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Rick McCharles
Who will win Olympic medals in the Gymnastics Sports?
Over the coming weeks and months I’ll predict the winner of each event in Beijing. (Or waffle and name two or three gymnasts who will all medal.)
Facebook | Photos from Beijing Olympics 2008 – Facebook
Lets start with the EASY apparatus: Xiao Qin will win Pommel Horse
It’s just for fun. (If your idea of fun is me being proved wrong.)
Leave a comment if you’ve got some advice.
by Rick McCharles
Last year I visited at least 50 training facilities. You can tell within 2 minutes what kind of gym you’re in.
First impressions are telling.
Here’s a gym dedicated to teaching gymnastics — not competing in gymnastics.
It’s a refreshing change:
Teaching gymnastics at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada are Doug Hillis and Keith Russell.
a few more photos on flickr – U of Saskatchewan Gymnastics
Xiao Qin is the World Champion on Pommel Horse leading up to the Olympics in his home country.
But the undisputed King of Swing fell in Athens 2004.
His loss there means big time pressure he’s facing in Beijing. Yet I predict Xiao Qin is destined to win this time.
Click PLAY ore watch his astounding “extension” on YouTube:
We’ve posted this routine before. But it’s worth watching again. And again.
Does China have more young athletes coming up like Xiao Qin?
Click PLAY or watch an age group Chinese gymnast training on the Pommel Buck on YouTube.
This video was first shown to me by Canadian National Coach Edouard Iarov.
Technique in 2008 is to swing as straight as possible when young. Even arched circles I would call a “good error”.
Nadia debuted on Celebrity Apprentice Jan. 3, 2008.
She’s already been fired.
tawdry details – News – Inside Gymnastics Magazine
The international gymnastics community has lost one of its most respected members and an exceptional person.
Karl-Heinz ZSCHOCKE, the former head coach of the GDR artitic gymnastics men’s team and long-standing president of the Technical Committee for Men’s Gymnastics of the International Gymnastics Federation (F.I.G.), who in the last few years was its honorary vice president, died after a short, serious illness in a Berlin hospital on Saturday evening….
His career spanned nine Olympics and 18 World Championships. …
He is survived by his wife Christine, six children and eleven grandchildren. They mourn an exceptional human being, whose kindness and personality will be remembered.
I only met him once when I judged in Australia in the early 1990s. And was quite impressed.
Rest in peace Herr Zschocke.
More great photos by Trent Nelson, Chief Photographer at the Salt Lake Tribune.
From the Utah vs Georgia opening season meet:
Kristina Baskett
If you know Kristina, you know she has “perfect” form on Yurchenko. Yet here the feet are still apart, closing from her takeoff position on the beat board.
… Luckily, the judges can’t see it from their angle.
see the rest – Tribune Blogs — Fly on the Wall
Everyone wants to know how Shawn became World Champion training only once a day, 25hrs / week, with very positive coaching.
Even former World Champion Shannon Miller.
Shannon visited Shawn’s gym to see how she’s progressing towards Beijing. And what new tricks the coaches are considering adding for the Olympics. The video includes some excellent split screen showing both coach and athlete simultaneously.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
That clip is just part of the Gymnastics 360 Olympic preview show. It starts here if you want to watch the whole thing.
(via InGymMom on Chalk Bucket forum)
Gymkata is a 1985 film filmed in Yugoslavia and starring Kurt Thomas as Jonathan Cabot, an Olympic gymnast who combines his gymnastic ability with ninjutsu to enter a deadly competition in a fictional country, Parmistan. It is based on the novel The Terrible Game (1957) by Dan Tyler Moore.
The film has developed a minor cult following as an unintentional comedy for its dubious premise, poor production quality and low budget. Maxim lists the film as the 17th “Worst Movie of All Time”.
The scene always bemoaned loudest by every coach is the pommel horse battle:
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube:
Gymkata – Amazon
These days Kurt is a successful coach and club owner in Texas. his annual competition is getting rave reviews from judges. That meet — February 15, 16 and 17, 2008 — is full and closed. They are taking registrations for 2009.
This is the kind I like best.
It not only pads the hips, but also keeps beginners from sliding their hands too close together.
Home made. At Can-Am Gymnastics, Saskatoon.
Related posts:
Altadore gymnasts from Canada made their first trip to Las Vegas to compete at the Lady Luck competition. One highlight was a visit to the awesome theatre housing Cirque du Soleil’s (always sold out) performance called “O”.
photo – coach Sheena Steacy
See more of the unique acrobatic sculptures by Robert Macdonald at the Bellagio Casino: The Cirque Tribune :: View topic – “O” Lobby Sculptures
( P.S. Congrats to Brit who competed Yurchenko for the first time.)
Gymnastics Coaching.com 