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Coach Mihai was smiling when I dropped off a pile of sponges at the gym. ($1 for 8 sponges at the dollar store.)

larger version

I’m oft to say, “The sponge is the best coach.”

Christchurch School of Gymnastics

Congratulations to Utah Head Coach Greg Marsden and the incredible gymnastics machine he has built there.

The Utah Utes are #1 this week, the first time since Mar. 28, 2005.

This is the pre-meet highlight video shown at the Utah Gymnastics meet on 2.6.09. The highlights are from the meet on 1.23.09.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

We learned today that Shannon Miller will be a celebrity Olympian at one of our upcoming meets, the Great West Gym Fest in Idaho.

Of course many of our gymnasts have never even heard of Shannon Miller. (They are so young!)

One of our coaches fired up YouTube to find some examples of her amazing gymnastics to show the kids.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

The Olympic gymnast confronts a fire breathing poodle in a long internet TV commercial so weird, it’s watchable.

It’s called The Quest for G, a Gatorade spoof on the old Monty Python comedy troupe.

Watch it on MissionG.com.

The recession does not seem to be slowing down Gatorade (PepsiCo). They must be paying a fortune on this campaign tied to the Superbowl. They hired director Spike Lee for the commercials. And signed a pile of famous athletes, including Nadia and Alica.

The Croatian gymnast swings out smoothly in this training footage.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Trivia – This old gym in Zagreb was used in the film Nadia, shot in 1984.

Yelena Produnova was one of the most unique and impressive gymnasts of all time.

Respect.

Click PLAY or watch her 2000 American Cup Floor Exercise routine on YouTube.

Recognize the music?

Hernando’s Hideaway

There’s an interesting thread on the IG forum called Hernando’s Hideaway Showdown.

Commenters are comparing these gymnasts using the same music: Tasha Schwikert, Oana Petrovschi, Katarina Frketic, Sonia Lawrence, Nicoleta Onel, Natalia Yurchenko, Betty Okino.

I wonder what’s the most popular Floor music of all time?

The latest calendar from Rik Feeney.

Download the high resolution version — and see other products — from the Gymnastics Training Tips Calendar page.

Scores are tight. But, by consistency, Utah is atop the rankings.

Troester – GymInfo rankings

Florida has now dropped to #8.

Congratulations to Arkansas and Auburn. An impressive start to the season.

Gymblog has some commentary on the weekend.

Casey Jo Magee wins her fifth all-around title

Arkansas Razorbacks Gymnastics

Pretty good vault. Handspring double front.

Amazing landing.

See the vault and an interview with Chris on Gymnastike.

A sore point for many is Shannon Miller’s tag line, “most decorated American gymnast“.

Is that still true?

By my count Nastia Liukin and Shannon Miller are tied in World Championships medals at nine.

They are tied in most medals at a single Olympics at five.

Combined Shannon has 16 medals, Nastia 14.

Have I got that right?

Shannon Miller to me had the more impressive career, overcoming more challenges. She’s a double Olympian. Her post-Olympic career has been just as amazing. Shannon’s a wonderful role model to all young gymnasts. She give back to the gymnastics community.

But Nastia is not finished yet. I predict she has more World Championships medals to come.

In the end, history will remember Olympic Champions more grandly than World Champions. Not all medals are equal.

Some argue that statistical comparisons like this are meaningless. The eras were different. The rules different. You may rank one or the other as the greatest ever. The rest is merely decoration.

official website – Shannon Miller

official website – Nastia Liukin

UPDATE: shergymrag points out that Nastia might have qualified for the 2004 Olympics, as well, if not for the changed FIG age requirement. She was too young to go to Athens.