"I think we all need a pep talk." This video has little to do with gymnastics directly but I still wanted to share it. This little boy, Kid President, is wise beyond his years. I don't know if anyone else is at the point in the (school) year where all you can do is ask yourself why. Why am I learning this? Why does it matter? Why is it still snowing/raining/not as sunny out as usual? Why does my boss hate me? Why can't I catch my Tkatchev like Dougie? Why? Why? Why? It's nice to have a little reminder every now and then that we're all here for a reason and to get a little motivation. This pep talk was perfect -"It's everybody's duty to give the world a reason to dance."
Kiwigymnast16 does a great job in this montage with Hall of Fame by The Script and includes both WAG and MAG. You get to see a lot of athletes and a lot of the joyous occasions - stuck landings, gymnasts pleased with scores, and teams celebrating. here or below:
@pvanswim pointed out this montage to me and Spanny says it takes her back to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The song is "Power of a Dream" by Celine Dion and even though I'm not a (real) gymnast, I find this montage incredibly inspiring. So watch it. I had a smile on my face for the rest of the night after I watched it. here or below:
Note: I have exams coming up so I likely won't be posting for the next few weeks. I should be back around Valentine's Day. As always, you can reach me on twitter, facebook, and tumblr. I'm also thinking of getting on the video bandwagon and finally showing you some of my adult gymnastics stuff. We'll see!
A new series looking at countries that are On The Rise and may be able
to challenge the countries at the top, mainly the "Big 4" - USA, Russia,
Romania, China - at the team or individual level.
Switzerland is a country that has recently made a name for herself with Ariella Kaeslin. After her retirement, the legacy of great vaulters continued with 2012 European Bronze Medalist Giulia Steingruber. Steingruber has proven to be an excellent all-arounder after placing 14th in the Olympic all-around final. The Swiss have great things to look forward to in continued representation from Steingruber and the rise of some junior stars. As a team, Switzerland placed 11th in the senior team competition and 13th in the junior team competition at the 2012 European Championships. In this profile, we'll look at Steingruber along with 2 juniors, Ilaria Käslin and Laura Schulte who should help to contribute to the rise of Switzerland in this quadrennium.
Giulia Steingruber
Starting off this series with a personal and surprise favorite, Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland. Steingruber is most known for her vaulting ability. Sadly, she fell in qualifications and was in the terrible 9th place just missing out on making the vault event finals. Otherwise, she had a shot of landing on the podium in the Olympic Vault Event Finals with a Rudi (handspring on, 1.5 twist off - 6.3 D). She upgraded her 2nd vault to a Tsuk double full for the 6.0 start value, an
increase from the 5.2 D-score of a Tsuk full that she usually competed, but fell. Accomplishments: 3rd place VT, 4th AA 2012 European Championships, 9th place VT Olympic qualifications, 14th Olympic AA, 5th place VT 2012 Test Event Skills: VT - Rudi (front handspring on, 1.5 twist off - now a 6.2), and Tsuk double (6.0), beam - switch split-side somi, floor - double layout, BB - The Steingruber - a gainer full off the beam FX:
Gabrielle Douglas was nominated for the 2012 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. The field was very competitive with other great athletes like tennis superstar Serena Williams, the most decorated Olympian of all time in swimmer Michael Phelps, and one of the most heartwarming stories of the Olympic Games in sprinter Oscar Pistorius. In the end, the award went to professional basketball player LeBron James. However, when he accepted his award, he acknowledged what he called "the real sportsmen of the year."
Below is a story of two brothers, Conner and Cayden Long. They were given the title of "2012 Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKids of the Year" but I agree with LeBron James, they are the the true Sportsmen of the Year. They remind you what it is to be passionate about something and what it means to truly love.
Grab a tissue before you watch this. (Facebook link here)
We still have a few more Olympic montages rolling in but we can start to look ahead in the competition season. We are now on week 3 of the 2013 Women's NCAA Gymnastics season (week 2 for the men) and we are waiting for the start of the upcoming elite season.
Kyla Ross - American Cup 2013 Preview
The field for the American Cup to be held on March 2 has been announced. On the women's side we have American headliners Kyla Ross and Elizabeth Price along with a rather strong field of Olympians and strong contenders for future World teams: Vanessa Ferrari (ITA), Larissa Iordache (ROM), Elisabeth Seitz of (GER), and Asuka Teramoto (JPN), + 1 Canadian, +1 more athlete to be announced. On the men's side, we will see Danell Leyva and Jake Dalton of the USA up against Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez (COL), Marcel Nguyen (GER), Sergio Sasaki (BRA), Kristian Thomas (GBR), and Oleg Verniaiev (UKR), +1 more athlete to be announced.
Chris Saccullo has made a lovely montage of Kyla Ross as an American Cup 2013 preview. It's a techno/dubstep remix but it fits the style of the video perfectly. The video isn't too long at just 2 minutes and really seems like perfect advertising to me - the music is upbeat and has just short clips of Kyla doing amazing things that should get everyone, obsessed gym fans and grandmas in Topeka alike, to want to watch the televised gymnastics event.
The Progressive Skating & Gymnastics Spectacular airs tonight (Sunday, January 20th) on NBC 4-6PM EST. The musical guests will be R5 and the Fresh Beat Band (I haven't heard of any of them either). The hosts of the event will be gymnastics greats Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner and figure skating great Peggy Flemming. Seven gymnasts will be present along with nine figure skaters. The event is presented by Hilton Honors who represents the three male athletes - Chris Brooks, Jonathan Horton, and 2012 Olympic Bronze All Around Medalist Danell Leyva. On the women's side, a host of all around champions will be there - the 2008 Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin, the 2011 World Champion Jordyn Wieber, and the 2012 Olympic Champion Gabrielle Douglas. They will be joined by the new face of Pandora jewelry: 2012 Olympic Floor Champion Aly Raisman. The photo above is of Aly for Pandora in Marie Claire magazine. More information about the event can be found here.
It's been almost two weeks since the athletes released this teaser video to Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City's "Good Time." Bart Conner even gets back on the parallel bars for this!
