Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas. I can't believe that she really did it! For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming to terms with her win. Don't get me wrong, of course I am extremely excited for her. Something just seems off. I'll admit, I was rooting for Aly to pull a huge upset. And, if you had forced me to choose two for the AA I would have chosen Aly and Jordyn. I think that it was weird for me to watch an Olympic AA without Jordyn competing. I had certainly assumed she would make the finals, and I thought it would be a Jordyn/Gabby/Vika fight for the gold. It's weird that I didn't get to see her challenge, but nevertheless I am thrilled for Gabby and I am so amazed by her performance.
I'm really impressed with Gabby's vault. I was surprised when she came out at nationals with such a strong Amanar. Next was bars, which were beautiful, as always. She doesn't put as much in as Mustafina or Vika, but she moves so gracefully and I love it. Next was beam, which almost gave me a heart attack. Even though I know better, I've always doubted Gabby's beam since 2010 Nationals. I know she's past that, and I know she's not a "headcase", but I still get nervous. I was thrilled when she pulled through that routine almost flawlessly. Gabby finished on floor, which looked beautiful. It was so nice to see her so happy with her performance.
What I love about Gabby is that she has improved so much in such a short time. I have so much respect for Chow and all that he's done to get her where she is. Gabby continues to amaze me by coming out and hitting day after day. She's hit 12-for-12 in competition in the Olympics so far (She had a huge step out on floor in TQ, but still placed 3rd in the world, so I'm counting it as a hit) and I certainly didn't think she had the stamina or focus to do that. I love that she continues to prove me wrong and get stronger and stronger, even as I think she won't be able to handle it. She finished with a HUGE score of 62.232. Is that the highest of this quad? It's certainly an accomplishment to get that huge of a score on the Olympic stage.
The other news with this AA finals was the tiebreak. Aly and Mustafina tied for third, with 59.566 points each. The official tiebreak takes each girl's top three scores and whoever has the highest total of those three wins. Unfortunately, Aly came just short of Mustafina. I am SO upset that it had to end this way for Aly. She puts in hit routine after hit routine in every team competition, and never seems to get the recognition that I feel she deserves individually. The fact that Aly can have such a good AA score with such a weak bar routine is so impressive, and I don't think that we give her enough credit for that. It's heartbreaking to see her off the podium even though she had the same score as the bronze medalist. In all the interviews I've seen, she's been so incredibly classy and gracious towards Mustfina and Gabby, and I really appreciate that.
Overall, I really enjoyed these AA Finals. We certainly had an exciting finish, and I am thrilled that Gabby came out on top. She really does deserve it.
I can't believe it really happened! The girls of Team USA are now Olympic Champions!! I am SO happy for these girls. What I really love about this team is that they acted as one cohesive unit. They were totally together and supporting each other every minute. Rather than giving you a play-by-play of the competition, I'd like to highlight what I'm proud of in each girl.
Jordyn Wieber. This girl is fantastic. I love her tenacity and refusal to quit. Her vault, bars, and floor performances were amazing, but what I loved most about her performance in team finals was her attitude. She faced huge disappointment after not qualifying to the all around finals, but nevertheless came out SO strong to clinch the team gold medal. She looked happier than I've seen her in a while: more relaxed and smiley. It was an interesting decision to take her out of the beam lineup (though I think it was the right one) and I was a little bit worried about how she would handle it. Of course, she couldn't have been a better team player. She deserves every bit of that gold medal.
Gabby Douglas. Gabby really pulled through. I was worried that doing the all around again would be too tiring and mentally tough, but she really proved me wrong. She came out even stronger than in qualifying and rocked every routine. Gabby has stepped into her position on the team so well. Even though she was the only all arounder in team finals, she didn't act cocky or over-confident at all; she just quietly came through on each and every performance. I love that we've been able to rely on her so heavily during the games.
Aly Raisman. Aly was fierce yesterday! I absolutely love her team leadership. She didn't compete the most events or bring in the highest score, but that girl really knows how to hit. I love that she steps up as the leader of the team without being loud or obnoxious about it. I also LOVE her emotion. She burst into tears right when she landed her last tumbling pass. She really throws herself into her gymnastics and appreciates competing at this level. She loves every minute of it, and I love watching her enjoy it.
McKayla Maroney. I was SO proud of McKayla last night. Of course, we all saw her hit the most beautiful Amanar ever competed, but that's honestly not why I'm so proud. She certainly did what we needed her to do, but beyond that she was a fantastic cheerleader for these girls. You could hear her screaming for every girl during every single routine. She also got the girls water, asked if they needed anything, and of course, hugged every one of them. She also chimed in on Aly's pep talk before floor. I love that she performed on vault, but I loved even more that she was active the rest of the night. I'm sure she was upset that she couldn't compete on floor as expected, but she never stopped cheering everyone on. She was a huge part of each girl's success.
Kyla Ross. For some reason, I just can't get over how proud I am of Kyla. She's had lots of international experience, but has never been to a big competition like Worlds before. I love seeing her take joy in competing in such a huge event. She handles herself so well and has remained steady though every minute of it. I LOVED when she hugged Jenny after her beam routine and started tearing up. She really is a great team player, and I think she's somewhat overlooked since she doesn't really stand out on any events. I'm upset that she didn't make any event finals, but I'm so glad that she got a gold medal.
I can't even explain my joy in the performances we saw yesterday in team finals. I'm so happy that we were able to come out on top; each and every one of these girls has worked so incredibly hard to get to this point. I hope that they enjoy every minute.
A week before Trials, Jordyn Wieber's church held a lovely fundraiser to help raise money to send her family to Trials and London. It was so nice to see how her town really supports her journey to the Olympics. I happened to be near DeWitt, her hometown where it was held, so I just had to go! Jordyn was there to sign autographs and meet fans. I also met Rita Wieber, Jordyn's mom, and she was kind enough to let me interview her about the whole process!
At these major competitions, do you get to see Jordyn before and after she competes?
I’ll just be like every other spectator, like, I’ll see her down on the floor and I won’t get to touch her, hug her; we might talk on the phone a couple times. It’s so intense.
At what point will you be able to see her?
Not until she comes home.
I read Shawn Johnson’s book, she talks about that a lot.
Yeah. In Tokyo, when she won the all around at Worlds, we were flying out that night, and I hadn’t seen her and I was like, I just wish I could give her a hug! So I just got to see her for a second after, so I could be like, ‘So proud of you, good bye, love you!’ and then we left.
That’s so sad though, not to be able to see her.
I know. It’s horrible, but she’d probably rather have it that way anyway. She just wants to be in her gymnastics world.
Do you think they like it that way?
I think so. I mean the reason they do it is so that they can focus, and their whole focus is just gymnastics. It’s not the mom; some moms could probably put psycho things in their head or freak them out or put pressure on them. I mean I think I just bug Jordyn by breathing--she’s a teenager. And you know, she’s rooming with Aly Raisman who’s like her best best friend in the world.
What’s been the process from Nationals until now?
Well, her coach handles her whole training process and I have no idea what that involves. All I know is that school’s done, so she basically would train twice a day and it was nice that she could come home in between and just get to chill rather than having to do homework or go to school, so that’s good. But in terms of what her training has been, I don’t know, John’s got some whole big plan, I don’t know how it works. I’ve always had kind of a rule where I don’t ask Jordyn any specifics about what she's doing in the gym, because for one thing I wouln’t even understand it, and another thing, it doesn’t matter because I don’t have a say in all that. But she’s just been trying to balance out hanging out by the pool a little bit, having some friends over and trying to stay not completely in a tunnel, but keeping a relaxed balance. That’s what she’s been doing, and I’m glad we’ve made it through this point. Tomorrow she leaves.
Do you have any plans as a family tonight before she leaves?
Yeah, we’re going to go out to dinner. Which is huge, because we have four kids, and one of them lives out of town, and she’s home. We hardly ever get to go out to dinner all of us together. I know it sounds weird, but Jordyn practices every night. Jordyn loves sushi, so we’re going to go out for sushi. We’ll have a little send off.
Driving through the town I saw all of the posters in the windows, it was so nice.
I know! The story behind that is that Mitt Romney came to town on Tuesday for a little stop and they wanted to be sure that Mitt Romney knew that Jordyn lived here in DeWitt. Because you know DeWitt’s really small! And then Mitt did mention, “Well, I don’t know who this Jordyn Wieber is, but I sure wish her the best,” or something like that. I wasn’t there but someone recorded it for me and I heard it.
Here are some of the posters I was talking about: (click to enlarge)
I'd also like to mention that Rita Wieber has a book out, called Gym Mom: The Twists and Turns of your Daughter's Gymnastics Career. The website for the book, where you can find all the information and order your copy, is here. I'll put up my own review of it after I read it!
I'm sorry this is so late, but better late than never, I guess! Here we go.
The thing that most surprised me about Nationals was Gabby Douglas' performance. She tied with Jordyn for first on Day 1,and made a very good case for the title on Day 2. I was really surprised that she came so close to Jordyn even with a fall. I predicted that Jordyn would come out extremely strong on Day 2--which she did--but not as strong as I had hoped. I know that Jordyn has a fierce competitive drive and that she wouldn't accept losing to Gabby a few weeks before Trials.
Photo Credit-USA Today
At the same time though, Gabby was only 2 TENTHS away, even though she had a fall on beam. It makes sense that Gabby could come out ahead of Aly with a fall, because of Aly's very weak bar set, but I can still hardly believe that she almost beat Jordyn. Again, I'm predicting that Jordyn will come back very strong for Trials. She doesn't like to lose.
Right now, I feel fairly confident in saying that the first four spots on the team will go to Jordyn, Gabby, Aly, and Kyla. Here are some of the things I noted about the people challenging for the last spot:
Sarah Finnegan is the one that most people are choosing for the fifth spot. She is a wonderful all-arounder, and came in sixth even with a fall. I think she could contribute most importantly on floor--she could definitely compete floor in TF. My problem with her is that bars is her weakest event, and we definitely don't need another girl who is weak on bars. She also doesn't have much experience, so I'm a little bit worried about how she would deal with the pressure.
McKayla Maroney is another favorite for the fifth spot. I would love to see her take this spot, as I feel that she deserves the chance to take her vault gold. I wish we had been able to see her compete on Day 2, but I think that her floor will be good enough to lead off in TF. She gets solid enough scores on beam as well, and she has Worlds experience.
Photo Credit-Stew Milne
One surprise came from Elizabeth Price. Although she wasn't televised, she came in fifth in the all around. At this point, I think I might take her instead of Finnegan. She's a true all-arounder and she brings in a higher vault and bars score than Finnegan would. They both have very limited experience, so that isn't really a factor in deciding between the two. Lauren Hopkins from The Couch Gymnast wrote a lovely piece about Elizabeth Price, if you'd like to learn more.
I could also see Sabrina Vega being thrown in as a fifth all-arounder for the team. She has more experience than people like Price and Finnegan, and she solid scores on every event. She definitely proved herself at Worlds last year and I think we could count on her to hit on whatever event she was needed.
Bridget Sloan is another girl that could challenge as an all-arounder. While I wouldn't put her in now, I would not count her out. She shows up and hits at the right times, and I definitely think she'll show improvements for Trials. She also has a ton of experience, which will work in her favor.
Alicia continues to make her case stronger. She only did an FTY for her second vault, but I'm not worried about her there. Her beam is looking very nice, and I really feel like we could count on her to hit and handle the pressure extremely well. I know she wants to redeem herself and I would love to give her that chance.
I've never been a Rebecca Bross fan, but I do feel sorry for her. She looks so incredibly upset every time she falls on her Patterson (which is, by the way, almost EVERY TIME). I was about to completely write her off in favor of Nastia, but from what we've seen so far, she might actually be more valuable. Her bars are great, but I don't think Martha would consider her now that shes fallen about a million times on beam and hasn't changed anything.
Photo Credit-Heather Maynez
Finally, onto Queen Nastia. I actually think that she'll do well at Trials, but I don't know if two good performances are enough to convince Martha to take her. I love her beam, but that's obviously not what we need. If she comes back with a very strong bars set (with a real dismount), she definitely has a shot.
I am so excited that the season has begun! From here, we have only two weeks until Nationals, and from there only two-ish weeks until Trials!
The Secret Classic is the first competition on the way to Nationals, with many gymnasts using it as sort of a rehearsal. While I understand and expected that Wieber wouldn't compete the all around, I was upset that Douglas didn't--I wanted to see what a real all around battle would look like without Wieber in the mix. However, we did still see some interesting and exciting things at the competition.
Let's just start off with the obvious: Nastia Liukin. When I walked into the arena, I was shocked to see her competing. I mean, we've all heard about her training and we saw that short video of her training beam, but I never thought I would see the day when she actually stepped out onto the competition floor again. Her beam looked pretty fantastic. She tied for third, only a tenth of a point behind Jordyn and Aly. Her connections were slow and she lost some points on that, but her lines were absolutely beautiful. I'm so used to seeing Jordyn's routine that's all power, and although I love it too, it's just completely different. Her leaps weren't quite there, but otherwise it was just beautiful. I actually enjoyed her comeback a lot more than I expected to. In terms of what this does for her Olympic chances, I'm not sure. She did exactly what she needed to do by hitting and getting a solid score. At the same time, we've only seen one event and don't know what else she has in store for nationals. Her beam is great, but if her bars aren't up to par we wouldn't take her just for beam. Although I did really enjoy seeing her compete, it's going to be hard for a specialist to make a team of only five people.
Photo Credit-Gym Examiner
I hadn't really seen Sarah Finnegan compete before The Classic, so I'm trying to figure out how she fits into the equation. Some people are putting her on their Olympic team, but I'm not sure I would make this jump yet. Her bars were weak at the classic, but her floor is fantastic, so that's the trade off we'd have to make. Her beam is really nice; she tied with Nastia for third. She looks really graceful and calm, which I like, but at the same time I'm a little worried about how young she is, and since she wouldn't really help on bars it might be better to have Alicia (if she's ready) who would bring experience to the team.
Another person people were interested in seeing is Rebecca Bross. Her bars were actually pretty nice, but she fell, once again, on beam. The Patterson dismount is just not working for her, yet she continues to do it. Apparently she was hitting it during training, but I wouldn't feel comfortable putting her on a team with all the inconsistencies she's had. Since her and Nastia are now doing the same two events, you'd have to choose between the two, and as long as Nastia can pull out a bar routine by Nationals, I'd pick her. I get that Bross wants to put in the difficulty, but she just can't hit and that won't work for us in London.
One person who I was kind of disappointed by was Sabrina Vega. After Worlds last year, many people picked her to be on the Olympic Team as a dependable team player. Although she did her job at Worlds, at Classics, she messed up her bar routine and only scored a 14.1 on vault and 13.45 on beam because of a bunch of wobbles. Although I love her lines, the scores she brings in just aren't really high enough. Even though she's solid, we have Kyla who can do a much better bar routine, which is where we really need the help.
Gabby Douglas looked really good. Her bars were (as they always are) absolutely breathtaking. I'm liking her more and more, and I'm pretty sure she'll be on the team. While her bars are phenomenal, she's also bringing in other scores in the high 14s and is a really great all arounder. The one thing I'm concerned about is her vault. She scratched vault at Classics, apparently because she sat down every single Amanar she tried in training. Although her Amanar looked nice at the American Cup, I've heard that she hasn't hit it since then. We do need three Amanars for team finals at the Olympics, and it would be nice to have four for qualifications. While she needs her vault to compete with Aly and Jordyn in the all around, even without it we can use her on the team.
There's not much to say about McKayla Maroney. Her vaults, of course, were absolutely beautiful, but her beam wasn't looking too good--she balked on her BHS-LOSO and then had to do it over again. While she covered it up nicely, her score was only a 13.8. We didn't see her bars or floor, so that will also impact how ready I feel like she is. At the same time, I'll be heartbroken if she doesn't compete at the Olympics. We have the best vaulter (by FAR) in the world, and there's a very good possibility she won't be going to the Olympics. While I want the best for the team, it's just not fair to her to keep her home.
Photo Credit-Gym Examiner
Last but definitely not least, there's the most obvious story of Chellsie Memmel. If you've been living under a rock for the past few days, here's the abridged version: She only competed beam at Classics, and wanted to petition to qualify for the all around at Nationals. She fell twice on beam and her petition was denied. Many, many people are very angry about this. Nastia only competed beam and petitioned for bars, which was accepted. There's a wonderful post from Bekah at Get A Grip Gym Blog about all of these discrepancies, so check it out if you're interested. Personally, I feel bad for Chellsie, but at the same time I don't think she would have made the team anyways, so there wasn't much of a point to her competing at Nationals. I do feel bad that it happened this way, though, and that she didn't really get a dignified ending to her career.
Those were most of the big players/stories from the Classic. I might try and post some reactions to the Junior meet, and I'd like to do some best/worst leos from the meet as well. Let me know if you have any ideas!
This is the comparison that everyone has been making since the moment Aly stepped onto the senior stage. Both girls are from the same gym, so that's obviously is where the similarities start. They both have a lot of the same strengths and are solid, mature, competitors.
Although Aly and Alicia do different vaults, they have very similar styles. Aly recently upgraded to a pretty nice Amanar, but before this she was performing her DTY amazingly cleanly and accurately. Alicia, of course, also competes individually on vault, so she has two. One of the them is a DTY and it is also very neat, high, and accurate. (Alicia's DTY starts around 1:55)
Bars is by far the weakest event for these girls. Alicia stopped training bars and now only focuses on her three best events, and many people think that Aly should do the same. Personally, I love seeing Aly compete in the all around, so I wouldn't want her to stop training bars. She's fairly consistent on the event (though obviously not as dependable as she is on the other three), and I think that if we needed her in qualifications she could be counted on. Even with her HUGE mistake on bars in the 2011 Worlds AA, she still finished 4th, which says a lot about how strong her other events are.
Aly and Alicia look very similar on beam. They're each very sure of every movement they make. Although their movements are fluid, they aren't super pretty or dance-like; they both have a much more athletic style. I especially love Aly's Patterson dismount and Alicia's front tuck mount that she continues to hit after her famous fall at the Olympics.
I think the biggest difference between these two gymnasts is their styles on floor. Alicia is a good dancer, while Aly is a bit awkward. Aly is one of the best tumblers in the world, and while Alicia is a good tumbler, she's not as good as Aly. I think both of their routines are extremely entertaining and fun to watch. I absolutely LOVE Alicia's floor music, even though there are so many people in level 10 and NCAA who also use it. Even though Aly and Alicia differ on floor, I love both of their routines.
One of the biggest things people have commented on regarding these two girls is their leadership. Alicia was the leader of the 2007 World Championship team and the 2008 Olympic team. After her comeback, she again led the team at 2010 Worlds. Even though she tore her Achilles during training before 2011 Worlds, she's explained that she gave the team a pep talk before team finals. This is where Aly's leadership comes in. When Alicia left Tokyo to get surgery, Aly was left as the only member of the team who had any World Championship experience. She stepped up immediately as the leader of the team. Many say that she learned these qualities from working with Alicia in her gym. One of my favorite moments of worlds was when Aly talked to Jordyn and McKayla before floor:
(I know it's not great quality and it's hard to hear, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a better video)
I really like both of these gymnasts and I admire their dependability and athleticism. I'm rooting for both of them to make the Olympic team this year!
Let me know what you think and let me know any other comparisons you'd like me to make!
Part 2 of my thoughts on Olympic Team contenders. If you missed Part 1, you can find it here.
Kyla Ross has been generating a lot of chatter. She came in second to Wieber at Pac Rims and won the Jesolo meet with a .8 lead over Aly Raisman. I'm very impressed with this girl. If I had to make a team right now, she would be on it. She has amazing lines and a clean bar routine, which the US really needs right now. Her beam routine is beautiful but still has power and difficulty. She also has the now necessary Amanar vault and can execute well enough. I'm pretty confident in her abilities to deal with pressure, but I wish she'd been a senior for longer so I could have seen more of her gymnastics, especially on a world stage. I would definitely consider her a contender in the all around at Nationals and Olympic Trials.
Kyla's beam (from 2012 Pac Rims):
In my eyes, Kyla Ross is seriously challenging Aly Raisman in her bid for the Olympic Team. Everything was looking very solid for Aly until Kyla started posting great all around scores as a senior. I'll say it--I am a HUGE Raisman fan and I will always be rooting for her. As much as I love Kyla's lines and understand that we could really use her on bars, I will never get myself to choose her over Aly. I love Aly's strength and determination, I love her tumbling, and I love watching how she's learned from Alicia. I feel like people are cutting her out just because of her bar routine, but everyone is forgetting that she came in 4th at Worlds, even with a very large mistake on bars. And that was without her Amanar. She has beyond proven herself to Martha of her ability to be a solid, reliable competitor, and I think it's only fair to give her a shot. I desperately want her to compete in the all around in the Olympics, but the two-per-country rule would probably leave her slightly behind Kyla, and therefore out of the competition. I guess I'm being overly partial here, but I don't think it's fair to leave her off of this team. She has a legitimate shot at winning gold on floor and would be mature and dependable in qualifications and team finals.
Aly's Floor (from 2012 American Cup):
Another girl everyone has been talking about is Rebecca Bross. She competed bars and beam in Jesolo, and hit beam, but fell on bars. In my opinion, she hasn't been looking too strong. I really do feel for her--she has such determination and wants to succeed so badly. Her injuries are holding her back, though. She keeps doing very difficult skills that are a little bit scary (most obviously her Patterson dismount on beam). I know we're getting very close to Trials, but I think she could have held back a little bit and not competed the landing she fell on TWICE at Nationals last year. As much as I admire her strength, I'm not sure I would feel confident putting her on the team. Even though she could be valuable as a bar worker, I feel more confident with Gabby and Kyla that we can count on for other things. I'm not sure what happened with her--maybe it was all of the WOGA "threepeat" pressure--but she just hasn't been able to come back from her injuries as well as many suspected. Although I don't think I would put her on my team, I do hope she recovers enough to compete well at Nationals. She has worked so hard and really deserves it.
Rebecca's beam (from 2012 Jesolo):
I think that's enough for one blog. More to come! Let me know if there's anyone you'd like me to discuss!
There's been a lot of talk recently among the gym bloggers about possible Olympic teams, especially considering how incredibly deep Team USA is right now. I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, so I thought I'd share some of my thoughts. Rather than pick a team of just five people, though, I want to name a few people/ideas I've been considering. Because there are so many contenders for the team, I'm going to break it up into a few posts so it's not ridiculously long.
Photo Credit-The Detroit News
First and most obviously, we have Jordyn Wieber. I've said it before and I'll say it again--I absolutely love this girl. I love her gymnastics, I love her power, and I love her determination to be perfect. I don't want to jinx her, but I think she's basically a lock for the team. She would compete all four events in qualifications, and would definitely compete three in team finals, maybe bars too depending on the rest of the team.
Photo Credit-USA Gymnastics
I've been thinking a lot about Alicia Sacramone. We don't know what Alicia's comeback is looking like right now, so I guess I can't make too much of a judgement, but I'm assuming she'll be strong and dependable come Nationals and Olympic Trials. Most people haven't been putting her in their predicted teams, but I would. I think she brings a huge maturity to the team that most of the girls don't have, and since we'll probably be relying on a fairly young squad, I think this would be valuable. If she's in the shape, as I'm assuming, she could easily compete her three events (VT, BB, FX) in qualifications and at least vault and beam in finals (possibly floor too, depending on the team). I really loved her floor routine from 2011 and I think if she keeps it she would have a strong performance.
Photo Credit-USA Today
For me, Alicia's spot on the team is kind of dependent on McKayla Maroney's. I'm very torn about this, because I do strongly feel that McKayla should get a chance to defend her World Championship title. A huge part of me is going: "We have a current world champion! Send her!". It seems unfair to keep McKayla off the team when she's proven she's currently the best vaulter in the world and she could almost certainly guarantee us a gold medal. At the same time, Alicia has a very good shot at the vault gold as well (vault champion in 2010) and has other strengths that McKayla doesn't. We used McKayla on floor at Worlds, which was fine, but Alicia would be better, and would certainly be much better on beam. McKayla came in 4th in Jesolo this past week, behind even new senior Sarah Finnegan, which puts doubts in my mind they would choose her over Alicia--she's just not strong enough all around to make up for Alicia's experience and talents on beam. No matter what, I think it's important to send at least one person who can compete in the vault final--it would be ridiculous if neither girl was on the team and we gave up the medal while two perfectly able girls sit at home.
This seems like enough for one post. Let me know your thoughts and predictions for the team! There will definitely be more posts to follow!
I think that one of the really cool things about the 2012 Olympic contenders is that they include a variety of new girls and comeback girls from 2008. I wanted to do a kind of comparison between the Beijing girls and the younger girls. So, I thought I’d do a couple of blogs comparing people and aspects of the Beijing team and its selection with what’s going on now. Hope you like it!
Shawn Johnson vs. Jordyn Wieber
Photo Credit-ABC
Photo Credit-Full Twist
This is the most obvious comparison between the two years. Both girls were the All Around World Champion the year before their games, making them the favorite going into the Olympics. Hopefully, though, Jordyn hasn’t received the cursed fruitcake just yet—she should be a serious contender for the All Around medal in London. Shawn and Jordyn both went professional after their world championship wins, forfeiting their college eligibility. Jordyn is becoming the “it girl” that Shawn was leading into the Olympics. Shawn was adorably bubbly and cute, and Jordyn is filling this role nicely, appearing on talk shows like Ellen and filming commercials.
Besides their situations, the girls also have lots of similarities in their gymnastics. Shawn preformed a neat Amanar, as does Jordyn, although many more girls have Amanars now than did back in 2008.
Uneven bars is both girls’ weakest event, but Shawn was used on this event in the team final in Beijing, and most people are predicting Jordyn to compete bars in London as well. Their styles on this event are neat and clean. Both are power gymnasts and not very elegant swinging bars, but they each have great execution (excluding Jordyn’s recent slip-ups). They both do extremely hard dismounts--Shawn had a double twisting double layout and at nationals, Jordyn performed a double twisting double somersault.Jordyn has been using her double layout recently, but the double double might come back before London.
Shawn is the 2008 Olympic beam champion, and in my opinion, Jordyn would be able to contend for this title too. Both perform an extremely difficult set of skills, including a standing back tuck with a full twist. Again, I would characterize both of their styles on this event as very neat, clean, and calm.
Their floor routines also have similarities, starting with the double double mount. I absolutely love this skill. Their tumbling skills are both very strong. They have very clean leaps and turns and stunning execution. I would also say that their routines the year before the Olympics have been mesmerizing, entertaining, and fun to watch.
Jordyn, unlike Shawn, has been largely unrivaled in the all around in the US, until Gabby’s rise at the American Cup and Kyla Ross becoming a senior. It should be interesting to see these rivalries play out—I wouldn’t factor out Aly Raisman’s all around performance either. Nastia Liukin, as we all know, was Shawn’s major competition at home and internationally leading up to the games.
There are obviously some similarities that may or may not play out in the future. Many expect Jordyn to win Olympic trials, like Shawn. And, Shawn’s coach, Liang Chow, was named head coach of the Olympic team. Many expect John Geddert, Jordyn’s coach to be named head coach as well. Of course, there are no guarantees on Jordyn making the Olympic team until Olympic Trials at the end of June, but most would consider her a lock for the team. I am rooting for Jordyn to win the All Around gold medal, unlike Shawn, who came in second to Nastia Liukin.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out—especially since Shawn is making a comeback of her own. I am a huge Johnson fan, and I really hope to see her get a fair shot for this year’s games. The one thing that makes me concerned is that she fell on beam at the 2011 Pan American games and wasn’t included in the selection for either Pacific Rims or Jesolo.
In any case, I am definitely rooting for both of these girls as we head towards Olympic trials.
I hope you enjoy this mini-series! Let me know if there are any comparisons you would like to see in the future!
