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International Gymnast posted an interesting interview with Filip.
Though he qualified as an All-Arounder, Filip plans to compete only Floor and Pommels in Beijing, due to injury. (There will be many more, I expect. The AA is a dying event in Men’s Gymnastics.)
His best apparatus is Pommel Horse. Very smooth.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I like the Magyar Spindle at the beginning.
Word is that Sasha has reduced difficulty on Pommel Horse and Vault. (No triple twisting Yurchenko this time.)
I REALLY hope he hits at Olympic Trials tonight, Thursday. It would be a shame if he does not get through to Beijing.
IG
Katrina sent us the bad news:
Add U.S. men’s gymnastics national all-around champion David Sender to the list of athletes who are injured as the U.S. Olympic trials begin tonight at the Wachovia Center.
Sender won the national title last month when Paul Hamm was forced to withdraw after getting injured the first day of competition. Wednesday night, Sender was planning to get an MRI on his right ankle after team officials determined it was not broken during an accident.
After finishing his practice session on the high bar, the bar was vibrating. He jumped up to tap the bar to make it stop. When he came down, his foot rolled off the mat.
“It’s one of those things you do every day in the gym,” men’s program director Dennis McIntyre said. “It’s really unfortunate.”
McIntyre said Sender wasn’t talking much: “He knows what’s on the line.”
Last week Jonathan Horton had a less serious injury scare. He rolled his ankle on a pommel mat.
I talked to “Svetlana” this week at the Level 4 course in Calgary, a friend of mine, one of the coaches at Salta Gymnastics in Canada.
Salta posts many videos from the club.
But the best of all is her hilarious Svetlana Handstand Queen video. (Gymnast.com)
You’ve got to see it!
Samantha Sendel (born 1991) is another trampoline superstar out of Toronto, Canada. She finished 3rd at Canadian Championships behind teammates and 2008 Olympians Karen Cockburn and Rosannagh MacLennan.
This makes Samantha the Olympic alternate.
Not many male trampolinists have ever done Samantha’s repertoire of big tricks. She rocks!
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Sam’s coached by Dave Ross who also built this “Super Tramp“.
A Super Tramp is 13 feet wide (3.96 meters) and 20 feet long (6.09 meters). A regular trampoline is approximately 7 feet wide (2.13 meters) and 14 feet long (4.26 meters). The Super Tramp’s bed is string with approximately 960,000 spaces. Designed by Dave Ross and Rebound Products, Inc.
Related post: Canada a trampoline superpower
I saw this video linked from Don Eckert’s Saltocafe, my favourite YouTube channel.
Footage from 2008 Australian National Championships and Olympic trials.
Gymnasts include Larissa Miller, Amber Fulljames, Naomi Russell, Fiona Coley, Ashleigh Brennan, Dasha Joura, Lauren Mitchell, Melanie Jones, Shona Morgan, Emma Dennis, Georgia Bonora, Victoria Williams.
Very well edited with both artistic and acrobatic highlights.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
After many, many problems in the run up to the Games, I have a feeling the Aussies are going to do very well in Beijing.
What would we do without the Australian Gymnastics Blog? Thanks.
The Olympic Trials will be simulstreamed on NBCOlympics.com, beginning with live coverage of the men’s second day on the afternoon of Saturday, June 21 (4:30p) and continuing the women’s first day (8p). The women’s second day will be live on Sunday, June 22 (7p), all times ET. The competitions will be archived in their entirety on NBCOlympics.com so fans can re-watch the action online, and video clips will be posted of top competitors.
I assume those videos will be available only to fans in the U.S.A.
The rest of the world — including me in Canada — will have to wait for the highlight routines to make their way to YouTube and other video sharing sites.
Much as I am irked with NBC over this restriction and their lousy website video interface, their article previewing trials is a quality overview of the meet coming up:
For Johnson and Liukin, it’s going to come down to execution
As far as the Olympics are concerned, placement isn’t so important for this pair. Barring a disaster, they’ll be the top two finishers at Trials. And, like Nationals, Trials could serve as a preview of the women’s all-around final in Beijing. They could finish in either order.
Clearly two of the top (if not the top two) gymnasts in the world, Liukin and Johnson impress in distinctly different ways: Johnson with big skills, including her two and a half-twisting Yurchenko vault, and Liukin with an intricate pirouetting sequence ending in a release move on uneven bars.
It’s those events, uneven bars and vault, where each has a distinct advantage over the other, but their total difficulty scores (what their routines are worth) are almost equal.
A breakdown of their difficulty scores:
read the entire article – NBC Olympics
Shawn should have the better B-scores. And will win IF they both hit.
original photo – Getty
Related post: NBC TV sucks
Eliza (malimalimali123) posted another very well edited video. This time USA Women’s VISA Championships acrobatics highlights.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
more videos from malimalimali123
Since 2000, seven Olympic medals have been won for the U.S.A. by “new” citizens who had been international performers for their home countries. One of those was gymnast Annia Hatch from Cuba. Anna won Silver on Vault in 2004. And Silver in Team.
So why can’t Mr. Amazing, Charlie Tamayo, try out for the 2008 Team?
… Gymnast Charles León Tamayo, who won Cuba’s first medal at a world championship at age 20 in 2001, defected to the United States in 2003. But following pro bono legal advice he applied for asylum.
If Tamayo had instead waited one year after defecting and applied for relief under the Cuban Adjustment Act, he would have been eligible for a green card immediately, fast-tracking his bid for citizenship. Instead he was ineligible for the 2004 Olympic teams and is still inelgibile for 2008. To qualify for 2012, when he will be 31, he is seeking special legislation.
Related post: video – Charlie Tamayo can do ANYTHING
Woodward West Gymnastics and Action Sports camp is already rolling. Here’s a promo clip for 2008 featuring Charlie and other familiar faces. This really brings back fond memories for me.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 