perfect 10

So I know that I admitted in an earlier post that Rick over at Gymnastics Coaching has been slowly persuading me that the event specialist is not a bad thing. And while I confess that I am starting to agree with him, I still can’t help advocating for All Arounders.

With Cheng Fei dashing my hopes last month, my thoughts have recently turned to Alicia Sacramone. I’m guessing that she’ll be on the US Olympic Team barring any major injuries or problems. She’s a former World Champion on Floor, multiple World medalist on Vault and she has recently enjoyed a resurgence on the Beam. All that leaves is Bars. And honestly she’s not that bad on the Bars. Check out this youtube video of her from last year’s nationals.

I’m not saying she’s Svetlana Khorkina or anything but she’s got a respectable routine. And since she was still training Bars as of last Spring (2007 season for Brown University), it wouldn’t be that difficult to start up again. It certainly seems like it would be worth a shot.

What do you think? Should Sacramone dust off her grips?

From the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. One of the first release moves on the women’s uneven parallel bars.

This one speaks for itself.

In honor of Chellsie Memmel’s return to competition this week I thought I would post a photo of her as my Photo of the Week. I found this on got-chalk. You’ll also find a youtube video of her from the 2003 World Championships. One of her best bar routines. Here’s to hoping she can return to full form soon.

So apparently the choice for the best Bar Worker of All Time should have been easy. Everyone has been casting their vote for Khorkina. She accepts your vote of confidence.

In honor of her clear victory here, I decided to post one of her best routines (there were, of course, many to choose from). This is from the 2000 Olympic Events Finals, where she took home the gold.

Yang Bo, without question. Nobody has ever worked on the Beam with as much ease and amplitude as she. She was absolutely exquisite. She never took home the gold from the World Championships or Olympic Games and it was heartbreaking to watch her fumble repeatedly (’89 & ‘91 Worlds, ‘92 Olympics) when the ultimate prize was at stake. I wonder if we’ll ever see another Beam Worker like her.

I considered posting the youtube video of her from the 1989 World Championships but the routine ends in such anguish that I couldn’t do it. It’s the best routine I have ever seen, bar none, until the dismount. I can’t bear to post it. I chose this video instead (the quality is poor) because I feel that it showcases her at her best. It’s from the 1989 China Cup. She was truly in a class of her own. And she rocked the dismount.

Who is your favorite Beam Worker of all time? I’m curious to hear who else you think deserves a spot next to Yang Bo…

Now that you’ve read review 1 and review 2, it’s time to move on to the third and final installment of my 2007 World Championships reviews. I’ve given you my take on the good & the bad and now we’ll talk about …

THE OUTRAGEOUS

This list is actually not that long. I thought it would be longer so I added an extra section at the end titled Things that made me go hmmmm.

• Steliana Nistor winning the silver medal in the All Around. I will grant that she is an amazing athlete and admittedly one of the top in the world. But her scores were so completely outrageous that her All Around placement must be mentioned on this list. I just can’t believe that she is second best in the entire world. I know that Barbosa and Ferrari both fell and I’m usually not a fan of athletes falling and still placing ahead of someone that hit four for four. But I might have to make an exception in this case. If you don’t think her scores were a little out there, check out her beam routine from the All Around Final. This scored a 15.55.

  Second best? In the world? I’m not buying it.

(more…)

I came across this photo of Nadia on Flickr last Friday. It was taken by Dave Gilbert in October 1977 at the Hartford Civic Center. He gave me permission to post it here. Click here to see the other great shot he got of Comaneci that day. If you have time, check out some of his other fantastic (non-gymnastics) shots.

I’ve been reading on the other gymnastics blogs and sites lately that people are starting to worry about Shawn Johnson. The concern seems to be that all the media attention will ruin her game, that all the talk shows and appearances and interviews will distract her and ultimately place too much pressure on her.

While I see why this might be a concern and I certainly understand from where the sentiment stems (Kim Zmeskal in 1992, Vanessa Atler in 2000, etc), I’m not sure the gymnastics community should be so uneasy about the attention on Johnson. She has had an unbelievable year. She’s undefeated on the world and national level. It’s unlikely she will ever have such a magical year again. If she does have another such year, wonderful. If not, let’s let her enjoy this one for all it’s worth.

To my knowledge Cheng Fei of China, the reigning Olympic and World Vault Champion has only competed on Vault, Beam and Floor in the past few years. Why is that? Why isn’t she an All Around gymnast? You would think that it’s because she is significantly sub par on Bars and has therefore been relegated to a position on the Chinese National Team as a specialist. Now, granted she may not be quite up to the Chinese standard on Bars but she’s certainly not bad by any stretch of the imagination. Check out this youtube video of her as a junior in 2003.

As you can see she certainly has the technique and body line to be fantastic on Bars. And supposing she was only so-so on this event she would still be a threat for All Around gold in any competition she entered. Don’t believe me? Check out her Beam performance from the recent Shanghai World Cup earlier this year.

She scored a 16.10 and won the gold for that routine (and rightfully so). So why doesn’t she compete Bars? Anyone know?