The following are my picks for the US Team Delegation to the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia. As in other posts, I admit that my opinions are limited by NBC coverage. There very well could be other athletes who are overlooked because I have only seen a select few. And due to the fact that I haven’t seen the men compete in quite some time (limited, if any, NBC airtime & I haven’t been to a live competition since the US Olympic Trials), I will only comment on the women’s side of the scale. That being said, here are the athletes I would like to see on the floor at Worlds…
Vault: Alicia Sacramone & Jana Bieger (alternate: Chellsie Memmel)
Bars: Nastia Liukin & Chellsie Memmel (alternate: Jana Bieger)
Beam: Nastia Liukin & Jana Bieger (alternate: Chellsie Memmel)
Floor: Alicia Sacramone & Nastia Liukin (alternate: Chellsie Memmel)
All-Around: Nastia Liukin & Chellsie Memmel (alternate: Jana Bieger)
Some of you may be questioning two of my picks: Jana Bieger on Beam and Nastia Liukin on Floor. Here is why I think they should have a shot on these events. Jana has one of the most unique and interesting Beam sets in the country. If she can prove her consistency here (Day 2 at Nationals notwithstanding), it would be great to see her in the U.S. lineup on Beam. And she would then have a shot to have her combination of back salto to one leg, front tuck from one leg to one leg named after her.
As for Nastia on Floor… although her tumbling is not as strong as her other U.S. counterparts, she does have one of the most beautiful sets in the world. I have rarely seen someone perform a floor exercise routine with as much precision and beauty. She is truly mesmerizing. I think the international judges would be duly impressed. And her tumbling, though lacking the proverbial double salto, is considerable in it’s own right.
Each country can only send 4 female athletes (6 male) to this year’s World Championships, which will feature competition in the All-Around and Event Finals. Those are my picks. What are some of yours?
October 16th, 2005 at 8:22 am
I think that Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, and Jana Bieger will be the four gymnasts that our sent to Worlds. Kassi Price and Melanie Sinclair are also two good gymnasts, but Kassi lacks experience in the senior field and can be inconsistent (as seen at Nationals), and Melanie has been injured.
As for events go, Nastia is just world class. Like you said, she just has a distinct flair that sets her apart from other gymnasts. She is consistent and always does well on her beam(amazing!), bars, and floor.
However, I think that Memmel would be better suited at beam than Bieger. Memmel has competed this event in multiple big competitions (like 2003 Worlds) and has done well. She has an awesome set, not to say that Bieger doesn’t, but she has the best chance at nailing it.
October 16th, 2005 at 11:55 am
Thanks for your comments, Emmalee. You are probably right about Bieger and Memmel on Beam. Memmel does have more experience.
Another wild card might be Courtney McCool. If her wrist is completely healed, she is going to try for a spot on the team. She is absolutely exquisite on Beam and would be a great addition to the team. However, Bieger would be able to step in on virtually any event whereas McCool might not be able to compete on the other events yet. They might prefer to leave her at home until she is back up to par on all the apparatus. We’ll see!
October 31st, 2005 at 5:14 am
I think that most of you estamtes are absolutly correct! But I do have a couple of questions. Dont you think Memmel would be better suited on Vault than Bieger? Memmel has a 9.8 SV, while Bieger only has a 9.7 SV. And I agree with the beam statement although that would mean Bieger would not compete at all, which wouldnt be fair…
October 31st, 2005 at 8:39 pm
I think that Bieger is capable of doing a 9.8 SV vault, though. I like her vaulting style much more than that of Memmel’s. I think that as long as Bieger can show consistancy on the beam, she will be chosen to compete for that event (I absolutely love her original skills!).
November 25th, 2005 at 7:37 am
I love your website. This is has changed gymnastics from a dull and routine sport into a much more debatable and wholesome one. Very well done.
=D
August 15th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
you rock at gymnastics. you are so terrific! congrats on getting the gold in beijing. i know this is probably weird but you are really pretty. anyway, congrats on being a world champ.