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Eddie posted his picks on Sportales. Click through for details on each.

The United States has made marked improvements with respect to their gymnastics world rankings in the past decade or so. And whenever we speak of great gymnasts that America has ever produced, some names immediately come to mind: Dominique Moceanu, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow, Kathy Johnson, Brandy Johnson, Julianne McNamara and more.

Shannon Miller

Nastia Liukin

Shawn Johnson

Kim Zmeskal

Carly Patterson

Greatest American Female Gymnasts

And for the boys:

Paul Hamm

Kurt Thomas

Peter Vidmar

Bart Conner

Mitch Gaylord

Peter Kormann

Blaine Wilson

Greatest American Male Gymnasts

Leave a comment if you are outraged that one of your favourite gymnasts was omitted.

In my opinion, the greatest American gymnast of all time, male or female, is now Nastia Liukin.

more Gymnastics Icons & Wallpapers

On August 23rd, Hamburg played host to a extraordinary sporting event–urban cliff diving. The world’s top 10 cliff divers were assembled to compete in the 2008 Red Bull Cliff Diving Championship. What better endorsement for cliff diving than the energy drink that gives you wings? …

Click PLAY or watch some highlights on Trendhunter.

We’re in the final stages of putting together our special Commemorative Edition – 2008 Olympics issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine (September/October) and we want your help in picking the picture! Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin will grace the cover and we have six cover options but want your vote to help decide the final pick!

I’m still trying to decide between cover #1 and cover #4:

You Decide The Cover – Olympic Edition! – Inside Gymnastics

Romanian Champion 2008 Steliana Nistor finished 5th all-around in Beijing. Monica and a friend launched an impressive fan blog published in both English and Romanian.

Check it out: Steliana Nistor – A Real Champion

Steliana stated she will announce by Oct. 1st whether she will continue competing. Like many Olympians world wide, she is making promotional appearances right now.

original – flickr – Ballerina109

Gymnastike is posting gymnastics training video every Wednesday. Here’s a sample:

Junior National team member Donothan Bailey of Azarian’s Gymnastics in California trains new skills on vault and high bar.

http://www.gymnastike.org/assets/portal/add_ons/mediaplayer-3-16/mediaplayer.swf

Donothan is on the men’s 16-18 junior national team. He trains at Azarian Gymnastics in Aliso Viejo, CA under Coach Eduard Azarian and Coach Tim Klempnauer.

Donothan Bailey Workout – Gymnastike

http://gymnast.com/flashplayer/FlashPlayer.swf?v=http://www.gymnast.com/media/gymnast//upload/Videos/Ranch/belanatgymday.flv&eb=1&ap=1&av=sportnet.gy.videos&pv=video&szv=320×240&apv=doubleclick

Vietnamese gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong has retired after being suspended by F.I.G. at the Olympics for testing positive for a banned substance. She was the last female gymnast added under the “wild card” program.

… Thuong is a first-year student in the Gymnastics Faculty at Sports and Physical Training University No. 1 in Bac Ninh province, where she is studying to become a coach.

Gymnastics star says goodbye to career – Vietnam Net

Amusing.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

I often find people too critical of leos.

Not this time.

Here are some of the worst EVER.

Click PLAY or watch fashion disaster on YouTube.

The Canadian Premiere of a German documentary is Friday, September 19th at the Calgary International Film Festival.

… this tiny little film perfectly captures the paradoxes and myths of the Chinese Olympic juggernaut in its training regimes for children. Seeing the Machine’s toll on the small faces of exhausted, crying children is a revelatory snapshot of a nation’s insistence on dominance and a testimony to its poor citizens and their obligations to the state.

The gymnastic children of The Red Race carry all of these expectations on their proud little shoulders and, through tears and injury, manage to maintain their dignity, striving above all else to make their parents proud and to realize their potential. Despite the slender odds and ceaseless criticism from instructors, they stand firm and behave well beyond their years to exemplify courage and perseverance.

The Red Race is a fascinating study in Chinese methodology and gives us glimpses of golden Olympic obsession and the human costs necessary to achieve it.

The Red Race (2007) – Calgary International Film Festival