@theallaround:
6.9 floor from Steve Legendre at Day 1 #VisaChamps; matches Zou Kai for 2nd highest FX D score this year
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Steve stuck a landing. 🙂
American Men’s Olympic Team?
So who’s going to be named to Team USA after 3 more days of competition?
The Big 5 blew into St. Louis like a spring tornado. Big 5, as in Danell Leyva, John Orozco, Sam Mikulak, Chris Brooks and Jonathan Horton. Each of these gymnasts posted all-around scores of 90-plus to stake their claim on a potential Olympic Team spot. Really, the only thing surprising about Day 1 at the 2012 U.S. Championships was just how many great performances there were. …
… Mikulak has been training with a vengeance. Nobody doubted his ability to score 90-plus, but it probably surprised some that he was in the running for the night’s top score. He had four top-10 scores on PH (14.65), VT (16.10), PB (15.60) and HB (15.30). More importantly, his score on PH, combined with his 3rd place AA performance, puts him in an enviable position. …
… Glen Ishino … on a roll by tallying the meet’s top PH score (15.45), but he also demonstrated he can hang near the top with his 7th place AA showing. …
We may very well see a team consisting of four all-arounders and one specialist. This scenario would be very unfortunate for the FX and VT specialists left behind. …
Stick It Media – Big 5 Post 90-Plus in Day 1 of 2012 U.S. Men’s Gymnastics Championships
@theallaround:
Sam Mikulak received a 9.4 E score (15.600) for this p-bar routine on Day 1 of U.S. #VisaChamps
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Kerri Strug introduces son
To People magazine.
The gymnast — who won the hearts of the country with her courageous vault in the 1996 Games — welcomed a son, Tyler William Fischer, on March 1.
Tyler was 7 lbs., 1 oz. at birth, which is quite notable considering his mother is 4’10?. “For me, he was large!” she jokes.
He is the first child for Strug, 34, and her husband, attorney Robert Fischer III. …
Gabby in podium training
Click PLAY or watch her Bars training on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch her Beam training on YouTube.
She landed Amanar. But not consistently in pre-meet training.
But she and Chow says it’s happening. If she lands that Vault and hits 4/4, she should win the AA today. Needless to say, the bookies will give you worse odds on Aly and Jordyn. 🙂
“(Chow has) played a role as just a great coach and a great mentor. He’s just a loving and happy person, so it kind of rubbed off on me. So now I’m happy.”
USA Today – Gabby Douglas confident on vault after struggles
related – Lauren Hopkins – 2012 Visa Championships: Podium Training Recap
“Fitness Wheels” by Tumbl Trak
Most big gyms will have one of these within a year, I predict.
It’s a stand alone mobile “circuit”. Brilliant for Rec. Useful for all your other programs.
It’s so obvious (now) that a round, soft shape is safe for kids. Why wasn’t this concept popularized sooner?
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Look for Peng Peng in that edit. We took one to Oakville.
As a Tumbl Trak Ambassador, I’ve got one in transit to my gym right now. 🙂
Doug Davis and crew will have units on DEMO in San Jose. They go on sale sometime in July, last I heard.
(via Rec Gymnastics)
gymnast Andrew Donnellan
Andrew Donnellan of Tucson, Ariz., will be presented with the 2012 USA Gymnastics Robert Miller Spirit of the Flame Award at the 2012 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in San Jose, Calif., on June 30 at the Hilton San Jose. He is awarded for his demonstration of strength and bravery after suffering a career-ending injury that left him paralyzed from the chest down. …
GREAT choice. I’ve followed Andrew since his fluke accident, over-rotating a simple front tuck on Floor.
And I’ll try to meet with him in San Jose. Catch-up in person.
Acrobatic Gymnastics links
If you (like me) are impressed by the physical wonders who competed at the World Championships of Acrobatic Gymnastics in Florida last month, here’s a site to bookmark:
SportsAcrobatics.info – sports acrobatics websites
I’ve got a link on this page, too, under Acrobatic Gymnastics in the right hand navigation.
Valere Binet has been updating that list. Thanks.
Click PLAY or watch some Worlds highlights on YouTube.
SHOW TIME for Horton
…
The 26-year-old ripped up his left foot while landing a vault at worlds last October, an injury that eventually required surgery and a four-month sabbatical. People kept phoning in their condolences when Horton first went down. His response? No big deal. …“I’m ready,” Horton said. “My foot feels great. My body feels great. Mentally I feel that passion for the sport again. It was a blessing for me to get hurt, as bad as that sounds.”
So far, so good. His first competition back following that injury, Jon went 90.300.
He’s in the top tier.
… Scores from nationals and the Olympic trials later this month in San Jose, Calif., will be combined, and the top gymnast will get the one guaranteed spot on the London team. The other four members will be selected by a committee and announced July 1. …
Sam Mikulak – Kaz double
Looks like Tsuk triple twist.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
This guy looks like an Olympian to me.
Andy Thornton:
The biggest surprise of the meet was unquestionably Sam Mikulak.
… absolutely sensational in tonight’s competition, and in fact, had he not fallen on his triple full dismount on floor, he would have been right up there with Leyva and Orozco in the hunt for the lead. …
Where exactly Mikulak fits in is a little unclear – not because he doesn’t have strengths that the team needs, but because he has an interesting mix of strong events but isn’t necessarily an obvious top-three gymnast on any single event. Mikulak is clearly one of the best tumblers and vaulters in the field, but surprised many by putting up a super 15.6 on p-bars (9.4 execution score!) – the 2nd highest of the field – as well as a 14.65 on pommel horse – the 4th highest of the field. With a very strong 15.3 on high bar mixed in as well, there’s no question that Mikulak is a potential contributor on multiple events. But does this make him an Olympic team member, or a great Olympic alternate? We’ll have to see more competitions before we decide that. …
American Gymnast – Best Men’s Nationals Ever…Thoughts On Night One!
That post is a must read.
… As soon as tonight’s men’s competition was complete, I sent a text message to my brother that said, “I think these guys can win Olympic gold.” The only problem is, I’m still not sure exactly which five guys they will be.
gymnast Louis Smith nude
The July 2012 issue of Cosmopolitan UK …
Members of the British Olympics team pose in the altogether for a special photo spread raising awareness of the testicular-cancer campaign Everyman.
These are the UK … hockey team. Here’s Louis … c/o Ono.
He’s got a way with words.
… Posing naked may seem daunting for most but Louis, who trains at Huntingdon Gymnastics Club and hopes to be part of the GB team for London, says it did not faze him.
He said: “My body is the tool of my trade, so it’s massively important on so many levels. …
The last gymnast I recall posing naked for a magazine snapped her Achilles shortly after.
