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The 2010 Winter Paralympics are underway.

Alpine skiing
Biathlon
Cross-country skiing
Wheelchair curling
Sledge hockey

Though the Opening ceremonies were sold out, CTV in Canada opted not to broadcast them live.

One of the big stories of these Games will be how Paralympic athletes “get no respect”.

Good luck to everyone there.

El-grip giant to front-half-in, back out.

Cool.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Not the strongest routine, but good enough to win Bars at the Houston Invitational.

(via Aunt Joyce)

Learn from Sasha on Make it or Break It.

Or learn from Hollywood.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Actors. Is there anything they don’t know?

So says one official from China.

His name: Luo Chaoyi, director of the Gymnastics Center of the General Administration of Sport.

AP Sports Columnist John Leicester has a mainstream article getting wide circulation with the general public:

Lies and damned lies: China abandons gymnast who competed under age at Olympics

Does this 14yr-old look like a forger to you?

Here’s the translation from Manderin used in the Leicester article:

… The state-run newspaper China Youth Daily quoted Luo Chaoyi as saying that Dong was eligible in Sydney but then shaved three years off her age after retirement in 2001, and that “this must have been an act by her and her family.”

Such an explanation is barely credible — unless, of course, Dong is a master forger of official documents, which is even less believable. In China, as elsewhere, passports are government-issued. Coaches — and not just in China — have also long falsified ages for girls whose small and supple bodies give them a competitive advantage over larger and older young women. The reverse scenario — that a retired gymnast would pass herself off as a kid — makes no sense.

It also hard to believe Chinese officials didn’t know Dong was underage in 2000. Most of Dong’s childhood was spent within the state-run sports system that churns out medalists for China. Her CV shows she joined a sports school at age 4, a provincial team at 7 and the national team at 10. …

SF Gate

Here’s another perhaps more accurate translation:

… the age of Dong Fangxiao is her personal matter and the fact that Dong’s age had been shifted 3 yrs younger after her retirement was Dong and her family’s personal practice. …

China Sports Review

Related: China Media Project – Chinese media tackle the national sports system

There’s not the slightest doubt that Dong was underage. Her personal resume today says she was born Jan. 23, 1986 making her two years below the minimum age requirement of 16 at Sydney.

The FIG is hoping for an April IOC decision on the Olympic 2000 medals.

… One worrisome new fact. She’s apparently returned to China for a visit. I’m slightly worried for her safety.

From Michigan_WGym on Twitter:

U-M knocks off #5 Georgia 196.375-195.800

Preliminary results reported by Gymnastics Examiner:

… Russia’s Tatiana Solovyeva led qualification on uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise during the first day of competition at the 34th Cottbus World Cup in Cottbus, Germany.

Germany’s Oksana Chusovitina, back after two surgeries that sidelined her in 2009, threw a handspring piked full and a Tsukahara 13.925 to qualify first on vault to Saturday’s finals …

Russia’s Tatiana Solovyeva leads three events after Cottbus World Cup qualifications

In 2008 Triple Full called Tatiana Solovyeva the “young Russian we most look forward to seeing in 2009”.

Shout out to Anysia Unick from my home town, Calgary. She qualified to 3 Finals.

Congratulations.

* FLOOR EXERCISES
1. Shusuke Kikuchi (JPN) 15.400
2. Kyoichi Watanabe (JPN) 14.750
3. Kevin Lytwyn (CAN) 14.650

* POMMEL HORES
1. Krisztian Berki (HUN) 15.750
2. Ken Ikeda (CAN) 14.600
3. Kohei Kameyama (JPN) 14.100

* STILL RINGS
1. Kevin Lytwyn (CAN) 14.500
2. Ali Al Asi (JOR) 14.350
3. Kohei Kameyama (JPN) 13.700

* VAULT
1. Nathan Gafuik (CAN) 16.025
2. Shusuke Kikuchi (JPN) 15.900
3. Tomi Tuuha (FIN) 15.750

* PARALLEL BARS
1. Kyoichi Watanabe (JPN) 14.750
2. Ken Ikeda (CAN) 14.400
3. Kevin Lytwyn (CAN) 14.150

* HIGH BAR
1. Kohei Kameyama (JPN) 14.200
2. Aljaz Pegan (SLO) 14.100
3. Jackson Payne (CAN) 13.950

The Women’s competition World Cup meet was cancelled completely. The Men’s meet drew a weaker field than last year.

GYMmedia chief editor Eckhard Herholz is very critical of that first World Cup event of the season.

In fact, he calls into question the entire World Cup program in this badly translated post – Foul-start in Montreal: The World Cup system of the gymnasts is out …!

Perhaps each of those meets should simply be a major invitational with it’s own set of rules. After all, FIG cancelled the World Cup Final. Why do we need a worldwide circuit? What is the purpose of the World Cup series?

In a related story, the Cottbus World Cup is underway … live scoring in German

Seems Aunt Joyce, deep down, is a big softie.

I love this video he linked. The joy of first accompishment.

… Every gymnast and skater knows the feeling of struggling and struggling with a skill or a jump until one day something clicks and they randomly start making it. Elena Arenas, daughter of Gym Dog great Kim Arnold (video), is an adorable young gymnast. Here, her father captures her first full on video. It is wonderful to see the joy on her face and the confidence she exudes showing off her cool new move.

Elena and her older sister frequently perform exhibitions prior to Gym Dog meets. …

Click PLAY or watch Elena on YouTube.

Aunt Joyce – Heartwarming Moment

Now how do we keep more of this joy when they become angsty teenagers?

Shout out to the best gymnastics feed on Facebook.

The All Around is dedicated to bringing the latest news from the world of gymnastics, with coverage of national and international events in all disciplines, profiles of athletes, and technical articles geared to professionals in coaching and judging.

If you are on Facebook and want to get frequent and up-to-date links to all disciplines around the world, even those in languages other than English, I highly recommend you search Facebook for …

The All Around Gymnastics News

They have a blog as well, The-All-Around.com, but I see most of the links sooner on Facebook. One interesting post is a massive database of WAG Scores 2010 from all over the world.

In his four years at Penn State University, Casey Sandy won everything in sight in NCAA gymnastics, capping things off by winning the 2009 Nissen Emery Award as the top college gymnast in the U.S.

Now, following his graduation in December, Sandy is back where he received some of his early training: Gymnastics Mississauga. …

… Now, at 25, and with demands of school behind him, he’s determined that nothing will stand in his way of getting to London in 2012. It’s also Canada’s gain, because with the retirement of four veterans from the national team, Sandy’s return is shaping up as a key to the squad’s continued success. …

Local gymnast stalks Olympic medal

It would be fantastic to see Casey qualify for London. Many feel he should have been on the Canadian team in Beijing. He should have time to recover from a partially torn Achilles, I think. That injury heals well.