best AA gymnasts EVER

Kristen Ras is posting a series of on the best all-around gymnasts of all time, starting with the Soviets:

Larissa Latynina
Lyudmila Tourisheva
Natalia Yurchenko
Olga Mostepanova
Oksana Omelianchik
Aleftina Pryakhina

Couch Gymnast – Best of the All Arounders Series: The Soviets

Obviously there are some big, BIG names not included.

While Tokyo 1964 saw the final performances of the Soviet gymnastics legend Larissa Latynina at the Olympic Games, it also marked the rise of new upcoming star, Czechoslovakia’s Vera Caslavska, who would also gain iconic status in her career.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

handspring

Alexandrov to Brazil

Gym Blog Brazil is confirming the rumour we heard first from Rewriting Russian Gymnastics:

Is not yet official, but a very reliable and secure source confirmed the arrival of Alexander Alexandrov in Brazil later this month. More details soon! …

Things are looking up for the Olympic host nation. 🙂

Max Whitlock – paint him black

UPDATE. The video has been changed to PRIVATE. Likely at the photographers request.

Photoshoot.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

via GymFever

Rebeca Andrade – Amanar

Update the list of female gymnasts who have competed Yurchenko 2 1/2 twist.

The up-and-coming Brazilian superstar has got a good one.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Kazukuni Ohno on Facebook)

Last weekend a competition took place for the British girls in Ipswich where they took part in a trial meet for the European Youth Olympic Festival which is due to take place in Utrecht, Netherlands next month.

Also in attendance was two teams from Brazil which included rising star Rebecca Andrade. She scored a whopping 15.7 on vault

Andrade also won the junior division ahead of British hope Tyesha Mattis …

read more on Couch GymnastBritish Clubs and Brazil face in Ipswich

Brenna Dowell at Camp

Brenna Dowell trains at the May Women’s National Team Camp, including a new Amanar and two new tumbling passes.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

When I was at GAGE two years ago, Brenna was doing Amanar this well in training. Perhaps it’s new to show at Camp.

1. Chusovitina, 2. Pavlova

Oldies. But goodies. 🙂

1. Oksana Chusovitina 1975 56.050
2. Anna Pavlova 1987 55.200
3. Barbora Mokošová 1997 52.750

Six-time Olympian Oksana Chusovitina (Uzbekistan) won the all-around and vault titles at the 26th Gym-Festival Trnava, held Saturday and Sunday in the western Slovakian city.

Chusovitina, who turns 38 on June 19, topped fellow veteran Anna Pavlova (Russia), 56.050-55.200. Slovakian first-year senior Barbora Mokošová won the bronze (52.750).

IG

They were teammates at Pro Gym Challenge.

Pro Gym Challenge

Kyla Ross training

… at the May Women’s National Team Camp, including new sequences on bars, beam and floor.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via USAG on Facebook)

May Camp videos like that will be rolled out one-a-day over the next 3 weeks. Well done USAG. 🙂

P Bar locking mechanisms FAIL

Coach Markos Baikas is frustrated.

Frustrated that Parallel Bar locking mechanisms fail so quickly. Frustrated that replacement parts from Spieth in Europe would cost a fortune.

P Bars

Instead, we’re trying to find a local machine shop that could rethread or, perhaps, replace the locking mechanism.

Leave a comment if you’ve any advice.

USA Qualified Elites

Split Leap has an unofficial updated list of American gymnasts who have qualified to Classics and USA Championships.

Jr Sydney Johnson-Scharpf from Brandy Johnson’s has personality. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch a March 1st interview on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/OTk1Njk3Mjk2?related=1&autoplay=false

Watch more video of Sydney Johnson-Scharpf on gymnastike.org