More Announced Teams Compared to My Predictions

April 27, 2008 is when I made these predictions on who I thought will make the Olympic team.
Of the teams that have been announced, the ones I got right are highlighted in blue, the wrong ones are in red. The corrections are made a line below in italics and in green.

USA
Nastia Liukin; Shawn Johnson; Alicia Sacramone; Shayla Worley; Jana Bieger; Chellsie Memmel
CHN
Cheng Fei; Jiang Yuyuan; Yang Yilin; He Kexin; Xiao Sha; Sui Lu
RUS
Yelena Zamolodchikova; Anna Pavlova; Yulia Lozhecko; Liudmilla Grebenkova; Ksenia Semenova; Anna Myzdrikova
ROM
Steliana Nistor, Sandra Izbasa, Gabreila Dragoi, Anamaria Tamarjan, Cerasela Patrascu, Daniela Druncea
Acatrinei, Grigore
UKR
Alina Kozich, Irina Krasnianska, Olga Sherbatykh, Dariya Zgoba, Anastasia Koval, Valentina Holenkova
ITA
Francesca Bennolli, Carlotta Giovannini, ?????, Vanessa Ferrari, Lia Parolari, Monica Bergamelli
FRA
Marine Petit, Cassy Vericel, Pauline Morel, Laetitia Dugain, Kathleen Lindor, ?????
Marine Debauve
JAP
Koko Tsurumi, Miki Uemura, Kyoko Oshima, Keiko Mukumoto, He Xuemei, Mayu Kuroda
Yuko Shintake, Yu Minobe
AUS
Daria Joura, Ashleigh Brennon, Lauren Mitchell, Shona Morgan, Olivia Vivian, Chloe Sims
Georgia Bonora
GER
Oksana Chusovitina, Kim Bui, Joeline Mobius, Marie-Sophie Hindermann, Katja Abel, Jenny Brunner
Anja Brinker, Daria Bijak
BRA
Ana Claudia Silva, Daiane Dos Santos, Jade Barbosa, Daniele Hypolito, Lais Souza, Khiuani Dias
Ethiene Franco
GBR
Beth Tweddle, Becky Downie, Hannah Clowes, Marissa King, Imogen Cairns, Laura Jones
Wheelan, Wing
PRK
Hong Su Jong, Hong Un Jong
CAN
Nansy Damianova, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs
ESP
Lenika De Simone, Patricia Moreno
Patricia Moreno has retired since I made these predictions, however the Spanish team has not been announced.
CZE
Kristina Palesova
NED
Suzanne Harmes
SUI
Ariella Kaeslin

Romanian Team for Beijing.

Word is is that this is the team for the 2008 Olympics.

Izbasa
Nistor
Dragoi
Tamarjan
Grigore
Acatrinei

I'm Back! =]

Okay, so I'm back from UT Dive Camp.
And it was an awesome experience.
I learned a total of 25 new dives with the help of Matt Scoggin and other head coaches from universities around the country. The main dives I learned were

• Forward 2 1/2 Tuck [1 Meter Springboard]
• Forward 2 1/2 Pike [3 Meter Springboard]
• Inward 1 1/2 Tuck [1 Meter Springboard]
• Back 1 1/2 with 1/2 twist [3 Meter Springboard]
• Forward Dive Pike [7 1/2 Meter Platform]

And I'm partially broken too. =] I jarred my back on an inward 1 1/2 from the 3 meter, cut my eyelid open in the lockerroom, and have giant bruises on my arms from my 2 1/2s on the 1 meter.

I got to meet Troy Dumais and Aaron Peirsol, along with other swimmers going to the Olympic Trials next week, and an olympic swimmer for Taiwan.

I missed day 2 of the Olympic Trials, but caught all the news and he announcement of the Olympic Trials later that week and today. Next major news I'll post here and I'll start back to normal. =D

Sadness;

I won't be able to update this blog for a week!
And a very important week in US Gymnastics.
The week after trials!
I'm going to The University of Texas Diving Camp
coached by one of the top US Diving coaches right now: Matt Scogin.
But yeah, so from next Sunday (22nd) through till Friday (27th)
I'lll be in Austin.
So I can finally beat PECOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
=[

Brazillian Olympic Team;

The Olympic team for Brazil is...

• Ana Claudia Silva
• Daiane Dos Santos
• Daniele Hypolito
• Ethiene France
• Jade Barbosa
• Lais Souza

Yay!

Olympic Teams.

Announcements of Olympic Teams have been dwindling in for the last month. So far, this is what (I've been aware off) that has been announced.

JPN: Kyoko Oshima, Koko Tsurumi, Miki Uemura, Mayu Kuroda, Yu Minobe, Yuko Shintake
GER: Oksana Chusovitina, Marie Sophie Hindermann, Daria Bijak, Anja Brinker, Katja Abel, Jolene Mobius
FRA: Marine Petit, Pauline Morel, Laëtitia Dugain, Cassy Véricel, Marine Debauve, Katheleen Lindor
PRK: Hong Su Jong, Hong Un Jong
CAN: Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Nansy Damianova

A Dos Santos Upgrade.

After reading some quick hits of the Brazillian Nationals, I assummed that "Dos Santos" meant a piked double arabian. Well, I'm wrong. I am very happily wrong. Daiane performed a LAYOUT double arabian at her nationals.

Brazillian Nationals [Day 1]

The 2008 Brazillian Nationals started today, June 13. With no suprise to anyone, Jade Barbosa is in the lead of the all around, with a total score of 60.367, including a fall on the balance beam. Jade also is ranked first on vault, scoring a 14.917 for her combined double twisting yurchenko and a lopez (half on, layout half off), first in bars (14.833) and first on floor (15.300). In second place in the all around after day one is Daniele Hypolito with 59.233, including the highest score of the day: a 15.700 on beam. In third place is Ana Claudia Silva with 58.133. Both Daniele Hypolito and Ana Claudia Silva tied for second on floor with scores of 14.900. Former world champion Daiane Dos Santos is currently ranked fourth on floor with a 14.667, with a routine consisting of a piked double arabian (named the 'Dos Santos'), a full-in tucked, a whip direct double tucked back, and a double pike finish.

All Around
1. Jade Barbosa – 60.367
2. Daniele Hypolito - 59.233
3. Ana Cláudia Silva – 58.133


Vault
1. Jade Barbosa – 14.917
2. Joselane Santos – 14.133
3. Letícia da Costa – 13.833

Uneven Bars
1. Jade Barbosa – 14.833
2. Milena Miranda – 14.800
3. Bruna Leal – 14.467

Balance Beam
1. Daniele Hypolito – 15.700
2. Jade Barbosa - 14.867
3. Laís Souza – 14.733

Floor Exercise
1. Jade Barbosa – 15.300
2. Ana Cláudia Silva – 14.900
2. Daniele Hypolito – 14.900
4. Daiane dos Santos – 14.667

Semi-New Layout

I made a new banner!
And, if you didn't know, it's of one of my favourite gymnasts right now;
JADE BARBOSA!
And to celebrate, lets watch one of her best performances ever: 2007 PanAms Team Final Floor. [score: 15.325]

An Izbasa Upgrade.

I would like to share with you
a floor routine from Sandra Raluca Izbasa
She changed her first pass, I suggest you pay close attention.

Her first pass is a back-layout 1 1/2 twist immediate front-layout double twist.
She follows that up with a tucked full-in, then a back-layout 2 1/2 twist immediate front-layout full. Her fourth pass is a back-layout double twist and she wraps up with a back-layout triple twist.
Saying she got credited with everything here, her A-Score comes out to 6.5.
6.5?
Why'd she upgrade then? Her Euros routine had a 6.5.
Well, here's why.
The back-layout double twist, she will not do that in Beijing.
Rumors have flown about the possibility of a 6.7 and a 6.8 routine.
She can have a 6.7 routine if she changes the tucked full-in to piked and adds a tucked full-in as a fourth pass.
She could get a 6.9 with this routine.

Skills
Roundoff, Whip, Piked Full-In [A+E] (.2 bonus)
Roundoff, Back-Layout 1 1/2 + Front Double Twist [C+D] (.2 bonus)
Triple Spin [C]
Roundoff, BHS, Back-Layout 2 1/2 + Front Layout Full [D+C] (.2 bonus)
Roundoff, BHS, Tucked Full-In [E]
Switch Split 1/1 [C] + Switch Split 1/2 [C]
Roundoff, BHS, Back-Layout Triple Twist [E]

Total Skills
A[CCCCCDDEEE] (.6 bonus)

4.4 + 2.5 for requirments.

6.9.

Even if she doesn't upgrade to the routine I've just posted, a 6.7 in Beijing will be huge, and most likely the highest A-Score on floor there.

Wow.

The Women Going to Olympic Trials

Are (in no particular order)....

1. Shawn Johnson
2. Nastia Liukin
3. Alicia Sacramone
4. Samantha Peszek
5. Jana Bieger
6. Ivana Hong
7. Mackenzie Caquatto
8. Corrie Lothrop
9. Randy Stageberg
10. Britney Ranzy
11. Chellsie Memmel
12. Alaina Johnson
13. Shayla Worley
14. Chelsea Davis
15. Darling Hill
16. Bridget Sloan
17. Mattie Larson
18. Olivia Courtney
19. Amber Trani

Congratulations to all of these gymnasts for their hard work and determination!

US Nationals: Day 1

Yesterday was the start of the 2008 US Nationals in Boston. Not surprisngly, Shawn Johnson is in first after the prelims, scoring a 16 or above in three different events (Vault: 16.00, Beam: 16.00, Floor: 16.050). As you can tell, Shawn was grossly overscored on all her events.

Shawn Johnson's Vault: Amanar: Score-16.000
Nastia Liukin is second in the all around, starting off with a bad performance on the floor exercise (falling out of bounds on her double front), then regaining her composure on vault with a stuck 1.5 yurchenko. She had the highest score of the night, a 17.050 on the uneven bars. She also had the highest score on beam, with a 16.100. The judges were very generous with her scores also.

Nastia Liukin's Bars: 7.7 A-Score: 17.050
The greatest thing thats happened so far in these Nationals? Chellsie Memmel. She is third in the standings after prelims, with the second best score on both beam (16.050) and the second highest on bars (16.000). She dumped her "I Love Rock n'Roll" routine and returned to her 2005-2006 one, in which she added a piked double arabian. She only vaulted a full twisting yurchenko, which kept her from placing above Nastia or Shawn, but still, Chellsie's became another lock for the Olympic team.
Most of everyone else did not perform their best. Alicia Sacramone was a little off on her beam and floor routine, she didn't even finish her double pike finish on floor before the music ended. Samantha Peszek was fourth after prelims, with no highlights on any events. Jana Bieger is currently fifth, which is great after being lowballed by the judges on all her events. Jana currently has a double layout with a full twist and a double layout in her routine now.
Randy Stageberg was also lowballed, getting only a 14.700 on her double twisting yurchneko. Her teammate, Britney Ranzy, however, is making a splash with her double twisting yurchenko, placing third on vault so far with a 15.050. She is also vaulting a Podkopayeva as her second vault.

Here are a few links to watch more videos:
NBC Olympics
Youtube 1
Youtube 2
Youtube 3

Podium Training Videos

Here are some videos from Podium training last night.
Sam Peszek's Bars

Chellsie Memmel's Bars

Ivana Hong's Bars

Women's US Nationals Stuff! [Wed]

Okay, so podium training started yesterday and has continued through to today. Here are some information and rumours coming through about the girls so far.

Tuesday: June 3 Training

1. Ashley Priess hasn't been seen at Podium Training, and her name has been taken off the official start list for the event. =[
2. Bridget Sloan is looking really good on bars. She has apparently fixed her foot form problem, has great handstands, and has a full twisting double layout dismount.
3. Shayla Worley has been rumoured with a back injury and it's not official whether she'll be competing her not, but she has still praticed at training, her beam looks great and she was doing individual skills on bars: no tumbling so far.
4. Nastia's vaults have gotten better, and her beam and bar sets look solid.
5. Shawn Johnson's new music apparently isn't a Mozart/Beethoven piece, but one that sounds more "hollywood." She did the Amanar twice and looked solid on the other events
6. Ivana Hong's DTY (double twisting yurchenko) looks great, and she also has a double front on floor.
7. Chellsie's working on a 7.2 bar set. She has brought back her Dos Santos on floor and has returned to her 2005-2006 routine.
8. Sam Peszek's vaults looked iffy and troubled. She had a great double double on floor but had trouble with her 5/2 + Layout Full pass.

Wednesday: June 4 Training

1. Shawn Johnson looks strong. Struggled on her switch leap, layout stepout, back pike pass on beam. Just did skills on bars.
2. Alicia Sacramone has the same routine as she has had for the last two years, same tumbling and everything. She just did timers on vault.
3. Chellsie Memmel is looking like a lock for the team. She did her 2006 routine, only with better form. She's hitting everything on all events. She has a Yurchenko 1.5.
4. Shayla Worley looked miserable, not hitting any of her events. She doesn't look like she'll be on the team now.
5. Ivana Hong's DTY's still look great. She is having problems with the double front on floor. She also is missing her connections on beam.
6. Samantha Peszek is looked ragged. She upgraded floor (3/2 through to a Double Pike), but is inconsistant.
7. Amber Trani has her DTY back, very Nistor like.

Japanese Gymnastics! [WAG]

My latest montage; it features some of the greatest Japanese gymnasts in history!
I hope you enjoy!

USA Olympic Contenders.

allyelite, a member of the WWGym forum created this wonderful montage featuring every single contender for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Team. It's a phenomenal montage, a must-watch.