lists are incomplete

It makes no sense for the Gymnastics Canada Suspended/Expelled Members list to include people who are in prison alongside some who are under investigation — who might yet be found innocent.

At minimum, there should be two lists.

Next, there should be more detail attached to why the guilty individuals were suspended / expelled.

Here’s a news report from the U.K. on this issue.

European Gymnastics bans RUS 2024

The General Assembly of European Gymnastics has voted against allowing athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to return to official European Gymnastics competitions from 1 January 2024 onwards, thus not following the FIG decision.


This begs the question whether it’s feasible for RUS athletes to compete in Europe at FIG World Cup qualifying meets.

toilet access for gymnasts

As much as possible, gymnasts should be able to go to the toilet at any time during training.

Common sense.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. This is the new policy of British Gymnastics.

coaches should not require weigh-ins

The last time I saw a scale in a Gym was 2003. I asked that it be removed.

Unless there is some specific reason — scientific research in training, for example — there’s no need for weigh-ins at training. And there are some risks, as we’ve seen in the past.

I prefer gymnasts weigh in at home in private. Or under instructions from medical staff.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. This is the new policy of British Gymnastics.

The Teenage Brain

Recommended for coaches is a 2016 book looking at the latest research in brain development.

The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults – by Frances E Jensen & Amy Ellis Nutt 

For those of us who have forgotten 😀, teenagers are capable of incredibly bad decisions.

There’s a reason for that.

The teenage brain is not yet fully developed.

Click PLAY or watch an interview with one of the authors on YouTube.

WaPo investigation into NCAA abuse

For many, many gymnasts the opportunity for a College scholarship to gain their education is a fantastic experience. Indeed, the vast majority of gymnasts I’ve spoken with are happy with their decision to compete after Club.

BUT it doesn’t work for all. I’m particularly concerned about risk of serious injury competing so many times each season in NCAA.

Recently, Molly Hensley-Clancy and Emily Giambalvo did a deep dive into female college gymnasts complaints for the Washington Post:

Beneath NCAA gymnastics’ glow, a familiar ‘toxic’ culture

Female gymnasts say college was supposed to offer a reprieve from intense club programs. Then they arrived on campus and found more of the same.

I believe that story is not behind the paywall.

Schools identified in the article:

  • University of North Carolina
  • LSU
  • Utah
  • Penn State
  • Clemson
  • Utah State

Eating disorders are common for many young women, especially college athletes. But studies consistently find female gymnasts are at a staggeringly high risk, with a 2004 study finding 42 percent of gymnasts and other elite “aesthetic sport” athletes, such as figure skaters, had disordered eating habits, compared with 16 percent in sports like soccer or basketball.

Certainly I believe the complainants.

I also believe that many of their teammates had positive experiences with the same coaches. Both can be simultaneously true.

Are things getting better in the NCAA?

Bryony Page – Paris Olympics

Page was roared to victory … in front of a home crowd in Birmingham as she repeated her 2021 title and is now eyeing a gold medal at next year’s Paris Olympics.

The 32-year-old has been bouncing on trampolines most of her life and she makes soaring 10 metres into the air to complete complex moves look as natural as walking.

But it has not always been so.

The Sheffield-based athlete’s trampoline career almost fizzled out in her teenaged years as she suffered “lost move syndrome” and became frightened to try a basic front somersault. …

“It doesn’t happen very often but when it does it’s really scary. Everything started to spiral down. Instead of being just scared of that one skill I then got scared of another skill.

Page, who likens the syndrome to the “twisties” experienced by American gymnast Simone Biles, became depressed and could have walked away but eventually she overcame her demons. …

read more on Reuters

Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.

Samantha Peszek – fear on Beam

Sam Peszek was the 2011 and 2015 NCAA balance beam champion. A legend on the apparatus.

After retirement in 2017, she launched Beam Queen Bootcamp.

Despite her successful gymnastics career, she struggled with fears on beam majority of her career.

We had the opportunity to get insight into how she dealt with fear and ultimately overcame it.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Olympism365 – Sustainable Development

The goals of the IOC are commendable.

Just one of those is sustainable development.

Note Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.