Boginskaya on GymCastic

GymCastic:

Svetlana Boginskaya (Boguinskaia) is a 14-time Olympic and World medalist and is as elegant as she is fierce.

This is a woman who is not afraid to speak her mind!

Bogi gives us the scoop on: Alexander Alexandrov and why he left Russia, what happened at Round Lake when the USSR collapsed, the real story behind her snub of Kim Zmeskal at the 1991 World Championships, the politics behind Natalia Kalinina being left off of the Barcelona Olympic team, what makes her gymnastics camp different, why she thinks she isn’t artistic, dating as a teen gymnast in Moscow, her Bolshoi choreography, her favorite routines, coaching Oksana Chusovitina in 2013, and why raising kids is harder than doing a sixth Olympics or trying to understand Bela Karolyi‘s english.

I’ve always loved Boginskaya. And love her even more after listening to this entertaining, informative, engaging long interview.

Listen to Episode 38: Svetlana Boginskaya

Svetlana and Alicia
Svetlana and Alicia

Jhonny Muñoz – Pommel

Surprise winner at the Portugal World Cup was Colombia’s Jhonny Muñoz.

UPDATE: Jmsucart pointed out that I had previously posted the wrong routine. Here’s his winning Finals routine. I believe.

Jhonny Alexander Munoz Perez (COL) @ Pommel Horse PH World Cup Anadia 2013

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (starting 57sec)

Pommel Horse Final

1. Jhonny Muñoz 6.4 8.800 15.200
2. Max Whitlock 7.1 8.000 15.100
3. Gustavo Simões 6.2 8.400 14.600
3. Eduard Shaulov 5.6 9.000 14.600

Brett McClure to CAL

McClureBrett McClure, an Olympic medalist and longtime U.S. National Team member who has coached at the collegiate level the past seven years, has been hired to lead the Golden Bear men’s gymnastics program, and head women’s gymnastics coach Justin Howell has been named Director of Cal Gymnastics. …

details

Brett has been an assistant at Stanford.

Somebody update his Wikipedia page. This is BIG news. 🙂

(via Ron Noe)

Simone Biles training TTY

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Couch Gymnast News Page)

related – Simone Biles interview

usagymnasticsorg video # 8,911

AT&T American Cup runner-up Simone Biles talks about competing at her first international competition, her friendship with Katelyn Ohashi and more.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Zhanerke Duisek – Beam mount

World Cup Portugal.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Many were reminded of that other contortionist, Kristie Phillips.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I like Kristie’s reverse planche much better than her mount. 🙂

do you use Google Reader?

If you (like me) had been using Google Reader, it’s being retired by Google on July 1, 2013.

I recommend you switch to Feedly, a similar free service which most former Google Reader users have adopted.

From Feedly, click the blue button to import your RSS feeds from Google Reader.

There are more RSS reader alternatives listed here.

The new Digg Reader is also free. And garnering some praise.

Easier still would be to subscribe to our posts via once-a-day email. Check the right hand navigation to that.

ban the Produnova

Brigid McCarthy posted a comprehensive history of the Produnova vault:

• Of Peril, Progress and Produnovas: Part One

• Of Peril, Progress and Produnovas: Part Two

Post any feedback you have on one of those two posts. Brigid would like to see wider discussion.

My own position is clear.

Multiple front somersaults landing forwards are MOST dangerous in terms of catastrophic injury.

FIG WTC should ban the double front, but not the double front 1/2 out. It’s far safer.

Trampoline for many, many years banned double front and triple front — but not the same elements twisting out. (I believe those skills are not longer banned, though I’ve never seen one in Tramp competition. Every trampoline coach knows how dangerous they are.)

MAG MTC should consider banning the Handspring triple front. (4 forward rotations total.)

Pena