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1. Pluzhnikov RUS
2. Balandin RUS
3. Petrounias GRE

I was hoping for a triumphant day for van Gelder after all the trouble he’s had over the past year.

Gymnastics Examiner LIVE blog.

Click PLAY or watch Pluzhnikov at Bercy on YouTube.

BARS
1. Tweddle (GBR)
2. Nabieva (RUS)
3. Bui (GER)

Gymnastics Examiner LIVE blog.

Wow. I’m impressed. Beth is coming off a concussion after the Bars collapsed on her in training.

Click PLAY or watch Nabieva’s PRELIM routine on YouTube.

In finals she clipped her feet on the Bar on her Nabieva release.

In the Men’s Artistic Apparatus Finals at European Championships …

FLOOR
1. Flavius Koczi ROM … 15.5 with no double somersaults.
2. Alexander Shatilov ISR
3. Anton Golotsutskov RUS

Gymnastics Examiner LIVE blog

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POMMEL
1. Berki HUN,
2. Tommasone FRA
3. Merdinyan ARM

Gymnastics Examiner LIVE blog.

Smith fell. Some are questioning whether or not he should be on the GRB Team for Worlds 2011. They have a lot of depth without him.

1. Izbasa
2. Chusovitina
3. Kaeslin

Click PLAY or watch Vault 1 on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Vault 2 on YouTube. Wow.

Nabieva competed Double Twisting Yurchenko, not Amanar. Second vault piked Podkopayeva. LIVE blog on Gymnastics Examiner.

Bad news. According to Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Aliya Mustafina damaged cruciate ligaments. Not just meniscus.

She’s at the arena on crutches, cheering on her teammates.

(via The All Around Gymnastics News on Facebook)

Justin Caouette continues a series of posts on the most watched routines on YouTube.

10. Dominique Moceanu – 1996 Olympics Compulsories
9. Marian Dragulescu – 2006 Worlds EF
8. Nadia Comaneci – 1976 Olympics
7. Kristen Maloney – 2000 Olympics Preliminaries
6. Deng Linlin – 2008 Olympics TF
5. Nastia Liukin – 2008 Olympics AA ** LOVE IT
4. Shawn Johnson – 2008 National Championships
3. Sang Lan – 1998 International Team Championships
2. Mary Lou Retton – 1984 Olympics AA

1. Kerri Strug – 1996 Olympics TF

I was hesitant to include this clip because it shows the ensuing mayhem and the medal ceremony for the Mag7. But I decided to go with it because it technically only includes one routine. And also because the madness that follows truly illustrates why this is the most watched vault routine on the web. I would guess that if there’s one thing the viewing public loves most about gymnastics, it’s the DRAMA.

I have to laugh because Kerri’s vault has gone down in history as one of those “do-or-die” moments, even though, when the Russians finished with floor minutes later, it was determined that Moceanu’s vault before Kerri’s was the routine that had actually guaranteed the gold, and Kerri hadn’t needed to go at all. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

To me that second Vault is an example of bad coaching. The American coaches did not know that her score was not needed to win the Team Gold. She should have scratched.

Watch the other 9 Vaults on Couch Gymnast – The Most Watched Routines: Vault

related:

• The Most Watched Routines: Bars
• The Most Watched Routines: Beam

These girls are impressed.

To be serious, I really think we should train kids on how to go over the handle bars into a dive roll. They should practice on to soft mats.

Many routines from Berlin are already available on YouTube.

The best starting point is Between the Olympics.

Click PLAY or watch the Ferrari on Floor on YouTube.

Gymnastike has many videos, too.

@IntlGymnast:

UPDATE: The exact diagnosis of Mustafina’s injury is expected Saturday. We are retracting the update that she tore her meniscus.

I still fear ligament damage, requiring longer recovery.

Reigning world all-around champion Aliya Mustafina of Russia withdrew from the 2011 European Championships after the first rotation of the all-around finals. …

Universal Sports – Mustafina injured at Europeans, needs surgery

The most insightful reaction I’ve seen so far is by Aunt Joyce:

… Aliya Mustafina went down at the European Championships with a knee injury that we can only suspect will keep her out for much of the next year. For Aliya and the sport, this is terrible. Knee injuries are bad news. A torn Achilles is devastating, but we’ve seen improvements in surgical technique that now has athletes back up to speed within a year. …

… Back in the 80s and early 90s, difficult skills were performed but they were highlights of the routine. Now every skill and combination needs to possess great risk. This has led to sloppy, mistake-filled routines and it has also resulted in a tremendous increase in severe injuries. Gymnastics is no longer a sport where one can escape uninjured. A gymnast’s success often depends on when they are injured as opposed to ‘if’ they suffer a serious injury. …

… When the FIG continues to ask older bodies to perform more and more difficulty that is better suited for younger gymnasts, injuries like this are inevitable. …

read more – Disaster At The European Championships

There’s a disconnect between the new (2006) FIG Code that rewards difficulty … and the push to increase the age of the young women competing.

Older girls have more chronic overuse syndromes. And more ‘old’ injuries that are only partially healed. As well, they have heavier bodies and longer limbs to maneuver.

Sooner or later FIG must address that disconnect. If this injury had happened to anyone else, it would be soon forgotten. But since it’s happened to the World Champion, I’m hoping that now’s the time to take action.

Bruno Grandi is not afraid to take action.

The easiest way out of the current dilemma would be to actually enforce the Execution scores. To reward those athletes with superb form, line and artistry with medals.

Cal State Fullerton today announced that its intercollegiate wrestling and women’s gymnastics programs will be terminated.

The action was considered at the end of the 2009-10 academic year, but the programs were given the opportunity to continue operating if they could fund their own annual budgets. Extensive fund-raising campaigns enabled them to compete in 2010-11 but came up short of a subsequent goal of a two-year funding commitment by a Mar. 1 deadline given to them.

All pre-existing scholarships will be honored until the student-athletes’ eligibility has expired. Wrestlers and gymnasts who wish to transfer to other schools will be given blanket releases. …

read more – Cal State Fullerton University Wrestling

A sad day. My home club has had a number of girls go to this storied program.

I’m trying to contact one of the current gymnasts for comment. …

(via Greg Marsden on Facebook)

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There is some good NCAA news, however, relayed by Ono:

Baseball program will continue at UC Berkeley

Baseball has raised $9 million of the $10 million demanded by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

…. Our men’s gymnastics community has taken the same “never say die” approach as our baseball community. They are hard at work on raising the funds needed to support the team’s continuation or eventual reinstatement.

To date, philanthropic pledges gathered by “Cal Gymnastics Forever” amount to just under half of the $4 million that would be required to support the team’s net expenses over the next 7-10 years. However, here too we will continue to do everything in our power to support the fundraising activities in support of men’s gymnastics. I believe that baseball’s success will add new momentum to the efforts and I am hopeful of a successful outcome for men’s gymnastics.”

Coldplay, Muse and Damon Albarn have reportedly been approached to write the official anthem for the London 2012 Olympics.

According to the Daily Mirror Chris Martin and co are the organisers’ top pick for the job, and have been asked to write “something inspirational” for the official song of the event. …

The Olympics 2012 opening ceremony is being put together by Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours director Danny Boyle. …

NME