First Four Members of the Russian Olympic Team Announced

And they are:

Ksenia Afanasyeva, Yekaterina Kramarenko, Anna Pavlova and Ksenia Semyonova

The big surprise of course is that Yulia Lozhechko will be left off the team.  Read all about it here on International Gymnast Magazine.

The last two spots are between Svetlana Klyukina, Daria Yelizarova and Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova.

My vote is for Grebenkova, and I am hoping she will be needed now that one of the beam all-stars won’t be going.

I am curious, who out there thinks this is a mistake, and that Lozhechko should be on the team?

USA Women’s Olympic Team

So congratulations to the following girls-

Shawn Johnson

Nastia Liukin

Alicia Sacramone

Chellsie Memmel

Samantha Peszek

Bridget Sloan

Alternates- Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong, Corrie Lothrop

Go to NBCOLYMPICS.COM or GYMNAST.COM for commentary and info. I can’t blog right now, I want to go out and I have been sitting here for hours waiting.

Congrats girls!

Selection Camp Information! Shayla Worley Will Not Go to the Olympics and Other updates

There are a sort of ‘quick hits’ being done by NBCOlympics.com Click here to receive the updates.

Word is that Shayla Worley has pulled out due to a lower leg problem. This is NOT AT ALL GOOD FOR HER. Plus, if it is a leg problem, DO BARS ONLY. After all, this is all that will buy Shayla a spot anyway.

Actually, I just refreshed the page, Shayla has left, leg in a boot and with crutches. She is extremely upset. Wow, I feel so bad for her! Poor girl!

I may just keep editing this page as I await the quick hits.

Chellsie Memmel stopped her floor routine and didn’t compete vault because she ‘felt something in her back’ during the floor routine. I am awaiting patiently, I hope she at least competes bars. A US Team without Memmel can go ahead and kiss the gold goodbye….we need Memmel and especially her bar routine.

Update- Chellsie has her grips on, swinging her arms. Looks like she will do bars…whew. But I am still not satisfied yet.

Update- Chellsie pulled out of the bars lineup as well. I am crushed.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER-

Chellsie ended up competing beam and getting a 15.9. I am confident that she will be fine, but I don’t want this to take away from her upgrades! I want her to be the second AAer in Beijing darn it.

It’s all over the internet- Shayla indeed broke her leg.

Jana Bieger fell off bars. Bridget Sloan performed a great bar routine and was nailed by the B-panel to receive a 15.200.

And of course we already know-

Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin are ready to take on the world.

Everyone says that Bridget will now be in due to what happened between Worley/Bieger. I keep flip-flopping on the issue, but I am back to thinking that Jana will be on the team. Of course, Bridget outscoring Samantha Peszek on vault is a big deal. And she could be a vault backup. But I just have this feeling Jana will be on the team. I really don’t want Shawn doing AA in TF. She needs to be at her best.

So much to think about. We will have to see what happens tomorrow!

For now, here’s to Shayla Worley. For being an awesome competitor, for being a great gymnast, for working so hard in her life. My heart goes out to that girl. I can only hope now that she becomes a Gator, so that I can love her even more.

You did everything you could Shayla. You should be so proud of how strong you are.

The Pressure is on…

So I have been thinking about all the pressure that must be amounting to gymnasts around the world right now. I’ve said it before and I will say it again; this isn’t football, where there are games every week, playoffs (NFL not NCAA which NEEDS a playoff system but don’t get me started on that and the BCS), and a yearly duel for the trophy.

Gymnastics as a sport I think is most comparable to soccer, in my opinion. I am not talking about the nature of the sport. But some of us Americans don’t realize that football around the world is soccer. And they actually call it football. Like gymnastics, the pinnacle of importance in the sport comes every four years (The World Cup as apposed to the Olympic Games). People lose their lives over soccer. It is absolutely crazy.

I can’t imagine the pressure people feel from sports like these. It’s not a “We’ll get em’ next season” kind of deal. This is your one shot for the title. I would be what the gym fans call a “headcase.” I used to perform in guard shows (where you throw a variety of equipment in the air) and almost always I was unable to have a “perfect” competition.

But anywho, I have been thinking so much about all these girls around the world and the pressure that must be mounting them…

Shawn Johnson- With news articles of million dollar earnings of endorsements, and the media on her every which way she turns, Shawn is experiencing the largest string of pressure through media. But beyond that she is heading into the Olympics after going pretty much 16 for 16 throughout Nationals/Trials. There is so much pressure with even THAT. She has the pressure riding her of, “Will she crumble during Beijing?” Shawn has possibly 3 AA competitions between prelims, team finals, and AA. (Though she probably won’t do bars in TF). And she must HIT. Prelims need to be hit to guarantee her spot into the AA (and I am hoping for beam and floor finals as well). Then there is still the pressure to do well for the team. How can a 16-year-old handle this? Shawn IS by far one of the most consistent gymnasts I have seen.

Nastia Liukin- For years she was hearing how that Beijing ticket has been in her hand. And maybe even the gold. But Nastia has been overshadowed the last couple of years. And the pressure to hit when it counts surely must be mounting more and more while Shawn garners more spotlight attention. To do well in the AA is Nastia’s biggest source of pressure I think. And the string of second place finishes she keeps receiving on bars the last couple of years (06′ Worlds, 07′ Pan Ams, 07′ Worlds, 08′ Pacific Rim) add more pressure. I think. Plus, Nastia has alluded in a couple of interviews that the AA is her biggest priority.

Cheng Fei- I wish I knew more about how the media in China. Gymnastics is a much more popular sport there and Cheng Fei I would assume is certainly the most popular and famous women gymnast in the country. No one has ever won 3 straight world titles in a quadrennium, but Cheng Fei has! There is not just pressure but “GOLD OR BUST” seems to be the Chinese way. She must be phenomenal in team finals, and phenomenal in vault and floor finals. She also is the leader of the team, and must be there for all her teammates. To add to the pressure, this is not only the best shot China has ever had for team gold (or even this many golds!) but with the entire Nation watching her do this on her turf, Fei is certainly going to have all the pressure in the world riding her shoulders. Will Cheng Fei do what so many other great gymnasts from China do….crumble under the most intense pressure?

Yang Wei- A silver in Sydney, a fall in Athens, a silver in Anaheim. And the first man in like 80-some years to win back-to-back World titles. I MUCH less about the world of MAG, but I am pulling really hard for Yang. Like Fei, I cannot imagine what the pressure must be like for him. I totally believe there is almost no way the Chinese Men will lose the gold, so I wonder if that factor will help or hurt the pressure on him. The whole country is looking for gold from this man, and that just can’t be easy.

Vanessa Ferrari- The 2006 World Champion has informed the gymnastics world that she will not be up to par for Beijing and I think that is sad. From a country where they aren’t one of the main players in the gymnastics scene, I know bringing home an individual medal from the Olympics would be a huge, huge deal for her. Ferrari is a good competitor, it will be interesting to see what she does. But injury or not, in the world of gymnastics in Italy, that girl must have a lot of pressure on her to deliver.

Steliana Nistor and Sandra Izbasa- This will be the first Olympics in a looooooong time that Romania may not get a team medal. Like the Chinese, team is first priority. But in this new age of Romanian gymnastics, medals in individual events would be a big deal for them in my opinion. So a country with a love for gymnastics looks to these two to help bring home any medals possible. Not only leaders of the team and the ones the other look up to, these are the only shots at individual medals that Romania has.

Beth Tweddle- Of any gymnast, I swear I can count more times for Beth than any other who receives a great many string of 3rd and 4th place finishes. Hailed as the best and most successful gymnast of Great Britain, Beth has been eluded a major title many times on bars, though she did nab the gold in 2006. As one of the bar front runners in this quadrennium, Beth also has joined the “I have higher than a 7.5 Bar Club” and knows she must hit like her life can depend on it. After all, several of the front runners have shown some inconsistencies this year. Although the lead Chinese bar workers He Kexin and Yang Yilin have been the MOST consistent this year, it has been an unfortunate Chinese tradition to crack under the pressure of the big events. And Beth knows that a mistake from any of the three main rivals (Kexin, Yilin, Nastia) can give her a huge advantage; an Olympic gold. I wonder how well she is doing under that pressure.

Jade Barbosa- One of the best gymnasts ever from Brazil, I actually wonder how the pressure is on her. I have seen many different things featuring her that suggest she is getting a lot of media spotlight, but she recently lost the National Title to Ana Claudia Silva. That is something that may either add or subtract pressure, I’m not sure which.

Dasha Joura- The very best of the Australian team must be feeling some enormous pressure. With people retiring and putting more pressure on the team, Dasha may be the only shot for a medal, and has Australian female ever won a medal in the Olympics? I am not sure, but I don’t think so. And Dasha seems to be doing a lot to promote the Olympics and seems to be getting definite media attention with her newspaper column and all.

Oksana Chusovitina- It’s her fifth Olympics and her only medal is the Unified Team gold in her first Olympics, 1992. A medal would be an amazing achievement as she has no individual title regardless of the many world medals she has. I think it is kind of a long shot considering her difficulty, but you never know who will mess up! Maybe Oksana doesn’t have pressure, she does have more Olympic experience than anyone out there!

Alicia Sacramone- You know she wants an individual medal. Well, everyone does. But Alicia is only capable of medalling if she is at her very best. She also has the amanar to consider. With that and her good execution scores, she is capable of gold if Hong Su Jong and Cheng have errors. Her disappointment last year at the floor final is a good indication that she will be fighting for a medal this year. But she also has to be careful because she must deal with the pressure of not getting injured. In addition, Chellsie Memmel’s comeback could jeopardize her spot in the beam lineup for Team Finals. And she now has one of the lowest A-scores among the Americans on floor. Not good.

He Kexin- Um, is she aware of what is going on in the world of gymnastics? Does she know that half the fans believe she is ineligible? That would add a lot of pressure. Plus, she hasn’t competed on a stage as large as the Worlds or Olympics before. She also has the pressure to win the bars title.

The Entire Chinese WAG- With the strongest team ever and on their home turf, China legitimately has a chance to take all six gold medals. Team, AA (Yang Yilin I think has the best shot), vault (duh), bars (two more duhs, beam (Li Shanshan or even another between Yang, Cheng, or Deng Linlin). They have never ever been in this situation. I think Mo Huilan was capable of 4 or 5 gold medals in Atlanta. but nothing compares to how deep they are now. I can’t imagine what it must be like for them.

There may be others I haven’t included. All the reigning world champs want to earn their titles again, Ksenia Semenova is one I didn’t really dig into.

And the pressure is still on for all the American girls at home, fighting over spot number six…

China Releases Nominative Roster of Olympic Team

So I believe yesterday the nominative roster for China’s Olympic Team was announced. Here they are:

Cheng Fei
Jiang Yuyuan
Yang Yilin
He Kexin
Li Shanshan
Deng Linlin

Although no alternates were announced to my knowledge apparently they are:

1, Xiao Sha

2. He Ning

3, Sui Lu

Congratulations to the Chinese girls. That is pretty much what was expected, though the last time I blogged about this I simply forgot about Deng Linlin. I think she is a good choice as she is decently a solid AAer, and more importantly capable of a good beam score which is what I believe she was mainly chosen for.

No time to blog further. I am working on a really nice post, and beginning tomorrow I will be looking all over the place to find out selection camp info. I should find information by Thursday or Friday. This is a closed event, but information always seems to leak Let’s hope it does! Speaking of that, anyone know the status of Shayla Worley? Because I do believe a healthy Shayla (who hits WELL during the selection camp competition) will go to Beijing.  But we will have to see what happens!

What Makes and Breaks the Olympics

28 days until the Olympics. I can hardly believe that I have waited for four years for this, and it is hardly a month away.

Although I will arrange everything so that I don’t miss a single, solitary second of Women’s or Men’s Gymnastics, it is about more than that to me. Every free moment I have, I will be glued to the television set.

The Olympics for me, represent what is seemingly lost these days in life; absolute true beauty. There is nothing more exciting to me than watch the best moments of people’s lives. And I will cry, cry, cry, as I watch these events and moments unfold because it is simply too perfect. It’s so beautiful that my heart breaks wide open for these people all over the world.

So while watching the “Beijing Olympics” section ON DEMAND on Comcast Cable I stumbled upon “The Top 5 Heartbreaks.” And here is what I saw, half asleep at 2am that made me pour out buckets of tears. What gets me so excited for August 8th to 24th.

In the 1992 Barcelona Games, British runner Derek Redmond competes in the semi-finals for the 400m race. Plagued by injuries throughout his career, Redmond goes down with a leg injury. (He had posted the best time during the first round, and won the quarter-finals). He gets up, pushing people away and hobbling to finish the race. He is joined by his father who holds on to him, as Redmond sobs into his shoulder.

Runner Hicham El Geurrouj of Morocco was one of the best of the best at the 1500 meters. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, a fall took him out of the race. Four years later at the Sydney Games, he is beat last second by Kenyan Noah Ngeny. For the 2004 Athens Games, El Geurrouj was not expected to be contending for the gold. And at the last moment he narrowly wins the gold over Kenyan Bernard Lagat (who won the bronze in Sydney) who himself gets down onto his hands and knees and cries with El Geurrouj. There is nothing like seeing victory, but it makes it ten times better for me to see those from other countries who just miss out on their dream to be so happy for the one who did win. The world lacks that so much today. Human beings are so selfish and cruel to one another, and the Olympics demonstrate the very best sides of people.

So with that said, I realize I have a small fear that has been building for these Olympic Games. I am afraid of what kind of scandal or controversy can ruin it for me or more importantly, the athletes. I have blogged about this before, but I am getting increasingly worried about the age debate over gymnast He Kexin. Because at this point, I cannot believe what a wide consensus the world of gymnastics has over her being underage. I can’t believe the major publications and whatnot that state this.

The Olympics are the only time gymnastics is a headlining sport. And there has been a major controversy every year as far as I can remember. Let’s say hypothetically that China wins team gold, and He wins the uneven bars gold. Suddenly, there is a major news break that discovers that He is underage. Major headlines. They decide to strip China of team gold, and He of uneven bar gold. Major, major headlines. Better TV ratings.

My point is, if this happens I will lose faith in humanity. A part of me will truly die. The only reason I say this is a possibility is because it is so widely believed. And the fact that event finals have been split in 3 days in an odd order (which is there to increase ratings; an extra night of gymnastics) make me wonder what else they would do to increase ratings. IF there are underage gymnasts on the Chinese team, there is proof now. Do something now, don’t wait until the Games. Don’t ruin the moments, people’s lives, or my faith. Don’t “fix” it.  Don’t fix destiny.  Don’t make destroy anything else with Politics.

What’s Going on in the World of Gymnastics Right Now

I have been vacationing since Thursday and have just caught up on the gymnastics scene.

It is now 32 days until the Olympic Games begin and there are numerous things going on in the world of gymnastics. Here are the random things going on that have caught my interest…

Russian Cup Happenings-

Russia has the potential for a GREAT beam lineup in Beijing. Anna Pavlova won the Russian Cup with a 16.075, followed by Lyudmila Grebenkova with a 16.000, and Yulia Lozhecko with a 15.925, that’s pretty solid! It looks like Pavlova is really pulling it together. She has the potential to make both beam and vault finals, and it would also be great to see her on floor as her new routine is very pretty.

Russia announced their training squad which is Ksenia Afanasyeva, Kristina Goryunova, Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova, Svetlana Klyukina, Yekaterina Kramarenko, Yulia Lozhechko, Anna Pavlova, Kristina Pravdina, Ksenia Semyonova and Daria Yelizarova. The biggest shocker of course is that Elena Zamolodchikova is not apart of the training squad. That is really sad. I wanted to see her in a 3rd Olympics. Furthermore, I am a sucker for the sentimental stories and veterans which is why I would have loved seeing her on the team.

Other news in the world includes the Mediterraneo Gym Cup. For results of the Russian Cup and this event click here. Two stories have stuck out that I feel like discussing;

Daiane Dos Santos. First off, go watch her routine on youtube. She has improved A LOT on floor since the last event I watched her in. Speaking of sentimental favorites, she is also one. I believe that she is one of the best tumblers in WAG of all time. It is great to see her look this fantastic. Please note that the consensus among gym fans is that this meet was scored quite low, which makes sense because I don’t know how this floor routine received a 8.3 B-score. Although a couple of things got devalued, this is MUCH improved, and tumbling is getting close to being back to par. Dos Santos has also stated that she is upgrading more. Someone who performs only “E” or higher tumbling passes is just awesome. I hope it looks that way. I REALLY want her in Finals this August.

Vanessa Ferrari. Oh dear, what is going on? Vanessa has told Italian newspapers that her foot is just too damaged, and won’t be at her best for Beijing. I strongly believe that she will not medal. I really feel bad for her because I like the fact that someone was succeeding from a non-power country like Italy. I am also Italian so maybe I am biased. I wasn’t her biggest fan but I loved her 06′-07′ floor routine. I know I am in the minority with that one.

I am not a fan of Sandra Izbasa’s floor routine. That’s right I said it. I don’t know why, but it doesn’t appeal to me whatsoever. But I really like Izbasa.  She and Rebecca Bross are my favorite twisters. (And I think Cheng Fei and Ivana Hong are among the prettiest twisters).  However, my own biased opinion does not like the fact that she does two full-ins.  It looks like the same skill to me.  I don’t mind a piked and tucked arabian; the aesthetic is much different between the two, and therefore more appealing.  Again, just my opinion.

On the men’s side, Marian Dragulescu is back and that makes me happy.  He is one of my favorite MAG’s.

Also, very interesting concerning the Chinese age-falsification debate;  to see a Chinese gym site, please go into the previous post, “Who Will Get the Last Spots….” and look at a commented submitted by David.  There is a link to see the athletes.  And as a comment from Catherine pointed out, there are some interesting birthdays on there.

That’s all for now!

WHO WILL GET THE LAST SPOTS? A Look at the US and China

So a few of the Olympic teams have been announced. And I know everyone in the gymnastics community is debating over the “who will be number six” for the US. I am also checking everywhere constantly looking for information on the Chinese squad. So one spot for the US Team and in my opinion, two spots left on the Chinese team, I thought I would again take a look at who I think will be in these spots…

BTW- gymnast.com has a great rundown and a “virtual meet” which is definitely worth looking at.

First the US team:

In addition to Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel, and Samantha Peszek, here is each athlete in the running:

Jana Bieger

Positives- Outside of her routines, Jana has everything you want out of an athlete on the Olympic Team; she is consistent and handles the pressure well. She also is known on the international scene and is a triple silver medalist.

Negatives- She has a lower start value than others do that are competing for this very coveted spot. And she also is questionable in the B-score area in the opinion of many. (Which is the main reason some of that scoring drama irked me, we don’t really know where she stands internationally)

My Overall Opinion- I don’t know if I am being sentimental over my recent encounter with her, but I think she will get the spot if Shayla Worley is still too injured. I think Jana can be counted on to do her very best, which is really important because I believe the US can’t count major mistakes to beat China. (Unless the Chinese count like three falls but that is another story). Furthermore, if Jana were to eek out just two more tenths on her A-score (making it a 6. I think she has the spot without a doubt.

Shayla Worley

Postives- Shayla has World Championship experience and we know she can score well internationally. She can also bring in an A-score as high as 7.0. (At least I want to say I heard that).

Negatives- Others have said it and so will I; Shayla may be the Hollie Vise of 2008. Taking a chance with an injured athlete is NOT what the US wants to be doing that this point. Better to have a 15.6ish score from Jana than to count a fall.

My Overall Opinion- If Shayla’s health is in much better condition and she HITS at the Selection Camp, I think she will be taken over Jana. Every tenth counts, and Shayla has the potential to bring in bigger numbers than Jana.

Ivana Hong

Positives- Ivana has very pretty form and extension.

Negatives- Unfortunately, the negatives really outweigh the positives here. Ivana hasn’t been incredibly consistent (when compared to Jana, and has a lower A-score. More importantly though, after her bar routine being ripped to pieces in Stuttgart last year, we don’t want to take those chances again in Beijing with her new routine.

My Overall Opinion- I think Ivana may be an alternate, but I do not see her as part of this team.

Bridget Sloan

Postives- Bridget has a very decent A-score, and when she hits she scores quite well.

Negatives- She doesn’t have a lot of international experience in my opinion. She was the alternate and didn’t compete in Stuttgart. She also had a poorer showing at Trials, scoring lower both nights than she did at Nationals.

My Overall Opinion- She only has a tenth more in A-score than Jana, and her performance I think is a bigger risk than Jana’s will be. However, I think that she is absolutely going to be at least a traveling alternate.

Keep in mind that I believe that this 6th spot is solely based on bars. Whichever athlete gets this spot will only be going to count a good bars score in the Team Final. I really think it all depends on performances between Jana and Shayla at the Camp.

Why I believe Spot #5 is taken by Samantha Peszek:

With super strong floor showings from Chellsie, Samantha, and even Nastia on Floor at Trials, I think this spot is for the 3rd best vaulter. Peszek has that sealed. She is consistent and I really believe the best overall. Although I have heard that Corrie Lothrop is working on an Amanar, I don’t think The Powers That Be want to take that chance. Shawn is one of the most consistent athletes in the world and look how long she has been working to get that vault right. And Lothrop is an unknown and has little experience internationally. Although Ivana and Sloan have DTY’s Peszek is the most consistent. One more note, although I love Mattie Larson, I think she may be a good alternate for her vault and especially floor status. But I just don’t see her getting the spot over Peszek.

And now onto China…

It is assumed that the locks for the Chinese Team are Cheng Fei, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, and Yang Yilin, which leaves two spots open. Let’s look at their gaps:

Vault- Cheng, Jiang, Yang/He.

Bars- He, Yang, Jiang

Beam- Cheng (I really think she will be used here), GAP, GAP.

Floor- Cheng, Jiang, Yang

Overall Analysis: Look familiar? China’s got almost the same problem on beam that the US has on bars. So with two spots open, I think it is quite likely that these spots will be determined by beam. Here are the possibilities:

Li Shanshan

Postives- Li has the highest start value in the world on beam (or at least as far as I know!) She was on the World Championship Team last year and is won the silver medal in Event Finals WITH A FALL. That is when you know you are good on an apparatus; although there have been AA wins with a fall, she is the only one to medal in EF with a fall.

Negatives- Li is not known for her consistency. A fall is is bad for the morale of the team and with no major errors China will win the Team Final.

My Overall Opinion- They have to take her. Even with a fall she can post one of the highest scores in the world. At this point, I would put her on my team.

Xiao Sha

Postives- She has international experience and has a 6.9 or 7.0 A-score.

Negatives- She is also known to have consistency issues.

My overall Opinion- She is the other athlete I would add. A fall would still put her above a 15 I think.

Sui Lu

Postives- Very high A-score on beam (6.9).

Negatives- Very little international experience and has not been consistent in international competitions.

My Overall Opinion- I wouldn’t take her. Good alternate because she has a great SV on Floor as well.

Deng Linlin

Positives- Deng has a high A-score on beam (6.9-7.1) and she recently did quite well at the Moscow World Cup in May, winning both beam and floor showing that she can be a reasonable backup on floor as well.

Negatives- Doesn’t have as much international experience as some, and isn’t known for her consistency either.

My Overall Opinion- I think this spot is between her and Xiao Sha. I also don’t know whom to pick between the two.

With Pang Panpan and Zhang Nan I am not even sure what their A-scores are on beam right now. Anyone? I really like Zhang because she is a sentimental favorite and she has more international experience for everyone in the running for these two spots. I also think beam is her best event. And overall, I think China just needs decent A-scores and a solid score to stay ahead of the US.

So what does everyone else think? Who would you put in these spots?

So I Met Jana Bieger Today…

Wow. So where I just moved (back to) is very close to Jana Bieger’s gym. I went there today to inquire about adult classes and to maybe see her training at bit. I walk in, and along with two others behind the desk, THERE SHE WAS! It was so cool to me and I was so starstruck because elite gymnasts are celebrities to me.

I found out the info I wanted about adult classes and talked for a minute. I asked if I could come again to watch her practice and she smiled and shrugged looking at the other two people there. Does anyone know if that is frowned upon? Any suggestions would be cool because I would LOVE to go watch her train.

I got her autograph and wished her good luck. She was extremely sweet, and now I want her in that sixth spot. I am such a nerd. It was so funny. They all laughed politely over my excitement. It was so cool. Gosh I really want to go watch her train!

BTW, there were comments on the page recently about her size. That girl is very healthy and toned, and quite thin! She is actually quite pretty in person as well, extremely blue eyes.

So I am reveled in these happenings today. Totally made my summer.

Thoughts About What Scoring Will Do in Beijing

So there has been a lot of talk lately about over/under scoring going on in the US, plus claims of this and that person won’t score blah, blah, blah internationally.  But I wonder what will really happen.  Because when I think about it, there have been instances where people actually got higher scores at the Olympics.  Let’s take a look at some examples.  (By the way, I am absolutely excluding the American Cup from this discussion, that is the most extreme case of over scoring and I don’t care to include it).

Terin Humphrey-  In Athens, Terin got her highest scores EVER on bars, thus she did win a silver medal.  During 03′ and 04′ Nationals I always thought she was underscored, getting like 9.3’s and during the Olympics she scored a 9.625, 9.575, and a 9.662.

Oana Ban- I think she was underscored A LOT during international competition.  In the 2003 World Championships she received a 9.400 during AA on floor.   I thought that should have been more in the 9.6 range.  Low and behold during the Athens prelims she does in fact score a 9.6.

Carly Patterson-  Carly’s highest score on beam in the 2003 Worlds was a 9.612 for a pretty flawless routine and the only visible deduction came from a hop on the landing.  Whereas in Athens she scored two 9.725’s, 9.612 (including a couple of bobbles) and a 9.775 (prefect routine, small hop on the landing).

It is important to note that each competition seems to have their own range.  In the 2003 Worlds I thought the scores were generally a bit lower.  There were very few scores above a 9.6 until finals.  For the 2007 Worlds we have to consider the B-Panel scores.  And very few people hit above a 9.3 B-score.

A good example is the difference of B-scores on floor between the 2006 and 2007 Worlds.  For 2006 here are some examples:

Cheng Fei- 9.475 (15.875) (6.4)- FX Finals

Beth Tweddle- 9.425 (15.450) (6.0) - FX Finals

Jana Bieger- 9.250 (15.550) (6.3)- FX Finals

Vanessa Ferrari- 9.350 (15.450) (6.1)- FX Finals

So now here are some of the highest scores on floor for 2007 Stuttgart…

Now as far as B-scores go, Shawn Johnson received a  9.225 (6.2)  during  AA, and a  9.150 during Finals.  Alicia Sacramone scored a 9.125 during finals, 9.175 during prelims.  Even the awesome Cheng Fei scored only a 8.975 during prelims (uhhh, what did she do wrong?  Am I blind?)

For the entire 2007 Worlds, B-scores were pretty low.  Nastia Liukin got the highest B-score for uneven bars final of a 9.2.  And really none of the events scored much higher than that at all.  a 9.1 or 9.2 was a really good score.

So I have to wonder what the Olympics are going to do.  Where will their B-panel lie?

And what about the A-panel?  Shawn is going to have a hard time getting credit for the Amanar, and the whip to triple (based on Trials and Nationals).  On Day 2 of Trials that Amanar was not all the way round.   And what about the connections for Nastia’s uneven bar set?  Her botch on the Lin (I think it is a Lin) should have lost connection value.  And I can’t see her double turn on floor getting credit when she hardly does a 1.5.  I am not here to attack, and don’t want to start up more heat, but seriously everyone, what is going to happen to America’s top two gymnasts in Beijing?  Because we can’t take Nationals/Trials scores as what to expect in Beijing!!