The USA is always interesting to look at in terms of where their athletes are and who could make teams, because they don't need to preserve their gymnasts whatsoever. There could quite easily be a situation where none of the Fierce Five make any teams this quad and disappear completely, and they would still win all around them. But, after the insight of American Cup, Jesolo and Chemnitz...on with what's going on.
- Simone Biles is the strongest all-arounder. She is also the strongest possible contributor in team competitions on vault, a certainty on floor and bars and a good possibility on beam too. I must stress- at the moment. American gymnasts have an unfortunate tendency to be injured and we can never rule this out. Especially when you're throwing such hard skills as she is. Under her belt, as we all know, are the following- a very dynamic amanar (and TTY in training), a full-in beam dismount, a floor routine containing a double layout, double double, 1.5 to full-in and which she's not done upgrading yet, and a not-bad-at-all bars with strong releases. Her execution is not amazing by any means but it's not near bad enough to drag her down so no real complaints there. All in all, she's number one.
- Kyla Ross is as lovely and infuriatingly low in difficulty as ever. Her lines have improved with her height, and her beam is just stunning to watch. Many have tipped her as the new Bridget Sloan, the fairly unimportant Olympic team member who takes the world AA title the following year. Unfortunately, I just don't see this happening. Kyla's difficulty is just too low, her floor is out of a 5.3, her vault is 5.8 and her beam and bars are not much over 6. She has said she will not upgrade floor this year, which is very bad news for AA medal ambitions. A great all-arounder certainly with lovely execution but that isn't enough to triumph. Simone Biles has a 1.4 difficulty lead with vault and floor (this will widen too with her floor upgrades yet to come), with beam and bars being very similar. Larisa Iordache has about 1.8 on floor and beam (some swallowed up on bars of course, though almost 2 points would be tough going), and Aliya Mustafina has about a 1.4ish lead on beam and floor (set to widen when she upgrades her bars) etc. etc. I do think Kyla can be victorious and can win major titles, but not this year if her routines don't sharply upgrade.
- Katelyn Ohashi is currently recovering from shoulder surgery. I'd have no doubt she will be back in time for Classics and/or Nationals but this is still bad news, as her biggest issue aside from overall stamina are her pirouettes on bars which are all open to huge deductions and this recovery will not help. Katelyn has an unbelievable beam routine with a possible difficulty score of 7.3 with all connections hit and this alone will probably secure her a spot at this year's specialist worlds. But as an all-arounder and team contributor this quad she still has quite a way to go, her bars need a lot of work, her floor would not be used in a team situation and her vault, while much improved, is worth 0.5 less than many of her teammates. Katelyn is quite obviously a great gymnast but her routines look as hard as they actually are, her stamina doesn't seem to have kept apace with her growth and upgrades.
- Lexie Priessman is quite clearly not herself, or at least wasn't on the European tour. That was not the 2012 Junior European champion, this gymnast struggled- spectacularly so on a leap on beam and just wasn't doing what she's capable of. It is a fact that she trains at a gym with a reputation of breaking gymnasts; so too does junior Amelia Hundley who was also very much under the weather in Europe. It would be a grave mistake to write Lexie off though; she has a 6.7 floor in training and an amanar and second vault, as well as being a very strong all-arounder. Her beam and execution let her down, and I don't see her really rivalling Simone's place for instance, who while similarly strong on floor and vault is noticeably better on beam and bars. A worthy contender for the fourth spot and one who could be very valuable in future team competitions. As long as she stays healthy!
- Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney have both been back training for a good few months now. We know a lot more about Jordyn who has all of her skills back and is training a new one, a Weiler full on bars, thanks to her being the subject of the latest Gymnastike Beyond the Routine series, which unfortunately costs so I've just seen summaries. She'd be far from the first to get a skill named after her on her weakest event. A fully healthy Jordyn, especially with good non-dodgy beam connections is a fierce contender and although we haven't seen her at camp yet, she seems to have all guns blazing for Nationals. Jordyn would have a huge difficulty lead over Kyla if all her routines go to plan, and that would mean it makes no sense to leave her behind since Kyla is unlikely to medal on either beam or bars with her difficulty the way it is. There's no word about how McKayla is doing, though she has said herself she is vaulting Yurchenkos (halves, fulls, layout timers?) and concentrating on bars and beam as her leg still hurts. Healed, but sore. This was more than two months ago so presumably she is further advanced, and she was due to go to camp though pulled out at the last minute. Even with that, that must mean she had routines worth verifying. Her place in team worlds would be much more assured than this year, though if her vault and floor are back up to their old standard (and hopefully beyond with no super-sketchy third pass) and Lexie and Ebee remain unfortunate with their health then she'd be a good bet. The TTY speculation is all on super-springy Simone Biles now but McKayla is the other who looks well capable of landing one and has also mentioned it.
- Ebee Price, Sarah Finnegan and Maddie Desch are all either injured or recovering. Ebee was of course an Olympic alternate, beating Kyla in the AA at Trials, and took no less than two back-to-back world cup AA titles late last year. It's unclear what stage she's at now but she'd certainly be a very good bet for the fourth place at worlds if healthy. Sarah's strengths are beam and floor, an interesting combination. She would be vying with Katelyn for a place on this year's worlds team, since she is the only other one with a very difficult beam. Maddie is very similar to her, though perhaps not as polished on beam. She's recovering from a torn meniscus, rumour has it. Neither she or Sarah have competed since last summer, and Ebee last competed pre-injury in December.
- Peyton Ernst and Maggie Nichols performed strongly in Europe, having sprung out of nowhere. Peyton in particular has improved quite a lot since last year and could be a nice team contributor. However, I don't see her surpassing others for an all-around place just yet.
- Although Sabrina Vega has switched gyms, I don't see a big future for her in elite. Similarly I see Kennedy Baker fading too, though both girls should do extremely well at college.
- Mykayla Skinner has two vaults, ranked 6.4 and 6.3 respectively, the hardest floor routine actually competed (6.5) and has also improved on a weak event, bars. It seems crazy that she could easily fail to make major teams and is not even on the national team. Last year she was a bit inconsistent and this year crashed her double arabian in competition. It will be very interesting to see how she fares at Classics and Nationals as she could very well shake things up if she's consistent.
- Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman who have both expressed that they will be back in the gym soon are in no way able to make the team this year. It will be interesting to see how they fare if they do go back as planned; particularly Gabby whose bars could be a great asset and who is blessed with the physique to remain longer in the sport at the top of her game.
- Liang Chow has a number of elite hopefuls; Norah Flatley and Alexis Vasquez who will both be aiming to qualify elite in summer and Rachel Gowey who is actually an elite and was at the last camp. Norah is extremely strong on beam with a fabulous routine, though I've no idea what her other events look like. Alexis Vasquez is supposed to be a stronger all-arounder but I haven't seen her either, and Rachel is totally unknown. Ones to keep an eye on, for sure.
- The brightest hopes for the future are Bailie Key, Laurie Hernandez and Nia Dennis. Nia is quite like Gabby Douglas, high-flying on bars and strong all-around. Bailie is very different from the rest, she has excellent execution, flexibility and difficulty and does not have a weak event. She has an amanar, arabian on beam and a Church and Downie on bars in the works, though she's being paced very well for her 2015 senior debut so we are unlikely to see all of these upgrades this year. She and Nia are elegible for YOG- Youth Olympics Games. Laurie is a 2000 baby and stunned everyone with her performances at the US Classic last year at the age of 11. She is a great dancer and beam worker, with a DTY, double layout and double arabian planned. While I found her choreography last year a bit repetitive, she really was compelling to watch. Looking forward to all three gymnasts becoming seniors.
Bars remain somewhat of an issue. Kyla Ross is the highest scoring gymnast they have, though her difficulty as ever could do with being substantially higher to challenge stellar Russian and Chinese routines. Power gymnasts Ebee Price and Simone Biles have surprisingly good bars ideal for team situations though neither could expect to qualify to a bars final unless the field is quite weak. There is always Jordyn Wieber and we can't write off the possibility of Gabby Douglas unleashing a strong bars routine next year. Bailie Key and Nia Dennis are strong on bars, but can't be relied on until 2015. Polina Shchennikova shows quite a bit of promise and Katelyn Ohashi would too if her bars were reworked. They are still in a much better position on this apparatus than Romania but it remains a weak point.
Beam has a much better outlook. The most valuable routine by far is that of Katelyn Ohashi. They also have Sarah Finnegan, Maddie Desch, Kyla Ross and Simone Biles. Jordyn Wieber too. Lexie Priessman and Ebee Price are very weak here and can't be used, but newcomers to the mix Peyton Ernst and Maggie Nichols look like good prospects in a team situation, if needed. Looking to the future, Laurie Hernandez and Bailie Key both shine on beam.
Floor is amazing as ever. Simone Biles, Ebee Price, Lexie Priessman and Jordyn Wieber are all incredible on floor, at least difficulty wise if not artistry wise. Katelyn Ohashi has improved but I don't see much possible upgrading in her future really. McKayla Maroney could be valuable here again, and gymnasts like Amelia Hundley, Laurie Hernandez, Bailie Key and Nia Dennis would be expected to contribute heavily also. Let us not forget that Mykayla Skinner, who showed herself to be inconsistent last year, has a laidout double double, tucked double double and double arabian in her routine.
The amanar fest is certainly here to stay, with two gymnasts capable of a TTY. Simone has a Lopez for a second vault and is training a Cheng. It's not known where McKayla is at but she's still in the mix even just for vault alone. Lexie and Ebee have amanars with second vaults in the works, and there's any amount of strong DTY's from others should they be needed. Bailie Key and several other juniors are training the amanar also. Mykayla Skinner has the current highest vault difficulty, with an amanar and Cheng actually competed.
The US look well able to continue dominating. It's up to everyone else to catch up. The worlds team, because of the depth, can go quite a lot of ways. I do think Simone Biles has cemented her place on it. I would say the same of Kyla Ross too, but Jordyn Wieber could potentially take her spot for the AA as Kyla is unlikely to medal in bars finals anyway. Katelyn for beam if healthy. And a four-way battle for the last spot, between Ebee Price, Lexie Priessman, McKayla Maroney and Mykayla Skinner. I see Jordyn taking Kyla's spot or nobody's, as she does not have a second vault and her coach has already stated that she has enormous difficulty with forward entry and it's why she doesn't have one. But the vault requirements have changed a bit, so you never know.
Simone Biles- AA, VT, FX, UB and BB attempts (wildcard for both)
Kyla Ross- AA, UB, BB
Katelyn Ohashi- BB
Ebee Price- VT, FX
That is one well-rounded team, though number four is very much up for debate. Who's on your team? Other juniors you think will storm their way to the top?
Piibunina is a great source for Jesolo (and everything) videos, and USAG have the full broadcast and individual routines from American Cup, which I'm not linking to since they've uploaded a billion videos since then.
Check out the The State of China here.
Showing posts with label Maddie Desch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maddie Desch. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Saturday, 26 January 2013
French World Cup and stuff
The La Roche sur Yon World Cup lineup and roster has been announced. It takes place 16-17th March. Luckily I despise the gigantic mess that is Dublin on St. Patrick's Day (revoke your citizenship if you don't pass out by 9pm!), so I'll probably watch a stream of this instead. This World Cup is the new location and subsequently name for Bercy. The roster/lineup is here. One of the nicest things is that Larisa Iordache will compete all-around, originally only being down to compete bars and beam. Must be as a result of dropping out of SCAM. Certainly she has enough to be getting on with, she should also be a star at Euros, which this year are individual only, much like Worlds. Diana Bulimar is competing beam only, there are other spots available on floor (I don't expect bars from her somehow..) so hopefully that might come to fruition. Russia are sending Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva and Maria Paseka! Maria is vault ony, Aliya bars and floor and Ksenia beam and floor. Here's the exciting bit....wait for it...Aliya and Ksenia will have new floor routines! YES! Presumably with watered down tumbling, but I can't wait to see what two of the most exciting and potentially most elegant floor workers have to show. I will also be watching out for Janine Berger's vaults and Celine Van Gerner and Kristina Palesova's bars. There are currently no Asians listed, though I don't believe North Korea can qualify, as they have not had berths at the Olympics or subsequent World Cups. I would like to see Shang Chunsong or Zeng Siqi make their mark. And a Japanese contingent would be delightful, or more representation from Britain and Canada. Edit: Another odd thing is that Diana Chelaru is down for floor. She was slated to have retired last year. She definitely did leave the National Team and retreated back to her home gym, but nice to see her get another outing.
March is shaping up to be fantastic.
1st- Nastia Cup
1st-7th- Russian Championships
2nd- SCAM
16-17th- LRSY WC
21-24th- Cottbus WC
23-24th- Jesolo
30th- USA V Romania V Germany V Spain
:D
There have been some slight changes to the COP. One of which is pretty dull, scissones must land on one foot, and not two. Switch ring leaps are getting a bit of a makeover, the back leg must be bent at a 90 degree angle, along with the previous requirements of head release, back leg at head height or higher, front leg at least at horizontal. There will be an 0.1 deduction for angles between 45 and 90, and total discredit for angles less than 45. This I think is in reaction to this monstrosity:
Not a switch ring leap in any code, but was credited. And to add insult to injury, it comprises the front cover of her book. Here's me trying and failing at a skill! Gabby does not have bad form as a rule, so I'm sure they had a cache of much better images to choose from. Anyway, here's what a switch ring leap now has to look like:
And not like these, they would all fail to avoid deuction or even get full credit:
Eww, hideous! Sigh. The 90 degree angle is jarring and takes away from the line. Who on earth thinks that the first one is more aesthetically pleasing than the 3 below? The other change is to the sheep jump, which must now have a 30 degree angle in hip extension. I hope everyone else is picturing beam judges everywhere squinting with protractors, because I certainly am. This means little for Russia and China, who are well capable. I think they will drop off a bit in popularity elsewhere, as it won't be worth the risk for those less flexible. I do think this will increase the risk for sheep jumps to become scrappier in the fight for the correct angle- feet apart, knees apart, sickling, one leg higher than the other etc. Hmm.
Ebee's new upgrades are cited to include a full twising double layout on floor, and a Mustafina (or half on, full off for its correct term, as it isn't the Mustafina in the COP) as a second vault. Jordan Chiles has passed elite compulsory testing. She will now have to pass elite optionals, at the WOGA classic on February 16th. Looking forward to seeing her shine at Junior Nationals. Grace Quinn of Texas Dreams passed elite testing, I haven't heard of her before so will keep an eye out. Maddie Desch has reportedly torn her mesniscus. A horrible start to her senior career, but it doesn't have a particularly long recovery so she could easily compete at Nationals etc.
Here is one of the funniest 'action' gymnastics photos I have EVER seen. Signing off with the fiercest warrior of them all, Llomincia Hall (rhyme an unintended bonus).
March is shaping up to be fantastic.
1st- Nastia Cup
1st-7th- Russian Championships
2nd- SCAM
16-17th- LRSY WC
21-24th- Cottbus WC
23-24th- Jesolo
30th- USA V Romania V Germany V Spain
:D
There have been some slight changes to the COP. One of which is pretty dull, scissones must land on one foot, and not two. Switch ring leaps are getting a bit of a makeover, the back leg must be bent at a 90 degree angle, along with the previous requirements of head release, back leg at head height or higher, front leg at least at horizontal. There will be an 0.1 deduction for angles between 45 and 90, and total discredit for angles less than 45. This I think is in reaction to this monstrosity:
Not a switch ring leap in any code, but was credited. And to add insult to injury, it comprises the front cover of her book. Here's me trying and failing at a skill! Gabby does not have bad form as a rule, so I'm sure they had a cache of much better images to choose from. Anyway, here's what a switch ring leap now has to look like:
And not like these, they would all fail to avoid deuction or even get full credit:
Eww, hideous! Sigh. The 90 degree angle is jarring and takes away from the line. Who on earth thinks that the first one is more aesthetically pleasing than the 3 below? The other change is to the sheep jump, which must now have a 30 degree angle in hip extension. I hope everyone else is picturing beam judges everywhere squinting with protractors, because I certainly am. This means little for Russia and China, who are well capable. I think they will drop off a bit in popularity elsewhere, as it won't be worth the risk for those less flexible. I do think this will increase the risk for sheep jumps to become scrappier in the fight for the correct angle- feet apart, knees apart, sickling, one leg higher than the other etc. Hmm.
Ebee's new upgrades are cited to include a full twising double layout on floor, and a Mustafina (or half on, full off for its correct term, as it isn't the Mustafina in the COP) as a second vault. Jordan Chiles has passed elite compulsory testing. She will now have to pass elite optionals, at the WOGA classic on February 16th. Looking forward to seeing her shine at Junior Nationals. Grace Quinn of Texas Dreams passed elite testing, I haven't heard of her before so will keep an eye out. Maddie Desch has reportedly torn her mesniscus. A horrible start to her senior career, but it doesn't have a particularly long recovery so she could easily compete at Nationals etc.
Here is one of the funniest 'action' gymnastics photos I have EVER seen. Signing off with the fiercest warrior of them all, Llomincia Hall (rhyme an unintended bonus).
Saturday, 15 September 2012
More fragments of news
September training camp at the Karolyi ranch is taking place right now for USA's juniors- and 3 seniors- Brenna Dowell, Kennedy Baker and McKayla Skinner. A lot of seniors are of course busy trying to remain healthy on the tour (see Rebecca Bross having to be restrained from completely falling off the mat onto concrete after her passes in the latest youtube video). National team members Katelyn Ohashi, Lexie Priessman, Simone Biles, Maddie Desch, Amelia Hundley and Bailie Key are in attendance. Seeing as 4/6 will turn senior next year, lots more juniors have been invited. They include Nica Hults, Laurie Hernandez, Peyton Ernst, Arianna Guerra and Polina Schennikova. Expect some glorious photos of Bailie Key doing a-MAZING switch ring leaps, but I doubt USAG will stick videos up. Word is Nia Dennis is extremely close to nailing an amanar (from a FTY!) and that Nica Hults has verified a double arabian and triple full on floor.
Attendance has been confirmed for the Mexican Open. WAG includes Anna Dementyeva, Brenna Dowell, Kennedy Baker, Jessica Gil Ortiz and Georgia Rose Brown. Demy is the favourite and if she can take the AA after a crappy year, that would do a lot to boost her standings in the Russia camp. Kennedy's explosive floor routine has really exciting tumbling, sadly not much of note in between. Still, I'll be looking forward to videos of it and more routines going up on youtube.
It appears that McKayla Maroney will rejoin the tour soon, but only to wave at the crowd or somesuch. She will be missed- not so much for her gymnastics as there is no vault even if she was allowed throw amanars in a tour setting- but for her presence and the fact that she is a great dancer. Also of course for the fact that she is a fan favourite. Alicia Sacramone has joined the tour, not sure for how many stops. Presumably she will do Boston stops also. Shawn Johnson will join the tour tomorrow, she will be dancing with her DWTS partner. Maroney's docs are being very cautious with her- she is in a wheelchair in the fierce 5 photo Derek Hough put up.
I posted this today in the last news bit, but it's further down now so Larisa Iordache whose MRI confirmed that she does not have lesions in her feet does have one leg slightly longer than the other. It is probably the case that this was either the main cause or a big contribution to her heel problems in the first place. She is having special sillicon deposits in order to make the pressure on her feet more equal. Hopefully that will be all it takes for her to return to her glorious peak form.
China's National Individual Championships are taking place next week. There's a long list but only some are confirmed. Among the confirmed are the very exciting Shang Chungsong, Wu Luifang, Cui Jie and Zeng Siqi. Huang Huidan, Luo Peiru and Tan Jiaxin are also expected to compete. Most of these gymnasts have suffered from either injury or major inconsistency or both, so a great chance to prove themselves. Especially as there will be a slew of retirements from the senior team after National Games next year- these are the ones with the team competition between the provinces and are very lucrative financially for the gymnasts and for the prestige of the province. They are seen as being on a par with worlds really.
Ksenia Afanasyeva is going to run in elections for her local council. It's not clear about whether she really is retiring now as she stated that 'gymnastics will be finishing sometime' in reference to her decision to go into politics. That's quite inconclusive as it doesn't shut the door on training for another year or so! Afan has a lot left to give as a floor/beam specialist so here's hoping she doesn't retire straight away.
Videos are starting to emerge of Russia's Mallorca camp training. It appears they are doing a lot more than the conditioning reported beforehand! There is one of MAG, and one of Maria Paseka. Maria who has a long long list of injuries was reduced pretty much only to vault, her other events were not even needed in that team. But she is an all-arounder. Bars are messy, but loving the Markelov-geinger combination. The code will reward things like this- very exciting to get a glimpse of how different gymnasts will be altering their bars routines to fit. I will put up any WAG videos ASAP..would love some insight into how Grishina is doing, as well as Musty, Vika and others.
Update: Here's a video of Anna Dementyeva training bars and floor and a bit of beam, and Tatiana Nabieva training beam and floor. Nabs looks pretty afraid of that beam, but that was a nice double pike from her on floor. She has grown quite a bit so obviously will take some time getting used to it. It was expected that she would retire so it's great to see that she's still training. She does have more to give- especially on bars. Demy looks quite rough, but that's no surprise after her crappy injury year. Hopefully she can get it together and impress as the Mexican Open.
Attendance has been confirmed for the Mexican Open. WAG includes Anna Dementyeva, Brenna Dowell, Kennedy Baker, Jessica Gil Ortiz and Georgia Rose Brown. Demy is the favourite and if she can take the AA after a crappy year, that would do a lot to boost her standings in the Russia camp. Kennedy's explosive floor routine has really exciting tumbling, sadly not much of note in between. Still, I'll be looking forward to videos of it and more routines going up on youtube.
It appears that McKayla Maroney will rejoin the tour soon, but only to wave at the crowd or somesuch. She will be missed- not so much for her gymnastics as there is no vault even if she was allowed throw amanars in a tour setting- but for her presence and the fact that she is a great dancer. Also of course for the fact that she is a fan favourite. Alicia Sacramone has joined the tour, not sure for how many stops. Presumably she will do Boston stops also. Shawn Johnson will join the tour tomorrow, she will be dancing with her DWTS partner. Maroney's docs are being very cautious with her- she is in a wheelchair in the fierce 5 photo Derek Hough put up.
I posted this today in the last news bit, but it's further down now so Larisa Iordache whose MRI confirmed that she does not have lesions in her feet does have one leg slightly longer than the other. It is probably the case that this was either the main cause or a big contribution to her heel problems in the first place. She is having special sillicon deposits in order to make the pressure on her feet more equal. Hopefully that will be all it takes for her to return to her glorious peak form.
China's National Individual Championships are taking place next week. There's a long list but only some are confirmed. Among the confirmed are the very exciting Shang Chungsong, Wu Luifang, Cui Jie and Zeng Siqi. Huang Huidan, Luo Peiru and Tan Jiaxin are also expected to compete. Most of these gymnasts have suffered from either injury or major inconsistency or both, so a great chance to prove themselves. Especially as there will be a slew of retirements from the senior team after National Games next year- these are the ones with the team competition between the provinces and are very lucrative financially for the gymnasts and for the prestige of the province. They are seen as being on a par with worlds really.
Ksenia Afanasyeva is going to run in elections for her local council. It's not clear about whether she really is retiring now as she stated that 'gymnastics will be finishing sometime' in reference to her decision to go into politics. That's quite inconclusive as it doesn't shut the door on training for another year or so! Afan has a lot left to give as a floor/beam specialist so here's hoping she doesn't retire straight away.
Videos are starting to emerge of Russia's Mallorca camp training. It appears they are doing a lot more than the conditioning reported beforehand! There is one of MAG, and one of Maria Paseka. Maria who has a long long list of injuries was reduced pretty much only to vault, her other events were not even needed in that team. But she is an all-arounder. Bars are messy, but loving the Markelov-geinger combination. The code will reward things like this- very exciting to get a glimpse of how different gymnasts will be altering their bars routines to fit. I will put up any WAG videos ASAP..would love some insight into how Grishina is doing, as well as Musty, Vika and others.
Friday, 17 August 2012
New Kids on the Block: USA
USA's deep field of talent is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Katelyn Ohashi (reminds me of Hollie Vise)
Katelyn is from WOGA, the gym that churned out Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Rebecca Bross. She is most known for her spectacular and incredibly difficult beam but also has strong bars and is a good all-arounder. She underperformed at US Nationals and looks to be showing signs of peaking too soon and burning out. However, it's far too early to really question her longevity in the top echelons of the sport. I predict she will be able to come back strong for worlds, but maybe not Rio itself. She turns senior in 2013.
This beam was given a 7.0 start value, the highest this quad. She appears to have chucked the dismount in favour of a double pike which obviously will affect the difficulty, but she could always get it back.
Really good flight and form. It was given a 6.2 difficulty at Nationals.
Given a 5.9. Not brilliant, and she crosses her feet on twisting but lots of potential here.
Lexie Priessman (reminds me of Jordyn Wieber)
Lexie Priessman is a workhorse style power gymnast. Vault and floor are where she shines, with an amanar, double double and full twisting double tuck under her belt. The 2012 US Nationals Junior Champion is okay on bars and beam with a good few form issues on both, but with effort they won't be able to hold her back. She missed out on age elegibility for London by about 20 days.
Strong amanar, 15.7 was the score here.
Bad choreography, but very powerful tumbling, she makes it look effortless.
Needs work, but with more difficulty and better form she could be pretty good. She will benefit from the anti-pirouette sting the new code will bring.
Bailie Key
Bailie will bring glorious elegance, form and fantastic leaps into all of our lives. She stands out on beam, but her form means she isn't lacking elsewhere. It looks like they're keeping it safe with not overloading her with difficulty, which she certainly will need more of on the senior stage. But she has plenty of time, as she will not turn senior until 2015- which is kinda the perfect time.
Cute enough to get away with this music. Lovely.
Fabulous DTY.
Those. Leaps.
Madison (Maddie) Desch (reminds me of Sarah Finnegan and Courtney McCool)
Maddie trains at GAGE and has the excellent presentation, style and elegance as standard. Her floor is exquisite, great clean tumbling and excellently choreographed. Another who is being conserved, bars are beautiful with fantastic lines but incredibly weak difficulty. Beam so far is dissapointing as she has form issues there. Vault is a very decent DTY. Maddie with high difficulty and a clean beam is a massive threat. She turns senior in 2013.
First and last pass...drool.
Great lines and form.
Not too shabby!
Simone Biles (reminds me of Elizabeth 'Ebee' Price and Terin Humphrey)
Simone is a real powerhouse, who surprised everyone with the explosive amanar and floor routine she showed this year. Her amanar is one of the best this quad. Beam and bars are not as strong for her, though not bad enough to really be called weak points. Another who will turn senior in 2013.
Wow! A candidate for the TTY in the future.
Fabulous tumbling.
Laurie Hernandez
Laurie is a child of the new millenium! She just turned 12 recently and will be turning senior in 2016. Already showing huge talent and originality on beam and floor, where she is a delight to watch. Her dance ability and commanding beam work made her the suprise fan favourite this year. Interesting fact: Laurie was a level 4 in 2008, and an elite qualifier in 2010- 7 levels in 2 years, wow.
Too many buttshelves, but such command and potential here.
Some repetitive choreography but WOW. Fabulous.
Other USA juniors to watch: Polina Schennikova, Amelia Hundley, Peyton Ernst, Veronica (Nica) Hults
Next up: Russia's upcoming stars
Katelyn Ohashi (reminds me of Hollie Vise)
Katelyn is from WOGA, the gym that churned out Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin and Rebecca Bross. She is most known for her spectacular and incredibly difficult beam but also has strong bars and is a good all-arounder. She underperformed at US Nationals and looks to be showing signs of peaking too soon and burning out. However, it's far too early to really question her longevity in the top echelons of the sport. I predict she will be able to come back strong for worlds, but maybe not Rio itself. She turns senior in 2013.
This beam was given a 7.0 start value, the highest this quad. She appears to have chucked the dismount in favour of a double pike which obviously will affect the difficulty, but she could always get it back.
Really good flight and form. It was given a 6.2 difficulty at Nationals.
Given a 5.9. Not brilliant, and she crosses her feet on twisting but lots of potential here.
Lexie Priessman (reminds me of Jordyn Wieber)
Lexie Priessman is a workhorse style power gymnast. Vault and floor are where she shines, with an amanar, double double and full twisting double tuck under her belt. The 2012 US Nationals Junior Champion is okay on bars and beam with a good few form issues on both, but with effort they won't be able to hold her back. She missed out on age elegibility for London by about 20 days.
Strong amanar, 15.7 was the score here.
Bad choreography, but very powerful tumbling, she makes it look effortless.
Needs work, but with more difficulty and better form she could be pretty good. She will benefit from the anti-pirouette sting the new code will bring.
Bailie Key
Bailie will bring glorious elegance, form and fantastic leaps into all of our lives. She stands out on beam, but her form means she isn't lacking elsewhere. It looks like they're keeping it safe with not overloading her with difficulty, which she certainly will need more of on the senior stage. But she has plenty of time, as she will not turn senior until 2015- which is kinda the perfect time.
Cute enough to get away with this music. Lovely.
Fabulous DTY.
Those. Leaps.
Madison (Maddie) Desch (reminds me of Sarah Finnegan and Courtney McCool)
Maddie trains at GAGE and has the excellent presentation, style and elegance as standard. Her floor is exquisite, great clean tumbling and excellently choreographed. Another who is being conserved, bars are beautiful with fantastic lines but incredibly weak difficulty. Beam so far is dissapointing as she has form issues there. Vault is a very decent DTY. Maddie with high difficulty and a clean beam is a massive threat. She turns senior in 2013.
First and last pass...drool.
Great lines and form.
Not too shabby!
Simone Biles (reminds me of Elizabeth 'Ebee' Price and Terin Humphrey)
Simone is a real powerhouse, who surprised everyone with the explosive amanar and floor routine she showed this year. Her amanar is one of the best this quad. Beam and bars are not as strong for her, though not bad enough to really be called weak points. Another who will turn senior in 2013.
Wow! A candidate for the TTY in the future.
Fabulous tumbling.
Laurie Hernandez
Laurie is a child of the new millenium! She just turned 12 recently and will be turning senior in 2016. Already showing huge talent and originality on beam and floor, where she is a delight to watch. Her dance ability and commanding beam work made her the suprise fan favourite this year. Interesting fact: Laurie was a level 4 in 2008, and an elite qualifier in 2010- 7 levels in 2 years, wow.
Too many buttshelves, but such command and potential here.
Some repetitive choreography but WOW. Fabulous.
Other USA juniors to watch: Polina Schennikova, Amelia Hundley, Peyton Ernst, Veronica (Nica) Hults
Next up: Russia's upcoming stars
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