Category: Uncategorized

Gymnastics China “donated 1 million yuan ($143,000 USD) to the earthquake victims”.

Despite the national tragedy, the World Cup started as scheduled.

Partial scores are up:

Balance Beam
1. Xiao Sha CHN 16.300
2. Cheng Fei CHN 15.800
3. Ksenia Afanasyeva RUS 15.650

Women’s Floor Exercise
1. Cheng Fei CHN 15.750
2. Kristina Vaculik CAN 14.800 … trying to qualify to Olympics
3. Kyoko Oshima JPN 14.600

Men’s Vault
1. Ri Se Gwang PRK 16.500
2. Raphael Wignanitz FRA 16.150
3. Wai Hung Shek HKG 15.900

Parallel Bars
1. Huang Xu CHN 16.400
2. Li Xiaopeng CHN 16.250
3. Kim Jin Hyok PRK 16.200

High Bar
1. Zou Kai CHN 15.800
2. Li Xiaopeng CHN 15.700
3. Kim Jihoon KOR 15.350

read the details from Amanda Turner on International Gymnast

Korean men are scoring well, I see. The men’s Olympic team competition is getting more interesting every day.

I’ve linked a number of times to Gymnast.com — certainly the best possible web address for anyone interested in gymnastics.

In soft launch, editor Steve McCain has been steadily adding content over the past number of weeks.

Unique to this site is their partnership with USA Gymnastics and the American-Gymnast Video on Demand service.

Expect to see video there you can’t get anywhere else.

Events – The highest quality On Demand Gymnastics Videos you’ll find anywhere on the web. Includes coverage of 2008 Men’s Winter Cup, 2008 American Cup, 2008 Pacific Rim, with much more coming soon!

Features – Special coverage section including “Beaming Beijing” – follow the journey of our Olympic Gymnasts as they prepare for and compete in Beijing.

News – Just what you’d expect … Team USA News, International News, Press Releases, and Results

Videos – If you love videos, you’ll love Gymnast.com. See interviews with your favorite gymnasts and coaches, learn recommended Training Tips on gymnastics skills, and more!

Photos – Browse through pictures of the latest meets and see your favorite athletes.

Community – Connect with your teammates and other gymnasts around the world. Upload your own videos and pictures. Invite your friends!

I’ll certainly be a contributor.


Gymnast.com

Most gymnastics coaches report that their understanding of biomechanics is a “weakness”.

Happily, mechanics are far less important than understanding conditioning, progression and how to motivate gymnasts. (Not to mention, how to keep their parents happy.)

But I’ve just put in an order for this new video.

http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf

Visuals really help when trying to explain mechanical principles.

The Gymnastic Laws of Motion

Almost all gymnastic skills are governed by the laws of physics. In this DVD, Tom Forster explains the major laws of physics and motion that apply to gymnastic movement. $29.95

More video samples are linked from the GymSmarts home page.

The 1968 Olympics Black Power salute was a noted black nationalist protest and one of the most overtly political statements in the 110 year history of the modern Olympic Games. African American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos performed their Power to the People salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

… American athlete Smith won the 200 metre race race in a then-world-record time of 19.83 seconds, with Australia’s Peter Norman second with a time of 20.06 seconds, and American Carlos in third place with a time of 20.10 seconds. After the race was completed, the three went to collect their medals at the podium. The two American athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride. Carlos wore beads which he described “were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. It was for those thrown off the side of the boats in the middle passage.” All three athletes wore Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR) badges, after Norman expressed sympathy with their ideals. …

Carlos had forgotten his black gloves, but Norman suggested that they share Smith’s pair, with Smith wearing the right glove and Carlos the left. When “The Star-Spangled Banner” played, Smith and Carlos delivered the salute with heads bowed, a gesture which became front page news around the world. As they left the podium they were booed by the crowd. …

what happened to these men? – find out on Wikipedia

And what do the historic protesters think about Beijing?
Tommie Smith and John Carlos warn of the price of protest – Times Online

People at the top are worried something similar will happen in 2008:

In a letter to national federations, the IOC decreed that all athletes must refrain from clothing, gestures and written or oral statements that demonstrate “political, religious or racial propaganda” at Olympic venues. The missive did not outline punishment guidelines for infractions. …

At Olympics, silence is not golden – Mercury News

Drop a baby from 50ft on to a tramp?

For 500 years, worshippers at a Muslim shrine in western India have continued the tradition — a rite considered to bring good health and good luck to the children.

The infants land and bounce on a bed-sheet held taut by men 50 feet below, and are quickly passed through the crowd to their mothers.

Villagers say no babies have been injured during the ritual, which is practiced by Muslims and Hindus in Musti village in the district of Solapur, in the state of Maharashtra. …

CNN story and video

To see the a BBC video click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Results are up for Level 9 and 10 Nationals.

It was hosted this year by Branch Gymnastics in Battle Creek, Michigan.

competition home page

… a qualifier for Level 10 gymnasts to the Visa Championships (May 22-24 in Houston), where the national teams for both age groups are determined. …

USA Gymnastics

Denver Post John Meyer visits the USA Gymnastics Women’s National Team Training Center at Bela Karolyi’s Ranch in Texas.

http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf

Andrew Thornton on Gymnast.com has been at it again.

Comparing apples and oranges (scores from different meets) and extrapolating what would happen if these 3 all HIT …

Obviously these are all hypothetical scores …

Jiang Yuyuan: 63.2

Nastia Liukin: 63.0

Shawn Johnson: 62.9

WOW – those were honestly the first numbers I came up with – no adjustments! Keep in mind these numbers assumed Shawn WOULDN’T compete the Yurchenko 2 ½, and I think there’s a good chance she will. If we add that in, her score would go up around 7 or 8 tenths and she’d be in first place. …

Shawn by all reports can do the Amanar vault (Yurchenko 2 ½) easily (video) and remains the favourite. Jiang Yuyuan will likely be the gymnast pushed by China for the AA. She may well be Shawn’s strongest challenger.

Check out Andrew’s detailed analysis with video of Yuyuan’s Floor routine from last weekend on Gymnast.com.

Jiang Yuyuan of China competes on the beam during the women’s individual all-round final of the “Good Luck Beijing” 2007 International Gymnastics Tournament in Beijing, capital of China on Nov. 29, 2007. Jiang won the champion with a score of 61.225.

(Xinhua Photo)

Jiang wins women’s all-around at Olympic gymnastics test – China View

Almost everyone is predicting He Kexin will win bars at the Olympics.

At Tianjing 2008 Chinese Gymnastics National Championships Event Finals her teammate Yang Yilin matched her start value, but did not score nearly as high: 16.725 (7.7 A)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Compare that routine with He Kexin in Finals 17.325 (7.7 A) – with 3 obvious deductions – video. Seems too high.

Are the Chinese judges are already “pushing” for specific girls on each apparatus? There’s no need to over score He Kexin on bars. That kind of strategy could easily backfire.

videos from this competition are still being added

I’ve been critical of Jennifer Sey’s new book, the most recent to whip up a media frenzy about “abuse of girls in high level competitive Artistic Gymnastics”.

Before that I was critical of the book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes which whipped up a media frenzy about disordered eating of girls and women in Ice Skating and Women’s Artistic Gymnastics.

In both sensational books a few terrible incidents cited were purported to be endemic in all elite clubs.

That’s not true. But it sells books.

The REAL problem in gymnastics is the high drop out rate of young girls, disillusioned with competitive gymnastics.

I entered gymnastics when I was five and left when I was twelve. I entered being a happy kid who had fun in gym and left being an unhappy preteen who loathed gym. …

arielal09

This happens every year in almost every competitive gym.

But no one wants to write a book about Ariela09.

Related: why ex-gymnasts hate the sport after retirement

photo – flickr