Ok, so I was obviously disappointed that Ashley Priess wasn’t competing this year. Nevertheless, there was still plenty to pique my interest at this year’s National Championships. Some of my thoughts on the athlete’s in the women’s competition…
1. Shawn Johnson: Wow. She completely dominated the competition, rocking all 8 of her sets. My favorites in her vast bag of tricks?
- Jaeger on Bars
- Double Double on Floor
- Standing back layout stepout to back pike combo on Beam
My main complaint with her gymnastics would be the artistic component. While she is still pleasing to the eye, she lacks some of the crispness and polish that I would like to see at the senior elite level. I don’t think it would take much to improve her artistry. Attention to some of the small details would make a big difference. For example, she never lifts her head during her dance on Beam and with some improved choreography on Floor, I think she could really shine.
2. Shayla Worley: She is definitely a favorite of mine. She has the artistry that Johnson lacks and a gorgeous body line. If she could improve on her overall consistency and pull out a double yurchenko on vault (instead of a 1.5), I think she could be among the best in the world.
3. Ivana Hong: Her floor routine is outstanding. Absolutely incredible presentation. A given for GAGE gymnasts, it seems. And I can’t believe her beautiful double yurchenko. Such clean form and great height for such a tiny gymnast. I’m looking forward to seeing more of her.
4. Bridget Sloan: I can’t say. I didn’t get to see her. You would think that the winner of the US Classic might at least get some TV time. You can catch her on YouTube, though the quality isn’t great. From what I’ve seen so far, she looks like a good all arounder and a great asset for the US team. I particularly like her double turn on Beam and her toe-on tkatchev on Bars.
5. Nastia Liukin: I’m not sure why she competed on Floor and Vault at this competition. She was clearly in no shape to do so and she risked injury by pushing it on these two events. Bars and Beam however were a completely different story. It was like watching two different athletes.
Her incredibly high scores on Bars and Beam pulled her all the way to third place in the All Around. It seems outrageous that an athlete who struggled (seriously) in 5 out of 8 of her routines can still pull out the bronze medal but that’s the way it goes with the new code of points. Nastia is just so completely dominant on Beam and Bars. She will certainly be an asset to the US on those two events and I wish her well as she works to bring her Floor and Vault back up to speed.
Other random thoughts…
- I’m still a big fan of Alicia Sacramone. She can really rock on 3 events and I wish she would compete Bars. Heck, like Nastia, she might be able to pull out on top of the all around competition because she scores so well on the other events. It’s worth a shot.
- I really liked Jana Bieger’s front aerial to two feet. Cool!
- I was disappointed to see Nastia’s leap pass on Beam end with a wolf jump. She performed an absolutely exquisite switch ring leap, followed by a straight leg sissone with her trademark incredible flexibility, and then finished it with a wolf jump. It ruins the combo, in my opinion, by tacking on something that is more choppy. It just doesn’t flow well.
- What is up with Alicia Sacramone’s neck stand on Beam? She isn’t in full split and it just seems so random.
- Chellsie Memmel is pretty cool. She comes in and just rocks a Floor set and then checks out. As she said, she just wanted to let everyone know that she’s still out there. Seems like she got the message across.
So there you have it. Those are some of my thoughts. What were some of your impressions?
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:38 pm
I agree about Shawn Johnson. Great gymnastics, but her artistry definitely needs work. And I also disagree about the wild claims the Johnson camp has made (e.g., she’s the #1 or #2 gymnast in the world) when Johnson has yet to compete against the best of the U.S. uninjured and will only compete in her first major senior international competition in two weeks.
And I adore Ivana Hong. I really wish she had gotten third, especially since she was more solid than Nastia (also a favorite of mine). Hopefully she’ll gain a few more difficult skills to really give everybody a run for their money. With some polishing, she could be absolutely amazing.
And I’m still wondering about Jana Beiger being left off the World team in favor of Sam Pezsek. Since NBC sucks with gymnastics coverage, we didn’t get to see Jana’s meltdown on beam or any of Sam’s routines, so we can’t agree or disagree either way.
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Can you tell me where Tessa PAma was and why she wasn’t at Nationals? Is she injured and do you think she would have beataen Sahwn or bumped Nastia out of the medals?
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:09 pm
To Danielle:
AFAIK, Pama had a foot injury which looks to make her chances next year slim.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:42 pm
“An update on tonight’s senior women’s competition: Alicia Sacramone, who originally expected to compete all four events, told Inside Gymnastics yesterday that she’ll likely compete only three events, based on advice from her coach and from the national team coordinator, Martha Karolyi. Having hoped to challenge for the all around title, Sacramone said she was a little disappointed not to compete all four, but understood that both Mihai Brestyan and Karolyi wanted her to focus on her three key events and not risk injury.”
that is a quote from insidegymnastics.com
it should clear up a few questions about why alicia did not compete in the all around. although i feel she should have.
I really feel as though Marta may have too much of a say when it come to decisions for the national team. I mean if Nastia can finish third with two good events its possible that Alicia could actually win with three good events. That would mean that Marta would actually have to consider her as an all around gymnast and not just a specialist.
Also, there are a few other gymnasts I hope were at least considered for the world team, Jana being one of them. But also Geralen Stack-Eaton. Throughout the competition she did well and proved she could hold her own among the top gymnasts in our country, even though she did not have the best day 2 competition.
August 25th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Thanks to all of you for your comments and the information you provided.
To weigh in on a few things mentioned…
Hatsumomo: I’m guessing that Peszek was chosen over Bieger due to her stronger vaulting scores. She performs a double twisting yurchenko (a good one) while Bieger still only throws a one and a half. They both had a rough meet at Nationals so it was probably a tough call but since the US Women are typically weaker on Vault, that likely factored strongly into choosing Peszek.
Cassie: Yes, I too read that info about Sacramone on the Inside Gymnastics site. I guess my question would be: What injury would Sacramone have risked by competing Bars? Is there some unknown injury that we don’t know about? Something just seems fishy about that, don’t you think?
September 2nd, 2007 at 10:16 pm
[…] perfect 10 ยป 2007 US Nationals […]
September 5th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I don’t understand why Ivan Hong’s bars score is so low. Can somebody please enlighten me? It seems to me that she is doing a lot of the same stuff as the other competitors with a few unique combinations, but she’s not getting rewarded for it. Her swinging ability and handstands ability and artistry are as good as anybody out there, so if she’s not scoring well, then she needs to change the composition of her routine. Shame on her coaches if that’s the case.
September 9th, 2007 at 12:21 am
why wasn’t ashley priess at nationals this year?
October 14th, 2007 at 3:50 am
I looooooooooooooove NASTIA…she is the best Gymnast EVER!!!!
i looove you Nast, you r in our hearts forever,
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD LUCK in Bejing<33
love lOVE love LOVE u!
nastia:) =]
from Adla
October 14th, 2007 at 3:53 am
NASTIA LIUKIN!!!!(I LOOOVE YOU) is the FIRST,
SHAYLA is the second,
ALICIA is the third,
IVANA 4th
SAMY 5th
SHAWN 6th
March 29th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
okay i think shawn like everybody else says needs to work on her choreo and dance. but it seems almost not fair that the girl that wins everything pretty much relys on her small frame to do the big tricks she does.