The Curse: Vault Finals

We all know about "the curse" surrounding the all around world champion from the year before the Olympics, but does that curse stop at all around finals?
The All Around curse dates back to the 1950's, broken only by LilyPod in 1995-1996. In this post, I'm going to look at the Vault finals, and look for a similar curse from 1996 onward.

Atlanta 1996
Going into the Games, Simona Amanar lead the field after winning the World Championships in Sabae Japan from 1995. In Atlanta, Simona held onto her title and won the gold medal on vault.

Sydney 2000
One of the few competitions in Sydney in which the results are valid, Elena Zamolodchikova came into the Games as the one to beat from the Tianjin World Championships. In the vault final, Zamolodchikova reclaimed her title once again, proving thus far, the curse doesn't exist in the vault finals.

Athens 2004
Going into Athens, the then 28 year old Oksana Chusovitina took the gold on the vault after 2 amazing vaults, the same ones she competed in London, the Handspring Rudi that bears her name and the Tsukahara Rudi.  One year later, after crashing on her first vault, Chusovitina lost her title to Romanian Monica Rosu, establishing a modern day curse.

Beijing 2008
Going into Beijing, Chinese vault superstar Cheng Fei was the HEAVY favorite after dominating the quad, winning the world championships in 2005, 2006, and 2007, with her super difficult 6.5 Amanar  and Cheng vaults.  This just goes to show that anything can happen in gymnastics, and difficulty    equals risk, which doesn't always equal reward (as we'll see in London).  After falling short on her  second vault, North Korea's Hong Un Jong, the fourth place finisher from 2008 took the gold.

London 2012 
I highly doubt there is anyone reading this that doesn't know this story, but for arguments sake, here it is.  American McKayla Maroney came into the games as the best vaulter in the world from world championships in Tokyo 2011.  After a near perfect Amanar in team finals, McKayla had all the confidence that came with that, as well as a lot of pressure.  She didn't get enough height, fell on her second vault, the Mustafina, and "settled" for silver, while Sandra Izbasa came and took the gold by .2.  

As you can see by the analysis above, the curse that exists in the all around final wasn't truly established until Athens.  We'll just have to wait and see until Rio.

The Gymternet Awards

We have so many bloggers doing awards for the gymnast, but what about us die-hard fans who follow the sport so carefully?  He deserve some love too!  So introducing, The Gymternet Awards!  Below you will find an award, with a description.  It will be your job to read the description and nominate some one from the gymternet who you think best fits the description.  All nominations will be due by Friday, December 21.  Then, the gymternet will decide who wins!  Let's get started!

Best Informational Blog
This blogger or bloggers work tirelessly day and night delivering the latest news in the gymternet, and sites are updated by the minute.  The first place to look for the most recent news for most gymnastics fans.  They Often provide quick hits for major and minor competitions, and are the most reliable source around.

Best Twitter Account
Whether this person makes you laugh, holds games and contest, or over all your favorite tweets to read, you always look forward to seeing what this account does next.  You often find yourself on their page just re-reading old tweets or messages.  Your favorite person on twitter to talk to, laugh with or just read what they have to say.

Favorite Tumblr
Whether this person has the best gifs, funniest sense of humor or best photo sets, you love seeing this blog appear on your dash.  These people always post or reblog the coolest looking gifs or photo sets.

Most Opinionated Blogger
They have opinions about everything, not that that's a bad thing!  Some opinions you agree with, other not so much, but this blogger isn't afraid to share their opinion!

Most Open-Minded Person
This person will listen to all of your problems with out judgeing you, and will offer opinion when you need it.  You know you can go to this person for anything and don't mind telling them what you need help with.  This person values every ones opinion and doesn't care if your opinion doesn't match theirs, I'm other words, nicest member if the gymternet.

Best Gymnast on the Gymternet
We are all here because of the sport, and some gymnasts love watching the sport and talking about it as much as they love competing it!  This person is an active member of the gymternet as well as competing for the best sport!

Best Montage Maker
This person truly has a gift for making montages.  Their montages are clearly a step above all other and often give you shivers while you watch their art.  You often find your self waiting anxiously for the next video, and no video is ever a disappointment.

Best Photo Editor
This person's edits are so beautiful that it looks like it is professionally done.  You also sometimes wonder how making a picture so beautiful and breath-taking is possible.  You can't believe how one person has so much talent.

Most Inspirational Blogger
This person's posts are so thought provoking and well written they inspire you to think from a different perspective.  They inspire you to see things in a different light.

Headrest Worker
This person dedicates all free time to the gymternet and making their work as perfect and great as it can be.  They work as much as possible to make the gymternet better, in other words, most dedicated member.

Skills I DON'T Want To See

There has been a lot of talk over the gymternet over skills everyone is excited to see this quad.  So I thought I'd change it up a bit, by explaining skills I don't want to see this quad, or ever.

Triple Twisting Yurchenko
Even 4 years after the Amanar became normal, it terrifies me.  Something about seeing a gymnast twisting into the ground doing a vault they clearly aren't ready for doesn't exactly appeal to me.  So seeing said gymnast sacrifice form and their knees is not something I would enjoy.  However, if a gymnast *cough Maroney cough* has an Amanar so amazing, or possible perfect, then I wouldn't mind seeing a triple from her.  But, I have the same philosophy with triples that I do with Amanars, if it looks like it belongs in a horror movie, you should probably downgrade.

Double pirouettes
So this may be pushing it a little bit, but we are definitely seeing more and more 1 and 1/2  piroettes.  I don't know how long it will be until we see a double.  So many gymnasts have problems finishing a full on top of the bar, let alone a 1 and 1/2.  I just see the double being a mess, finishing way passed the handstand.  I'm just not ready for chucked pirouettes for the sake of D scores, like we see on the other events.

Double Layout Beam Dismounts
These days, beam routines that don't end with the very common double pike dismount stand out.  What annoys me to no end are the double pikes that look like they were squashed by a truck (awful and terrible comparison, I know), and if those look so bad, imagine what a double layout would look like (shudders).  The truth is that many gymnasts barely get their double pikes around, so what makes people expect that they can get the double layout around with out falling on their face, or making it  look awful?  Of course, like with the Triple Twisting Yurchenko, there is an exception.  Bridget  Sloan had a gorgeous double pike, and maybe she could've been one to pull of the double layout.  But otherwise, I don't think my eyes are ready.

Triple Memmel Turn
I like the Memmel turn a lot, when Chellsie did it.  Now we are seeing many gymnasts chuck it (what else is new?) and makeing it look awful.  We see a full turn and a little bit with the leg by their ear, and then falling.  I can't even imagine what another full turn would look like, or if it would even get credit.  I just can't see it, not that I want to, any time soon.

There you have if, the skills I don't want to see this quad, we will just have to wait and see.  Let me know in the comments what skills you don't to see this quad!

Gymternet Friends are the Best Friends

The gymternet is the greatest place to talk about gymnastics with people who know what they're talking about. It's a great place to meet people with the same interests as you. So for a late Thanksgiving post, I wanted to thank my gymternet friends.

Kim and Kathleen
What can I say about our friendship other than it is the most amazing thing ever? I love our oovoo sessions, texts and jam sessions and I'm still waiting for movie week. I love both of you so much and will always be there for my Mac and Aly:)

Ash and Britt
Thank you both so much for everything, I know I say that a lot but it's true. You guys helped me get started, made my banner and were always there to help. Being able to talk with other twins is always great, especially when they know exactly what your going through. Love you both.

PVan
Thanks so much for all of the conversations, encouragement and always being there to talk to, especially when I really needed it after the incident at my school football game and the storm. I'm so thankful I'm able to help finance you trip to Kenya in any way I can; no one deserves it more!

Bekah
Thanks for being an awesome role model to bloggers like me who are just starting out, and always making me laugh with your awesome tweet.

Hannah and Dylan
Thanks for sharing the amazing philosophy that Canada is perfect, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to be in your wedding:)

To Savannah
Thank you for your concern always, it's always appreciated. Thanks for all of the DMs:)

To all the gymnasts who follow me
Thank you for never failing to make me scream when I see that I have an extraordinary new follower, so thank you Marissa Beucler, McKenzie Wofford, Shawn Johnson, Vasiliki Millousi, Haylee Roe, Simone Biles, Kayla Williams, Brittany Wenzel, Sydney McGlone, Emer Hults (Nica's Mom), Bayle Pickel, Savannah Scherling, Laurie Hernandez, The Real Tim Shady, Tasha Schwikert, Nastia Nochevnaya, and Lexie Priessman!

To all my followers
Thank you so much for everything, following, reading my blog, and just being awesome, I love each and everyone of my 547 followers<3 data-blogger-escaped-br="br" data-blogger-escaped-did="did" data-blogger-escaped-happen="happen" data-blogger-escaped-oah="oah" data-blogger-escaped-that="that" data-blogger-escaped-when="when">
So thank you gymternet, I am the most thankful for you this past Thanksgiving.

The Fate Of Qualifying First-Olympic Version

It's been awhile since the first place qualifier in the All Around final went on to win the gold medal, but how long has it really been?  Let's analyze the fate of the first place qualifier from 2004 to 2012.

Athens 2004
I'm starting here because it would be hard to analyze Sydney because of all of the technical difficulties. The American Carly Patterson qualified first, after taking the world silver medal the year before. After a heated competition, she retained her qualifying position, with Svetlana Khorkina taking the silver, which we still hear about from the Russian camp to this day.

Beijing 2008
In Beijing, the public knew that if the two Americans, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, hit, they would finish with a gold and silver medal around their necks, the question was who would get which medal. Shawn Johnson was the heavy favorite after winning the world championship in 2007 and qualified first. After a great competition, Nastia Liukin wound up with the gold, after a floor routine to remember for ages.

London 2012
For the second time in a row, Russia's Viktoria Komova was qualified into first going into the final. For the second year in a row, an American would de-throne her. Gabby Douglas, who peaked perfectly for these games, came out of nowhere, literally, and took the London gold medal out of Viktoria Komova's hands. After vault, Gabby got hold of a lead she never let slip away from her, and in the end left her the queen of gymnasts.

2009 Champions: Then and Now

Hey, I'm back! I first want to apologize to all of you, for taking such a long absence. I had a concussion, and the symptoms came back, long story short, I wasn't allowed on the computer for long periods of time, and all of my time on the computer was for school work. I'm all better now, and am ready to post! I have great posts in the works, so keep a look out!

In this post, I am going to compare winners of the 2009 World Championships to how the out come was or wasn't different, in the same arena, 3 years later.

Vault
In 2009, Kayla Williams from the United States took the world by storm, and won the first ever vault title for the USA. As a level 10 months before the championships, people never expected for Kayla to even be in contention for the team, let alone the title. She surpassed the Olympic Champion, and took home the title.
London was a bit different. With Kayla Williams in college, and with no intentions to compete elite again, the title was favored to go to McKayla Maroney, also from the US. As everybody knows, she sat down her second vault, and Sandra Izbasa from Romania took the title. As you can see, the difference a few years held a monumental effect on vault, from London 2009 to London 2012.

Bars
The bars title was won in a dominating fashion by reigning Olympic Champion from China, He Kexin. Nobody in the field even came close to her, and took advantage of a weak field to win the gold. Since then, she has struggled with consistency, and not many people expected China to put her on the team for one event.
However, she made the team and survived prelims. She came close to defending her 2008 title, however it was not to be. Aliya Mustafina, 2010 world champion won the only gold medal for Russia of the Olympics. However, the three years between London 2009 and London 2012 almost didn't effect the outcome of bars.

Beam
Similar can be said for beam, although 3 years didn't effect beam. The baby of the gold medal winning 2008 Chinese team, Deng Linlin, won the title over a very talented group of gymnasts.
Three years later, on (possibly?) the same beam in the same location, Deng Linlin did it again! She beat a talented field, including the 2004 Olympic Champion, and 2011 World Champion, and did so by a tenth. In a close beam final, time showed no factor, to the the 2 time Olympic Champion.

Floor
In 2009, in front of a home town crowd, Beth Tweedle won her second gold medal of her iconic career. With the audience behind her, Beth used her exceptionally strong tumbling and wowed the crowd, and the judges, to the gold.
Time may definitely played a factor here. I believe Beth wasn't training floor as much, and didn't make it past prelims. Time was definitely key to the 2010 fourth place finisher, and 2011 bronze medalist Aly Raisman, who along with her consistency, kept getting better and better as the years went on, as you could see by her placings. She hit when it counted most, under the big lights if the Olympics podium, and won the first ever Olympic floor gold medal for the US.

All Around
If age and timing weren't a factor here, I don't know what is. The baby of the 2008 Olympic Team, Bridget Sloan, dramatically won the title over teammate Rebecca Bross, after Bross fell in her last piece of gymnastics.
As Bridget aged, injuries really slowed her down during the quad. However, Gabby Douglas, who was very talented, although a little inconsistent, was rising through the ranks, waiting to take over. After a win at Olympic Trials, Gabby proved to us she was hitting when it counted, and she hit her peak (maybe) at the right time, and took the title in 2012.

Although 3 years may be a long time for many gymnasts on many events, sometimes, it may be just the right amour of time, to work out all of te kinks for the real show, the Olympics of the XXX Olympiad.

If I Ran the FIG

We complain and complain and complain about the FIG, and Bruno Grandi, and we talk about what we would do if we were in charge, and I'm going to put up what I would change, if I ruled the sport of gymnastics.

First things first, get rid of the tie breakers!
If two gymnasts receive the same score, award them the same rank, especially if a medal is in question!  If two gymnasts perform the same, according to the judges, leave it alone!  The gymnasts deserve that to themselves, and so do their coaches.  They may not necessarily leave in one piece, or they may be disappointed in how they perform, but at least let the gymnasts leave with the peace of mind that they placed where they were supposed to, mathematically.  There aren't tie breakers at Worlds, so why in the Olympics?

Second, Abolish the "two-per-country" rule.
Don't you want the best competing in the finals?  Isn't depth something to be rewarded?  I believe so, and that can not happen due to the two per country rule.  Part of this is that Jo couldn't try to defend her title, but another part of this is for all of those "third best"- I use that term VERY lightly- gymnasts from a power house who got screwed over by the FIG, so this would be a rule that would be quick to go as well.

Thirdly, More large meets throughout the year.
This one is for all of the fans, especially in the US who don't go to many meets other than Worlds and the Games.  I understand why there aren't more major meets, for the mental health of the athletes, but for us US fans, it would be nice to see more than 3-4 meets a year!

Lastly, Bring back the Grandfather Clause!
This one is for Grishy, Kyla, Larisa and every other gymnast who got screwed over for experience.  That extra year gives these gymnasts confidence to compete well at the biggest meet of their lives.  They were just thrown into competition, which as I'm typing this reminds me WAY to much of the Hunger Games, so I'm just going to leave you with this.  2000 babies (for 2016), may the odds be ever in your favor:)

So that's all for now, I have so many other thoughts in my head, and if I feel like writing them down, I'll share them with you!

Tie Break Terror

It seemed as though London was the Olympics of ties.

The first time we saw the first of third tie breaks was in the AA final.  After "simplifying" the tie breakers, the FIG made it so if two gymnasts tied, they could share the medal.  It didn't happen in London.  After the competition, Aliya Mustafina of Russia and Aly Raisman of the USA were tied with a score of 59.566.  After a, in my honest opinion, STUPID tie breaker, Aliya was awarded the bronze.  What they did in this situation, was they dropped the lowest score, counting 3 events instead of four.  It's an All Around, not a "Best Three Events" competition, isn't it?

The next one was in the beam finals, after a very eventful finals.  Once again, Aly Raisman received fourth place, after the difficulty judges incorrectly gave her a start value a tenth too low.  After a inquiry was filed, and Aly was awarded the tenth, Aly was tied with Romanian gymnast Catalina Ponor, the 2004 Olympic Beam Champion.  Once again, after simplifying the tie breakers, the FIG wouldn't let them share the bronze medal.  The first thing they looked at to determine the bronze medalist was the E-score, and that was there Aly won.  If they shared the same execution, then the judges would have looked at the difficulty, and finally if they were still tied (See below), the two would've shared the medal.

The last one in the Olympics of ties was in the last event, the floor finals.  After Aliya Mustafina and Vanesa Ferrari from Italy tied with a score of 14.9, Aliya was awarded the bronze based on her E-score of 9.0, compared to Vanesa Ferrari's E-Score of 8.7.

Another lesson to learn from London, don't tie with Aliya Mustafina, she WILL win, especially if it is for bronze.

The first instance of an unfair tie break in recent gym history (2008 and beyond) was the 2008 Beijing Olympic Uneven Bars Final.  As many know, Nastia Liukin, the 2008 AA Champion, was fighting for a second gold medal with Chinese hometown favorite, He Kexin.  Both had a crazy high start value, 7.7, and they ended with the exact same E score, leaving them tied.  The FIG had set up a a crazy tie break situation should this happened.  They dropped the highest and lowest scores from the judges, and used the new E score, leaving He Kexin on top by .033 of a point.

If History Repeats It's Self Follow Up:Beam

When I first posted this post, I wasn't expecting anything, due to the un-predictable nature of the beam, people fall off all the time, even the best competitors make mistakes on beam.

However, history had a say, and this is what it predicted...
Sui Lu- Twentieth
Yao Jinnan- Fourteenth
Jordyn Wieber- Eleventh

How they actually did in London
Sui Lu-Silver
Yao Jinnan-Fifty-First
Jordyn Wieber-Twelfth

Again, when I look ahead, I'm not expecting much! Let's take a look...
Our 2015 World Beam Champion may place- Eleventh
Our 2015 World Beam Silver Medalist may place-Thirty-Third
Our 2015 World Beam Bronze Medalist may place- Twelfth
Look ahead for the last part, floor!!

If History Repeats It's Self Follow Up:Bars

Next up on our list, Bars!  This year's final was great, but were the results predicted?  Let's look at history to tell us the answer, and what our 2011 podium winners could have predicted going in!

What history told them they would place...
Viktoria Komova-Fourth
Tatiana Nabieva-Fourth
Huang Quishuang-Seventh

How they actually placed...
Viktoria Komova- Fifth
Huang Quishuang- Seventh (Prelims)
Tatiana Nabieva did not make the Russian Team

Ironically, history told bronze medalist Quishuang she would place seventh, but did not get the opportunity to improve that standing due to the "two-per-country" rule.

Looking ahead to 2016, if we add these placements to the already established averages, we can say...
The 2015 World Bars Champion may place- 5th
The 2015 World Silver Medalist may place- Around 4th*
The 2015 World Bronze Medalist may place- 7th

*We can't add to the averages due to the fact Tatiana didn't compete in London, so we don't have a place for the silver medalist.  I just posted the existing average*

If History Repeats It's Self Follow Up: Vault

The vault finals this year were pretty crazy, does it have the history to back it up? Let's take a look at how history ranked the medalists, and compare that to how they actually did!!
History placed them...
McKayla Maroney-28th
Oksana Chusovitina- 6th
Phan Thi Ha Thanh-5th

When in reality they placed...
McKayla Maroney- Silver
Oksana Chusovitina- Fourth
Phan Thi Ha Thanh- 12th (Prelims)
Now, let's see what history says to those who make the podium come 2015!

Our 2015 World Vault Champion may place 15th
Our 2015 World Vault Silver Medalist may place Fifth
Our 2015 World Vault Bronze Medalist may place Ninth
Who knows how accurate history can be, all we know is that we can't rely on history to tell us the future, the future dictates it's self. May the next 1457 days go by quickly!

If History Repeats It's Self: All Around

Just like I did with TF, I'm going to compare how history and math based averages and predictions to how they actually did in London, as well as look ahead to Rio, and how our future World AA Champion's chances look, going into Rio!
Based on history, our AA medalists from Tokyo were predicted to place like this in London....
Jordyn Wieber-Silver
Viktoria Komova-Seventh
Yao Jinnan-Eighth
Take those predictions and compare them to how they actually placed...
Jordyn Wieber-Fourth (Qualification)
Viktoria Komova-Silver
Yao Jinnan-22nd
This year's Olympics were crazy, and now lets see how that effects our future world champions in 2015!
Our World Champion will place- Bronze
Our Silver Medalist will place- Fifth
Our Bronze Medalist will place- Fifteenth
This just goes to show what can happen in a year! Here's to an awesome four years of wondering:)

If History Repeats It's Self: Follow Up TF

The first six posts I did, I used history to determine how the 2011 World medalists would do in London.  Now that we know how they did in London, I'm going to see how that will affect the future 2015 World medalists!
This one is for the team finals!!
Based on history, the averages told me that the podium from 2011 would place like this...
USA- Silver
Russia- Gold
China- Fifth
Compared to how they actually placed...
USA- Gold
Russia-Silver
China- Fourth
Now the fun part, seeing how the eventual 2015 podium will do in Rio!
I'm not going to type up the whole list again, so check out the original post here!
To do this, I'm taking averages of the places each spot on the podium did the following year.
In 2016, based on math...
The World Champion Team will place-Silver
The Silver Medal Team will place- Silver
The Bronze Medal Team will place- Fifth
Interestingly enough, Gold and Silver medalists had the same average to the tenth, 1.5, which is why they both are ranked at silver.  I guess we'll have to wait until 2016 to see how this all really works out.

Best vaulter in the World!

The vault final happened today an there were several shockers!! Let's take a look at them!

The obvious one was the de-throneing of McKayla Maroney. In these Olympics where nothing occurred the way we thought, the one thing we figured would happen was Maroney taking the title that I and many people believed she deserved. In mine, and many other people's, heart, she is still the best vaulter in the world. When you lose by .1 with a fall, there is no doubt you are the best. It stinks for her, she hasn't missed a vault since 2009, and has a 96 percent hit rate, as Bekah found out on her tumblr.

All year, I knew that if anyone had a shot to overtake Maroney, it would be Sandra Izbasa. However, I didn't think it would happen. She went out and hit solid vaults, and today she was the better vaulter. Last quad, she took the gold out of the favorite's hands as the last competitor on floor, and this year, she did the same on vault. I guess she likes the last spot or something.

Maria BeeFarm stepped off of the mats and nearly on to the camera on her amanar, which clearly should not have been credited as an amanar. Her second vault was pretty clean, but she was clearly over scored.

Sad swan song for Oksana Chusovitinia, who finished in 5th in her last Olympic final ever. I was really rooting for her, and the sport of gymnastics will surely miss her!

In good news, Pena didn't die! She didn't land it, but she didn't die!!

One gymnast did get a 0 this year and (shockingly) it wasn't Pena! Ellie Black of Canada landed head/knees firsthand injured her ankle on the first vault. She tried to do her next vault, but aborted it halfway down the runway. I am unsure how her ankle is at the moment, but she was icing it, but it didn't look good.

So that's that! You can watch it prime time tonight on NBC replay.

Top 3 AA Hopes

I am missing the AA final tomorrow while I am at work.  Annoyed is an understatement right now.  

So, while I should be asleep so I wake up, I am going to share my top 3 AA hopes for tomorrow.  Share your opinions with me, I'd love to hear them!  This is what I hope to happen, not what I think will.

1. Aly to kill it.

Aly has been a huge favorite of mine, sentimentally.  She trained at the same gym as Alicia, which earns her points in the awesome category, she lives near me(4 hours but that is relatively close!), and every since her debut out of nowhere at American Cup, near her hometown, in 2010, she has been getting better and better, and I can't help but not cheer this amazing, and unappreciated gymnast!

2. Dougie to medal.

I think the US has a really strong chance of winning 2 AA medals.  Gabby is such a strong competitor, and much like Aly, she really burst onto the scene in a large way at the American Cup.  Not to mention, she trains under my favorite coach, Chow.  I really want this medal for her, as well as Chow.  He has done wonders for her, and I'm sure Chow is happy he took this gymnast in, that late in her career.

3. Musty to show the world that injuries do not slow anyone down.

I have to admit, I wasn't the biggest Mustafina fan until yesterday.  I had respect for her as a gymnast and her accomplishments, but I never liked her as a favorite gymnast.  That was until yesterday when Musty hugged all of her team-mates, and acted as a wonderful leader, gymnast, and human.  Also, I have so much respect for her quick recovery from such a serious injury, and as an injury prone teen, I want her to show the world nothing can stop her, not even a potentially career ending injury.

Have fun watching tomorrow, I have to wait until Prime Time, but trust me, I'll find out who won:)

Olympic Team Final: List

So, the Fierce Five did it.  They won the first OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL in 17 years, with Russia taking the silver after a rough day, and Romania took the bronze.  To be honest, this list will be VERY USA-Russia centered, because I wasn't allowed to take off of work to watch it live, and resulted to watching it on NBC replay, so I'll be going off of what I see.
I'm just making a list, and I'll explain and add on to later, when I'm not deliriously tired from softball, similar to the way I did for my wish list.

1. The Fierce Five went 12 for 12
2. Russia capitalized their amazingness on bars and showed that they own that event
3. Floor REALLY killed Russia!
4. McKayla deserved the first perfect score of the new system
5. I wish Jo did AA, but I know it was for the best of the team
6. Gabby really proved to everyone why she was in the beam lineup
7. Aly proved that she is a serious contender for FX gold, as well as AA medal
8. China dropped from 1st to off the podium in 5th
9. Canada placed 5th in their first TF appearance, showing great hope for the future
10. I love Victoria Moors, and her epic underscored floor routine (This isn't really new news but I saw it last night and wanted to point that out)

Where's Waldo: Olympic Edition

Last night while watching the Opening Ceremonies, @Aly_RaismanFan and myself came up with an idea. So whose up for an game?

During these games, starting tomorrow in the first subdivision (Brazil and 3 mixed groups) when ever you see Nastia Liukin, tweet at me @doubledoublegym, using the hash tag #WheresWaldo. Whoever tweets it the most, accurately, will get a chance to guest blog, if you want.

Simply, if you see Nastia Liukin, tweet to me, using the hash tag, #WheresWaldo. I'll be keeping track.

Have fun, good luck!

What I Want in London (Part 2)

One week from now, we'll be watching team finals, for which I will be taking off.  I am very excited!  So here is the second half of my list.

Photo from Zimbio.com

7. Aly to medal on floor
I love her routine, as much as everyone else hates it, I love it.  I love the music, it matches her faith as my dad informed me, and although the presentation isn't at the level of some of the other routines, she knocks it out of the park with the tumbling.  That first pass is breath-taking, and it's hard to be more innovative on one pass.

gymnasticscoaching.com

8. Victoria Moors to medal on floor and crack top 10 AA
In case you couldn't tell by my tweets, I love this gymnast so much!  She is another first year senior who I think got jipped out of experience, but she has mostly made up for it this year.  Part of my love for her is because I saw her at American Cup, my sister automatically loved her, and my love hit a little later watching her bars dismount and floor.  I really hope she sticks around four more years!

radio-resita.ro

9. Romania to take Silver in TF
This team has come so far in such a little amount of time.  Bellu and Bitang have made a huge difference in Romanian Gymnastics, I'm sure Romanians are glad they came back.  It has been a hard 8 years for Romania, and while I want them at the top, I really want the Americans to win a little more, just as this is the best team they have ever fielded.

Zimbio.com

10. Yao Jinnan to remind everybody it is not just a Wieber/Komova/Mustafina/Douglas/Iordache/ race for AA
Yao was the bronze medalist in 2011, with a fall in the third rotation!  She is such a fierce competitor, and very powerful, especially for a Chinese gymnast.  This year, however, many bloggers and fans have counted Yao out for the medal race.  I disagree.  She'll be the one to capitalize on mistakes and take a medal when no one is looking.

Property of Victoria Moors

11. Canada to make TF
I think this team is awesome.  I wish that Peng Peng hadn't injured herself, same with Taila, but I think that they have a shot at making Team Finals.  This is a very strong team all around, and it would be awesome to see them in the finals!  Also, I need this for my 2 fantasy teams!

EnBeijing2008.cn

12. Catalina Ponor to rock beam finals again
In 2004, she was the queen of the games, winning half of the gold medals!  In her return, her beam has still shined, and she placed 7, but can look to improving that this year, as she won the beam final at Euros.  I really want her to show the world that she is still the most amazing beam worker in the world, even if she doesn't win, I just want her to kill it!


That is all for my list, let me know what your wish list is!

What I Want in London (Extended)

Yesterday I posted a list of what I personally want to happen in London.  So tonight, I'll be less brief and re-post the list with actual explanations this time.

Property of Jordyn Wieber

1. A close battle for AA Gold

After watching the All Around finals in Tokyo, where it was SO close, it left me on the edge of my seat.  I am so excited for All Around finals, just because the top contenders are some of my favorite gymnasts of this quad.  Who doesn't want it to be so close you're holding your breath for dangerous amounts of time? 

Photo Credit: fulltwist.net

2. Jordyn Wieber to win gold in AA (My preference)

I've been a fan of Jo since 2009, and I've been a HUGE fan since 2010, after she came back from her hamstring injury like beast at 14 years old.  I love her work ethnic, drive, determination, dedication, and her sportsmanship!  She's a great gymnast, and a part of me wants her to win to avenge SJ's loss in 2008 (yes I'm a HUGE fan, but not like the crazy ones of the gymternet).

Property of International Gymnast

3. McKayla Maroney to win vault gold

Her Amanar is by far the best in the world, and her Mustafina is better than Mustafina's herself, by far!  Her form is perfect, her power deceptive, and she is truly the best in the world on this event.  Another part of me wants her to win so badly because earlier this year, I too had a concussion, just like she had last month.  I was in gym class, a kid fell on me, I hit my head on the gym floor and I was out of gym, softball, gymnastics, for a month.  It was awful, I was in constant pain, whenever I moved.  I could hardly imagine how bad her head hurt when she did gymnastics.  I really want her to over come this adversity and kill it in vault finals.

Property: Gymbox.net

4. Oksana Chusovitina to win a medal in her last Olympics

Just typing that this is her last Olympics makes me want to cry!  She's an inspiration to everyone who has ever heard her story.  She is an amazing human being, and the fact that she can continue to win medals at this age, amazes everyone.  She won medals before most of her competitors were born, and here she is, the reigning world silver medalist on vault.  Amazing.  I think I speak for everyone now when I say, gymnastics as a sport will not be the same next year.

usagym.org

5. Team U.S.A. to win gold.

It has been 16 years to the day since we have won the Olympic Gold medal, and to be honest, this is the best team U.S.A. has EVER fielded, and I'd say the U.S. has the strongest chance it has had since 1996 to win the gold.  I'm not expecting, or hoping, that it will be a blow out win like it was in Tokyo, but I truly think that unless we made several mistakes, we definitely are the team to beat.

nbcolympics.com

6. Kyla Ross to do good in bar finals

I'll admit, I've never been the biggest Kyla fan, but I do love her gymnastics, especially her look on bars.  Her lines are phenomenal, and I have a huge feeling it will go over extremely well on the international scene.  I think it is so unfair to her, and the other 1996 babies,  that they didn't get opportunities to get experience under the pressure of a bug meet like this, and I really want her to do well, and hopefully not stress herself too much so she comes back for 2016!

If I go through and finish the list, this post will be way too long, so here is the halfway point, and I'll leave it at that:)

  

  

The Evolution of The Front Handspring Rudi

Although not commonly used, the front handspring vaults are awesome to watch, when they are done properly that is.  The most used front handspring vault (not many are used, for that matter) is the front handspring-layed out Rudi.

This was requested by @Gymnasticsfan4 on Twitter.  If you guys have a skill you want me to do a profile on, Evolution or Devolution, comment below or contact me on twitter, @DloubleDoubleGym.

The front handspring Rudi, or the Chusovitina as it is called in the code is a difficult vault, valued at a 6.3 in today's code.  Although it bares the name the Chusovitina, Sydney Olympic hopeful Vanessa Atler competed it first in international competitions such as the American Cup and the Goodwill Games, although because it was not competed in a world championships (There was none in 1998, and I don't believe she competed vault in 1999 due to injuries), it was named after the second person to compete this vault, the legendary Oksana Chusovitina, who at the time represented Uzbekistan.  You can see a both of these vaults, as well as a list of other skills that were performed first by a different gymnast than is credited to here.


Vanessa Atler brought this vault to the United States, and although never got to compete at the world championships, she innovated vaulting, and showed the world that it was possible.  Four years later, Oksana put it in the code and stamped her name in there, again.  

Oksana began competing this vault in 2002, and 3 years after, another gymnast added this vault to her international arsenal, Alicia Sacramone.  Her world final debut included this vault, one of the best I've ever seen, her form is amazing.  In fact, she won her only world title on this event in 2010 using this vault, which was very difficult in a field that was not the strongest.

As of 2011 World Vault Final, two gymnasts competed this vault in the final, Oksana herself, and Phan Thi Ha Thanh, the bronze medalist, who didn't compete it in prelims, and rocked it in finals.  In addition, Alicia also competed this vault in 2011, but her injured Achilles did not allow her to compete at all in Tokyo.  

There has been signs that perhaps, we will see a front handspring double in the near future, in 2011, a video surfaced on Youtube of Alicia Sacramone training the double.  Now that she is (unfortunately) finished, who knows who will trademark the vault, or if we will even see it in international competition soon.  

What I Want in London (Beta Version)

Okay, London begins in like 5 days, and qualification is in a week.  I need something to post about, and so I'm going to do a list, no explications, no reasoning, just a list.  I'll go more in depth like I did here when more training videos become available.

1. A close battle for AA Gold
2. Jordyn Wieber to win gold in AA (My preference)
3. McKayla Maroney to win vault gold
4. Chuso to win a medal in her last Olympics
5. Team U.S.A. to win gold
6. Kyla Ross to do good in bar finals
7. Aly to medal on floor
8. Victoria Moors to medal on floor and crack top 10 AA (I think it's possible)
9. Romania to take silver in TF
10. Yao Jinnan to remind everyone it isn't just a Wieber/Komova/Mustafina/Douglas/Iordache race for AA
11. Canada to make TF (I need this for 2 of my Fantasy Teams...)
12. Catalina Ponor to rock beam finals again

I think that's enough for tonight:)  Also, I want to do another Devolution/Evolution post, so I need some ideas!  Tell me what you guys want me to do one on!  I think I have like one idea for that series right now, so I'm in need of some help!!

The Evolution of The Shaposhnikova-Half

In the current state of gymnastics, it's very common to see the transition, of a Khorkina II, or the Shaposhnikova with a half twist.  So, it's time to take a look back at where it came from, the great Svetlana Khorkina.

*This is NOT Natalia Shaposhnikova*

In  1977, Natalia Shaposhnikova innovated bar transitions from squat-ons to this.  It was, and is, extremely difficult for the time, and set the path of future development for Svetlana Khorkina, who would upgrade this innovative move even more.

18 years later, Svetlana Khorkina of Russia added a half twist, thus the Khorkina II was born.  It is a difficult transition, which many gymnasts favor due to the difficulty rating in the code, an E, worth .5.  She blew the crowd, and the competition away with this move, due to it's difficulty, and her execution.  It seemed like on bars,(except for 1996 and 2000 AA), Khorkina could never put a foot wrong, especially on this move.

It was rare to see anyone but Khorkina compete this move, but once the queen of the bars retired, every gymnast started craving this move and it's difficulty.  The Russians especially love this move, it's hard to find a Russian who competes bars well that doesn't have this transition.  It's not just the Russians who compete this move, lately Americans have been trying to fill the hole in the U.S. program by upping their difficulty, which most of the time includes using this move.  Even Rebecca Bross, who is more of a power bar worker, not a natural swinger, which this move seems to be easier for, used this move as a way to boost her potential for the U.S. Olympic Team after her knee surgery.

All in all, The Shaposhnikova-Half has been climbing it's way into bar routines everywhere, and I see it continuing to climb into many more bar routines, until someone once again, sets the standard even higher.

2005-2008 and 2009-2012 Similarities

Okay, as of right now, London is 9 days away, and while I was trying to sleep last night, I was thinking about how similar these past two quads are.  So, I'm going to analyze, these past 2 quads, and see if they really are as similar as I think they are, when I'm literally about to fall asleep:) (Oh, this is strictly international, if you guys want a national version, I'll do that later:)

AA                                                                              Photo Credit: Zimbio

                                                 










Photo Property of about.gymnastics.com


In 2005, the Americans went 1-2 in the All Around by .001, Chellsie Memmel beating Nastia Liukin after a great competition.  In 2009, Becca Bross was in the lead, and after a great floor routine from fellow American Bridget Sloan and a fall on Becca's final move of her last pass, lost the title by .05.  Also similar in both years, the winner was a veteran, while the silver medalist was a first year senior, and the bronze medalist was a first (2005), or the first in over 40 years (2009), for the country they represented. In 2010, A different gymnast won the title, while an American medaled silver in 2006 (Jana Bieger), and bronze in 2010 (Becca Bross).  That's really all that is similar between 2006 and 2010, aside from the relatively weak field in both years.  In 2007, a first year senior from the U.S. (Shawn Johnson) won the title, after an undefeated season, which is a very similar story-line to Jordyn Wieber, from the U.S. who won the title after an (almost) undefeated season, in her first senior season.


In conclusion if the AA is similar in 2012 that it was 2008, it would be someone who has been around (no first year seniors), and wasn't really in the running (Nastia placed 5th in 2007 after a fall on beam) last year.  So, my guess would probably be Gabby Douglas, an American who placed fifth in qualifications last year, but couldn't compete in finals due to the two-per-country-rule. 


Team

Property of gymchat.com

Property of International Gymnast Magazine

So, there is no team final the year after an Olympics, so yeah, no similarities between 2005 and 2009 here except for they didn't exist, so let's skip to 2006.  In 2006, China won the team title, while U.S.A. took the silver, and Russia took the bronze.  Compared to 2010, the podium flipped in a way, with Russia, U.S.A., and China taking gold silver and bronze, respectively.  In 2007, The U.S. received their second ever title, ahead of the Chinese and the Romanians.  That is a pretty similar story to 2011, where a very strong U.S. team went 12-for-12 and won their third gold, beating out the Russians and Chinese.


So, if this plays out like it did in the last quad, The Russian may come out victorious.  However, you never know.


I'm not going to do the EF, just because those are a little more random:)


Conclusion: I think that the past two quads are very similar, not in the dominance of the teams (although it is a reoccurring theme in these quads that the U.S. are pretty dominant)  but in the way the medalists and final results are pretty identical, in the countries present and the pattern of placings.

The Devolution of the Double Twisting Yurchenko

The first DTY was competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, by Svetlana Baitova from the Soviet Union, earning its name in the code of points as the Baitova.  It was not the prettiest vault, and she never really got it all the way around, but none-the-less, it was difficult and innovative.  At the time, many gymnasts were doing layouts, fulls, some 1 1/2, and Baitova came and blew them away with difficulty.  She was never fully rewarded for it, this was a time of execution over difficulty, and never made it to an event final.  Little did she know at the time, however, she was paving the future of vaulting.

There were a couple DTYs scattered around, including Tatiana Lysenko's beautiful stuck DTY in 1992, when she did a full twist extra then her competitors, and did it amazingly.

Many people began doing it in 2003-2004, when it was marked as a 9.8, as opposed to the 1 1/2 twisting Yurchenko, which was only a 9.7, a tenth was a HUGE difference at the time.  Many people began favoring this vault, due to the higher difficulty and the fact that you could spot the landing, as opposed to the 1 1/2 Yurchenko, which was a blind landing.

Aside from Nastia Liukin, it became very important to have this vault under your belt.  In fact, if Chellsie Memmel hadn't vaulted a DTY, Nastia Liukin would've had a higher score, and been the 2005 AA World Champion.  Everybody was vaulting a DTY, except Nastia, who was vaulting a kick-butt 11/2, that looked like this.

Everyone was vaulting a DTY until Shawn Johnson was a AA gymnast who vaulted the extremely difficult "Amanar."  Suddenly, it seemed like every all arounder NEEDED an Amanar.  Everybody was risking form, technique, and their knees (Mustafina).  All of these gymnasts had a beautiful DTY, and ruined their form on the Amanar (Raisman). (Trying to get a comparison video here, so bear with me!)

In conclusion, I miss DTYs, and I think unless your amanar looks like this, stick with the DTY!:)

Internet Errors

So, the gymternet is full of bloggers, montage makers, and, unfortunately, illegitimate people trying to pass of rumors as the truth.  In this post, I thought I'd show some of the crazier errors, mess ups, or just plain lies.

1)  This article made many on the gymternet yesterday due to the way it was written, some of the "jokes", and the mockery the writer made of the sport.  I'm talking about this article on Yahoo! Sports.  I'm not saying I dislike Yahoo!, but this article was so offensive, by saying gymnastics is "not a sport, but a judged activity".  That is so demeaning and degrading to the gymnasts who train their entire life to make it to the Olympics.  If it wasn't a sport, it wouldn't be in the Olympics!  Also, it is very hard to win a gymnastics medal, so why doesn't this writer try it, if it is so easy?

2)Yahoo! Sports also posted this^ on a profile for Vault World Champion McKayla Maroney.  Yes, Mckayla weighs 160 pounds.  She must have large muscles, everywhere.  While I'm pretty sure this is a typo,(I mean I hope it is, and someone out there thinks that McKayla weighs 160 pounds,not the more reasonable 106) it still belongs here.

3.Victoria Moors tweeted this.

She attached this picture to go with it.

No worries though, Wikipedia must have seen there error, and now correctly says her birthday is November 5, 1996.

That's all for now, if you see more errors, and I know there is tons more, that you would like me to post, I'll try to do a post like this every time I gather a couple of errors to write about! 

Farewell To Champions: Becca Bross

If you asked anyone two years ago, if Becca Bross would be going to London, Becca fan or not, they would've said absolutely.  She just was a star, and used setbacks such as injuries to make her weaknesses her strengths.  She used to be weaker on bars, but after a foot injury, she won a medal on bars at the 2009 World Championships.  Her mental toughness is amazing, and her ability to bounce back from adversity was, and is, second to none.  Her career was full of adversity, but she was always there, with a face, that John Roethlisberger said would be at home in a Terminator movie, which may be the only quote of NBC I ever agree with.

                                                                            Photo Property of nbcolympics.com
Early Days
Becca was born in Ann Arbor Michigan, and after her parents sent her to gymnastics camps for two summers, Becca seriously began taking gymnastics classes at Geddert's Twisters, about an hour a way from her home, at the age of seven.  She competed there for a couple of seasons, and when she was a level seven, her parents moved the family 1185 miles to Plano, Texas, too train with Valeri Liukin at WOGA, when she was nine years old.  Success followed her to Texas, because 3 years later in 2005, Becca was competing in her first Elite National Championships.

                                                                          Photo Property of nbcolympics.com
2005-2008
Becca wasn't even a elite at the beginning of 2005, placing firts on beam and floor, and fifth all around.  By the time nationals rolled around, Becca had elite scores high enough to qualify to nationals,cracking top 10 on vault (7) and placing 16/28!  Not bad for a first year elite!   The next year, Becca received two international assignments, placing 4th at Junior Pan-Ams, and won vault at Pacific Rim Championships.  Becca put on a better showing in 2006 at nationals, placing 4th all around, making her second consecutive national team!  In 2007, Becca was well traveled yet again, going to Pan Ams again, placing second in the all around behind teammate Shawn Johnson, and winning floor, before traveling to Japan for the Junior Japan International, where she added five medals to her trophy room, all five of them gold!  At nationals, she won her only junior championship title and recorded wins in three of the four events, taking silver on beam.  2008 was a rough year for the champ, she placed 16 all around at Pacific Rims, despite winning three of the events, due to an injury she sustained on bars, causing her to not finish her bar routine, which resulted in scoring a 6.25, in the new code.  But, 2009 was Becca's senior debut, and she wasn't going to let injuries get in the way!

                                                                                            Photo Credit: rsg.net
2009-2011
After sitting out at Covergirl in 2009, National Championships were supposed to be Becca's FIRST crowning moment as a senior.  We were all ready to watch the determined 16 year old rock the nation, but things didn't exactly go her way.   After a disastrous bar set, and sitting her Patterson beam dismount, a dismount she has a very low success rate, determined by Bekah from Get A Grip Gym Blog, took her out of the running for the title.  She placed third all around when all was said and done, and made her first World Championship team!  After qualifications, she ranked first, and was leading up until her last tumbling pass of her last event, floor.  She fell to knees, losing the title by .05 of a point, receiving the silver medal, as well a sharing a bronze on bars.  By 2010, Becca wanted revenge at two competitions, National Championships, and world championships.  But first was a stop to Worcester, Massachusetts, for the American Cup.  She beat teammate Aly Raisman in a dominating fashion, re-establishing herself as a world power.  At National Championships, she won her first, and only, senior title.  Things were looking good for Becca, until she fell from the beam on her standing arabian.  After several mistakes from other competitiors, Becca gave the floor routine of her life to claim the bronze.  This especially amazing, as she was competing on a bad shin and a broken foot.  Becca is so tough, and is hero to many kids like me, including myself, who have a hard time staying out of the orthopedist office, and spend much of their lives in casts, splints, boots, and slings.  Becca is proof you can over-come anything, which she showed over the next two years.  Becca didn't compete much in 2011, as she was dealing with MANY injuries.  She did compete at National Championships, however, and her Patterson dismount really kept her out of the running for a second title.  That, and during the third rotation, Becca competed on vault.  Vault has never been her strongest, it isn't for most WOGAns, and she was competing a DTY.  She was still twisting as she hit the ground, and dislocated her kneecap, resulting in surgery, and missing the rest of the 2011 season.

                                                                             Photo Property of nbcolympics.com
2012
Just nine months after surgically repairing her dislocated knee-cap, Becca competed at classics, after a friendly international meet in Italy.  She hit bars wonderfully, and fell on her dismount, but qualified to nationals as a two event specialist.  She, once again, hit bars wonderfully both nights, and sat one Patterson down, while she took a couple of large steps after the other one, she stayed on her feet.  She was moved on to trials, after making her third national team.  At trials, she had a good first day, with the exception of her beam dismount.  You can check out what happens when she does it at Spanny's Patterson breakdown here. On the second day, she fall three times on bars, and stopped after her third fall.  To make matters worse, NBC didn't show her beam, which looked like this! (Sorry for the quality, this was all I could find!)  That beam is how she should've ended her career, but thanks to NBC, all many people see is her bars when they think of her last routine!  I'm going to miss her so much!
As I'm writing this, her birthday is 9 minutes away, so Happy 19th Becca!!


         I wish you the best in everything you do Becca, you have a bright future ahead of you!!

Farewell To Champions: Alicia Sacramone

So, next in my retirement series, I'm going to do the most accomplished gymnast in USA'a history, medal count wise.

                                                                                               

Photo Property of NBC Olympics

Early Days/ Early Elite Career (2002-2004)

Alicia began gymnastics when she was 8 years old, after taking some dance classes since she was 3.  Not much is known about her early gymnastics career, but she began and ended her career with the same coaches, Mihai and Silvia Brestyan, before they opened their own gym.

Her first junior elite meet was the 2002 U.S. Classic, where she placed seventh all around and sixth on vault, but her results dramatically dropped at nationals, where her placing 22 all around, but seventh on beam, which still is not an indicator of how she would perform on this event later in her career.  in 2003, she dusted off the nerves and placed 14 all around, 4th on vault, still poor compared to Alicia standards, and earned a bronze on beam.  She was asked to compete in her first international meet, the Massilia Cup, placing 4 on floor and 9 on vault.  Early in 2004, she competed at the Pacific Alliance Championships in Hawaii, winning gold with the team and an individual gold on vault, setting herself as a legitimate contender of a spot to Athens.  However, at nationals, she fell on beam in the first rotation, and had her usual errors on bars, and failed to advance to trials.  Also, she injured her back and took time of to recover.

 

2005-2008

After recovering from her back problems, Alicia showed a strong showing at the 2005 Event Final American Cup, in Uniondale, New York (about 15 minutes away from where I live!)  She won the gold on the vault, and silver on the floor.  She showed a strong showing at the 2005 nationals and won vault, floor, and a bronze on beam and forth in the all around, an event Alicia was known for because of her bars.  She was later named to the 2005 World Championships Team, with Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel.  She had a great meet at her first worlds, winning bronze on her best event, vault, and winning the gold on floor.  2006 showed a similar fate for Alicia, defending her vault and floor victories at nationals, winning silver on vault and with the team.  2007 saw the rise of many new age-eligible seniors, and Alicia rallied the team after a not-so-good beam rotation and led the team to its second ever World Championship Title, with out a doubt filling the leadership role over all of the rookies, which is something she is well-known for, and has in a way passed it down to her gym mate Aly Raisman.  After 2007 Worlds, she set her self up as an almost guaranteed spot on the Beijing Olympic Team.  After a strong showing, Alicia was an Olympian.

The Olympics were not a happy time for Alicia.  She fell twice during the team finals, after which many people blamed her for the loss, which is not true.  Every gymnast made mistakes that day, and mathematically, it would not have been possible to overtake the Chinese.  However, many people didn't realize it, and many Americans and reporters, blamed Alicia, as you can see here.  Also, in the vault final, she hit two great vaults, but placed fourth, which is very upsetting, because Cheng Fei, the bronze medalist, fell on one of her vaults.                     

After the Olympics, Alicia announced her retirement.

2010-2012                  

After announcing her comeback in 2009, Alicia's comeback was the biggest story of the 2010 U.S. Classic, along with Mattie Larson's dominant return.  At Classics, she won vault and beam, which is a huge accomplishment for her first competition back.  At nationals, she won her fifth vault national title, and second on beam.  She was later selected for the World Championships, where she again led the team to a silver medal, and won her first world vault title.  2011 showed her "full" comeback, adding floor to her resume.  She placed second on vault, behind future World Champion and Olympian McKayla Maroney, and won gold on beam.  She was selected to go to Tokyo for the World Championships, but two days before prelims, she ruptured her Achilles and was sent home right away for surgery.  Since no alternate filled in her spot on the team, she was awarded her tenth world medal, becoming the most decorated women in the US at World Championships, breaking a tie between her, Shannon Miller, and Nastia Liukin.  

Just 8 months after Tokyo, and her surgery, Alicia looked as good as we've seen her, and at nationals, placed first on vault, and third on beam, behind new senior Sarah Finnegan, and gym-mate Aly Raisman.  She advanced to Olympic Trials, and despite an incredibly strong showing, Alicia was not even named as an alternate to the London Team.

Alicia has had an incredibly career, despite never having an Olympics that she imagined.  She has been quoted saying, "When you imagine your dreams coming true, You never picture a mistake."  She has said redemption was what this comeback for, and even though it didn't come in the way she imagined, I think it is safe to say, in the hearts of gym fans everywhere, redemption accomplished.

                                I wish you the best in every thing the future holds for you Alicia!