Gymnastics Blogs - Anne From Gymnastike

After 6 days of intense competition, the 2009 World Championships have come to a close. But before the competitors leave London 09 to prepare for London 2012, let's look back at some highlights of the 41st World Championships. Overall, there was a decent mix of veterans and new faces. The veteran who most impressed was Marian Dragulescu who recently came out of retirement. He won World Titles on both vault and floor and looked to be in excellent shape. The newcomer who most impressed is, without a doubt, American Kayla Williams. Her impervious surge in the world of elite gymnastics… more »

The women will kick things off on Wednesday with their qualifying round. The top 24 will advance to All Around finals, and the top 8 on each event advance, with no more than 2 girls per country. One year after Beijing, this will be a great chance to see the newcomers from each country as we progress into the new quad. Here are some things we should look for from the women in London: All-Around 2008 Olympic Champ: Nastia Liukin (USA) 2007 World Champ: Shawn Johnson (USA) Reigning Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin will be in the house, but not as… more »

London 2009 is finally here! This Tuesday, the men will start things off with their qualification round. The top 24 men in the All-Around will advance, as well as the top 8 in each event. Here are some things you should look for this week in London. Men's All-Around 2008 Olympic Champ: Yang Wei (China) 2007 World Champ: Yang Wei (China) With the retirement of Yang Wei, the obvious front-runner is Kohei Uchimura of Japan. Even Jonathan Horton regards him as the best gymnast in the World right now. That's not to say the ever-competitive Horton won't give him a… more »

Wow what a crazy day! It's 2am and I'm still excited! Both prelim sessions are now complete and we have our 2009 NCAA Super Six Finalists! Tomorrow will be a showdown between Utah and the SEC Conference. What a remarkable accomplishment for SEC gymnastics. It was sad to see UCLA go out the way they did. Although, they had some outstanding individual performances. Big shout out to Ariana Berlin. She had never earned All-American honors before this year, and she went and earned 4 tonight! - fist team bars and in the all-around, and second team honors vault and floor.… more »

I just got done with a very long day at the Texas State Capitol with some of the most passionate and influential people in the Texas gymnastics community fighting for support of the Committee Substitute version of House Bill 1393. This version of the Bill, if passed, will make gymnastics and other skill-based programs (such as marital arts, soccer, etc.) exempt from being classified as "Daycare Centers". As a member of the gymnastics community you understand the absurdity of a gym being considered a daycare center. However, the people making decisions at the state level simply don't understand our industry.… more »

I just got out to Florida and am getting geared up for an intense weekend of gymnastics coverages! I woke up at at 4:30 am this morning to catch a flight to Florida. Tonight I'm covering the huge season opener between #3 Florida and #10 Oklahoma, then tomorrow morning I'll speed down to Miami to cover the Universal Invite! It's going to be intense but I've got the caffeine flowing and I'm so excited!! This is what I've been waiting for since I started Gymnastike. Tonight we've got a nice little re-match of last night's BCS Championship game, but bound… more »

I hope everyone had a fun and safe New Years and is now recovering from staying up all night! Now that 2009 is actually here it's time to get super excited about the upcoming season and all the great gymnastics it will bring! I'll be all over the place covering meets and can't wait! I got to cover my first event a couple weeks ago, The Valeri Liukin Invitational at WOGA, and absolutely loved it. I'm in the process now of deciding which meets to attend in 09 and am open to your suggestions. If you are a coach who… more »

2008 has been an amazing year for me and for Gymnastike. July 22, 2008 this idea became a reality as Gymnastike went live with it's very first video. Since then I've gotten to meet so many incredible people, sit down and talk with some of the best gymnasts and coaches in our sport, and give some much deserved coverage to the greatest sport in the world. I'm unbelievably excited for the 2009 season just around the corner, but before we say goodbye to 2008 I think it's only appropriate to look back and highlight some of the best videos on… more »

I’m sure most of you have seen or read the recent news about Trudi Kollar (formerly Emilia Eberle) speaking out against the Karolyis. Her account is similar to what we have heard before from previous Karolyi gymnasts, only this time it’s coming from new sources. This was the first time Trudi spoke out about the abuse, and Geza Pozsar also stepped in and confirmed it for the first time. I was actually in Sacramento a couple months ago and did an interview with Geza. I wasn’t interested in asking him about the negative aspects about the Karolyis, first because I… more »

I had the pleasure of going to the Gymnastics Superstars Tour in Dallas over the weekend. To be honest, going in I thought it would be a little cheesy, especially for the guys. I mean, how manly can you be when you’re dancing around to Disney singers, right? But it wasn’t that way at all. The men did a great job. All of their routines were to either hip hop or rock, and most of them were really funny. I think my favorite was the their hip hop routine. They incorporated break dancing into a lot of it and they… more »

Olympic gymnastics competition concluded last night, and it was a great night for the Americans! Shawn saved her best for last, and finally got gold on the beam in her last routine of these Olympic games. Nastia took the silver with yet another beautiful routine. But, I think the highlight of my night was Jonathan Horton on high bar. I always get so nervous when I watch high bar, and it definitely didn't help my nerves when Tim Daggett was talking about how Jonathan and coach Mark Williams decided to up his difficulty, even after a lot of the previous… more »

Hey everyone, I’m out in beautiful southern California right now scoping out the LA area for its best gymnasts and coaches. Today I hung out in Temecula at SCEGA Gymnastics. I interviewed senior international elite and this year’s US Classic all-around and beam champion Ashley Scott. She is a really sweet girl and hopefully she’ll secure her spot on the senior national team this year. I could tell she has a ton of potential. I filmed her workout with teammates Kami Amemiya-Shows and Megan Jimenez. Megan is coming off an injury, and Kami is just 10 years old but she’s… more »

Hey everyone, I'm Anne, a former gymnast from Texas. I was a gymnast for eight years, and had just finished my level 9 season when I decided to pursue pole vaulting. I pole vaulted for the University of Texas, but gymnastics has remained my favorite sport. I'm passionate about gymnastics, and I want everyone to see how amazing the athletes in our sport really are. Aside from the Olympics, gymnastics doesn't get too much media coverage which is a shame because I really believe it's the coolest sport in the world. You and I both know there's more to gymnastics… more »