Gymnastics Coaching.com

A sore point for many is Shannon Miller’s tag line, “most decorated American gymnast“.

Is that still true?

By my count Nastia Liukin and Shannon Miller are tied in World Championships medals at nine.

They are tied in most medals at a single Olympics at five.

Combined Shannon has 16 medals, Nastia 14.

Have I got that right?

Shannon Miller to me had the more impressive career, overcoming more challenges. She’s a double Olympian. Her post-Olympic career has been just as amazing. Shannon’s a wonderful role model to all young gymnasts. She give back to the gymnastics community.

But Nastia is not finished yet. I predict she has more World Championships medals to come.

In the end, history will remember Olympic Champions more grandly than World Champions. Not all medals are equal.

Some argue that statistical comparisons like this are meaningless. The eras were different. The rules different. You may rank one or the other as the greatest ever. The rest is merely decoration.

official website – Shannon Miller

official website – Nastia Liukin

UPDATE: shergymrag points out that Nastia might have qualified for the 2004 Olympics, as well, if not for the changed FIG age requirement. She was too young to go to Athens.

Add your name to this Men’s Gymnastics petition.

This is a formal petition to implement a Division I NCAA Gymnastics Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

History:

The University of Texas at Austin at one time had a gymnastics program; however, due to a loss of funding, the program was cut several years ago. Texas needs an NCAA Division I team, given the level of Texan talent within the Junior Olympic Gymnastics Program that is taken by out of state by universities such as OU (3 time NCAA National Champions), Michigan, Penn State, Stanford, and Minnesota. Furthermore, athletes from the Junior Olympic Program in Texas consistently rank among the top in the nation. As a university dedicated to scholastic and athletic achievement, we should keep them in-state and continue our reputation for academic and athletic excellence.

We, the UT Gymnastics Club, ask that you sign this petition to show your support for the development of a successful NCAA Division I Gymnastics Program to cultivate the great athletes that come from within the Texas Gymnastics Community, and to further show your support for the continuation of Texas Longhorn athletic excellence.

Petition Spot

I saw Glen Ishino’s name on there.

In the past I’ve argued that Texas is the center of the gymnastics world. This is a very good proposal.

(via William2004 on Collegiate Gymnastics Board)

Why do hand grips tear so easily?

Sarah’s grip ripped on a simple glide kip.

It can be dangerous if they rip while the gymnast is on the Bar.

They should be replaced as soon as a small rip starts on the grip.

Coach Mark Van Wyk initiated a tradition at his gym. “Handguard Heaven”. Gymnasts toss broken and torn grips like this up into the rafters at Calgary Gymnastics Centre.

Photoshop fun from Hopes and Dreams.

2009 University of Minnesota Women’s Gymnastics v. Michigan – January 24, 2009

King Kong attacks Gopher gymnast Carmelina Carabajal

see the rest of the gallery – Picture Perfect Gymnastics by Hopes and Dreams

related post – funny gymnastics photos

I am a big fan of the spunky former World Champion.

Here’s a funny clip of her Floor routine from the 2006 Italian National Championships.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Who do you want as coach? Alica, Nastia or Shawn?

2009 Legendz Classic Highlights!

… Legendz Classic session of Kim Zmeskal’s Texas Prime hosted by Texas Dreams.

January 30, 2009

Click PLAY or watch the 8min video on Gymnastike.
http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-4.2/player.swf

Gymnastics Videos on Gymnastike

Ah, the life of the Olympic gymnastics celebrity.

Zdeno Chara and Chris Drury of the Rangers watch Olympic Silver medalist Alicia Sacramone drop the puck Saturday afternoon in Boston.

Photo by Steve Babineau

The Boston Bruins won the game 1-0.

ronigal92 (gymgal92) put together a montage highlighting the relationship between the Olympic Champion and her Mom.

Nice.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

While not nearly as good as the new Gymnastics Australia website, I’m satisfied with the new Gymnastics Canada site. Most new sites are buggy. This one is not.

On my first browse through the top pages, I found they all work.

The site is readable. And clean.

It has a LOT of content though not much new.

There are no social networking features. No videos. Few photos. No reason to visit on a regular basis. (Quite a few videos, actually.)

But if you are only looking for basic information, it’s there.

The search box is not powerful, unfortunately. It won’t find the acronym CS4L, for example, though it’s prominent on the LINK page.

Best feature for me could be the blog. (Though you won’t find it by searching for “blog”.) It was set up for the Beijing Olympics and has not been updated since August, 2008. It could easily be repurposed as a Gymnastics Canada blog.

Good luck finding the Classified Ads. Though they cost $25/month, there’s no way to find them from the home page.

There’s no RSS feed for the Featured News page. That’s my biggest complaint.

Gymnastics Canada – English

UPDATE: giRafe notes that the French side of the site is much inferior to the English. Let’s see if it improves over the coming weeks. Gymnastics Canada historically has had a strong commitment to both official languages.

Leave a comment if you have an opinion.

The stunt business is dangerous.

HARRY Potter’s stunt double could be left paralysed after an on-set explosion on Wednesday.

Romford man David Holmes, 25, plummeted to the ground while he was rehearsing a flying sequence for forthcoming film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – the last chapter in the series.

It is thought the blast, believed to have been part of the stunt, rocked the harness in which David was suspended high above the ground at the Leavesden Studios, Watford.

The local stuntman, who has appeared in all the Potter movies, was sent crashing to the ground and had to be rushed to Watford Hospital. …

David, who recently moved from his home off North Street, Romford, to Leigh-on-Sea with his girlfriend, is said to be in good spirits despite his injuries.

He told colleagues he couldn’t feel his legs. …

Harry Potter stunt horror

Best wishes for a full recovery to the former competitive gymnast.