Friday Five V. 2 : Favorite Floor Routines (USA Gymnasts)

I had all these ideas for Friday Fives for this blog, but I've been so busy I haven't had time to do any!! Finally, I have a little while to post one this week. These are my five favorite floor routines among all USA gymnasts. They span over all years, and all different events. I will do favorite international gymnast floor routines at some point as well. Hope you enjoy them and they bring back memories.

1. Aly Raisman - 2012 Floor Routine

Clearly, this would be one of my top choices! 

This routine is jam packed and won Aly the gold on Floor Exercise at the 2012 London Olympics.

2. Shawn Johnson - 2007 Floor Routine

I know that her '08 routine was more difficult, but I absolutely love this music and how well it fit her age and how blissfully happy she was every single time she performed it!

3. Alicia Sacramone - 2011 Floor Routine

I'm so upset that she did not get to compete this at the 2011 World Championships because of her injury. This was definitely not 100% yet, but I loved this routine. The music and how dramatic it was, it was just sooo Alicia! 

4. Elise Ray - 2000 Floor Routine

Elegant. Graceful. Beautiful. This routine was all of that and more. 

5. Kristen Maloney - 2000 Floor Routine

Kristen Maloney was the best tumbler in the world in 2000 and she had the hardest floor routine at the 2000 Sydney Games. The tumbling passes in this routine are just crazy!

Honorable Mentions

Carly Patterson - 2004 Floor Routine

Dominique Moceanu - 1996 Floor Routine

Jordyn Wieber - 2012 Floor Routine

McKayla Maroney - 2011 Floor Routine

American Cup 2013 Preview

I'm super excited that the start of the 2013 gymnastics season is getting closer and closer everyday! 

The first major meet of the season, the American Cup, is only about 6 weeks away. 

The American Cup, one of the most prestigious international invitationals, features many of the world's top all-around gymnasts. The reigning champions are Jordyn Wieber and Danell Leyva. The American Cup will be held in Worcester, MA.

Last week, the competitors for the USA were announced.

Danell Leyva, Kyla Ross, Jake Dalton and Elizabeth Price.

Danell Leyva, Kyla Ross, and Jake Dalton were all 2012 Olympians. Elizabeth Price was an alternate for the 2012 Olympic team and won two World Cup titles back in December. 

Other announced competitors include the following: For the women - Vanessa Ferrari of Italy, Asuka Teramoto of Japan, Larisa Iordache of Romania, and Elisabeth Seitz of Germany. For the men - Marcel Nguyen of Germany, Kristian Thomas of Great Britain, Sergio Sesaki of Brazil, Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine, and Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez of Colombia. Two more women and one more man will be announced in the near future.

My personal hopes for additions are either Aliya Mustafina or Viktoria Komova of Russia for the women. I personally hope that Kyla Ross comes away with the gold medal. She was my favorite 2012 Olympian and I know she still has so much ahead of her in her gymnastics career, the 2012 games were just the beginning for her.