WINNERS: The Loveliest Leos from 2014 P&G Championships.

The 2014 P&G Championships were full of glamour and glitz. We listed out our favorite leos and let the fans vote on the loveliest leo from the juniors and the loveliest leo from the seniors. Below are your picks.

Sep 19, 2014

Lovely Leos from the Seniors at the 2014 P&G Championships

The 2014 P&G Championships senior competition had a range of gorgeous, classy, and dazzling leotards. Although with a smaller selection to choose from due to a significantly less number of seniors than juniors, here are our top seven from the two days of competition. Don't forget to vote for your favorite in the poll below that will close on Monday, September 15, 2014 at midnight Central Time.

Sep 11, 2014

Lovely Leos from the Juniors at the 2014 P&G Championships

Sep 7, 2014

Top Floor Performances - 2014 P&G Championships

It is always such a pleasure to watch a floor routine that displays a combination of not only difficult, well-executed tumbling, but also attention to detail with regards choreography. All too often, in my opinion, gymnasts and coaches are so preoccupied with packing in the difficulty, that dance becomes a random arm movement here and there, simply to fulfil the requirement. At the recent P&G Championships, particularly on Day 2, there were six floor routines that caught my eye for their performance quality.   1: Macy Toronjo - Texas Dreams - After Day 1 of competition, Toronjo's coach Kim Zmeskal Burdette tweeted that the Texas Dreams theme for the day was to enjoy their performances. Macy certainly did just that with her floor routine on both days of competition. Her music, an instrumental version of 'Feeling Good', stood out from the rest, and she engaged the crowd with her dramatic movements and a big smile.    2: Elena Arenas - Georgia Elite - Commentators Samantha Peszek and Evan Heiter stated that Arenas has "the world-class look" - and I agree with them! Daughter of former US national team member Kim Arnold, Elena holds herself with remarkable poise for someone who is just twelve years old. She displays in her body language that she takes competition seriously, and her classical-style floor routine was beautifully elegant.    3: Emily Gaskins - Cincinnati Gymnastics - My favourite floor routine of the whole competition! Gaskins transitioned fluidly from difficult tumbling passes to graceful choreography and executed ballet steps with confidence. Her posture was excellent and I loved how she made everything look so light and effortless.   4: Maile O'Keefe - Salcianu Gymnastics - I loved her choreography! O'Keefe and her coaches evidently pay great attention to the inclusion and execution of dance. Similarly to Gaskins, I appreciated the fluidity of her movement. She was so expressive and refined - a very polished performer!   5: Maggie Nichols - Twin City Twisters - This up tempo routine captured my attention. Maggie really used her facial expressions to draw in the crowd and you could tell she was committed to performing the choreography to the best of her ability. She got the balance between intense focus and entertaining the audience just right!   6: Victoria Nguyen - Chow's - I knew this was going to be a great routine from the moment she stepped onto the floor with a flourish. Like a lot of the junior gymnasts, Nguyen showed incredible maturity in competition. Her music and choreography reminded me very much of a classic Romanian floor routine such as that of Sandra Izbasa in 2008. I enjoyed the precision of her dance and amazing leaps!   Thanks for reading, what were your favourite floor routines from P&Gs?   Lucy (16 year old gymnast from the UK)

Sep 1, 2014

Highs and Lows From P&Gs

  Highs   Dowell's Bars Brenna Dowell completed a skill-packed routine over the weekend with a huge 16.7 starting value in her only event at Championships. Usually, competing just one event at a competition can create a large amount of pressure. Dowell handled this pressure well, and delivered her routine on both days of competition. She scored her highest bars score of 15.40 on day one. On day two, she improvised well to save her toe-on full, where she didn’t get over the bar, and had to pirouette out to continue the routine. She also hit her feet on the ground after her pak was a little faster and whippy than usual. Although she didn’t score as high on day two, she showed fight and never stopped during the routine when she easily could have. As an exceptional bar worker, she has the potential to make finals at the World Championships if she’s selected for the team and hits in competition. Watch her routine from day one here.

Aug 28, 2014

Top 10 Photos from P&G Championships Women's Day 1

Below are the top 10 photos from day one of the women's competition at the 2014 P&G Championships.

Aug 26, 2014

Routines Not to Miss From the 2014 P&G Championships

  1. Ashton Locklear - Uneven Bars - 15.850 Locklear’s routine, the same routine she performed a few weeks ago at the Secret U.S. Classic, is incredibly unique and packed with difficulty. Her connections are highly impressive that gain her huge bonus points and she hits her handstands with immaculate form and pointed toes. She’s a very clean gymnast, that swings nicely between the bars with stunning lines that give her that extra edge on presentation. Her releases are beautiful -  her jager and range of shaposh’s, and she almost always sticks her dismount landing. Although with so many connections comes a large risk, but she has shown that she can deliver under pressure and hit her incredible routine almost every time. She’s easily currently one of USA’s strongest bar workers. Watch her incredible routine here.  

Aug 26, 2014

Burke and Watts Win Junior Titles

Aug 24, 2014

Men's Worlds and Sr Pan Ams Teams Announced

Aug 24, 2014

2014 Men's National Team

The 2014 USA Gymnastics Men's National Team was announced after the conclusion of their two day competition at the 2014 P&G Championships.    Senior National Team

Aug 24, 2014

Sam Mikulak Wins Second Consecutive National Title

Aug 24, 2014

Simone Biles Dominates Competition and Wins National Title

Aug 23, 2014

2014 USA Gymnastics National Team

The 2014 USA Gymnastics National Team was announced after the conclusion of their two day competition at the 2014 P&G Championships.      Junior National Team

Aug 23, 2014

Foberg Crowned 2014 Junior National Champion

Aug 23, 2014

Orozco Tops Day One of 2014 P&G Championships

Night one of the senior men's 2014 P&G Championships was filled with Olympians and big skills. The night was very much centered around the National team members who competed tonight with their eye on making the Worlds team later this October in Nanning, China.   Donnell Whittenburg began the night with a superb rings routine, where he ended with a double twisting double layout, scoring 15.45. Olympian John Orozco performed a strong, clean rings routine, ending with a gorgeous, stuck 1.5 twisting double tuck. He landed to loud applause and a score of 15.15. Back from two years out of competition, two-time Olympian, Jonathan Horton, was next on parallel bars, performing a solid routine starting his competition with a 15.30. Lord of the Rings, Brandon Wynn showcased his super-human strength on his signature event, showing beautiful cross work and punctuating his routine with a full twisting double layout, earning 15.50 - just 0.05 ahead of Whittenburg. Recently married Olympian Jake Dalton continued a successful string of hit routines with a nice pommel horse set, despite a slight struggle on his dismount. He scored 13.50. Olympian and 2-time NCAA all-around and team champion, Sam Mikulak, was next on parallel bars. He had some uncharacteristic struggles, including a large step forward on his double pike dismount. He scored 13.55. Olympic alternate, Alex Naddour, Team USA's top pommel horse worker, competed a great set for the start of his competiton, scoring a high 14.60 - third highest score of the night.     At the conclusion of the first rotation, Wynn led the field, followed by Whittenburg, Horton, Akash Modi, and Orozco.     Danell Leyva started the second rotation by hitting a great parallel bars set, with a double front dismount.  The 2012 parallel bars world champion scored a huge 15.45. Orozco hit the front of the vault with bent arms, which caused him to lack height and form on his front handspring double twisting front layout. Despite this and a large step forward, he scored 14.55. Paul Ruggeri on vault performed a Yurchenko half on, layout double twisting front off beautifully with his signature clean execution. He scored a desereved 15.35, which was the second highest of the night. Whittenburg performed a new vault - a huge nearly stuck Dragulescu. The crowd erupted, and the judges rewarded his terrific performance with a well earned 15.65, and a 9.55 execution score. It was the highest vault score of the night. Mikulak next recovered from his errors on parallel bars by a jam-packed routine that earned 15.55, with a 7.0 D score.   After the second rotation, Whittenburg led the field, followed by Wynn and Leyva. Horton and Orozco were tied for fourth, followed by Ruggeri.    Horton performed a good floor routine despite some struggles on his landings and stepped out of bounds on two tumbling passes. Over on parallel bars, Orozco completed a incredible routine with a stuck double pike dismount. He earned a the highest score of competiton on this apparatus with a huge 15.60 with a 6.9 D score. He receieved loud cheers from the excited crowd. Dalton next performed on vault, one of his strongest events. He did a clean Kas double, scoring 15.20. Mikulak next took to the floor, where he sat down his full twist to punch double front, but fought through an otherwise very clean routine that ended with a stuck triple full. Next, Leyva, who competed in high bar finals at the London Olympic Games, performed an excellent, 7.0-D score routine finishing with a stuck double twisting double layout. The crowd went wild, and his dad and coach, Yin Alvarez, let out his signature, enthusiastic "Yesooo!" cheer. Leyva scored 15.75.    At the conclusion of the third rotation, Whittenburg retained his lead, followed by Leyva, Wynn, Orozco, Naddour, and Horton.       Mikulak next took to the pommel horse, hoping to move past his fall on floor.  He hit a solid routine that featured nice flare work and a clean dismount. Ruggeri performed an impressive one-armed giant and a number of high-flying release moves that earned him a huge 15.70 for his solid performance. His score was the second highest of the night. Next, Dalton performed a solid parallel bars routine with a stuck double pike dismount, earning 15.25. Orozco continued his solid performances on high bar, where he performed a range of incredible releases and finished with a stuck full twisting double layout. Highest score of the night when to him with a 15.75.

Aug 22, 2014