About.com Gymnastics

Poll: Which is the Hardest Women's Event?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:22:48 +0000

Poll: Which is the Hardest Women's Event? originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 00:22:48.

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Improve Your Shoulder Flexibility

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:33:11 +0000

It's one of the simplest stretches in gymnastics -- and, like the split, a cornerstone of many different skills. Here's how to do the bridge correctly, and improve your shoulder flexibility in the process.

Improve Your Shoulder Flexibility originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 01:33:11.

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Join the About.com Gymnastics Facebook Page!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:13:52 +0000

Want to get the latest gym news, photos, videos, and more? Check out our Facebook page.

About Gymnastics is also on Twitter, too. Follow us here. Looking forward to tweeting with you!

Join the About.com Gymnastics Facebook Page! originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 22:13:52.

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5 Cool Skills from Worlds

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:59:35 +0000

Anna Myzdrikova: Whip to Arabian double front and triple full to back tuck
Myzdrikova (Russia) had two incredible tumbling passes back to back in the floor final. Her whip to double Arabian was stuck cold (and her knees were perfectly together, too!) and the triple full punch back is difficult to even fathom.
Beth Tweddle: Toe-on Tkatchev-half to straddle back-half
Most of Tweddle's bar set could qualify in this category, but the coolest part eluded her at worlds, costing her a spot in the finals in front of her home crowd. She may have been the only gymnast who could have challenged eventual champ He Kexin.
Matthiass Fahrig: Front double full to double front
Fahrig (Germany) only ended up sixth in the floor finals -- .300 out of first. But this intricate pass was pretty darn impressive.
Yong Hwa Cha: Hop full to Def
It's rare to see someone throw a Def (full-twisting Gienger) without a leg split. Yong (North Korea) did it from a hop full.
Kohei Uchimura: Kovacs
Though Kovacs are pretty run-of-the-mill these days, the all-around champion took them to another level. Especially check out his tucked version (at :50) he kicks out almost at vertical!

5 Cool Skills from Worlds originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 17:59:35.

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Williams Wins World Vault Title, Bross Gets Bronze on Bars

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:19:17 +0000

American Kayla Williams won the world gold on vault today -- the first US woman to become world champion on the event. Williams, who vaulted a piked rudi and a Yurchenko double twist, is competing in her first international competition, too!

Switzerland's Ariella Kaeslin earned silver, the first women's world medal ever for her country. The bronze went to Youna Dufournet (France), while Olympic champion Hong Un Jong of North Korea fell on both vaults and ended up in fifth.

Teammate Rebecca Bross earned the bronze on bars, tying with Ana Progras of Romania. Olympic champion He Kexin (China) easily won the event by 1.125 over Japan's Koko Tsurumi. He competed her amazing Jaegar half-Jaegar combination, and stuck her full-in dismount. North Korea's Cha Yong Hwa finished just out of the medals in fifth, but performed a beautiful hop full to Def (full-twisting Gienger) combination.

On the men's side, Romania's Marian Dragulescu won the floor gold over Olympic champion Zou Kai (China). USA's Steven Legendre hit his set but had the lowest difficulty score of the night (6.2) and finished eighth.

On pommel horse and rings, China prevailed again. Zhang Hongtao took the event title over Hungary's Krisztian Berki, 16.200-16.075, on pommels, while Yan Mingyong grabbed gold on rings, just .1 ahead of Bulgarian veteran Jordan Jovtchev (he's 36 now and is still at the top of the field!). American Tim McNeill placed fifth on pommels with a solid set.

(Pictured above: Kayla Williams; Clive Rose / Getty Images)

Williams Wins World Vault Title, Bross Gets Bronze on Bars originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Saturday, October 17th, 2009 at 12:19:17.

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Sloan Wins World All-Around Title

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:46:47 +0000

American Bridget Sloan became the 2009 world all-around champion today, edging out teammate Rebecca Bross by .05. Japan's Koko Tsurumi was third, .6 behind Bross.

Bross led qualifications, and though all gymnasts start with a clean slate in finals, she was leading Sloan by more than a point coming into the last event, floor. But she fell on her very last skill -- a punch barani from a back 2 1/2 twist -- and ended up second. Bross looked fabulous on the other three events, though, with a stuck (and sky-high) full-in off bars, and an aggressive beam routine that ended with the solid Arabian double front dismount that has sometimes eluded her in past meets.

Sloan, too, looked great, hitting a high Yurchenko double full on vault, a smooth bar routine (piked toe-on Tkatchev), and impressive floor tumbling (piked full-in, front 2 1/2 twist, stuck double pike). Her only weakness was beam, where she had several wobbles throughout.

Tsurumi was also fun to watch, with beautiful expression, form, and presentation in all of her routines. Other medal favorites Yang Yilin (China) and Ksenia Semenova (Russia) placed sixth and 13th, respectively, each with a fall on her best event, bars.

(Pictured above (left to right): Rebecca Bross, Bridget Sloan, and Koko Tsurumi; Clive Rose / Getty Images)

Sloan Wins World All-Around Title originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 18:46:47.

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Uchimura Easily Wins Men's All-Around Title

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:08:15 +0000

Japan's Kohei Uchimura earned the gold medal at today's all-around competition at worlds by more than 2.5 points. He was simply untouchable, and performed with a style and form that was also in a class of its own. I could watch his Kovacs (double-back over the bar) on high bar all day -- I think they are the best I've ever seen.

Great Britain's Daniel Keatings thrilled the home crowd with a silver medal finish, and Yury Ryazanov of Russia earned the bronze. American (and worlds rookie) Tim McNeill had a solid competition for seventh, but US medal favorite Jonathan Horton had a tough day to finish 17th.

Horton fell on a double front on floor in the opening moments of the competition, then scored a disastrous 11.1 on his weakest event, pommel horse (two falls). Hopefully Horton will rebound in the high bar finals in a few days -- he qualified in the fifth spot, and could medal.

(Pictured above: Kohei Uchimura; Clive Rose / Getty Images)

Uchimura Easily Wins Men's All-Around Title originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 19:08:15.

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Who Will Win the Women's World All-Around Title?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:17:15 +0000

This year's women's all-around competition should be a great battle. Both US women -- Bridget Sloan and Rebecca Bross -- are in contention for the win, as are China's two all-arounders, both from the 2008 Olympic team: Deng Linlin and Yang Yilin. Russia's Ksenia Semenova placed fourth in Beijing and won the European all-around title this year, and Youna Dufournet (France) has shown some immensely difficult routines -- though she's had trouble hitting them.

Here's some clips of the top all-around athletes:

Who Will Win the Women's World All-Around Title? originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 21:17:15.

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Worlds Start Tomorrow

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:14:01 +0000

World championships for men and women artistic gymnasts start tomorrow in London with the men's preliminaries. We're lucky to have great worlds coverage provided by Universal Sports:

Men's all-around final:

10/15: Live on UniversalSports.com 1:30pm-4:00pm ET
10/15: Same day delay (Universal Sports TV) 8:00pm-10:00pm ET

Women's all-around final:

10/16: Live on UniversalSports.com 1:30pm-4:00pm ET
10/24: Delayed NBC TV 1:30pm-3:30pm ET
10/28: Delayed Universal Sports TV 8pm-10pm ET

Event finals day 1 (men's floor, pommel horse, and rings, women's vault and bars)

10/17: Live on UniversalSports.com 7:55am-12:00pm ET
10/17: Same day delay (Universal Sports TV) 11:00pm-1:00am ET

Event finals day 2 (men's vault, parallel bars, and high bar, women's beam and floor):

10/18: Live on UniversalSports.com 7:55am-12:00pm ET
10/18: Same day delay (Universal Sports TV) 8:00pm-10:00pm ET
10/25: Event finals on Delayed NBC TV 2:00pm-4:00pm ET

Best of all, all coverage will be archived after its shown at Universalsports.com.

Find out if Universal Sports is in your area

Official site for the 2009 artistic worlds

Worlds Start Tomorrow originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 20:14:01.

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USA Names Women's World Team

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:49:53 +0000

The US has announced its women's team for 2009 worlds (Oct. 13-18):

Bridget Sloan: 2009 national champion and 2008 Olympian
Rebecca Bross: 2007 US junior national champion
Ivana Hong: 2008 Olympic alternate
Kayla Williams: 2009 US vault champion

The alternates are Kytra Hunter and Mackenzie Caquatto. This is a fantastic team, with the potential to win a lot of medals. Both Sloan and Bross have a great shot at winning the all-around, and the team could pick up some individual event medals as well, especially Williams on vault, Bross and Sloan on floor, or Hong and Bross on beam.

Williams is an amazing story too: she competed at Junior Olympic (level 10) nationals this year, then qualified to elite nationals. Now she's on the world team. With two solid vaults (she does a front rudi, and has trained an Amanar) and the absence of some vaulting powerhouses like Cheng Fei and Oksana Chusovitina, she could be a world medalist in just a few weeks.

The men's team was named after nationals, then revised due to injuries and retirement. It is: Jake Dalton, Wes Haagensen, Jonathan Horton, Steven Legendre, Danell Leyva, and Tim McNeill.

What are your medal predictions for worlds?

(Pictured above: Ivana Hong; Jed Jacobsohn / Getty Images)

USA Names Women's World Team originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Sunday, October 4th, 2009 at 10:49:53.

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