We raced home from our vacation so that I could be home in time to watch the Trials live @ 6pm.  But alas, the coverage was delayed here and didn’t start until 9pm.  Yawn.   I’ve got to admit I’m usually conked out by 10pm.  But I made an exception and even convinced Jason (husband) to stay up and watch with me.  It’s the Olympic Trials after all.  Kind of a big deal.   And although it’s not the same as it used to be, it’s still pretty exciting!

Here were my thoughts as I watched, pretty much in order of what I saw in the TV coverage…

  • I like that tie-style leotard.  That’s a pretty one.  When did that one debut?  2011 Worlds?
  •  Gabby Douglas on vault.  Dang!  What a start!  That’s how you want to kick off a competition.
  •  I like how Al Trautwig talked about Elizabeth Price bringing her 73-year-old coach to tears.  If there is anything I remember about Bill Strauss it’s that he ALWAYS cries.  Not that it isn’t genuine but it’s not like it takes much for that guy to bring on the waterworks, right?
  • The scoring help by NBC was a good idea, I think.  The red, yellow, green indicator next to the scores.  It gives the average viewer just a little bit of help in comprehending the complex scoring.
  • Maroney had a rough go on bars but I like her lines.
  • Anna Li really rocked her bar set.  To quote Jason, “that one handed split flyaway – that’s pretty sweet!” (talking about her 1/1 tkatchev, of course)
  • I asked about Elizabeth Price in my Nationals post b/c nobody was talking about her and they didn’t air any of her routines.  After her Beam set, it sure seemed like folks ought to be talking about her.  Is she usually that solid on beam?   Aaaaand… Bill Strauss is crying again.  

    Photo courtesy of zimbio.com

  • Sacramone nailed her beam set.  She seriously looks exactly the same to me as she did in 2008.
  • Nastia  - what’s going on with her hair?  Looks a little wild.   Ahhh, that was sad to see – really needed to knock our socks off on bars- glad she landed that dismount at least.  ”Poor Nast” -Jason
  • Raisman on Beam – so… romanian looking with her choreography, but dang, she was solid, nice dismount.
  • Ross – gorgeous lines on bars.  Definitely seems to be an asset to the US team there.
  • Bross on Bars.  I’ve never been a huge fan of her gymnastics style but man, that was just heartbreaking.
  • Douglas – wow – fumbled her grip on bars but stayed on.  Beautiful as usual.

 

Photo courtesy of sportsillustrated.cnn.com


  • Elizabeth Price on floor – pretty awesome tumbling and such controlled landings.  For a “power” athlete, she has such a pretty line and I like how she smiles throughout.  Nobody did her any favors, though, with her music and choreography.  Agree?  Disagree?
  • Raisman – that girl has hops!  I suppose everyone else is used to her tumbling now but my jaw still sort of drops when I see her.
  • Liukin  did a nice job on Beam to finish up.   Probably the last time we’ll see her compete, I suppose.
  • Maroney – I like her look on Floor.  Nice routine.  She’s a bouncy one, too.
  • Ross  was gorgeous on beam.  Didn’t look too nervy to me.  Can’t ask for much more than that at Olympic Trials, can ya?
  • Haven’t said much about Wieber yet.  She was fine on bars and beam, nothing spectacular.  A great triple turn on Floor and a crazy good floor routine in general.
  • Great vaults from Sacramone.  Couldn’t really ask for a better performance from her today.  And it was fun for me to see a brief shot of her talking to Kim Zmeskal after vault.
  • Raisman’s Amanar looked scary to me.  Was she having an off day or is it normally like that?
  • Maroney still blows my mind entirely with her Amanar.  Amazing.  There aren’t enough adjectives for her vaulting capabilities.
  • Wieber’s Amanar was good but not great.  Didn’t seem like she got a whole lot of pop off the horse.    Overall, she is just a rock.  Wow.  She seems unflappable.
  • Gabby Douglas on Floor.  I really like how much she smiles and how she genuinely seems like she’s having fun.  A few minor issues but she still rocked the set.
  • Price is so unassuming.  WOW – she also has a spectacular Amanar. If I hadn’t just seen Maroney’s I would have been even more impressed.  They didn’t show her on Bars.  How is she on that event?
  • After the competition wrapped, I quickly tried to comply a team in my head.  And as it turns out, I was right on the money with the top 5.  I was a little off with the alternates, though.  And when the alternates came out, I didn’t even recognize the last one – Sarah Finnegan, it turns out.  I saw a couple of her routines at Nationals.  What’s her strength?  All Around?  Bars?
  • I was kind of pulling for Sacramone to be an alternate.  I know her particular strengths are not as needed, per se, but she has such a wealth of experience and she would be a good leader and presence for the team.   And ’08 team finals aside, she’s a rock and you could put her up in a pinch.
Well, that’s about all from my stream of consciousness.  What did the rest of you think?

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