The Couch Gymnast magazine posted an exclusive with Dutch National Champion Marlies Rijken. She’s in the media spotlight as her nation will be hosting World Championships in October.
What does a normal day involve for you?
My day begins at 6:30, I wake up eat something and make myself ready for the first training which begins at 7:30. The training takes two and a half hour, ending at 10. Then I make myself ready for school. The other children in my class on school have already begun. Mostly I follow my lessons from 10:30 and school normally finishes at 15:00. The second training begins at 15:30 till 19:00.
Congratulations on your success at Nationals. Did you expect to do so well?
Thank you very much! I actually didn’t think I would be first on beam and floor… My friend Mayra Kroonen is really good so I thought she was going to win, and actually on beam it really happened because we tied for first!
Gymnastics Examiner posted an exceptional interview with Jay, the man who missed qualifying for two Olympics. Yet has become one of the biggest success stories in the USA with his website American Gymnast.
Examiner.com: Can you tell me a little about your childhood in gymnastics?
Jay Thornton: “I was very fortunate to have several a wonderful coaches from the beginning. I was a pretty good twister. I was a little bit bigger as a kid and I had that going against me. I’m about 5’10” and competed at about 170 pounds. I was a bit bigger as a kid and wasn’t the most physically gifted, but my first coach, Tim Erwin, started preparing me with sound gymnastics technique from the day one.”
Examiner.com: When did you decide you wanted to go to the Olympics?
J.T.: “When I was 10 years old. It was 1984, the year of the Los Angeles Olympics and I, like every other gymnast at the time, was watching the ’84 U.S. Men’s Olympic team compete. When I saw them win that gold medal, I knew at that point that I wanted to become an Olympic gymnast.” …
Read about the coach who taught him to love gymnastics, Nick Brancheau. His inspirations: Roethlisberger and Bilozertchev. And how he reconnected with the woman who would become his wife.
The advantage of buying grips and equipment from American Gymnast is that Jay truly knows the sport inside out. Here’s his reaction to to Sho Nakamori’s post on his Reisport Ring grips tearing after only 2 days.
Jay’s younger brother Andy, who also competed for the University of Iowa, posts an excellent blog, Andy’s Angle, on American Gymnast. I read it religiously.
Note that the coaching video tutorial section has a new address: Gymnastics on Demand
… learn the secrets of success from an Olympian? A Nobel Prize winner? A Fortune 500 CEO? Olympic gold medalist Nikki Stone has compiled a treasure trove of compelling stories to illustrate each step on the path to success. …
Check an interview posted on Couch Gymnast magazine with the legendary Romanian beam coach:
What would you like to change about the current Code of Points?
In my opinion judging in general has become too strict. Even small wobbles are heavily penalised and gymnasts are denied the chance to achieve high scores.
I agree.
… which team will win at the upcoming World Championships in Rotterdam? Why?
… Romania, Russia, the USA, China and Great Britain will fight for the first place in Rotterdam. The team who makes the least mistakes will win.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 