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A review by Tony Retrosi:

Another training camp is in the books! Every year I pick a motto for camp.

This year was: ‘WE MAKE CORRECTIONS NOT EXCUSES”

…

BEAM
1. BLACK Ellie – CAN 15.050
2. SKAGGS Megan – USA 14.050
3. WOO Victoria – CAN 13.650

Lauren Hopkins – Beam & Floor commentary

VAULT
1. LARDUET Manrique – CUB 15.125
2. WHITTENBURG Donnell – USA 14.962
3. SOUZA Caio – BRA 14.925

There’s no limit to Manrique’s potential on this apparatus. He can twist like Kenzo. And has tons of power.

FLOOR
1. BLACK Ellie – CAN 14.400
2. HUNDLEY Amelia – USA 14.200
3. GOMEZ PORRAS Ana – GUA 14.150

I really like Desch who finished 4th.

P BARS
1. CALVO Jossimar Calvo – COL 15.700
2. LARDUET Manrique – CUB 15.650
3. Mikulak Sam – USA 15.450

Fantastic final. I wouldn’t have had Calvo 1st on P Bars, however.

H BAR
1. CALVO Jossimar – COL 15.700
2. LYTWYN Kevin – CAN 15.475
3. RUGGERI Paul – USA 15.450

Once again, FIG rules reward a Handspring Double Front vault where the competitor’s feet only barely touched the mat before her butt. 😦

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Yamilet is a great athlete. An excellent vaulter. It’s hard to blame her coach for taking advantage of this loophole in the rules.

Nellie Kim was in Toronto. Again handing a medal to an athlete who fell badly in the Final. She and her WTC committee must disagree with the majority of coaching experts who feel this ranking is unfair. This is the second Code under her watch where this marginal performance has been over rewarded. 😦

Lauren Hopkins:

Here’s the problem with vault…the entire difficulty comes from one single skill. Who cares if you chuck it and fall? You can still get a medal at many competitions above gymnasts who all hit.

But throw a skill you can’t do on bars or beam or floor and the risk doesn’t outweigh the cost. For an E-rated skill, you’re only getting 0.5 for your difficulty on that single element, 0.6 for F, 0.7 for G, and so on so a point for a fall actually matters there because none of these elements are worth over a point. But for vault, what’s the big deal about a full point off when your entire skill is worth 7 points?!

Gymternet – Pan Am Games Vault and Bars Finals

This is a case where the FIG Executive and/or Medical Commission should schedule a meeting with WTC.

It’s this apparatus that really puts these two guys in the top rank of AA gymnasts in the world.

Click PLAY or watch Manrique on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Donnell on YouTube.

Manrique was born 1996. Donnell was born 1994. Both young. Both are going to get much, much stronger. 🙂

Zanetti was born 1990.

Pommel was the best final on day 1, I thought. Compare the Gold medalists.

Click PLAY or watch Marvin on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Jossimar on YouTube.

Daniel Corral missed. (VIDEO)

Unlike the women, USA needed to send an A team to be sure to win Pan Ams this year. There is plenty of serious competition in the Americas. World and Olympic medalists.

Esteban Rodriguez-Vazquez posted a wrap-up summary:

In the team event the U.S. men had the highest scores on floor, pommel horse, and high bar which helped them clench 🙂 clinch the gold with a 3.700 point margin over the silver winning Brazilian team.

With a 5-compete, 4-up, 3-count format team USA did not have to count any falls towards their team score thanks to a solid showing from the group. …

USA Men Take Team and AA Gold at Pan Am Games

Finished his degree at University of Illinois, coach Justin Spring is happy to see CJ move to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for focused training towards Team USA and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

OTC is perfect for the USA. If National Team members want to train at their home gyms or at University, no problem. If they want a dedicated training lifestyle, they have as good a set-up as any National Training Centre in the World.

Right now OTC is packed with high level gymnasts.

Excellent edit. Will Sutton: Homefree

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Elizabeth.

🙂

https://instagram.com/p/5I0RiamQk5/

A few weeks ago I was at Buckeye, the club that developed Nia into one of the best gymnasts in the USA. She looked very happy to me. And was training well with Gabby and the rest of the elite group.

But after not being selected for the American Pan Am team, Nia’s moved to Anna Li’s parent’s gym.

Program: Women’s Artistic
Level: Senior
Current Residence: Westerville, OH
Club: Legacy Elite Gymnastics LLC
Head Coach: Jiani Wu

USAG

(via Chatty Gymnast)