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NCAA Pre-Season Coaches' Polls

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:12:06 +0000

For the third year in a row, the Georgia women's team and Stanford men's team have been ranked #1 in the pre-season coaches' poll.

Georgia has won the last five NCAA titles, so it's not surprising that the team received 13 first-place votes. Utah is ranked second, while Alabama is third. (The two teams placed in the opposite order at the 2009 NCAAs.) Looking for a sneak peek? Georgia has some practice highlights up on its website, Gymnastike has a bunch of Utah videos, and there's a clip of a recent Alabama intrasquad on YouTube.

On the men's side, Stanford is also the defending NCAA champion, so its first-place rank is also expected. California is in second, with Oklahoma in third. I haven't found pre-season videos of the men, but here's a quick rundown of the Stanford freshmen class. I'll add video if some goes up.

(Pictured above: Courtney McCool, a senior on the Georgia gymnastics team; Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)

NCAA Pre-Season Coaches' Polls originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 22:12:06.

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Old-School Video: Olga Mostepanova

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:05:46 +0000

Soviet gymnast Olga Mostepanova won the all-around at the 1984 Alternate Games (held by the Eastern Bloc countries that boycotted the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles) in unprecedented fashion: She scored a 10.0 on every event. Most experts feel that she would have beaten Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton had they gone head-to-head.

Check out this video of her floor routine at the 1983 worlds. Don't miss her incredible dance -- she truly looks like a dancer who can also tumble -- and her very-cool second tumbling pass.

And here's her beam routine at the Alternate Games. It's hard not to love her amazing mount, which includes an "Onodi" long before Onodi herself performed the skill. (It's thought that Mostepanova never submitted the skill for name consideration.)

(Pictured above: Olga Mostepanova; Tony Duffy / Getty Images)

Old-School Video: Olga Mostepanova originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 19:05:46.

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US Women Win Junior Pan Ams, Men Take Silver

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 00:04:36 +0000

The US women's team (Kyla Ross, Sabrina Vega, Alexandra Raisman, and Bridgette Caquatto) took team gold at the 2009 Junior Pan Ams in Aracaju, Brazil. Canada won second, while Brazil earned the bronze. The US women also swept the top four spots in the all-around: 1) Ross 57.40 2) Vega 56.25 3) Raisman 56.20 4) Caquatto 56.10.

In event finals, Raisman won vault and floor, while Ross took gold on bars and beam. There were lots of silver medalists too: Caquatto on vault, Vega on bars, and Ross on floor.

In the men's competition, Brazil earned team gold, with the US in second, .55 behind. Colombia placed third. American C.J. Maestas took silver in the all-around, while teammate Sam Sam Mikulak ended in fourth. The other American men, Jake Martin and Jesse Glenn, were 11th and 14th, respectively.

Maestas had a great event finals as well, winning rings and earning silvers on pommel horse and parallel bars.
Mikulak placed second on floor and third on vault.

Video:

Kyla Ross on floor, team finals
Ross on beam, team finals
Ross on bars, event finals (check out her sky-high Jaegar!)
Sabrina Vega on floor, team finals
Vega on bars, event finals
Bridgette Caquatto on floor, team finals
Alexandra Raisman on floor, team finals (beautiful triple full second pass)
More videos

Results:

US Women Win Junior Pan Ams, Men Take Silver originally appeared on About.com Gymnastics on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 00:04:36.

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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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