legends in white

How much Gymnastics history can you capture in just one photo?

’92 Olympic Beam Champ Tatiana Lysenko

Tatiana Lysenko is the 1992 Olympic champion on balance beam.

Born in Kherson, Ukraine, Taanait has a Ukrainian-Jewish background.

Her home town is right now occupied by Putin’s troops. Tatiana lives in California.

She won bronze in the all-around at the ’93 Worlds for Ukraine after the breakup of the USSR.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Thanks Chere Hoffman and Dave Lease for the link.

Yulo’s 2022 Floor

Caitlin Rooskrantz interview

Wow.

After reading this interview I feel I know Caitlin personally. AND I’m an even bigger fan.

Being in gymnastics has normalised crying,” Caitlin Rooskrantz says. And then she laughs. “My coach [Ilse Roets] has los trane (loose tears). I’m always crying, we all are. It’s contagious. We all have deep feelings and we cry for anything. We even cry when we’re really happy.”

A year ago Rooskrantz became the first South African female gymnast to compete in an Olympics since 2004. …

“Attending an Olympics was a lifelong dream for me. And the unspoken rule among athletes is that you have to get a tattoo. So, while I have the rings, I have another tattoo [on her right arm] which I got after I qualified for Tokyo in 2020.

“It says: ‘And Still I Rise’. It carries significant meaning for me. It’s a reinforcement that I’m resilient, that I will always bounce back. I will always be going forward in my career and I will always rise above everything thrown at me. In my own eyes, I’ll always be a winner.” …

SA gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz rises above the falls while striving to be the best

It was written before Caitlin won Bronze on Bars at Commonwealth Games.

Gymnastics more competitive worldwide

It’s a good sign that more nations around the world are competitive at the highest levels.

I wonder how long Belarus and ROC / Russia will be out. Until Putin withdraws from Ukraine, I assume.