The Loss of Ana Porgras

The Couch Gymnast

As I rewatched the 2010 Team Final, I watched the beauty that was Ana Porgras.  Ana Porgras, the subject that makes most gym fans cry, the sole Romanian bar worker, the gymnast that brought beauty back to gymnastics.  Ana Porgras, the gymnast that retired four months before London.  Like many gym fans, Ana's retirement came as a surprise to me, as a gymnast so talented and filled with potential; retiring four months before the Olympic Games.   Porgras was struggling with an injury and had a hard time adjusting to the coaching style of Bellu and Bitang and called it quits after Romania failed to earn a medal at the 2011 World Championships.  After her retirement, many fans and experts questioned how well Romania would do in London.  Romania bounced back decently from their unfortunate Worlds in 2011, bringing a Team Bronze, Vault Gold and Floor Silver.  I decided to use Ana's scores from the three World Championships she attended in 2009, 2010, and 2011 to see how Anna would've affected Romania's success.

Team Final
I'm only using scores from past Team Finals here.
Vault
Larisa Iordache- 14.8
Catalina Ponor- 15.1
Sandra Izbasa- 15.1
Total- 45.00

Uneven Bars
Diana Chelaru- 13.633
Larisa Iordache- 13.766
Diana Bulimar- 14.066
Ana Porgras- 14.466
Original Total- 41.465
New Total- 42.298

Longines

Beam
Diana Bulimar- 14.533
Larisa Iordache- 15.3
Catalina Ponor- 15.416
Ana Porgras- 15.3
Original Total- 45.249
New Total- 46.016







Floor
Diana Bulimar- 14.7
Catalina Ponor- 14.8
Sandra Izbasa- 15.2
Original Total- 44.7

Original Team Total- 176.414
New Team Total- 178.014
Total Difference- 1.6

Ana Porgras' presence in London last summer would've made a huge difference in Romania's team total, however would not have changed the color of Romania's medal.  With the addition of Ana Porgras, Romania could've moved within 6 tenths of Russia however.  Porgras' biggest addition would've been on bars, where she took home a share of a bronze medal in 2009.  Porgras could've potentially added .833 to the bars score due to one routine alone.  Bars have been Romania's weak spot for several years, and would've used Porgras' routines for sure in the Team Final.  While Porgras makes a slightly smaller splash in Romania's Beam rotation, her beam routine alone would boost Romania's total Beam score by .767.  By going to London for two routines, she could've boosted Romania's score by over a point and a half!  Ana Porgras was not only missed by fans in London.

Key Players in the NCAA

The NCAA season starts in one month, and I could not be more excited!  As a way to get in the mood for the upcoming NCAA season, as well as the Fantasy Gymnastics draft tomorrow, I am going to highlight some of the gymnasts who are sure to be key-players for their schools!

Bridget Sloan ~ University of Florida

GatorZone.com

Bridget Sloan is the reigning NCAA AA Champion, 8-Time First-Team All American, and led her team to their first National Championship Title ever, all as a freshman.  During her first year as a Gator, Bridget recorded only two falls all season.  She became the first person to win a World, U.S. and NCAA AA Champion, as well as becoming the fourth freshman to win the Honda Award, an award celebrating the best collegiate gymnast.  This year, Sloan looks to take off where she left off.  Likely to lead the All Around on a very stacked Florida lineup, as well as try to defend her Beam NCAA title.  When asked about Bridget, Coach Rhonda Faehn said, "Bridget has been highly successful - she's reached the highest level of our sport.  She's a tremendous athlete and a tremendous competitor.  And since day one of her arrival on campus, Bridget has been solely focused on this team and doing everything possible to help the Gators.  She's an incredible team player and has a very strong work ethic.  Bridget's personality is infectious.  The whole team feeds off of it.  She has fun and loves what she is doing."

Taylor Spears ~ Oklahoma University

gymnastike 

Taylor Spears, a senior at Oklahoma, hails from the powerhouse that is WOGA, and certainly has the lines to prove it!  She is a very consistent All Arounder, who's specialty is her exquisite beam work, and did not register a fall on this event all season and consistently scores in the 9.9 range.  Her beautiful routines compliment a great Oklahoma line-up where she anchors the team on most events and lead the team in the All Around (along with Keely Kmieciak).  She had 26 individual titles last season, including eight All Around, ten Beam, four Bars, three Floor, and one Vault, the second most titles in the NCAA.  A Second Team All-American, she led her team to the highest placement at NCAAs in Team History, as well as placing 15 in the All Around.  Look for Taylor to contribute strongly for Oklahoma, especially on beam.

Diandra Milliner ~ University of Alabama

gymtide.com

Diandra Milliner is such an explosive gymnast that it's hard to take your eyes off of her when she competes her floor routine!  Last season, she competed a Double Arabian, a Front Layout-Front Full, and ends with a double pike.  She has such a high level of difficulty and performs these skills brilliantly, which earned her a second place at NCAA Championships this spring in Los Angeles, CA.  Then there is her vault.  Unlike most college gymnasts, she competes a 1.5TY, and performs it exceptionally.  Her lines during this vault are picture perfect, and generally lands it very well.  Her almost perfect vault was just that at NCAA's, for which she earned a 9.925, and took home her first NCAA Title.  Look for her to try to defend her title this year in her senior year.  Coach Patterson has high praise for this athlete, for good measure.  She is taking on a leadership position, and I am very excited to see her compete this season!  Coach Sarah Patterson told me, "Diandra Milliner is an amazing athlete who is probably one of the best competitors I have worked with during my career.  She knows when to 'Light the Fire' so to speak and has that sense of urgency in competition that every coach loves to have.  She has a natural athletic ability that you can not teach."

Sam Peszek ~ UCLA

photos.al.com

 Sam Peszek, 2008 Olympian headlines a stellar UCLA team.  Peszek was forced to Redshirt last year after tearing her Achilles Tendon in the preseason and is ready to rock this season.  Her beam work, much like it was in her elite days, is stunning.  In 2012, after injuring her wrist, she competed solely on beam, with what the UCLA staff called "The Bluetooth Routine" without using her hands.  She was also the first college gymnast to compete a standing full in 2011 when she won the 2011 NCAA Beam title.  She has always been a solid and consistent All Arounder, counting one fall all season in 2012. Peszek will look to come back strong this season as a Redshirt Junior.

Rheagan Courville ~ LSU

gymnastike.com

Rheagan Courville, a former elite who made the Junior National Team in 2007-2008, has been a standout of a rising LSU team during the past few season.  The stellar junior excels on All Around, and is the reigning 2013 NCAA vault champion.  She placed second AA at the 2013 NCAA Championships behind World Champion Bridget Sloan and a 3-Time All-American from 2013.  Her beam work looks effortless and has a beautiful Standing Arabian, similar to that of Nia Dennis and Viktoria Komova.  Rheagan leads the resurgent LSU team, which made Super 6 last year and handed University of Florida it's only loss of the season, and will look to stay as consistent and strong as she has been in her first two seasons as a Tiger.  Assistant Coach Jay Clark has some wonderful things to say about this amazing athlete.  Clark says, "Rheagan Courville is one of the most gifted athletes I have ever worked with.  Her gymnastics is light and effortless and she is a joy to coach."

Thank You Gymternet

A while back, for my AP Language and Composition class we have to write a journal entry talking about a turning point in our lives.  It was for our eyes only, and I took this entry to heart.  I wrote about the gymternet, and I thought it would be cool to post my journal entry, as a way to thank you all you have done for me over the last year and a half.

Assignment: Write about the biggest turning point in your life.

The biggest turning point in my life was the moment I discovered my love for gymnastics and joined the gymternet.  I had always love to do and watch gymnastics, and after the 2008 Olympics I discovered Twitter and the gymternet and I never looked back.  After I joined the gymternet, I was inspired by the amazing bloggers already there, such as Get a Grip Gymblog, Triple Twist, Arabian Punch Front, and so many others, and started mine on my 15th birthday, June 27, 2012.  It was the best time to start a blog, with the Olympics a month away,  After a while of writing for the blog, I realized how much I loved review and analyze numbers and past results and how it correlates to the current results, and how much I loved writing about sports in general.  I realized sports are more than a hobby I do after school, they are my passion, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life writing about sports professionally.  I realized all of this because of the gymternet.  The gymternet is such an amazing place where I can talk to other people who love gymnastics as much as I do, and not only talk about gymnastics.  I can honestly say I've met some of the most amazing people on twitter, and I don't know what I'd do without being able to talk to those people.  So, thank you gymternet for giving me an outlet to post my ramblings and findings for the past year and a half.

Thank you to all of those who've helped the past year and a half grow as a blogger, gym fan, and person.

Thank you Bekah, APF, Ashlee and Brittany for the inspiration to start a blog and follow my dreams, and all the help along the way.

Thank you to my first two gymternet friends Kim and Kathleen.  We may not talk as much anymore, but you guys are still and always will be my Aly and Mac<3

Thank you to the Mooseherd, DylDawg (LTAGymnastics) and Hannuda (@Hannaversary).  You both are amazing and Nat asks about you ALL the time.  hanN, you've given me such great advice and helped me through some crazy times.  I love you both.

Thank you to my gymternet sister, Amanda (@gymnasticsedits on Instagram).  You are one of the sweetest people I know and talked with me through some of the weird times I've had.  You are like my best friend and I don't know what I would do without you.  I'm saving up my money so we can go to Tokyo together in 2020.  I love you Manda!

Thank you to the wonderful people at GymnastIke for giving me the opportunity to go to my dream camp, International Gymnastics Camp.  I've wanted to go to IGC for about 4 years and my parents told me, "The only way you could EVER go to IGC if it was cheaper."  When I saw an ad for the 2013 Pro Gymnastics Challenge Prediction Contest I decided to enter because I had nothing to lose.  Lets just say when I got the email saying that I had won about a month later, I was in complete shock.  After my mom called to clarify that this contest was legit, I was finally on my way to IGC.  It was an unbelievable week and I can't wait to go back this summer with a friend! (Only 221 days away :p)

Thank you to all of the amazing gymnasts that follow me.  Without you all, I wouldn't have anything to write about!  You all never fail to make my day when I see I have an awesome new follower.  So thank you, Emily Schein, Emily Schild, Taylor Spears, Larisa Iordache, Alina Weinstein, Peter Daggett, Shannon Miller, Jordyn Givens, Ariana Agrapides, Jazmyn Foberg, Laurie Hernandez, Haley Scaman, Alexis Beucler, Roxana Popa, Aimee Boorman, Jay Clark, Kaitlyn Clark, Madison Mooring, Owen Field, Jeff Graba, Brie Olson, Lauren Beers, Natasha Kelley, Rebecca Clark, Jennifer Pinches, Briley Casanova, Annia Hatch, Dylan Marshall, Emily Stone, Haylee Roe, Vasiliki Millousi, Shawn Johnson, Kayla WIlliams, McKenzie Wofford, Brittany Wenzel, Sydney McGlone, Nica Hults, Bayle Pickel, Marissa Beucler, Kaylee Cole, Timmy D, Tasha Schwikert, Lexie Preissman, and Victoria Moors.

Finally, thank you to all of my followers.  If you asked me 1 and a half years ago if I would have 1589 followers, among them being 8 Olympians, 4 Olympic Medalists, 2 Olympic Champions, 9 World Championship competitors, 7 World Championship Medallists, 4 World Champions and 2 World All Around Champions, 15 NCAA competitors and so many amazing people, I wouldn't have believed you. Thank you all for everything.  You've impacted my life more than you guys will EVER know.

Interview With Maggie Nichols

Maggie Nichols, a first year senior elite, placed 5th at her first Senior National Championships this year in Hartford, Connecticut.  After making her second National Team (she was added to the 2012-2013 National Team this spring), she was invited to the World's Team Selection Camp.  I got the opportunity to interview Maggie once she got home from the Selection Camp about her breakout into the gymnastics world, what it was like traveling and competing with an Olympic Champion and her future plans!

Property of coolspotters.com

1. You first broke out into the gymnastics world at the 2011 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup.  What did you learn about competing at such a large scale competition on a podium, that was broadcasted on national television?
It was an amazing experience competing at such a large competition.  Also, competing on a podium was very fun because it was my first time!

2. Your first elite competition was the 2009 Covergirl Classic as a pre elite.  Did you get any advice before the competition and what did you think of your first elite competition?
My first elite competition was the 2009 Classics I competed as a pre elite and it was an amazing experience competing at the same competition as Olympians.
3. Did you watch the older girl's competing?  Did you see anything that you tried to put in your training and routines?
Yes, I always wanted to watch the older girls and learn from them.  I've always looked up to them.

4. You were added to the national team for the European Tour.  What  was it like competing with an Olympic Champion?  Did she give you any advice on competing internationally?  
It was a great experience competing internationally and with Kyla.  She told us to be confident and to have fun with the experience.

5. You improved to fifth this year at your first senior nationals?  What did you do differently this year as opposed to last year?
I don't think I did anything differently, I just kept working hard in the gym and trusted my coaches like I've always done, and they've had a great plan for me that worked!

courant.com

6. When were you first invited to camp and what was that like?
My first camp was intimidating because I didn't exactly know what to expect.  It was a lot of fun, but a lot of work.

7. Can you describe a little bit about what camps are like?
We do strength testing and we verify on every event so they can see where we are!

8. Was the World's Selection Camp different than other National Team camps?
Yes because we didn't have as many practices and our practices were shorter and we also didn't have dance classes.

9. What was the announcement like?  I know as a fan, the wait was excruciating!  What was it like for you as the gymnast?
The wait wasn't very long but we kinda already knew who made the team.

10. Did Marta say anything to you after the announcement of the team?
She told me to just keep working hard in the gym.

11. Congratulations on your commitment to the University of Oklahoma!  Did you look anywhere else and what made you chose Oklahoma? 
I did look other places but Oklahoma was the fit for me.  I loved everything about it and the coaches were perfect for me!!!

12.  What are your plans and goals for the rest of the year?
More international assignments and to improve all around! :)

Thank you so much Maggie, good luck for the rest of the year!

May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor

As Simone Biles rocked the world at the World Championships in Antwerp Belgium, everyone began thinking about the next 3 years before the Olympic Games.  Will she burn out like many before her?  Will she stand the test of time that the next 3 years will bring?  As I love to look at numbers and the past, I decided to look at previous years and see what 16 year old World Medalists in the year after the Olympics went on to the next Olympic Games.

2005 World Championships

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
All Around	Chellsie Memmel	Nastia Liukin	Monette Russo
Vault	Cheng Fei	Oksana Chusovitina	Alicia Sacramone
Bars	Nastia Liukin	Chellsie Memmel	Beth Tweddle
Beam	Nastia Liukin	Chellsie Memmel	Catalina Ponor
Floor	Alicia Sacramone	Nastia Liukin	Suzanne Harme

As you can see, the U.S. won big at the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.  The Championships were dominated by mostly veterans, with the older gymnasts winning 80% of the medals, Nastia Liukin being the only fresh senior to win medals, taking home 20% of the medals that year.  Liukin, as you know, went on to be the most successful member of the US team for the 2008 Olympics, winning The AA Gold, Team, Bars and Beam Silvers, and Floor Bronze, medaling in every event final she participated in winning 91% of the medals she tried to win in the following 2 World Championships and Olympic Games, which makes the baby success rate 100% for these Championships.

2009 World Championships

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
All Around	Bridget Sloan	Rebecca Bross	Koko Tsurumi
Vault	Kayla Williams	Ariella Kaeslin	Youna Dufronet
Bars	He Kexin	Koko Tsurumi	Ana Porgras Rebecca Bross
Beam	Deng Linlin	Lauren Mitchell	Ivana Hong
Floor	Beth Tweddle	Lauren Mitchell	Sui Lu

At the 2009 World Championships in London, England, you can see that the medalists were a little more spread out and more diverse than the 2005 World Championships, with the older gymnasts winning 69% of the medals.  

Of the 16 year olds,  only 1 gymnasts went on to become an Olympian in 2012, Youna Dufournet who did not qualify for finals.  Kayla Williams, the Vault World Champion dropped down to level 10 shortly after and is currently enjoying a successful collegiate career at the University of Alabama.  Rebecca Bross, the AA Silver and Bar Bronze medalists, was infamously injured in 2011, and was not named to the 2012 Olympic Team, andAna Porgras retired in February 2012.

So, the average success rate for the 16 year old World Medalists over the past 2 quads were, 23%, however, when the gymnast was as successful as Simone Biles was in 2013, the success rate goes down to 20%.  Simone Biles, may the odds be ever in your favor.

How The Numbers Compare

A few weeks ago, I posted a post, Predicting The 2013 Podiums , where I took the season averages of the favorites in each event to be able to get a picture of how things stacked up prior to the event.  Of course, this isn't a perfect science, as domestic scoring can be a little funny and, it's gymnastics: anything can happen.  Now that World's are over, I'm going to go back to the averages and standings, and compare that to what actually happened!

All Around
Prediction
Gold: Simone Biles 60.32
Silver: Kyla Ross 59.63
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina 58.927 
Fourth: Larisa Iordache 58.06
Fifth:  Giulia Steingruber 57.344 

Actual
Gold: Simone Biles 60.216
Silver: Kyla Ross 59.332
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina 58.856
Fourth: Larisa Iordache 57.766
Fifth: Yao Jinnan 57.632

Wow, these predictions were actually pretty accurate!  Besides Giulia Steingruber, who placed 7, the results here were spot on, and the scores weren't too far off.  No one really thought that with her difficulty level, Kyla Ross would factor into the medal picture, but the numbers (and the competition itself!) proved those people wrong!

Vault
Prediction
Gold: McKayla Maroney 15.42
Silver: Simone Biles 15.41
Bronze: Giulia Steingruber 14.804 

Actual
Gold: McKayla Maroney 15.725
Silver: Simone Biles 15.595
Bronze: Hong Un Jong 15.483

While the numbers were well off, 2/3 of the podium were correct.  While the Maroney/Biles competition wasn't as close as it was built up to be, but it was just as intense!  With Biles and Maroney the last two to go up, and then for Biles to nail both her vaults as amazing as we've seen from her, to Maroney going up and just hitting her vaults right after Biles, it was intense!  When I ran the numbers, I believe Hong Un Jong had the 4th highest score, so it wasn't too far off, but Giulia was incredible as well, hitting both of her vaults at the beginning of the final, then being knocked out of contention by the last 3 vaulters.

Bars
Prediction 
Gold: Yao Jinnan 15.433
Silver: Kyla Ross 15.389
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina 15.211

Actual
Gold: Huang Huidan 15.4
Silver: Kyla Ross 15.266
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina 15.033

So many people doubted that Kyla Ross could possibly beat Mustafina on bars when I originally posted it!  However, when the green light went up, Kyla Ross performed better than Aliya Mustafina when it counted.  No one really expected that Huang Huidan would even make make bars finals, as Yao Jinnan and Shang Chunsong were expected to qualify over her.  No one expected Yao Jinnan to fall either, but that's gymnastics.

Beam
Prediction
Gold: Larisa Iordache 15.48
Silver: Kyla Ross 14.836
Bronze: Aliya Mustafina 14.633

Actual
Gold: Aliya Mustafina 14.9
Silver: Kyla Ross 14.833
Bronze: Simone Biles 14.333

This podium isn't as exact as the others, which just goes to show how unpredictable gymnastics really is.  No one expected Larisa to fall and no one expected Mustafina to win.  This final will forever been known as the Beam Finals of Inquiries.  I feel bad for Mustafina, because I fell like that's what people are going to remember about this final, not that fact that Mustafina won gold on her weakest, most inconsistent event, beating the favorite by a hefty margin.

Floor
Prediction
Gold: McKayla Maroney
Silver: Simone Biles
Bronze: Larisa Iordache

Actual
Gold: Simone Biles 15.0
Silver: Vanessa Ferrari 14.633
Bronze: Larisa Iordache 14.6

Wow, who would've thought going in that Kyla Ross would beat McKayla Maroney on floor and Maroney wouldn't qualify?  I'm so happy for Vanessa Ferrari, she's been waiting for this medal for SO long!  I totally disagree with Iordache's score, she performed so well and I believe it should've been higher.  Simone has been so amazing during this week, definitely proved herself as the one to beat for the next year with 2 golds, 1 silver, and 1 bronze!

There we go!  I'm not going to lie, some of the predictions were closer than I thought they would be!  It's been an amazing week, and I can't wait for next time!

If "So and So" Made the USA World's Team

Qualifications took place today and The USA has 2 women in every final!  The USA Women had an outstanding day, with Simone Biles qualifying to all the finals, Kyla Ross qualifying into the AA, UB,BB, and FX finals, and McKayla Maroney qualifying into the VT finals (and the AA and the FX....I HATE THE TWO PER COUNTRY RULE!..but I digress,)!  In the weeks prior to the championships, there has been many speculation about who should take the fourth spot, which was ultimately unused, after Marta scratched Brenna Dowell to allow McKayla Maroney to compete in the AA.  So now that we know who qualified into each final, I wanted to take the bars and beam scores of the rest of the National Team to see if they would have skewed the qualifications for the US team, to see if Marta made the right choice.

Brenna Dowell
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 14.7 (City Of Jesolo)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: 13.85 (P&G Championships Day 2)

Kennedy Baker
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 13.55 (Secret Classic)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: 14.65 (P&G Championships Day 2)

Peyton Ernst
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 14.8 (USA-GER-ROM Tri Meet)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: 14.9 (P&G Championships Day 2)

Maggie Nichols
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 14.15 (P&G Championships Day 2)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: 14.5 (P&G Championships Day 2)

Elizabeth Price
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 14.8 (P&G Championships Day 2)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: N/A (I'm not sure how Elizabeth was scoring at camp)

MyKayla Skinner
Highest Score on UB in 2013: 13.55 ( P&G Championships Day 2)
Highest Score on BB in 2013: 14.25 (P&G Championships Day 2)

If Peyton Ernst made the US World's Team, she would've tied Simone Biles for the 2nd American UB finals, but would've won the tiebreaker due to a higher execution.

If Peyton Ernst made the US World's Team, she would've beaten Shang Chunsong for the second qualifying spot.

*All pictures property of usagym.org *