The Evolution of the Olympic Floor Routine

When watching the 2012 Olympics in London, one of the things that struck me was the insane difficulty scores that the gymnasts were posting, and how much more difficult the sport has become, even since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It gave me an idea - compare the skills being competed then, to now. 

Aug 7, 2013

Olympic Rewind: Gabby Wins Gold

A drizzly day in London, American gymnast Gabby Douglas sat with her phone in hand at the back of a bus en route to the North Greenwhich Arena. The bus shimmied around the tight London streets transporting Douglas to her next Olympic competition. While some may take rain as a bad omen, for Douglas the mist was more welcomed than sunshine. "When I was little, my mom used to tell me that when it rains, it's God's manifestation waiting to happen...a big day is waiting to happen," Douglas recalls, "so when it was raining I was like, it's going to be a great day. I texted my mom, 'It's raining. It's gonna be a great day.'" And Douglas would be right, as the bus slowed to a halt depositing her to the women's all around final.

Aug 2, 2013

Olympic Rewind: Fierce Five Win Gold

Jul 31, 2013

Debatable Moments: Part 3

Not ready to quit quarrelling just yet? Well, you're in luck, as we enter the third and final leg of our Debatable Moments series. Last on the list are the London Olympics. The 2012 Games brought glory and gratification to many athletes who worked their entire lives to reach this moment, but the pretigious event did not transpire without leaving a few festering sores that we plan on ripping open and analyzing today. Brace yourself as we venture into the last of our climactic Olympic clashes.

Jul 10, 2013

Gymnastics Gets Boost in Olympic Revenue

May 30, 2013

Orozco to Star in London 2012 Olympic Documentary

Apr 30, 2013

Coach Liang Chow's Next Generation

Sep 17, 2012

London 2012 Olympic Games RESULTS - Artistic Gymnastics

Final Gymnastics Results for the 2012 London Olympic Games 2012 Olympic Games - Artistic Gymnastics Results: London 2012 WOMEN'S TEAM FINALS Click here for the RECAP of the London 2012 women's team final Results: London 2012 MEN'S TEAM FINALS Click here for the RECAP of the London 2012 men's team final Click here for the story on USA men's 5th place finish Results: London 2012 Women's ALL AROUND FINALS Click here for the full RECAP of the London 2012 women's all around final Results: London 2012 Men's ALL AROUND FINALS Click here for the full RECAP of the London 2012 men's all around final Results: London 2012 WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL EVENT FINALS Links to RECAPS: VT  -  UB  -  BB  -  FX Results: London 2012 MEN'S INDIVIDUAL EVENT FINALS Links to RECAPS: FX  -  PH  -  SR  -  VT  -  PB  -  HB Final Recap of London 2012 Gymnastics Medalists Link to complete results

Sep 7, 2012

What it was like to cover Gymnastics Competition at the Olympic Games

Sep 5, 2012

McKayla Maroney reveals fibula fracture and teaches Maria Menounos how to Dougie

Appearing on Extra on August 28, 2012, Olympic gold and silver medalist, McKayla Maroney, casually revealed that she has a fractured fibula in addition to her other well-known fracture, a broken toe.     Video:  Extratv.com

Aug 29, 2012

Wieber's post-Olympic plans revealed

USA Today has published a revealing article on world champion and Olympic gold medalist, Jordyn Wieber.     The article reports that Wieber has no regrets about her Olympic experience, despite her disappointing failure to qualify for the All-Around competition because of the two-per-country rule.  Although Wieber makes no excuses, following the Olympics, it was announced that she had been training for, and competing in, the biggest competition of her life with a stress fracture in her shin.   Reportedly, the fracture stemmed from a prior heel bruise.  Wieber's coach, John Geddert, first revealed news of the bruise in a June 29, 2012 Olympic Trials blog post, writing that Wieber was dealing with a "nagging little heel bruise."  In a post-meet interview later that day, Wieber said the bruise was "fine" and noted that such injuries happen often as a result of hard landings.   The article further reveals a lot about Wieber's post-Olympic plans.  Reportedly, after participating in the three-month, 40-city Kellogg's Tour of Champions, she plans to return to complete her senior year of high school.  After that, Wieber, who is not eligible to compete in collegiate gymnastics because she has gone professional, reportedly plans to attend college at UCLA, as has been previously reported in other media.  There, she reportedly plans to remain involved in gymnastics as a coaching assistant for the star-studded UCLA Bruins.   The UCLA Bruins' roster, which often reads like a "who's who" of gymnastics, currently includes gymnastics greats like 2008 Olympian Samantha Peszek, and former national team members including Vanessa Zamarripa, Mattie Larson (a former teammate of McKayla Maroney's at AOGC), and Cassie Whitcomb.  2012 Olympic alternate, Anna Li, also had a storied career as a UCLA Bruin, helping to lead the team to its sixth NCCA championship title during her final season in 2010.     The USA Today article also speculates that, because of her age and body type, Wieber's last competition could be the 2013 World Championships, where she could defend her title as reigning all-around world champion.  It quotes her coach, John Geddert, as saying in London, "Like it or not, this is a little girl's sport, not a women's sport . . . .  And the little girls are going to prevail.  Their bodies get off the ground better.  You don't have to deal with curves."    Finally, the article reveals that Wieber, who has never played baseball, was nervous about throwing out the first pitch at the Detroit Tigers game.  Watch her throw the pitch, while wearing a boot to protect her leg, here.    Click here to read the full USA Today article.  

Aug 23, 2012

Don't Call It A Comeback: Aliya Mustafina

Experience and an iron will helped Russia's Aliya Mustafina become an unlikely star of the 2012 Olympics. Her defiant personality and intensity in competition have earned her the title of "diva" - but a more realistic depiction of Mustafina may be that she is one of the most passionate gymnasts to ever grace the Olympic stage.

Aug 9, 2012

Catalina Ponor Says Farewell One Final Time

   Catalina Ponor retires as a 5-time Olympic medalist. Romanian gymnastics legend Catalina Ponor confirmed her retirement at the conclusion of her second Olympic Games in London. The triple gold medalist from Athens 2004 made a remarkable comeback to gymnastics just before the 2011 World Championships to ultimately lead the Romanian team into the 2012 Olympic Games.    Ponor looked fantastic during her time in London, showing a full twisting double layout tumbling line in podium training, throwing difficult full twisting double back beam dismounts with ease, and returning to her former world class form on balance beam and floor.   Ponor led the Romanians to the Team Bronze medal, an improvement after coming in 4th place at the past two World Championship team finals. Ponor respresented Romania one final time on Tuesday during the beam and floor finals where a score inquiry and ultimate tie break knocked her out of bronze medal position.    Then, in her final competitive routine, Ponor clinched a silver medal with confident choreography, stuck landings, and a surprise back tuck connected at the end of her second tumbling pass (2 whips+back handspring+full in).   In total, Ponor will conclude her storied career with five Olympic medals.     The 24-year-old says she is ready for a vacation, and then thinks she would like to get into coaching.      Catalina Ponor spoke to the media at the conclusion of the Games:  On her feelings after her second place finish on the floor exercise and her fourth place finish on the balance beam: "It has been good and it has been disappointing. The beam was disappointing."   On the women's beam final, where she missed out on a medal because of a tie-break: "I could have done more work - but I felt the pressure and I was nervous."   On completing her final competitive appearance before retiring: "I will say it again, I want everyone to know, I will quit without regrets. I have worked every second for my team, I have worked every second for myself, I have worked every second for everybody. I have already been an Olympic champion, I will quit gymnastics with my chin up."   Message to her fans: "I want to thank everybody for their support. I am sorry I have disappointed them."   On her future plans: "For now, I want to have a vacation so I can relax my mind. Afterwards, I want to try to do something like coaching." A closer look at Catalina Ponor before the 2012 Olympics: Watch more video of 2012 London Olympics on gymnastike.org

Aug 8, 2012

Jordyn Wieber Showing Signs of Stress Fracture

Throughout this Olympic Games Jordyn Wieber has revealed her "strong character" as U.S. National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi calls it.  Coming in with enormous expectations, the reigning World Champion did not have the Olympic Games of her dreams. The only medal Wieber will take home to Michigan is a team gold.  We saw Wieber rise to the occasion with spectacular performances during Team Finals and fight through individual disappointment while continuing to hold her head high and support her teammates. The 17-year-old handled defeat with class and maturity.  Then as the London Olympics came to a close with Wieber's final performance in the floor exercise final, Coach John Geddert revealed that there was one more thing Wieber was fighting through: a likely stress fracture.   Geddert shared that according to USA team doctor Larry Nassar, "there are all the signs of a stress fracture. She’s had soreness and now there is a lump there. So, she’ll be in a boot tomorrow, finish out the Games, get an x-ray, and then an MRI. It's the same leg as her heel injury. She’s been having problems since training camp." Not competing in London was never an option. "She’s not going to not compete", he stated with certainty. "I didn’t want to dwell on it, and she neither did she. We rested it as much as we could. We didn’t do as many numbers as we normally would. And obviously it took it’s toll. She wasn't as polished as she normally is because we couldn’t train. I’m really proud of her team performance because she really dug down deep. Obviously, today she had a shot at a medal. If she’d have done the same routine she did in team she would’ve had a medal. But, I’m not making excuses. I don’t want to get into that. There are some great champions out there. I don’t want to draw away from their accomplishments." You can't help but view her situation as deja vu of 1991 World Champion Kim Zmeskal at the '92 Barcelona Olympic Games. Zmeskal came in touted as the favorite, and a stress fractured slowed her training and ultimately dashed her Olympic all around chances.  When asked about the similarity to this, Geddert replied, "Well, it’s the sport of gymnastics. We’ve had the greatest ride of many, many people, so I guess we can’t complain. It’s just bad timing, bad karma, whatever you want to call it." Wieber will still depart London as an Olympic Gold Medalist, but she will carry with her a lot of "what if's?".  Coach Geddert shared, "she's disappointed. She probably feels unfulfilled. And I know her well enough that thats probably at the top of the list - disappointed and unfulfilled." What's next for World Champion Wieber? First, six weeks in a walking boot, then the Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions, and then, as Geddert put it, "Then she’s got some decisions to make. She hasn’t come out and said exactly what she wants to do." "It would be my hope (that she comes back). She’s still a senior in high school. I think she’s got another good year before she goes off to college, so an individual worlds is certainly a realistic goal for her. Not fulfilling her dreams here might add a little fuel to the fire. You know, these kids are all bred from the same cloth. They all get a little bit hungry when they don’t achieve what they want to get done."

Aug 7, 2012

Will Gabby Douglas win a third gold medal?

Will Douglas win a third medal in London?

Aug 6, 2012