Hypolito v Gonzales FX EF Guadalajara

Blythe Lawrence questions the podium ranking from the Final at Pan-Ams.

1. Diego Hypolito 6.8 + 9.000 = 15.800
2. Tomás González 6.5 + 9.125 = 15.625

finals results

Click PLAY or watch Hypolito on YouTube. (9.0 execution)

Click PLAY or watch González on YouTube. (9.15 execution)

I agree. Gonzales was far cleaner. The 0.15 differential is unjust. I’d go as far as to say that Tomás should have won the gold medal.


Once again, this example shows that FIG is generally deciding ranking by difficulty. I still cannot fathom why. Any FIG judge in the world would appreciate the difference in quality.

Disclosure. I’ve always felt Diego gets over-scored. He’s one of those who makes not even a pretense of having any style.

related – Kyle Shewfelt on Gonzales v Zou Kai

… A while back, I made a proposal to one of the FIG men’s technical committee members to restrict the number of passes on men’s floor exercise to 5 and to add 10 extra seconds to the length of a routine in order to encourage time for a little bit of artistry. I believe that this could make a huge difference in preserving the “artistic” part of the sport. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting to hear back…

Rewind: A problem with ARTISTIC Gymnastics

introducing Tkachev – hand spotting

One way to start kids “releasing” for Tkachev.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NjgzNTA3MzI0?related=1

Watch more video of Technique Tuesday, Season 2 on gymnastike.org

what I learned at the Olympic Museum

In July I visited the excellent Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Pierre de Coubertin is celebrated as “founder of the International Olympic Committee, and considered father of the modern Olympic Games.”

Yet …

The Olympics would be “men-only” Games if founder Pierre de Coubertin had had his way. Inspired by the example of ancient Greece and the ideals of medieval chivalry, de Coubertin saw the true Olympic hero as an adult male.

For him, the Games were “the solemn and periodic exaltation of male athleticism . . . with the applause of women as a reward”….

Women’s long battle for right to compete

Monsieur de Coubertin would approve of pompom waving Cheerleaders on the sidelines, but not competitive Cheer.

Every national flag in the world includes at least one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.

It is important to emphasize that Pierre de Coubertin never said nor wrote that the colors of the rings were linked with the different continents
 …

janecky.com

Neither do the 5 colors stand for: passion, faith, victory, work ethic, and sportsmanship.

The Olympic museum is in good shape. The Swiss economy is strong. And Li Ning donated $1 million in July.

You can take a virtual tour (VIDEO) on the official website. It may not play in every browser.

BBC documentary – Gymnast

Starring Adrian Stan.

Brutally realistic. It’s hard to become an Olympian. Fun to be one.

… follows the British girls hoping for a place on the gymnastics team that went to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike. (30min)

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NzEzNTExMTcx?related=1

part 2 (30min)
part 3 (30min)

Marissa King was 2011 NCAA Vault champion.

Rising Stars of Gymnastics

If you normally skip watching montage videos (Jeremy) watch this one. It will restore your enthusiasm for the newest generation of Seniors.

Included is the quad turn on Beam.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… up to four fantastic gymnasts per country who were born between 1995 and 1996. The gymnasts featured, by country, are:

Australia: Angela Donald, Katie Wurth, Natalia Joura and Amelia McGrath
Canada: Madeline Gardiner, Mikaela Gerber, Victoria Moors and Sabrina Gill
China: Tan Sixin, Yao Jinnan, Zeng Siqi and Huang Huidan
France: Sophia Serseri
Guatemala: Ana Sofia Gomez Porras
Italy: Carlotta Ferlito, Giulia Leni and Erika Fasana
Japan: Murakami Mai, Natsumi Sasada and Yoshino Taniguchi
Romania: Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar and Maria Balea
Russia: Viktoria Komova, Anastasia Grishina, Anastasia Sidorova and Yulia Belokobylskaya
USA: Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber, Gabrielle Douglas and McKayla Maroney

(via Kazukuni Ohno on Facebook)

Yin Alvarez on Jon Horton

Yin Alvarez on Facebook:

This is one of the proudest moments for the US team. Take a look at this video and see how important Jonathan is to this team, how he speaks to them and how he leads them through the meet, along with the hard work of the US coaches. I wish Jon a speedy recovery. We need him for the gold medal!

Click PLAY or watch Leyva’s HBar in Team Finals on YouTube.

Not the greatest “hit” (aside from the landing!). But I’m very impressed with Leyva. He’s young. He’s got the right attitude. I’m thinking he’s going to be one of the best in the world for a long, long time.

Man v Chimpanzee obstacle course

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

After filming that reality TV show, Navy Seal Scott Helvenston was killed 2004 within days of arriving in Iraq to work as a security contractor for Blackwater.

RIP

Cirque audition Paris

The Casting team will be hosting auditions in Paris, France, in January, 2012, for circus performers.

The disciplines that we will audition are:

Acrobatic, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics;
Trampoline;
Tumbling;
Other sports.

details

2015 Pan-Am Games Toronto

Grace Chiu tells that Ricky Martin, amongst others, will perform in closing ceremonies at Pan-Am Games in Mexico.

The Games 2015 move to Canada. Ontariariarians haven’t heard much about it.

Respected Canadian sports journalist Scott Russell:

… it’s “game on” for the 17th Pan American Games, to be held in several southern Ontario communities, including Toronto, in the summer of 2015.

Survey says a significant number of folks, particularly Torontonians, aren’t quite sure what the Pan Am Games are or even that their city will soon be the host.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” admits Ian Troop, the CEO of the TO2015 organizing committee. “To build awareness of what the Pan Am Games are and why they’re important and why people should care.”

CBC – Can Toronto be a worthy Pan Am host?

At least they’ve got a worthy logo. 🙂

Having attended major sporting events all over Canada for the past 40yrs, I’m not filled with confidence to see it hosted in Ontario.

I judged Pan-Am Games 1999 in Winnipeg. Loved the event. The smaller city was a terrific host. But like Scott Russell, I have my doubts about Ontario. It’s my least favourite host Province.