Women's Team Final - US Wins Gold!

Final Standings

USA - 183.596

RUS - 178.530

ROU - 176.414

CHN - 174.430

CAN - 170.804

GRB - 170.495

ITA - 167.930

JPN - 166.646

The Team Final was everything I thought it would be and more. I am so so proud of all the gymnasts and the countries that competed today, and honestly they make this sport so wonderful to watch. 

The United States began on their most dominant rotation, Vault, and I don't know how it was possible that they exceeded their qualification scores, but they did, earning a team total of 48.132! Jordyn Wieber bounced back quickly from her disappointment in qualifications with a beautiful Amanar that scored a huge 15.933. Gabby Douglas also gave a wonderful Amanar, contributing a score of 15.966. And of course the vaulting specialist McKayla Maroney put up the best score of the night out of any gymnast, sticking her Amanar and scoring a HUGE 16.233! The US had their weakest event next, the Uneven Bars, but had no falls or major errors. Jordyn Wieber gave a solid performance scoring a 14.666, Kyla Ross improved her score over qualifications with a 14.933, and the bars superstar Gabby Douglas added a 15.2. Going to the balance beam, I was so nervous. The team was standing together and Aly Raisman was giving a pep talk, reminding them to be confident and just finish EVERY skill. Kyla was up first, and she hit with a wonderful routine, scoring a 15.133! Next up was Gabby, and she did the best beam routine I've EVER seen her do! I was so proud of her for dealing with the nerves and she scored 15.233. Aly was up last and she had a few wobbles and a step on the dismount, but scored a 14.933. Going into the last rotation, Russia and the US were very close. I was so so happy that we were up last on the last rotation, because in both Athens and Beijing we were up first, and I feel like that just feels like so much more pressure because you don't get to see how the other team is going to do. Unfortunately, the Russians had an awful rotation on floor .. 1 fall, 1 near fall, and a balked pass. The US did not let up at all, despite that. Gabby hit her routine. Jordyn went out and had the floor routine of her life, it was so amazing to see her smiling again all day. And of course Aly was the finale, the best tumbler and floor routine in the world! The second Aly saluted the judges at the end she started crying. I am so so so happy for this team I don't even know how to put it into words. I have been following gymnastics obsessively for 13 years now (ever since Elise Ray won the 2000 Nationals), and every Olympic year we had such high hopes for gold and always came up short. These girls are dedicated, hard working, and amazing people. They've trained their entire lives for this and it is finally their time and they reached their ultimate goal. I cried 3 different times after the meet ended, they are honestly just SO SPECIAL to me. 

I am SO happy that Russia got the silver, and I could not be more empathetic for them .. definitely know how silver feels. They started out decently on Vault, although Paseka ended up off of the mat, but other than that no major errors. Mustafina did not throw an Amanar, probably a wise idea considering she delivered a beautiful stuck DTY. Komova's Amanar was nowhere near the Americans, but ended up with a score of 15.833 nonetheless. They knew that their time to catch up was on the Uneven Bars anyway, and that they did. Grishina lead off with a decent but slightly lower scoring routine than the rest of the Russian lineup, scoring a 14.7. Mustafina delivered a brilliant set, scoring a whole point higher than her teammate with a 15.7. Anchor Komova also put up a 15.766. Balance Beam for the Russians was just average, they definitely could have done better. Mustafina nearly fell off twice and Komova had problems on her dismount. Going into Floor, they still had a shot. They needed 3 hit routines. Unfortunately, floor was a disaster. Mustafina put up a 14.8, but then Grishina had a near fall and balked on her second tumbling pass, which led to a 12.466. Then to make matters worse, Afanaseva fell on one of her tumbling passes, resulting in a 14.333. 

The Romanians ended up grabbing the bronze, and I was very happy with that as well. This is now 10 Olympics straight that the Romanians have medaled, thats pretty awesome. I think had Iorchade not have been injured that they would have probably done a little better. I saw a lot of discussion on Twitter that some thought their floor scores were too low. However, I'm sure that they will be happy with this bronze and I'm so happy that Izbasa and Ponor did amazingly on their events and also that we will be seeing them in the AA (Izbasa at least) and the Event Finals. 

China finished in 4th and to be completely honest I didn't pay attention to very many of their routines. I still have bitter feelings towards China since I believe that they cheat when it comes to the age eligibility rule. That being said, I do enjoy Yao Jinnan and Lu Sui, and I wish them both luck in the event finals.

Canada, Canada, Canada .. holy wow, they finished in 5th place! I am so extremely proud of their team, I love all of their gymnasts and my only wish is that my favorite Canadian gymnast, Peng Peng Lee, would have been able to compete. Their strongest performances came on vaulting and floor. I'm so happy for these girls, and happy that people will finally start to take them as serious competition from here on out.

After not even qualifying for Team Final 4 years ago in Beijing, the ladies of Great Britain should be extremely happy with their 6th place finish. I love this team as well. They are so much improved in the last quadrennia and it really shows. Their best event today was bars, led by their star Beth Tweddle. I'm so happy that Britain got to compete in the Team Final on their home soil, what an experience, and wow did they have some loyal fans!

I didn't see many of Italy's routines today but I did watch them on qualifying and I love that former World Champion, Vanessa Ferrari, is having a great Olympics! She had another solid day today and I can't wait to see her in the All Around.

Unfortunately Japan did not look very good today. They scored around 40 on every apparatus, and I think their team really just needs some rebuilding, a great all around athlete, and a little bit more confidence. 

Congratulations to all of the teams! You are all amazing.

Women's Team Final Preview

Qualification Scores:

1. USA - 181.863
2. RUS - 180.429
3. CHN - 176.637
4. ROU - 176.264
5. GBR - 170.656
6. JPN - 170.196
7. ITA - 168.397
8. CAN - 167.696

What to watch for:

The United States qualified with the top score and looked dominating on Vault especially. What they will want to do tomorrow is definitely perform better on Floor Exercise. With the 3 up, 3 count the US can't afford the out of bounds deductions that they incurred night one if they want to stay a safe distance ahead of the Russians. I am thrilled that the US will go up last in the last rotation.

Russia looked strong. It remains to see if they will throw more Amanars in the Team Final than they did night one to keep up with the excellent vaulting of the Americans. Their lowest scoring event night one was also Floor, they will be looking to raise that tomorrow night. They will need hit routines from their stars Mustafina and Komova.

China will be looking to improve on Floor also, as they finished 8th overall night one, as well as a bit on Vault. They will definitely need big routines on their best event, the Uneven Bars, to be in contention for a medal.

Romania will simply need to be better on everything than they were night one, with the exception of Floor Exercise, where they were the top scorers. The Uneven Bars, as we all know, are a weakness for them, but they need to hit routine after routine, focusing on execution.

** Sidenote - I just realized that I said 3/4 of these teams needed to improve on floor, however, 2 of the 3 were ranked 2nd and 3rd overall on FX night one. I really think that there was something going on with the judging/scoring .. it just didn't seem right to me.

My medal podium:

Gold - United States
Silver - Russia
Bronze - Romania

WAG Qualifications London 2012

Wow, what an amazing day of watching gymnastics for pretty much 24 straight hours!! I got up at 3:30am Central time to be able to see Subdivision 1 and watched all of the subdivisions, the last one ending I believe somewhere around 3:30pm. Then the TV coverage in Prime Time, as well as the re-air on late night. Following are some results, happenings, and my thoughts.

Subdivision 1 - Mixed Groups 1, 2, and 6, and Brazil. 
The two gymnasts from the Mixed Groups in Subdivision 1 that I most enjoyed watching were Ana Sofia Gomez Porras and Vasiliki Millousi. I feel Gomez did her best on all apparatus, scoring a total of 56.132 and qualifying to the All Around competition. Millousi didn't advance to either the All Aroud or the Event Finals, but she is honestly a joy to watch, especially on balance beam. Her dance elements are very beautiful! 

Ana Sofia Gomez Porras

Team Brazil looked extremely shaky and overall were very disappointed, their competition ending in the ladies huddled together, some in tears. They were hoping to make the Team Final, however, too many falls in their performances would leave them short of reaching their goal. Also, none of their gymnast qualified to AA or EFs.

Team Brazil at the end of their competition.

Subdivision 2 - Mixed Groups 3 and 4, Italy, and Australia.
Highlight from the Mixed Groups in Subdivision 2 - Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland qualified to the All Around final with a score of 54.715. She is also a Reserve for the Vault final.

Guilia Steingruber

Italy impressed me a lot and I really enjoyed watching them, as we don't normally see as much of them as we do of other countries like Russia, Romania, and China. They qualified for Team final in 7th place. Vanessa Ferrari was a surprise to me, she had a wonderful competition, placing 7th going into the All Around! I was delighted with her routines. Carlotta Ferlito also qualified to the All Around. Ferrari qualified to the floor final, and both Ferrari and Ferlito are Reserves for balance beam.

Vanessa Ferrari on Bars.

Australia had a weak, error filled competition which led to a huge let down for the team when they came up short and did not qualify for the Team final. With the exception of a very low score on floor, Emily Little had a solid day and just qualified for the All Around, as did Ashleigh Brennan. Lauren Mitchell is one of my favorite international gymnasts and I'm so psyched that she was able to qualify to the floor final!! I can't wait to watch and I really want her to medal (but I want like over half of the 8 in that floor final to medal so we'll see what happens). Big disappointment for Australia not making the Team final.

Team Australia huddle.

Subdivision 3 - United States, Great Britain, Canada, and France.
Forgive me if my comments here are brief, I was following mostly the USA's routines on all 4 apparatus rather than watching the Live Feed so I only got to see very few of the routines from the other countries.  

Okay, United States recap -- wow. I was amazed and blown away by their first rotation on Vault. Aly Raisman did the best vault I've seen her do in forever, Gabby and Jordyn were steady, and of course McKayla was fabulous. I hope so much we repeat in Team Final. Bars were decent .. Jordyn's body break on the high bar and Kyla's feel tapping the low bar were the only disappointments. Aly was solid and Gabby was great. Beam .. Kyla gave a wonderful lead off, all I would've liked more was a stick on the dismount, because I know she can. Gabby did her best, no question, couldn't have asked for more. Jordyn I believe did a wonderful routine with only 2 visible errors : her significant balance check after her leap towards the end, and her tiny hop on dismount landing -- yet the judges decided that that warranted 1.3 in deductions. I believe she was underscored. She hit her second series of connections better than I've seen her do since Pac Rims and they took out the other troublesome one and she hit those moves perfectly. 14.7 for that is just ridiculous. Aly had a great performance, she didn't waver once I don't think and nearly stuck her Patterson dismount. Floor exercise would have been a disaster, had they not been so far ahead. Kyla Ross's lead off routine scored low (in the 13's), as expected. They were planning to drop that anyway, but then Gabby had a major deduction when she flew out of bounds after a landing and resulted in another very low score. I again believe that Jordyn was slightly underscored on floor but I don't know enough about the floor deductions to fully speculate like I did about beam, I just know she had a 1 tenth for going out of bounds, but other than that no major errors. But it was irrelevant anyway, because with the low beam score the damage had already been done. Aly Raisman gave the floor exercise of her life. I still maintain that this is the most difficult and best floor in the world, and she showed it then. Her high score qualified her to the All Around, ahead of Gabby, who was previously in first, bumping Jordyn to third and out of the All Around based on the 2 athletes per country rule. That was honestly a feeling I've never felt before to the extreme. I was DEVASTATED for Jordyn but ECSTATIC for Aly. Added in was the literal DISBELIEF that Jordyn would not be competing in the All Around. It felt like it was not real life. Like I can't even explain it. I love both of these gymnasts so much and have followed their careers for so long, it was like so many emotions clashing. Jordyn deserves it because she's so consistent, she's won everything, you can always depend on her .. but Aly deserves it because she's the hardest worker, she's the leader, and she is focused and driven. It's like there's no answer for how to feel. I cried sad tears for Jordyn and happy tears for Aly. And Gabby is an amazing athlete as well, and she deserves it too! It's just so hard.

Okay so qualifiers for the United States -- Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas qualify to All Around, McKayla Maroney to Vault finals, Gabby Douglas and Kyla Ross (as a Reserve) to Bars, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman to Balance Beam, and Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman to Floor.

Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas learn they've qualified to AA.

Great Britain was the only other team in Subdivision 3 that I was able to see a few routines of because of the live streaming. I got to see both of Beth Tweddle's routines, floor and bars. Beth qualified for the Bars final but unfortunately did not make floor. I also got to see Rebecca Tunney's beam routine; she qualified to the All Around as did Hannah Whelan. Tunney is a Reserve for Bars final and Tweddle for Floor final. Great Britain qualified into Team final as well.

Team Great Britain at Qualifications.

I didn't get to see ANY of Canada and I was so disappointed. Their biggest accomplishment yesterday was qualifying for Team final! I was so so excited for them. Dominique Pegg qualified to the All Around and Elisabeth Black and Brittany Rogers to Vault final. The Canadians are without their star, Peng Peng Lee, who was injured before the Games began. PS. Their leos were the best of ANYONES!

I also didn't get to see any of France. Unfortunately the French didn't qualify for Team final. One of their girls, Aurelie Maulausessena finished just outside All Around qualification in 25th. They also did not qualify for any Event finals. 

Youna Dufournet of France falls.

Subdivision 4 - Mixed Group 7, Germany, China, and Russia.
Germany finished 9th as a team, just outside making the Team final. Elisabeth Seitz qualified for the All Around and for the Bars final. I was very happy that Oksana Chusovitina was able to qualify for the Vault final. This is her 6th Olympics and I really want her to take home a medal!

Elisabeth Seitz on Beam.

China had a slightly disappointing day, having an overall bad rotation on Floor Exercise, which was definitely a strength for them in Beijing.  However, they managed to qualify in third due to a low team score from the Romanians. Deng Linlin and Huang Quishaung qualified to the All Around for the Chinese. I would have preferred Yao Jinnan, however, she has an injury to her thigh that was hindering her though out the competion. He Kexin and Yao Jinnan both qualified to Bars final and Lu Sui and Deng Linlin to balance beam. China is missing their veteran, Cheng Fei, who was injured prior to the Games. 

Lu Sui on Beam.

Russia looks strong .. very strong, and ready to contend for a gold medal. I followed the Russian's routines on the live feed so I do remember a bit more about them. First up was Mustafina on floor and she delivered a solid routine that qualified her for Floor finals. Her bars were amazing, and she also landed a spot in the Bars final. She did not throw an Amanar, opting for the DTY but performed it effortlessly. Her beam was shaky, and there are room for improvements for team final. Ultimately, her routines were good enough to get her to the All Around as well. Komova looks ready for anything. All her routines scored high, with the exception of her Floor routine which scored a 13.9. She did, however, make the Bars and Beam final, and she qualified to the All Around in first place. Maria Paseka qualified to Vault final and Keseniia Afanaseva qualified to both balance beam and floor exercise finals. The Russian team qualified second as a team for Team final.

I love this picture of the Russian team!

Subdivision 5 - Mixed Group 5 and 8, Japan, and Romania.
Celine van Gerner from the Netherlands from a Mixed Group qualified to the All Around.

Japan qualified to the Team final. Asuko Teramoto and Rie Tanaka both qualified for the All Around. Koko Tsurumi qualified to Bars final and Ausko Teramoto is a Reserve for both Balance Beam and Floor finals. 

Team Japan.

I really wanted to see Romania finish 3rd, ahead of China, but they had to settle for 4th. They had a rough time on the bars, which is normal for them, but they did not seem up to par on Floor at all. Catalina Ponor was in tears after her routine, but luckily she managed to sneak in to qualify for the Floor final. She also qualified for Balance Beam. Iordache and Izbasa are the All Around qualifiers, and Sandra Izbasa also qualified for Vault and Floor finals. Boulimar qualified for balance beam.

The Romanian team.

It was quite a day of qualifications! *HERE* IS A LINK to the FIG website where you can see all the results and the placements of the gymnasts in each final, along with scores for the Team and each gymnast. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed.

Women's Qualification Lineup

The women's lineup for qualifications was posted today.

Vault:  Raisman, Douglas, Wieber, Maroney

As expected. Scores should build throughout the lineup. I like Aly in the lead off position because of her focus, however, most likely her score will be dropped as long as the other 3 do what they do normally. Hoping that Gabby can do an excellent Amanar like at Trials and score 16+, and that McKayla's toe holds up okay! This is where the US has it's advantage over other countries and it is definitely the team's best event. 

Uneven bars:  Raisman, Wieber, Ross, Douglas

I was debating in my head whether they would put up McKayla or Aly for bars (this was before they announced they were using 3 AA athletes and 2 specialists, as well as before hearing about McKayla's injury), however, I think that Aly will definitely stay on the bars and hit to the best of her ability. She is so focused and so solid. Bars may not be her best event, but she will pull through with a decent performance, certainly the best performance she is capable of giving. Hopefully the other 3 will bring in amazing scores and hers will be able to be dropped. Staying on is key, as well as starting off the US with a strong performance on bars.

Balance beam: Ross, Douglas, Wieber, Raisman

This was interesting to me, and I have discussed it with a few people. Kyla is definitely capable of bringing in one of the highest scores on beam if she hits her routine, so I was kind of confused as to why she was the lead off and not Aly. But then again, Kyla also can have that calmness about her .. not to the degree that Aly does, but I think enough to start the US off strongly on beam and if she hits, make everyone believe that they can do the same. Also, Aly can post monster scores on beam as well (current National Champ on beam), so I can see her as the anchor. I am praying that Gabby's beam wobbles are non existent tomorrow. I noticed in PT some changes in Jordyn's beam in her arial cartwheel connected to side somi. It looked like she did not attempt to connect them and Geddert had said that they were going to re-evaluate some of those difficult connections after Trials so I'm interested to see what her beam will look like in this competition.

Floor exercise: Ross, Douglas, Wieber, Raisman

I will miss McKayla's floor a lot in this lineup. I actually really like Kyla's as well, I know a lot of people do not, but I don't mind it. However, Kyla's D score is too low to contend with the kind of routines that we will be seeing in London UNLESS she throws new skills in, which I have heard rumors of. I guess we will see. Either way, she will be a great lead off for the US on this event, her landings on the floor, if not stuck, are almost immaculate and she will definitely give a solid performance. I'm interested to see how Gabby's routine is received by the international judges, and I'm hoping that it is well received. I love her routine and I hope that it gives the US a big score. And as for Jordyn and Aly I'm just excited to watch their routines. I love both routines so much, for different reasons. I love the way Jordyn's music is so exciting and so perfectly choreographed and how she gets into it so much. I believe Aly is the best tumbler in the world, and I love the way her music builds the momentum in her exercise. 

I'm so excited for tomorrow!!

20 Day Gymnastic Challenge Day 2

Day 2 - Least Favorite Event

Vault

I don't dislike any of the 4 events, I just like the other three more than Vault. I think the reason for that is that the Vault is so short!!! Vaulting is still AMAZING though, its incredible the kind of power and precision they need to be able to get the good block off the horse and then control that huge power to maintain good form and execution!! I used a picture of Alicia Sacramone because even though she never did the difficult Amanar, she is still my favorite vaulter ever!

20 Day Gymnastics Challenge Day 1

One of my followers on Instagram did this gymnastics photo challenge, and I decided to post my pictures here in my blog as well. 

Day 1 - Favorite Event

Uneven Bars

I think that the Uneven Bars have always been my favorite event. Elise Ray was the first gymnast I was crazy about, and she was unbelievable on bars! (I was trying to find a picture of her on bars to use here, but the quality of the pictures from back then are not good.) I just love everything about it .. I definitely think it has the most beauty of any of the 4 events.

London Wish List

This is my wish list for the Olympic games. I'm sure there are a few more that I want to add to the list, and if I think of them I will definitely make a second post.

1. Jordyn and Gabby to be gold and silver medalists in the All Around.


I'd like to say I don't really have a preference of who gets the gold but I have to say like just a tiny bit of me wants Jordyn to come out on top. I think it's because she reminds me so much of Shawn in 2007-2008, winning everything she could win (minus Olympic Trials & Jesolo) and I know to win all that and then not win Olympic gold has to feel like just a little bit of a let down even though a silver is nothing to be ashamed of! I just feel like Jordyn has had the consistency and Gabby has not. But, I digress, as long as USA goes 1, 2 in the All Around I will be happy! It's not going to be any walk in the park though. Komova, Mustafina, Iorchade can all challenge, as well as Jao Yinnan of China.

2. Aliya Mustafina to medal on bars and be at least top 5 in the All Around.


I love Aliya! I have to say that she is my favorite non-US gymnast this year. She is so fierce and I love her drive and competitiveness. She has an incredible bars routine that could contend for a medal, but the bars final is going to be absolutely amazing, so many gymnasts have amazing routines. I hope she can get onto the medal podium. As for the All Around, I don't know if I think that she can medal, but I hope that she at least can make top 5. Reports say she is not training her Amanar, just a DTY, which I think is smart given her Achilles injury last year, but hey -- she could definitely surprise us. I would definitely like her to be the highest Russian finisher, I much prefer her style, gymnastics, and attitude to Komova's.

3. Oksana Chusovitina to medal on Vault in her last (and SIXTH!) Olympic games.


This woman is truly, truly extraordinary! She began competing internationally in 1989. This is her sixth Olympics and she has competed for three different countries over the years, and she now competes for Germany. She is a powerhouse on Vault and I really, really wish for her to medal in her last Olympics. I have so much respect for her both as a person and as a gymnast because she continues to do what she loves, in a sport where anywhere past teens, you're considered old. What an amazing way for her to end her career.

4. Aly Raisman to win a gold medal on Floor Exercise.


I know it is quite a long shot, as there are many, many amazing FX routines in the world today. I just really think that Aly's can stand with the best of them, as long as she performs to the best of her ability and hits! I really want her to win an individual medal because I know for a long time (actually, up until the last year), Aly probably thought it was going to be her and Jordyn in the All Around in London. If it is to be Gabby and Jordyn, I really want Aly to be able to come away with an individual medal for herself because I believe she deserves it and her floor routine is among the best in the world.

5. Beth Tweddle to get the gold medal on Uneven Bars.


Obviously, I want the Americans to win as many gold medals as possible. However, if they don't win the gold on bars, I really want Beth Tweddle to take the gold. She is 27 years old and her bar routines over the years have just been FANTASTIC to watch and her winning in front of the Great Britain home crowd would just be a wonderful experience for her. I hope that she hits in qualifying, and does great in the Finals as well! Again though, the bars final is going to be STACKED with difficult routines, so it is really anyone's to win!

6. Kyla Ross to make an Event Final.


I really want Kyla to make either the Uneven Bars or Balance Beam event final. It will be close either way, if she gets the high execution scores she is known for and sticks her landings the way she did at Trials, I think she could sneak into either one. I honestly don't know if she'd be able to medal in either event, but I think just to make an event final would be a huge accomplishment for her. Her and Gabby have the highest scores for Team USA on bars, so that is a definite possibility. However, if she were to make beam finals, that would mean either Jordyn or Aly would not, which would be surprising. And overall I just want Kyla to have really great routines in London.

8. Catalina Ponor to medal on Balance Beam.


Catalina is a three time gold medalist from the 2004 Athens games (Team, BB, and FX).  She announced her retirement in 2007 but then returned to gymnastics and training in 2011 and is now back to compete in London. I am very excited to be able to watch her in London, she has always been such a strong gymnast for the Romanian team and I'm so happy that she is back!! Her beam routines in '04 were fabulous and she also won gold at the Europeans this year. I would really like to see her qualify for the beam final and come away with a medal!

8. USA to win the Team gold medal.


This is the one wish I want most of all. There were so many expectations of gold from both the Athens and the Beijing teams. Now this year has been the same. I really hope that all of these expectations aren't what is causing Team USA to keep coming up short of the gold. And not really the expectations themselves, but the pressure that comes along with them to win gold. I hope that this Olympics the curse of being the World Champion coming into the Olympic games will be broken and that Team USA will come away with gold. They are the favorite, but that does not by any means mean it will be easy. They will be fighting, as usual, with Russia, Romania, and China. I hope so much that they come out on top. I know they can do it, it's just a matter of hitting routines!


Well, there is my London Wish List!! I will try and do blogs throughout the games after Prelims! Thank you all for reading!

Congratulations Tasha Schwikert!!

On June 30th, 2012, one of my most favorite and beloved gymnasts, Tasha Schwikert, was inducted into the USAG Hall of Fame. I have followed Tasha's gymnastics career since she was 15 and was chosen as an alternate for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Team. This is dedicated to Tasha and her amazing gymnastics career.

1998-2000 : Pre-Olympics and Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

Tasha's first international meet was in France at the 1998 City of Popes competition.

At the 2000 US Nationals Championships, Tasha placed 11th, which qualified her to the 2000 US Olympic Trials.

I remember watching the 2000 Olympic Trials like it was yesterday. In those 2 nights I fell in love not only with the girls but with the sport of gymnastics itself. NBC mainly showed only the girls who were contenders for the Olympic Team, but a few times they showed Tasha and her routines, and talked about how she had come to compete at the Trials and her backstory about how she was a fill in for an event in her hometown of Las Vegas. When the team was announced that night, Tasha's name was not called. Alyssa Beckerman was named the alternate for the team. 

Tasha on Vault on Day 2 of Olympic Trials.

Back then, there was no Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking sites, obviously, so I'm sure those that did not follow gymnastics via the newspaper or television news were as surprised as I was when Tasha was in Sydney for Qualifications! Morgan White had broken her foot and after the team was announced after Trials, Bela Karolyi had named Tasha a second alternate. The alternates were not ranked in any way, so he was able to choose between Tasha and Alyssa. Bela had so much confidence in Tasha that she was the lead off athlete during Qualifications. The US was on Balance Beam in the first rotation and I remember being so nervous for her and could not even imagine what she was feeling. I was re-watching that competition a couple of weeks ago and I tweeted her and asked her about the feelings before hand and she replied "I was nervous... But it was a good nervous. I knew I was prepared and had no doubt in my mind that I would hit my routine." 

2000 Olympic Qualifications Balance Beam

2000 Olympic Qualifications Uneven Bars

And that she did. Throughout both the Qualifications as well as the Team Final, Tasha performed to the best of her ability on every event she went up on and then some. NBC called her "the feel good story of these Olympic games". As we all know, the Team Final did not end well for the US, finishing in the dreaded 4th place and just outside the medals. I felt heartbroken for all of the girls, I knew that during Team Finals they pulled together so much as a team but still missed out on a medal. Despite that, Tasha had herself another solid day that day, going up and hitting routines on Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise.

AMAZING FX in Team Finals :)

2001-2003 : Best in the Nation

After the Olympics, Tasha continued training. By the 2001 National Championships, she was the best gymnast in America, winning the National Championship as well as titles on Balance Beam and Floor Exercise. At the 2001 World Championships, she helped the team win a bronze medal and qualified for 2 event finals. She also placed 5th in the All Around.

Tasha on Balance Beam 2001 Nationals.

Tasha on Uneven Bars at the 2001 World Championships.

In 2002, Tasha won the All Around at the Pacific Alliance Championship and the American Cup. She also won her second National Championship. She was not able to compete at the World Championships in 2002 because of injuries.

At the Pac Alliance Championships, Tasha unveiled a new FX pass - a half in half out to a punch front.

Tasha on Floor Exercise.

In 2003, Tasha tied for second at the US National Championships. She was the Captain of the 2003 US World Championships team that won the gold medal (the first Team gold medal won by a US Women's Gymnastics team) in Anaheim, California. Tasha only performed on Vault and Uneven Bars, but posted the highest and second highest scores, respectively, on each apparatus. She stuck both landings, and this is a perfect time to point out that I believe she has to have the most stuck landings of any American gymnast, or at least close. She continually stuck her landings. I also believe they underscored her in the '03 Worlds, and in some of the 2004 competitions as well. 

Tasha on Vault at the 2003 World Championships.

2004 : The Quest for Athens

Tasha again struggled with injuries in 2004. She placed off the podium at the 2004 National Championships. She was third after day one, but a fall off the Bars on day two hurt her and she finished in 9th place. However, the important thing was that she earned a spot at the US Olympic Trials. The Trials were another competition where I think Tasha was slightly underscored by the judges. She ended up finishing 8th, and ultimately weeks later after the training camp, was named as an alternate to the 2004 Olympic Team.

2004-2008 : UCLA and NCAA Gymnastics

Tasha competed for UCLA on a full scholarship. She won the 2005 and 2008 NCAA All Around titles,  as well as the 2005 and 2007 Pac 10 All Around titles. She also placed 1st on the Uneven Bars at the 2008 Pac 10 Championships and 2nd on the Uneven Bars at the 2007 NCAA Championships.

I absolutely LOVE this Floor Exercise. 

2010 : Olympic Bronze Medalist

In 2010, the 2000 Chinese Olympic Team was stripped of their bronze medals from Sydney when it was discovered that Dong Fangxiao was underage when she competed with the team in the 2000 Olympics. Tasha and the other members of the Sydney Six, my most favorite gymnastics team ever, were awarded their bronze medals at a special ceremony at the 2010 Visa Championships.

Medal ceremony :)

Over the past few years, Tasha has done commentaries with WCSN network and worked with NBC for the Beijing Olympics. She was also an actress and stunt double in my favorite show Make It Or Break it, until it was cancelled this spring. I believe that in the Fall she will be starting law school. The following is Tasha's 2012 induction and her speech. This speech was so beautiful that I cried. 

Tasha Schwikert has been such an amazing role model for me and has inspired me in so many ways. I love when celebrities and athletes take the time to respond to their fans and she has replied to me on Twitter so many times and I'm so grateful for that, it means the world. 

Congratulations Tasha! I wish you nothing but the best of luck in any and everything you do, and thank you so much for being an inspiration to me and to so many others around the world!

Welcome!!

Welcome to my blog!! I recently decided to make a blog specifically for gymnastics posts, since my personal blog was getting overrun with my obsession! In this blog, I plan to do all different kinds of posts about different teams, countries, gymnasts, time periods, etc. For the welcome entry, I will link you up to the gym entries that I have done previously in my personal blog, I hope that you will all read and enjoy them!

Congratulations Elise Ray! --> This is a post I did when Elise Ray (one of my favorite gymnasts of all time) was inducted into the USAG Hall of Fame. (Reminds me, I need to start working on Tasha's!)

Olympic Fever --> A post I did a week before 2012 VISA Championships.

Thanks for the Memories --> A tribute to Shawn Johnson after I learned that she retired. Some of the video plug ins have been acting up, so I'm sorry if they don't work.

More Gymnastic Obsession ... --> A post I wrote between 2012 VISA Championships and 2012 Olympic Trials.

"Dreams do come true..." --> Written after Trials and the naming of the Olympic Team.

All Around the World --> A post about Olympic gymnastic contenders from other countries.

One or two of the above are probably more my opinion than informational, mostly because they were in my personal blog. I will be doing more tributes and informational posts in this blog. I am new to this kind of blogging so I'm sure I will learn a lot as I go. Thank you all for taking the time to visit and read!