Artistic Gymnastics: Stick the Landing!

[NUguy514]

11 hours ago, DawnDavenport said:

I think most people thought it was going to be a Shawn Johnson coronation (shades of Kwan '98) but I knew as soon as Nastia landed her vault, she was ready to bring it on.

 

11 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Yeah I knew as soon as Nellie Kim was getting involved in Nastia's scores she was going to win.

I was totally Team Ms. Liukin If You're Nastia.  I sensed during the qualifications that she would emerge as the AA champ.  When she hit her vault to start the AA competition, it was just inevitable; Nellie was just making sure Nastia's beam score was correct, which it was because Nastia nailed that routine LIKE A BOSS.  I liked Shawn a lot, but her gymnastics weren't as captivating to me as Nastia's.  The real story in Beijing for me was how close Yang Yilin came to winning silver; THAT should never have happened.  Shawn should have been comfortably in second, not needing a balls-to-the-wall floor routine to overtake Yang for silver.  Frankly, I thought Ksenia Semenova should have won bronze, but the judges really tried to do the home team a solid.

[choclatechip45]

The Today Show has a bunch of Olympians on right now. Danell recieved a special shout out and is seated right between Matt and Bob Costas. So happy that he is getting recognized! 

4 hours ago, NUguy514 said:

 

I was totally Team Ms. Liukin If You're Nastia.  I sensed during the qualifications that she would emerge as the AA champ.  When she hit her vault to start the AA competition, it was just inevitable; Nellie was just making sure Nastia's beam score was correct, which it was because Nastia nailed that routine LIKE A BOSS.  I liked Shawn a lot, but her gymnastics weren't as captivating to me as Nastia's.  The real story in Beijing for me was how close Yang Yilin came to winning silver; THAT should never have happened.  Shawn should have been comfortably in second, not needing a balls-to-the-wall floor routine to overtake Yang for silver.  Frankly, I thought Ksenia Semenova should have won bronze, but the judges really tried to do the home team a solid.

I agree about Shawn she should have never been that close to receiveing the bronze. I think the whole training camp after trials burned her out. Also her bars should have been upgraded so she could have been more competitive with Nastia. At least Chow learned from that mistake with Gabby.

[kittykat]

I agree with the results of the 08 AA.  Nothing against Shawn Johnson but I always found Nastia's gymnastics cleaner and more fluid but they really did hold that 08 team together.  

NBC needs to stop trying to create a narrative by choosing a "special darling".  Not that Shawn didn't have a great Olympics but they were clearly fazed when Nastia won over her.  Just like in 12 when Jordyn Wieber was the darling and Sam Mikulak this year.  Just let things play out NBC.

I'm having Tears of Olympics are Almost Over.  I had so much fun with you all. 

[choclatechip45]

18 minutes ago, kittykat said:

I agree with the results of the 08 AA.  Nothing against Shawn Johnson but I always found Nastia's gymnastics cleaner and more fluid but they really did hold that 08 team together.  

NBC needs to stop trying to create a narrative by choosing a "special darling".  Not that Shawn didn't have a great Olympics but they were clearly fazed when Nastia won over her.  Just like in 12 when Jordyn Wieber was the darling and Sam Mikulak this year.  Just let things play out NBC.

I'm having Tears of Olympics are Almost Over.  I had so much fun with you all. 

They seriously did hold that '08 team together. Such a shit show by the end seemed like everyone besides those two plus Bridget Sloan  was injured. They survived the hunger games. I remember watching the American Cup in 2012 I was on an airplane I could just hear the oh crap in everyone's voices when Gabby was beating Jordyn. Gabby made  nationals and trials exciting. I think that's why I can't ever hate her because going into 2012 it looked like Jordyn was going to dominate everything and as we saw this year that isn't fun to watch. I don't like watching people fail healthy competition is fun.

I did hate how NBC acted like Gabby came out of nowhere. Martha said Gabby, Jordyn and Nastia were on her Olympic team at her press conference post 2011 Worlds.

Edited August 19, 2016 by choclatechip45

[Dots And Stripes]

Did I see that Madison is on the tour? How does that work with her NCAA eligibility? TIA

[Maelstrom]

De-lurking to say how much I enjoyed reading everyone's comments here over the last couple of weeks. I only ever seem to catch gymnastics during Olympic years, so I'm not especially up to speed on the finer details of it all, but I always like watching the crumbs that NBC deigns to share with us. If only their coverage didn't suck so spectacularly (I believe I saw exactly one routine out of the entire gala, the Brazilian man who took silver on floor. And that's with setting my DVR to record three different blocks on two channels. SMH)

Oh, and because it can't be said enough: STFU, Al! Take your imaginary diary and shove it. "Dear Diary, today I was a colossal sexist ass on national tv, it was the best day ever! Love, Al"

I'm all for getting Terry Gannon and Nastia to take over the announcing, as suggested upthread. It's time to put Al out to pasture.

[Minneapple]

11 minutes ago, Dots And Stripes said:

Did I see that Madison is on the tour? How does that work with her NCAA eligibility? TIA

As long as she doesn't take any money from sponsors, she should be able to retain her eligibility. 

[Dots And Stripes]

25 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

As long as she doesn't take any money from sponsors, she should be able to retain her eligibility. 

Isn't it the Kellogs tour or something? I don't know how she can do it and not take sponsor money.

[selkie]

There are some loopholes with the NCAA regarding paying athletes if the money comes directly from the national federation (even if said money is from a general fund where a lot of the fund came from sponsorship fees). It's kind of like acceptable money-laundering.

And she does also get to keep the USOC medal bonus, which is like $15K. (And pretty token compared to the something like $500K USD that swimmer Joe Schooling will get from Singapore before returning to swim for Texas next year) 

[Aliconehead]

It's $25k for Gold, $15k for Silver, $10k for Bronze. It's prize money, therefore does not affect eligibility. Not sure if each of the 5 get $25k or if it's divided. 

And even better for Schooling, he gets $750 k or 1 million Singapore Dollar, which is all they have to pay while the us is way over 12 times that with all their medalists. 

Edited August 20, 2016 by Aliconehead

[choclatechip45]

Quote

Did I see that Madison is on the tour? How does that work with her NCAA eligibility? TIA

Madison said in an interview the other day she is going to UCLA in late September if she is on tour it won't be for the whole tour. Hopefully no one gets injured this year on tour!

[HartofDixie]

Simone Biles is going to be the US flag bearer for the closing ceremonies!

[windsprints]

That's great for her! I'm glad to see the team enjoying themselves and soaking up the experience. Are they all staying for the closing? It would be lovely for the whole team to be there when their teammate carries the flag.

[galaxygirl76]

Sanne Wevers will be the Dutch flag bearer for the closing ceremony. She was elected for the honor by a twitter poll run by the Dutch Olympic comittee. I'm not surprised, her gold is probably the one most celebrated by the country.

[greendog78]

Apparently, Kohei wasn't playing Pokemon Go in Brazil after all. Not really that shocking.

Sorry, I can't find this article in English.

[Daisy]

On 8/19/2016 at 0:51 PM, kittykat said:

I'm having Tears of Olympics are Almost Over.  I had so much fun with you all. 

I know! we're going to go to our respective shows and while the snark will be fast and furious it's nothing like Olympic Snark!
but 2018 will be here before we know it!

[windsprints]

Aly tweeted a picture. They all look relaxed and happy. I'm glad most of them stayed for the closing.

[dcalley]

From the Bob's Burgers forum, thank you @PinkRibbons!

49 minutes ago, PinkRibbons said:

During an interview with the US Women's gymnastics team, they were asked what they were planning to binge-watch when they got home. Laurie Hernandez answered "Bob's Burgers" so quickly that the show's crew were truly touched and posted this on their official tumblr:

[selkie]

I was in the grocery store earlier today, and the issue of People with 'America's Sweethearts' and all five women was in a rack at the checkout. And a part of me loves that it's two black women, a Latina, a Jew, and one token blonde white girl.

Edited August 21, 2016 by selkie

[Minneapple]

THANK YOU to everyone in this thread for helping to feed my gymnastics/Olympics obsession over the past couple weeks! I loved all the discussion, the snark, the shots at Al, the juicy gossip of 1997-2000 USA gymnastics. I will see you all for Tokyo (and maybe before then in the regular gymnastics thread)!

[Mittengirl]

So Gabby isn't at Closing Ceremonies.  Maybe getting ready for Dancing with the Stars?

[Sew Sumi]

8 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

So Gabby isn't at Closing Ceremonies.  Maybe getting ready for Dancing with the Stars?

She didn't fly out until just yesterday. All the rest of the team stuck around for closing ceremonies. She likely had to get out of Dodge before the crowds to fulfill some commitments. 

[cesstar]

5 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

So Gabby isn't at Closing Ceremonies.  Maybe getting ready for Dancing with the Stars?

I think Laurie would be the most likely to go on Dancing with the Stars? Or maybe Simone although I don't think she has expressed much interest in it. I sort of hope that Gabby doesn't do it, I couldn't bear it if she gets more social media trolling. I just want to wrap her up in a thousand hugs.

Lovely for Simone that she got to be the flag bearer, a great acknowledgement of her achievements at these games. And wonderful for Sanne Wevers too!

[kittykat]

8 hours ago, Daisy said:

I know! we're going to go to our respective shows and while the snark will be fast and furious it's nothing like Olympic Snark!
but 2018 will be here before we know it!

Bring on the figure skating thread!

Hooray for Sanna and Simone.  Here's to fantastic careers for all our ladies.  

Men, let's get it together for 2020.  We medalled in Pommel horse so clearly you're not a lost cause.

[Growsonwalls]

On 8/18/2016 at 2:46 PM, KFC said:

While Kim seems like a rather sane individual for the world of elite gymnastics, I'm surprised she's in the running, considering she's still yet to have a competing athlete on a World or Olympic team.

Kim is close to the Karolyis. One of their prize students who has never spoken against them. Also, it's my understanding that they want someone without a lot of elites in order to avoid favoritism. 

As for DWTS, isn't Laurie 16? That's a little young. I could see Aly doing it. 

[IdleBrook]

1 hour ago, Mittengirl said:

So Gabby isn't at Closing Ceremonies.  Maybe getting ready for Dancing with the Stars?

There are several comments on Gabby's instagram stating that she is starting classes at Ohio State tomorrow.  If that is true, I'm not sure if she could balance college, the tour, and a competitive reality show.  

[Zanzibar]

Aly has already done DWTS, so they will likely go with another Olympian.

[windsprints]

I don't think any will be on DWTS right away because they're all doing the Kellogg's tour aren't they? Down the road I can see it.

[legaleagle53]

47 minutes ago, kittykat said:

Bring on the figure skating thread!

Hooray for Sanna and Simone.  Here's to fantastic careers for all our ladies.  

Men, let's get it together for 2020.  We medalled in Pommel horse so clearly you're not a lost cause.

And we got a silver on Parallel bars, don't forget!

[kittykat]

4 minutes ago, legaleagle53 said:

And we got a silver on Parallel bars, don't forget!

And high bar.  Ah Danell Leyva, the saving grace of two disappointing MAG teams.

[choclatechip45]

16 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

Kim is close to the Karolyis. One of their prize students who has never spoken against them. Also, it's my understanding that they want someone without a lot of elites in order to avoid favoritism. 

As for DWTS, isn't Laurie 16? That's a little young. I could see Aly doing it. 

Kim has a ton junior elites which makes sense since she started her gym in 2001. The problem is her gymnasts have issues staying healthy. Aly did it already it probably will be Laurie since Shawn did it when she was 17. I do wonder though how many people enrolled their daughters in Texas Dreams because of the Karoyli connection

 

I was watching some old fluff pieces and Shawn had a line in one from 2011 "I'll never be the 2008 Shawn Johnson because I'm not 16 anymore". It relates to Gabby so much I think general public keeps expecting the 2012 Gabby to show up. I would be surprised if Gabby is starting college this would be the worst time for her to start because of the tour. I'm assuming she is one of the top earners. Also Hoda said all 5 Of them will be on Her Today show with Kathie Lee. I know they announced today she is going to be a Miss America judge.

16 hours ago, windsprints said:

I don't think any will be on DWTS right away because they're all doing the Kellogg's tour aren't they? Down the road I can see it.

This is correct Shawn did DWTS spring of '09 while Aly did it spring of'13.

[HartofDixie]

It will either be Laurie or Simone.  UCLA classes begin in late September so I'm not sure if Madison will do the tour on the weekends or at all.  Does anyone know yet when the Final Five will make the media rounds in NYC?

If you need a gym fix I love this blog: https://gymtruthteller.wordpress.com/

[choclatechip45]

2 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

It will either be Laurie or Simone.  UCLA classes begin in late September so I'm not sure if Madison will do the tour on the weekends or at all.  Does anyone know yet when the Final Five will make the media rounds in NYC?

If you need a gym fix I love this blog: https://gymtruthteller.wordpress.com/

They are going to be on Kathie Lee and Hoda tomorrow.

Edited August 23, 2016 by choclatechip45

[HartofDixie]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medal_leaders_in_women's_gymnastics

[azshadowwalker]

I don't care what the politics or religious beliefs of the new coordinators are. I am quite sure that I wouldn't like the Bela or Martha if I met them, so it won't make a difference to me. Their continuing belief that it was great that Strugg went up there and vaulted on that ankle is enough to make me hate them. I will always believe that it's abusive to send an injured child to perform under those circumstances, and it takes years of twisting a child's mind in order for her to believe that it's something she should do. 

As for Retton, I will always asterisk her AA title. It wasn't just the Soviets, but all of the competitive teams from Eastern Europe who were away. Even more bogus were the medals won by the US men.  I feel the same about the track and basketball winners of the 1980 games, when Carter started that nonsense and the US athletes didn't get to compete. 

[Daisy]

and sometimes I think we also have to remember that 
A: Keri Strugg was 19. not a child. 
B: Keri Strugg could have said no but she didn't
and C: She's not the first or last athlete regardless of sex. 
and D: if Kerri had told Bela that she heard a crack in her ankle, Bela would have pulled her off himself. I doubt very much Bela would have made anyone run down that run way with a cracked ankle as much as "YOU CAN DO EEEIIT"

I can't even begin to tell you the amount of times I lied to my coach (not a gymnast) that I was fine to play when I wasn't. and that I cried big fat baby tears when i was told, no, i had to stop. And then tried to rush the process to continue to play anyway. Or the sheer amount of professional athletes who compete with collapsed lungs, and cracked ribs, and hernias and busted bones, so they can be with their teams during the playoffs. You want to be there for your team. you never think it's serious. You lie. you learn how to hide things, and unless your coach has X-Ray eyes, take your word for it. And sometimes, especially during the circumstances, or your age, you tell your coach to shove it, you're doing it anyway, and YOU live with the circumstances. 

but millage will vary. 

[choclatechip45]

Aly talks about the Gabby controversy

Edited August 24, 2016 by choclatechip45

[choclatechip45]

The Final 5 do superlatives  my favorite part is Rhonda backing up Aly that she is good at Math because she saw Aly's high school transcript. For those who don't know Aly was committed to UF before she went pro. Rhonda was the head coach.

Edited August 24, 2016 by choclatechip45

[Quilt Fairy]

Sanne Wevers is the one who should go on DWTS.

[Crs97]

Quote

As for Retton, I will always asterisk her AA title. It wasn't just the Soviets, but all of the competitive teams from Eastern Europe who were away. Even more bogus were the medals won by the US men

Actually, the men have a better argument for why their medals should count.  They beat China, who had just recently won worlds by beating the teams that boycotted.

I remember the hue and cry after people realized how bad Kerri's ankle was, and I also remember someone finally pointing out that if she had been a 19 year old man those same people would have talked about his courage and toughness in gutting it out for the team.

[choclatechip45]

The Final Five were at Hamilton tonight.

[legaleagle53]

9 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Sanne Wevers is the one who should go on DWTS.

She would be more likely to go on the Dutch version, if that still existed.  I don't think the US version has ever had a non-US citizen celeb compete for legal reasons (said celeb would need to have a work visa in order to compete on our version).

Edited August 24, 2016 by legaleagle53

[sab85]

There have been plenty of non-US celebs on DWTS (Bindi Irwin,  Katherine Jenkins, Helio, Gilles, Christian de la Fuente, William Levy, half of the models) but I don't know all of their exact legal status. 

I predict we will eventually see Simone or Gabby on DWTS but not this cycle due to the tour.  Maybe in the spring

[topanga]

On 8/21/2016 at 10:15 PM, Growsonwalls said:

As for DWTS, isn't Laurie 16? That's a little young. I could see Aly doing it. 

Zendaya was 15 when she did DWTS.

 

On 8/21/2016 at 10:22 PM, IdleBrook said:

There are several comments on Gabby's instagram stating that she is starting classes at Ohio State tomorrow.  If that is true, I'm not sure if she could balance college, the tour, and a competitive reality show.  

I hope it is true. I don't know if Gabby is retiring after the tour, but am I wrong for wanting her to retire? I love Gabby, but for her sake, I want her out of the public eye for a while. 

[Aliconehead]

After watching Fallon and other clips I amstruck at just how pretty Gabby is. All the girls are cute but Gabby has grown into a beauty. And those dark lip color are so lovely on her. 

[choclatechip45]

I don't think Gabby is going to college in the immediate future. She's been asked what her plans are and she has said media appearances and the tour. It sounds like from the interviews Gabby is planning on spending time with her family in LA. I agree Gabby has grown up into a beautiful young woman. 

4 hours ago, topanga said:

Zendaya was 15 when she did DWTS.

 

I hope it is true. I don't know if Gabby is retiring after the tour, but am I wrong for wanting her to retire? I love Gabby, but for her sake, I want her out of the public eye for a while. 

I know what you mean. Hopefully she takes Aly's advice and stops googling herself. Unless she follows Christian who is rumored to be leaving Buckeye I think she will have to retire. I don't see anyone new coaching her plus if Valeri is the new NTC I don't see him putting up with the BS from Natalie, Gabby or her coaches like Martha did.  He seemed to barley put up with his own daughters comeback BS. Plus Valeri turned down Gabby before she went to Chow's. I think Gabby is better off retiring. 

[cesstar]

9 hours ago, Aliconehead said:

After watching Fallon and other clips I amstruck at just how pretty Gabby is. All the girls are cute but Gabby has grown into a beauty. And those dark lip color are so lovely on her. 

I had the same thought looking at all their press photos when they are in normal clothes - she is a stunning girl. Her lipstick choices have also been fabulous!

 

7 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Hopefully she takes Aly's advice and stops googling herself.

I know what you mean and I do agree with you because Gabby's mental health is the most important thing - but - I also find it really sad that Gabby has to stay off the internet to avoid negativity. She shouldn't have to change anything - she hasn't done anything wrong! And social media is a big part of people's brand, athletes need to use it to maintain a presence and marketability. It really annoys me that social media is becoming a space that is only safe and profitable for certain types of people.

On 24/08/2016 at 8:39 AM, Quilt Fairy said:

Sanne Wevers is the one who should go on DWTS.

Talking of non-American gymnasts doing Dancing with the Stars, Claudia Frangapane will be on the British version of the show. 

I read somewhere (sorry, can't find it now!) that Simone has expressed interest in the next cycle of Dancing with the Stars - she said she didn't think she'd be able to fit it in at the moment due to her other commitments (presumably the Kellog's tour which she is headlining and goes for a couple of months). I wonder if they would approach any of the men if the women aren't available this time around? And by men, I probably just mean Danell, as he was the most successful!

[choclatechip45]

Quote

I know what you mean and I do agree with you because Gabby's mental health is the most important thing - but - I also find it really sad that Gabby has to stay off the internet to avoid negativity. She shouldn't have to change anything - she hasn't done anything wrong! And social media is a big part of people's brand, athletes need to use it to maintain a presence and marketability. It really annoys me that social media is becoming a space that is only safe and profitable for certain types of people.

I agree she has done nothing wrong. I don't understand why people who don't like Gabby are tweeting about her. They are making her more sympathetic/relevant. I am pretty sure Gabby has someone running her social media since April. Gabby still has good amount of followers on social media so she will be fine with her endorsements. I work in PR most large companies if you are not an A-list just care that you have a lot of followers I know that is a big draw for what athlete they endorse. For a gymnast she is good in shape I think only Aly & Simone have more on Instagram. I am pretty sure Gabby has more on twitter. Plus Gillette Venus one of Gabby's main sponsors tweeted their support for her. Nike just put Gabby and Simone in a campaign that was released today with Serena Williams, Elena Delle Donne, Alyson Felix and some other Olympians. As long as she doesn't do any stupid like a DUI or gets arrested her sponsors won't drop her. Obviously some will come to an end when the contract is up, but overall I think she will be fine because she still is an all-around champion and has 3 gold medals.

Edited August 25, 2016 by choclatechip45

[choclatechip45]

11 hours ago, cesstar said:

 

I read somewhere (sorry, can't find it now!) that Simone has expressed interest in the next cycle of Dancing with the Stars - she said she didn't think she'd be able to fit it in at the moment due to her other commitments (presumably the Kellog's tour which she is headlining and goes for a couple of months). I wonder if they would approach any of the men if the women aren't available this time around? And by men, I probably just mean Danell, as he was the most successful!

Danell might be doing the tour. Men gymnasts are also on the tour however he didn't do it after the Olympics because he went right back into training even though he was already pro. I think he would do he mentioned he wants a break and wants to move to LA. His girlfriend is starting UCLA and will be on the gymnastics team. 

[IdleBrook]

12 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

Nike just put Gabby and Simone in a campaign that was released today with Serena Williams, Elena Delle Donne, Alyson Felix and some other Olympians. 

Gabby is also the face of Nike's new athleisure line, and will be promoting it with Teen Vogue so I agree that she is coming out fine sponsor wise.  Momager might as well go full on Kris Jenner and consider having her do a Gabby lip kit since her lipstick choices got buzzed about along with her hand placement.