The Brenna Situation...

Team USA today announced that only three athletes, Kyla Ross, Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney would compete on all four events in the qualifications early next week. Nothing was said of the fourth team member, Brenna Dowell, who is now 'the alternate'. This is certainly a shocking heartbreaking decision for Brenna, who was clearly expecting to have a chance to compete. Watch her emotional interview with gymnastike here

Sadly we won't be seeing Brenna on bars in Antwerp

The World Championships this year is an individual affair, with no team competition to take place. Each country is allowed to put up three athletes on each event, a maximum of two can qualify for the finals. Simone and Kyla are obviously locks for the all-around. Current World Champion McKayla Maroney is somewhat a specialist on the power events, whereas Brenna is strong everywhere, especially on bars.

Maroney has been named as the 3rd all-around athlete, despite clear weaknesses on bars and beam. I am happy that she has the chance to see how she stacks up at an international competition, but am really scratching my head over the decision to put her into the all-around, when Dowell has a really good shot at qualifying for the bars final. Maroney could still compete on vault and floor. What's more, Maroney is unlikely to qualify for the all-around final if Biles and Ross hit.

Why would Marta pass up the opportunity to give Brenna some valuable World-stage experience, when Maroney has already had bucketloads? If it was always the intention that Brenna was to be an alternate, why get her hopes up and name her to the team in the first place? Many US athletes could have filled the fourth spot on the team, but Brenna showed the consistency and determination required. Imagine all of those months of hard training, all of that sacrifice, the joy of making the team, only to then to find out that you have traveled halfway across the world to be an alternate.  It's just plain cruel and Brenna deserves more than that. I bet her coaches are fuming, I would be too.

Brenna will be an excellent team player over the next quad, she has great execution and can produce good routines on any apparatus. Let's hope 2014 will be her year.

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on Twitter @Iflip4gymblog)

Then and Now: Kayla Williams (USA)

Kayla Williams from the US is a former World Champion on vault. She won the title at the 2009 World Championships in London with two fabulous vaults in her first major international elite competition. This was all the more impressive because she had only moved from the JO program in early 2009 (where she won the AA, vault and floor). In 2010, she quietly retired back into the JO program at Cincinnati Gymnastics. 

Kayla winning vault at the 2009 World Championships in London (credit: zimbio.com)

I remember seeing her reaction after nailing her second vault- a perfectly executed and stuck DTY. She clearly was delighted to be at the World Championships and incredibly proud of her performance! 

Kayla's gold medal performance at 2009 Worlds

I very much respect Kayla's decision to retire from the elite scene, these days I feel that elite gymnasts push themselves too hard and too long. Perhaps for Kayla, she felt as though she had achieved her goals in gymnastics, and was quite happy to retire to a program where she could really enjoy her sport without fear of injury. She became an excellent addition to Alabama's college gymnastics program, where she has been a consistent performer on both with particular strengths on vault and beam. Their team finished 3rd at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

Kayla competes for Bama on beam (credit: gymnastike.org)

Kayla's passion for gymnastics is obvious, and it is great to see her continue to do well in the sport. She will be one of the leaders for the team this year, and what a year it should be! Good luck to Kayla and the rest of her team.

Check out Kayla's 9.9 beam routine from earlier this year

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on Twitter @Iflip4gymblog)

Antwerp World Championships 2013 Wishlist

With the 2013 Artistic World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium approaching at the end of this month, I have compiled a wishlist. The World Championships the year after the Olympics never includes a team competition, giving time for teams to rebuild in the wake of the Olympic Games. Typically we see the emergence of the next generation of gymnasts, and the return of old favourites who resumed training after the Olympics. The 2013 Worlds will have an all-around competition and apparatus finals, where up to four gymnasts (on the women's side) can compete for a spot in the finals during the qualifications.

#6 For Becky Downie and Ruby Harrold (both GBR) to rock the bars final

#5 For Viktoria Komova (RUS) and Larisa Iordache (ROM) to be healthy- beam final will not be the same without them

#4 For Nabs (Tatiana Nabieva) to have a great competition and to prove that she is back for good! It's interesting that both Russia and Romania do not have any new talent this year, so veterans have filled the spots. It is lovely to see Nabieva continuing, even after not making the 2012 London Olympics team.

Nabs in competition earlier this year- Check out that pout, have missed her on the competition scene!

#3 To see a Chinese gymnast finish in the top three- most likely Chunsong or Jinnan. These tiny girls both have such beautiful skills and artistry and deserve to be rewarded!

The tiny Shang Chunsong (credit: gymnastike.org)

#2 Brenna Dowell or Ebee Price being awarded the final spot on Team USA. Both girls are extremely powerful gymnasts and could easily make the bars final. Both are second year seniors and have already had some international experience, but would benefit greatly from a World Championships experience. The depth of the US is extremely impressive, in any other countries, these girls would be on the team!

The lovely Brenna (GAGE) sticks her bars dismounts at US Nationals this year. Brenna in many ways is similar to Jana Bieger with her unique skills and power, but has great execution to boot (credit: www.coolspotters.com)

Ebee 'Elizabeth' Price (Parkettes) has already proved herself in the World Cup series, by taking two title at the end of last year (credit: www.hdlsa.org). She is a huge asset to team USA on all events

#1 For McKayla Maroney to prove not only that she is the best vaulter in the World, but to prove that she is not a one-trick pony, by taking a medal on floor as well as gold on vault.

McKayla shimmying her way to a national title on floor earlier this year (credit: www.gotceleb.com)

Not long to go now! Get excited :)

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on Twitter @IFlip4GymBlog)

Kyla Ross: The Youngest Member of the Fierce Five Grows Up

Kyla Ross is a member of the 'Fierce Five', who won Team USA's second gold medal in the team competition at the Olympics. As the youngest member of the team, she was the first to get back into training after the Olympics. Ever since the junior levels she has been a very calm and collected competitor, with particular strengths on beam and bars. Her routines are polished, fluid and have that 'international look'. Her routines are always received well by the judges.

Kyla during the preliminary round at the 2012 Olympic Games

Kyla's solid routines on both bars and beam during the team final at the Olympics helped her team to win the title by a large margin over their Russian rivals. Their performances as a team were near flawless, and they proved that they were the best gymnastics team in the world.

Kyla celebrating her Olympic gold (credit: www.midweek.com)

A year on, Kyla has returned to the elite scene, now a couple of inches taller! She seems to have gained much confidence in her gymnastics (as an experience such as the Olympics is bound to do!). Her lines are more elegant than ever and she has made a few upgrades. Kyla is definitely a perfectionist, her and her coaches will wait until a move is absolutely perfected before she puts it into her competition routines. This strategy means that Kyla always fares well in all-around competition. It is probable that Kyla and team mate Simone Biles (first year senior), a powerhouse gymnast will compete for the US at the upcoming World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium (end of Sept).

Kyla's gorgeous bar routine from the 2013 US Nationals. Kyla placed first on bars.

Also, check out her brand new floor routine. Absolutely gorgeous!

Kyla graces the floor during finals night at the 2013 US National Champs

Kyla has gone from being the youngest member of the Fierce Five to a seasoned competitor, whom the younger gymnasts who she now competes with idolise! She is a great role model for the younger girls, and together with Maroney, they should be able to guide the younger members of their team towards success. All the best of luck for Antwerp to Kyla, and the rest of Team USA.

Kyla with the younger members of Team USA at the beginning of this year (credit: Brenna Dowell Tumblr)

Kyla poses with Maggie Nichols, Lexie Preissman, Amelia Hundley, Simone Biles, Brenna Dowell, Peyton Ernst and Ballie Key (credit: Lexie Preissman Tumblr)

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on Twitter @Iflip4gymblog)

The Olympians: When They Were Young

Anyone that makes it to the Olympic Games has to start somewhere. Gymnasts typically begin at a very young age. Watching these videos puts into perspective the amount of work, dedication and sacrifice that these gymnasts go through to make it to the Olympics.

A very young Aliya Mustafina and future Olympic Champion

1/ Nastia Liukin (USA), 2002 
Here is 2008 Olympic all-around champion on beam at the 2002 Woga Classic (aged 12). She already has some impressive skills, including her acro series, side-sommie and front tuck (with some form issues). The basis of her choreography is there. Think of the number of beam routines that she must have performed in her lifetime! Her Olympic beam routines were quite literally years in the making.

2002 Woga Classic, Nastia Liukin

2/ Cheng Fei (CHI), 2003

The Chinese star competed at the 2004 and the 2008 Olympics, where she lead her team to gold for the first time in Olympic history. She was an especially powerful gymnast and her strengths were floor and vault (most unusual for a Chinese gymnast). Here she is on beam at a Japanese junior meet at age 15, where she shows some pretty amazing skills!

Japanese junior international competition, Cheng Fei

3/ Aly Raisman (USA), 2007

Here is a 12 year-old Raisman competing on floor 5 years before she won gold at the Olympics. Interestingly the routine reminds me of some of her Dancing with the Stars performances! Of course the tumbling is excellent, and even at this age she was incredibly comfortable on floor and loved performing for a crowd.

Parkettes Junior Invitational, Aly Raisman

4/ Aliya Mustafina (RUS), 2006

Here is Aliya, around 11 years old on floor. As graceful and precise as ever, she showed promise back then. She went on to become the 2010 World Champion and won 3 Olympic medals in 2012, including gold on the uneven bars.

2006 Friendship Classic, Aliya Mustafina

5/ Larisa Iordache (ROM), 2009

The level of difficulty that the Romanian juniors have on beam will never cease to amaze me. Clearly Iordache was destined for great things at age 12.

Topgym 2008, Larisa Iordache

6/ Kyla Ross (USA), 2009

The youngest member of the Fierce Five has always been a strong beam worker. Here is her beam routine from the 2009 US Junior Nationals (aged 12). Three years later, she helped the US Team take gold at the Olympics.

Prelims, 2009 US Junior Nationals, Kyla Ross

7/ Viktoria Komova (RUS), 2008

Back in 2008, aged 12, Viktoria performed a very difficult acro series on beam- flic, layout step-out, arabian. She has since removed this combination from here routine. Her beam work has always been lovely to watch!

Viktoria Komova on beam at the 2008 Voronin Cup

Post by Imogen Browne (follow on Twitter @Iflip4GymBlog)

Then and Now: Sandra Izbasa (ROM)

Sandra Izbasa is a Romanian gymnast who celebrated her 23rd birthday earlier this week. She is a double Olympic Champion (floor in 2008 and vault in 2012), and has been one of Romania's great leaders and stars through a difficult period in Romanian gymnastics. She made her senior debut in 2006, where she placed third in the all-around and second in the beam final at the World Championships

A very young Sandra in 2006 (credit: Tom Theobald)

In 2007, Izbasa and team mate Steliana Nistor lead the Romanian team to third place in the team competition at the World Championships, helping them to gain momentum heading into the Olympic year. She qualified to the floor final at this competition, but finished in 8th position.

Nistor and Izbasa were close team mates (credit: Tom Theobald)

At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Romania relied heavily upon Sandra's performances on beam, floor and vault, where she scored over 15 on all of those events. In a tight finish, the consistent Romanians beat Russia out for 3rd place. Sandra went on to win the floor final with a fantastic performance to a great piece of music. The tumbling is absolutely excellent, and is definitely one of the best routines of the decade.

Sandra's gold medal routine in Beijing

Izbasa's beam routine from the team finals

Sandra returned to gymnastics in 2009 only to tear her achilles tendon, whilst tumbling in the second half of the year. She returned to competition a year later, and came back strong, winning floor at a World Cup Event in Ghent.

A very blonde Izbasa in 2010 (Brigid McCarthy TGC)

Izbasa became the European floor and vault champion in 2011, extremely impressive results for someone making a comeback after tearing an achilles tendon. However, an injured foot meant that she was not able to compete at the 2011 World Championships, which damaged the team's chances of earning a medal.

At the London Olympics in 2012, a healthy Izbasa suprised everyone by her amazing performance in the all-around competition. Great performances everywhere from the veteran (even on bars, by far her weakest event) meant that she finished in 5th place- an amazing achievement for a gymnast at her second Olympic Games! She and her coaches must have worked extremely hard to produce this result and should be commended. Team Romania finished in 3rd position, edging out China for a medal. Sandra qualified to both the floor and vault finals, and managed to win the vault after McKayla Maroney fell on her second vault. A mistake in the floor final meant that Izbasa could not defend her Olympic title on floor. It's a huge shame that she wasn't able to pull the same one out that she did in team finals!

Sandra in the all-around final in London

Sandra with her gold medal in London

Sandra has had a long and successful gymnastics career. She has been a great leader and anchor for the Romanian team for six years. After the Olympics she took some time off an enjoyed the benefits of being an Olympic champion and a national hero. Much to the joy of her fans around the world, she has committed to training for the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp. Her maturity and experience will greatly help the younger up-and-coming gymnasts such as Ocolisan, Jurca, Munteanu and Tudorache. I'm sure that Bulimar and Iordache will benefit from her leadership as well! We wish Sandra the best of luck with her gymnastics this year, and hope that she decides to continue on in 2014!

 Sandra and Catalina lead younger gymnasts Larisa Iordache, Raluca Haidu and Diana Bulimar to victory at the 2012 European Championships

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow this blog on Twitter at @Iflip4gymblog)

Peaking at the Olympic Games

One of the greatest struggles for coaches is to train their gymnasts so that they peak at the right moment. Think Nastia Liukin in the 2005-2008 cycle. She emerged onto the scene as reigning Junior US Champion and won the senior title in 2005, and went on to perform very well at the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne (2nd AA and 1st UB). An ankle injury took her out of all-around contention at the 2006 World Championships, where she only competed on bars. She struggled in 2007 with this injury and with the emergence of young Shawn Johnson, who blitzed the field in 2007 and 2008. But perhaps for Nastia, the shift of the spotlight was a blessing. She was able to regain her skills quietly in the background, and focus on her strengths (beam and bars). She did manage to beat Shawn at the American Cup (largely due to Shawn's fall on her new Amanar). But I don't think anyone expected the brilliant performances that she would pull out in Beijing, which was why it was all the more thrilling.

Nastia's debut senior competition- the 2005 American Cup

Nastia's all-around performances in Beijing that won her the gold medal

Love her or hate her, you've got to admit that her performances were near flawless that day. She performed with such confidence, looking back it is no suprise that she took the title. I do believe that Shawn was the better athlete (more consistent), but in the end it's about who does the best on the day of the competition. 

In 2011, we saw a young Gabby Douglas, a new senior compete for Chow's alongside Shawn Johnson, who was making her first comeback attempt. Gabby's power and athletic ability were obvious, but nervy performances meant that she finished way down in the standings. Marta obviously saw great potential in this young lady, and she made the Worlds Team to Tokyo, where with a much improved performance placed 5th in the qualifications behind team mates Jordyn Wieber and Aly Rasiman, and qualified to the bars final.

Gabby's very rookie performance on beam at the 2011 US Nationals

Gabby's World Championship experience obviously did wonders for her confidence and she came back very strong in 2012, with impressive routines on all four apparatuses (including an Amanar on vault). She ALMOST took the Nationals title over Jordyn Wieber and raised many eyebrows. The transformation was astonishing, people were starting to believe that Gabby could win the Olympic all-around competition. It seems like Coach Chow worked his magic with her as well, and Gabby sailed her way through the Olympics all-around final to take the title over Russia's top qualifier Viktoria Komova, and team-mate Aly Raisman, who faltered on beam.

Gabby's MUCH improved floor routine from the 2012 US Nationals

Gabby and Chow share a moment after the all-around final in London

Both Nastia and Gabby did not experience the same hype as Shawn and Jordyn leading up to the Games. You have got to wonder if that helped them in any way.  

Article by Imogen Browne (Follow on twitter @Iflip4gymblog)