tumbling, tramp, diving, acrobatics, circus, cheer, dance, martial arts, X sports … and more
Another reason to promote fitness.
Obese and overweight people require more fuel to transport them and the food they eat, and the problem will worsen as the population literally swells in size, a team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine says.
…
At least 400 million adults worldwide are obese. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects by 2015, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese.
Men’s gymnastics needs a media “superstar”.
We really haven’t had one since Sexy Alexei Nemov.
Paul Hamm is popular in the USA, but he’s no Nemov.
The best candidate on the horizon, I think, is Germany’s Fabian Hambuechen. Everybody loves this guy. And he is GOOD.
source?
One cute story:
Fabian Hambuechen was celebrating his high bar title with an adoring fan club that only sounded as if it included all of Germany when he spotted an unhappy Alicia Sacramone.
The term “bad mood” simply doesn’t exist in this gymnast’s vocabulary – in English or his native German – so he walked over to the American and put his arm around her, determined to make her smile.
“I was upset after (finishing second on) floor exercise. He was like, `Come on, baby, walk with me,”’ Sacramone said, laughing at the memory. “He’s all about having fun.”
And with the run he’s on, Hambuechen is having a blast.
“I love it,” he said recently. “I just try to take the good things out of it, take the good motivation.”
Just 20, Hambuechen will be a multi-medal threat at the Beijing Olympics. …
NBC Olympics – Olympics could give world `Fabi Fever’
Analyst John Roethlisberger at the USA VISA Championships said that Paul Hamm is now ahead of Fabian in the All-Around, with a higher start score particularly on rings.
Wow.
Where to start.
My heart goes out to the many American gymnasts who have sacrificed so much for a shot at the Olympics. But only 14 will go forward to the next stop in Philadelphia.
There are many, many ways to put together the US Team. Without the Hamms, it would be a hodgepodge. With the Hamms, the team is a strong contender.
Online you will see a great deal of analysis of this meet. Speculation on who should make the final team.
From what I saw tonight …
#1 Paul Hamm – All-Around
#2 Kevin Tan – the USA needs his Ring routine to be doing the same sport as China. And Kevin can contribute on other apparatus.
#3 Morgan Hamm – Looked good, especially considering how little time he has spent on routines.
#4 Sasha Artemev – the USA needs his Pommels. But he missed them tonight. Had a bad meet, actually. In danger of not moving on. Awesome gymnast on several apparatus.
#5 David Durante or Joseph Hagerty. Or David Sender. Or even Yewki Tomita.
Thank God I am not on the selection committee. Looking at the options for contributing scores hurts my brain.
Official RESULTS – USAG
Certainly Raj Bhavsar will go forward to the Olympic Trials. He had a great meet tonight. Justin Spring the selectors will love — but he looks like he hasn’t competed in a year. He hasn’t.
Jonathan Horton everyone loves. He finished 3rd on Floor, 2nd on Rings and 6th of Vault. But he’s very inconsistent. Missed Horizontal Bar again. Jon’s looking forward to the second day of competition.
Raj Bhavsar
The last time I saw Raj he was being led away, having been randomly selected for drug testing. This is standard procedure at these meets. I recall TKO commenting some weeks ago that Raj looked “juiced”. Of course that is ludicrous. But the testing will tell for sure.
Related:
In His Own Words: Raj Bhavsar – Inside Gymnastics
The Flip Side with Raj Bhavsar – video profile on Gymnast.com
Note: Blaine Wilson looked bad. Withdrew from the meet after 3 events.
Paul Hamm fell on his last routine, Parallel Bars. And may have hurt his hand though he finished the routine.
The Men’s Artistic Olympic trial #1 is just starting. (Is that Carly Patterson singing the National Anthem?)
I just rushed in from Rhythmic day 1 competition.
I spoke to former great Mary Sanders, judging this competition. Mary told me the level had improved considerably since 2007. And that more athletes were invited to Championships this year.
The venue was better than the past 2 years too, I thought. Especially the spacious warm-up gym:
Results are not yet posted online. But Lisa Wang was dominating. I saw two of her routines. Rope was particularly gorgeous.
Sadly, Lisa did not qualify to the Olympics. In fact, this may be her final competition.
One more thing … A Mom told me their total cost for 1 year for a Junior gymnast approached $50,000. And she has 2 daughters in Rhythmic.
There are no College scholarships for Rhythmic. (Mary Sanders went to Cirque du Soleil.)
It is for the U.S. Men’s program:
TEXANS TUSSLE: Looking at the roster, it seems the list of athletes who don’t have Texas as their homestate is shorter than those who do. Eleven of the 45 men—Taqiy Abdullah-Simmons (Oklahoma), Raj Bhavsar (HGA), Chris Brooks (Oklahoma), Sean Golden (HGA), David Henderson (USOTC), Jamie Henderson (Oklahoma), Jonathan Horton (Oklahoma), Tyler Mizoguchi (HGA), Greg Stine (Air Force), Todd Thornton (USOTC) and Sean Townsend (HGA)—who qualified to compete in the senior division hail from or train in Houston, along with two of the juniors. Another seven of the gymnasts are from other Texas towns—meaning almost half the field has a home base connection to the Lone Star State, which should be good for attendance.
News, Notes & Quotes from Nats – Inside Gymnastics
The Gymblog considers the number of great women’s gymnastics programs in Texas:
It is remarkable how many different athletes, from how many different gyms, have come from Texas. Off the top of one’s head, there are the WOGAites, Karolyi kids, gymnasts from Stars Academy and Cypress Academy, Houston Gymnastics Academy and Texas Dreams. …
Mary Lou Retton. Carly Patterson. Nastia Liukin.
I’m not sure you can find a population base of the same size in the world which has produced more high level international gymnasts.
Leave a comment if you can.
UPDATE:
Aimee and Isis both independently suggested Romania. Certainly for women and quite probably the combined male and female Romanian gymnasts have been better. Both Texas and Romania have populations around 23.5 million.
Also, many famous “Texans” moved to Texas from out-of-State, attracted by the strong clubs.
I stand corrected. Romania is the center of the gymnastics world.
The return of The Wild Rose.
Formerly one of the best women’s competitions in North America, this meet was discontinued many years ago. It’s back.
This prestigious international gymnastics event will be held in Edmonton from April 2-5, 2009.
This event caters to female gymnasts from L.E.A.P. (Alberta Pre-competitive testing program) to F.I.G. International levels and will attract some of the world’s best gymnasts. The purpose of the event is to expose Canadian female gymnasts, coaches and judges to some of the highest caliber of gymnastics the world has to offer.
It’s hosted by Champions Gymnastics in Edmonton, Alberta.
If you are considering adding the meet to your calendar, mention to your girls that nearby is the largest shopping complex in the Americas, the West Edmonton Mall.
Two-time defending champion Dasha Joura took the all-around lead Thursday at the Australian Championships in Melbourne.
Joura led the next highest finisher, Shona Morgan, by more than a full point. Joura earned her highest score on floor exercise, with a personal best 15.750 (6.3 A Panel).
Ashleigh Brennan finished third.
more on International Gymnast
Far more entertaining, I think, than American Idol is So You Think You Can Dance. Season premiere tonight in the USA.
homepage on FOX
The Canadian version is excellent. I assume the other editions worldwide are appealing too. It’s a great formula.
Actually, the Canadian version is only just now auditioning. Oops.
This season I heard much less doom and gloom about the “death” of Men’s NCAA gymnastics.
And with the Olympics looming, excitement about men’s gymnastics in the USA is certainly foremost.
This is a good time for sober reflection.
Ringer T : gymnastics : CafePress.com
In 2008 there are only 15 universities, including the three military service academies.
It costs about $500,000 / year to run an NCAA College Team. And it will turn a modest profit.
By comparison, University of Texas football defensive coordinator assistant coach Will Muschamp has an annual salary of $425,000.
Linda on the roof of a Land Rover somewhere near Kilpisjärvi, Finland.
original – flickr
(via Straight to the Bar)
Gymnastics Coaching.com 