Qualification Scandal: Jordyn Wieber and the Two Per-Country Rule

For any gymnastics fans living under a rock for the last 24 hours, the biggest American drama at Qualifications was that Jordyn Wieber, current World Champion, did not advance to the all around finals. In gymnastics, there is a rule that only the top two athletes per country can advance to any given final. Even though Jordyn finished only 4th in the world, she finished slightly behind teammates Aly Raisman and Gabby Doulgas, thus failing to advance to the all around finals.

Jordyn was clearly devastated at this outcome. When Aly's score was released, Jordyn burst into tears, but respectfully tried to remain as calm as possible. The whole scene was heartbreaking. Jordyn had good performances on vault and bars, but received scores that were much lower than usual on beam and floor. On beam, Jordyn received only a 14.833. This was mainly because the judges did not give her the full difficulty of her routine, likely taking away the connections around her standing back tuck with a full twist. Although these connections are never the smoothest or the quickest, they are usually given credit even when they are much slower than they were in that performance. On floor, Jordyn received only a 14.7. I think that this was much too low a score for her. She had a tiny step out of bounds-only a tenth. She didn't mess up anything else, though--Jordyn gave a great performance. I'm pretty sure, though not positive, that the judges also took away some start value on this performance.

Needless to say, the backlash has been huge. Many people all over the world have criticized the two per-country rule and acknowledged that Jordyn is a fantastic gymnast who deserves to compete in the all around final.

But people are also wondering what would have happened if Aly had been the one to narrowly miss out on the all around final. Would there even have been a reaction?  I'm the first to admit that, as much as I LOVE Aly, I wouldn't be having this reaction if she missed out because of the two per country rule. I was fully aware of the rule and wasn't expecting her to qualify. And although it would have been upsetting, I wouldn't have felt the same way I do now.

A lot of people are saying that this isn't fair because we're only reacting for Jordyn, either because we like her or because we were just expecting her to win. They argue that if it were someone else who failed to qualify, we wouldn't care nearly as much, even though it would an almost identical situation. Although I agree that she was a huge favorite for many people, I'm not complaining about the two per-country rule just because she's one of my favorites. She is the WORLD CHAMPION. She's not some up and coming new senior who was expected to win, she's not the Olympic Trials winner, she's the current World Champion. As much as I recognize that this fuss wouldn't be made over Aly's third place finish, I don't think that it should be. This is a proven champion, one that finished fourth in the world on one particular day. I don't think this fuss is all about Jordyn being our favorite, it's about her being a champion. And Jordyn is a champion who deserves every bit of the fuss.


Photo Credit-ABC News and Boston Herald

2008 vs 2012: Shawn Johnson vs. Jordyn Wieber

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!