Chinese Dead Hangs

Team Competition Outlook

Because I was thinking about what countries would likely get the full team berths come 2012.

Locks:

U.S.A.*

China*

Russia*

Romania*

Likely:

Great Britain*

Australia*

Japan*

Italy*

On The Bubble:

Canada

Germany

France

Spain

Brazil

 

*Will likely be in the team final

 

Looking At The U.S. in 2011-12

2011 seniors (from TAAF):

Rachel Daum, Stars
Hallie Mossett, West Coast
Megan Jimenez, Precision
Claire Boyce, Texas Dreams
Sabrina Vega, Dynamic
Jordyn Weiber, Geddart's
Pua Hall, KCDG
Grace McLaughlin, WOGA
McKenzie Wofford, WOGA
McKayla Maroney, AOGC
Gabrielle Douglas, formerly Excalibur, now Chow's

2012 seniors:

Kennedy Baker, Texas Dreams
Brenna Dowell, GAGE (?)
Kyla Ross, Gym-Max
Sarah Finnegan, GAGE (?)
Elizabeth Price, Parkettes
Keely McNeer, Chow's

 Unknown variables:

Shawn Johnson, Chow's
Ivana Hong, WOGA
Nastia Liukin, WOGA
Chellsie Memmel, M&M
Sophina DeJesus, SCEGA
Samantha Shapiro, AOGC
Mattie Larson, AOGC
Kamerin Moore, Geddart's

Wieber is the obvious team pick: she has been developing difficulty across the board and improving her execution. She has a potential 6.7 D-score on UB, an Amanar, and comparable difficulty on FX and BB, with the consistency to boot. Problem is, she has been plagued by injuries as of late. 2010 U.S. Championships were disasterous after coming out of a year resting a hamstring injury.

McKayla Maroney has impressed many with her flawless Amanar. Even the die-hard Russian/Komova fans have conceded Maroney's vault is one of the best. A consistent, high-scoring vault will help the U.S. stack difficulty elsewhere while the U.S. struggles to find high UB scores. So far, however, Maroney seems to be a one-event gymnast. This may be okay in Tokyo, but come London where the team number has been cut down from 6 to 5, a one-event gymnast no longer has a place (unless she's the American He Kexin).

McKenzie Wofford, Gabrielle Douglas, Kyla Ross, and Kennedy Baker seem to be the ones upcoming that have the potential to add to the U.S. UB total. Wofford has the advantage of being a Valeri Liukin pupil and will likely learn how to codewhore to the best of her abilities, especially if she can learn L-grip. A move to Chow's may hinder Douglas' growth on UB, but I would love to be proven wrong. Kyla Ross has the lines and the flow, but Gym-Max hasn't produced anything significant on bars (although it looks like Howie may have finally dumped the German giant skills that was the gym's signature).

This is looking to be the comeback quad with Alicia Sacramone making a magnificent comeback to become VT World Champion and she's working on a FX routine for next year. Johnson's comeback looks to be a serious one after suffering an ACL tear. Liukin is looking to make her own return, which makes most American fans delirously happy because if Liukin can get back to her former glory on UB and have a passable BB routine, she has a spot on both the Tokyo and London teams.

Mattie Larson and Samatha Shapiro...hmm. Larson's ill-timed fall at the World Championships team finals may have been the nail in her elite career's coffin. After two years out with ankle injuries, she was looking great at Classics and Nationals, so much so that she was 2nd all-around behind Bross. Unfortunately, her well-known inconsistency came into play at the worst time and she ended up accruing an extremely large deduction from her FX routine with a fall on her double pike and missing an EGR due to balking on her punch-front layout. This killed the U.S. chance for gold after Russia was essentially handing them the medal. Samantha Shapiro has suffered so many injuries that it doesn't seem worth it for her to continue hurting her body for such a slim chance. Her chances might have been higher with an excellent UB set that she's capable of, but she continually misses handstands and all the perfect execution in the world wouldn't save her from the deductions piling up.

Kamerin Moore and Chellsie Memmel are done with elite gymnastics, if not the sport entirely, I think. Nothing saying until an official retirement announcement has been made. Sophina DeJesus was out with a back injury, but can hopefully return. However, as exciting her FX tends to be, I don't know where else she could help the U.S. and the U.S. does have plenty of FX workers available.

So far, a possible 2011 lineup could be:

VT: Sacramone/Maroney/Wieber/Bross (a lineup of two Amanars and a Rudi is too delicious to pass up)

UB: Wieber/Bross/Liukin

BB: Sacramone/Wieber/Bross/Liukin/Johnson/Raisman

FX: Sacramone/Wieber/Johnson/Bross/Raisman

That's a pretty bad-ass lineup. The U.S. could easily lead on VT and FX and possibly BB (Romania however seems to be solid on that event). Russia and China have the lead on UB, but have weaknesses on FX and VT and both teams have consistency issues. While the U.S. cannot and should not rely on Russia and China faltering, as likely as it may be, they can certainly still be in the running for gold

I'm quite looking forward to 2011 and 2012. Finally the medal podium will see some real competition with China, Russia, the U.S.A., and Romania all contenders.

The De-evolution of Chinese Balance Beam

Then:

Now:

Sad.

The Two Best FX Routines of Nationals

DeJesus, Sophina 2009 US Nationals Prelims FX

Being a huge Twilight Zone fan, I love the music. She not only performs to the music but uses it as well. It's not just ambient background music while she tumbles and prances around. This routine is something more we would see in NCAA, but it's nice to see on the elite stage as well and it obviously gets a high crowd response.

Boyce, Claire 2009 US Nationals Prelims FX

GAGE tends to pump out Terin clones, both music and dance-wise. The music in some parts has the same sounds as Terin's Armenian Tango, but the dance certainly isn't the same. The heartbeat section does have the potential to be a little cheesy and overwrought, but I think it's done well enough to add a dramatic touch to the whole routine. Boyce sells it well.


I hope this isn't crushed out of them if/when these two go senior. Having girls with original choreography could be the thing that sets the USA apart from other countries, especially if the uneven bars situation doesn't improve.

The Current Junior National Team and Thoughts

Kyla Ross
Bridgette Caquatto
Alexandra Raisman
Sabrina Vega
Amanda Jetter
Madison Kocian
Morgan Smith
Briley Casanova
Sophina DeJesus
Katelyn Ohashi
Jordyn Wieber

Not surprised that Wieber was given a wild card position, being the current Golden Girl and all, not to mention that I'm calling her to be the USA representative for the Youth Olympics in Singapore next summer. It remains to be seen if teammate Kamerin Moore will get one of the remaining 7 spots. She recently had surgery to repair a torn labrum and as Chellsie Memmel can testify, the rehabilitation process is long and hard. Who knows if she'll be available to compete for the next year?

DeJesus impressed many with her FX choreo. Well, aside from the fact that she actually has some. But when you're the 2005 junior international hip hop champion, you have a certain reputation to uphold:

Sophina DeJesus

I fully expect the originality to be crushed out of her soon enough, though. Her UB skills also has potential, but not China potential. I fear that the USA will still be lagging way behind on that event.

Ohashi, while not high on difficulty, has the lovely lines and grace that is typical of a GAGE gymnast. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes from her.

Jetter has recovered nicely from her back injury and a shaky Day 1 to come back strong on Day 2. CGA has strong UB workers, but unfortunately, their backs are destroyed before they can fully realize their potential. It's hard to be a fan of her and Cassandra Whitcomb knowing this.

Raisman just squeaked past Vega to grab the AA bronze. True to a Brestyan's gymnast, her bars are terrible, but her FX is amazing. She has the ability to do a 3.5 twist and could possibly do a quad in the future (she fell on her triple full today due to far too much power).

Speaking of Vega, she is high on the cute factor, but made too many mistakes and didn't quite meet the expectations put on her post-Classics. But she has high political favor given that her coach Teodora Ungreneau is a former Karolyi protégé.

Kyla Ross is the unexpected Jr. National Champion. Given that Vega made some mistakes and Wieber wasn't here to blow past the competition, it was nice to actually wonder who was going to win. I haven't seen much of Ross' gymnastics, but she's from Gym-Max, so I imagine that a German giant is somewhere in her UB routine.

Makayla Maroney is also from Gym-Max (not yet on the National Team) and competes an Amanar. She crashed it Day 1, but landed it well today. And that's about all she has going for her right now. Her D scores on all other events don't even go up to a 5.0. But the Amanar was enough to get Marta on her side. Reportedly, Marta went wild when Maroney landed her vault.

Dear Universal Sports,

You provide a great service to sports nuts. You show sports that normally don't get airtime on other stations, like gymnastics, diving, and table tennis. Your online content is accessible to those outside of the United States. You show a great many things live. You don't believe in "if you missed it the first time around, sucks for you." I'm very pleased that you showed Classics and much, much more of Nationals than NBC itself ever has.

But come on! Would it really hurt to show the juniors, too? Today's juniors are tomorrow's seniors and NCAA competitors.

Things Suddenly Got Interesting...

IG2 confirms that Alicia Sacramone is making a comeback. Surprising and yet, not totally for two reasons:

1.) Alicia can still fill a hole within the U.S. team. We need vaulters like whoa because it still hasn't caught on that if you train at the very least a DTY and another relatively mid-to-high level tariff vault (like a Rudi), you're likely to be named onto international teams.

2.) Olympic team final = Desire for redemption.

Dear Valeri,

Teach Ivana a different release skill, please. The Tkachev just isn't working for her. I think she could do a straddled Jaeger nicely.

Dear Andrea Bieger,

Quit talking to every media head that'll give you the time of day about how it was so unfair that Jana wasn't put in for Chellsie. Even with a broken ankle, Chellsie was going to bring in a bigger bars score than Jana. You're not helping your daughter's case AT ALL. Maybe you should be working on making Jana's gymnastics cleaner and not so labored.

Love,

Gym fans everywhere

In This Post, There Are No Creepy Men

2009 American Classic/Challenge participants
By state, information shows name, hometown/club (event, level)

California
Kaitlyn Clark, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Precision Gymnastics (Classic, senior)
Sophina DeJesus, Temecula, Calif./Southern California Elite Gymnastics Academy (Classic, junior)
Carinne Gale, Simi Valley, Calif./Monarch's National Gymnastics Training Center LLC (Classic, junior)
McKayla Maroney, Laguna Niguel, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Danielle McNair, Dove Canyon, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Challenge, junior)
Nicolette McNair, Dove Canyon, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Kristen Nogaki, Orange, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Challenge, junior)
Danielle Ramirez, Corona, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Challenge, junior)
Chanen Raygoza, Upland, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Kyla Ross, Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Ashley Stott, Temecula, Calif./Precision Gymnastics (Classic, senior)

Georgia
Makenzie Kitchens, Powder Springs, Ga./Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta (Challenge, junior)
Eryn Underwood, Kennesaw, Ga./Gymnastics Academy of Atlanta (Challenge, Hopes)

Florida
Morgan Smith, Clermont, Fla./Brandy Johnson's Global Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Hawaii
Randi Lau, Honolulu, Hawaii/What's Up Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Iowa
Kara Lovan, Des Moines, Iowa/Triad Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Massachusetts
Alexandra Raisman, Needham, Mass./Brestyan's American Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

North Carolina
Kimberly Jacob, Raleigh, N.C./Superior Gymnastics (Classic, senior)
Sarah Persinger, Mt. Holly, N.C./Southeastern Gymnastics Center (Classic, senior)

New York
Sabrina Vega, Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Oklahoma
Alexandra Marks, Cushing, Okla./Dynamo Gymnastics (Challenge, Hopes)
Dare Maxwell, Edmond, Okla./Dynamo Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Pennsylvania
Lauren Beers, Warren Center, Pa./Southern Tier Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Jazmyn Estrella, Allentown, Pa./Parkettes National Gymnastics Center (Challenge, Hopes)
Madeline Hanley, Danielsville, Pa./Parkettes National Gymnastics Center (Classic, junior)
Elizabeth Price, Coopersburg, Pa./Parkettes National Gymnastics Center (Classic, junior)

Texas
Caitlin Atkinson, Houston, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Mackenzie Brannan, Austin, Texas/Capital Gymnastics Super Center (Classic, junior)
Briley Casanova, Dallas, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Ericha Fassbender, Katy, Texas/Stars Gymnastics Training Center-Houston (Classic, junior)
Lillian Hardin, Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Raven Helland, Oak Point, Texas/Denton Gymnastics Academy (Classic, junior)
Kristen Heuston, Corpus Christi, Texas/Northwest Kids Sports Complex (Challenge, Hopes)
Sophia Lee, Plano, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Grace McLaughlin, Allen, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Abigail Milliet, Denton, Texas/Denton Gymnastics Academy (Classic, junior)
Braie Speed, Schertz, Texas/Olympic Hills Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Christa Tanella, Lucas, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics (Classic, senior)
McKenzie Wofford, Spring, Texas/Stars Gymnastics Training Center-Houston (Classic, junior)

Virginia
Gabrielle Douglas, Virginia Beach, Va./Excalibur Gymnastics (Classic, junior)
Kaitlynn Hedelund, Chesapeake, Va./Excalibur Gymnastics (Challenge, junior)
Krystine Jacobsen, Norfolk, Va./Excalibur Gymnastics (Classic, junior)

Washington
Destinee Davis, Woodland, Wash./Naydenov Gymnastics Inc. (Challenge, Hopes)

This looks more like the WOGA and Gym-Max show. I'm curious to see how Chanen Raygoza does. Like previous Gym-Max gymnasts Shantessa Pama and Ivana Hong, Chanen also does a German giant in her UB routine, however instead of doing a reverse hecht out of it, she does a HB-LB transitional skill:

Chanen Raygoza Bars

I'm also wondering where Randi Lau is at. For having made her first National Team, she really hasn't been given a lot of assignments, though to be fair, there really isn't a lot of assignments for juniors in an Olympic year and immediately after.