International Skill Level

Should there be a cut-off for major international gymnastics competition? A couple of bar routines, Sarah El Dabagh from Denmark and Meenakshi from India, have made me think about that question.

Those routines, along with the floor routines performed by gymnasts from Sri Lanka at the 2003 World Championships, help to facilitate an interesting discussion in the gymnastics world: Should their be a skill-level cut-off? Compulsories (which I really do miss) used to take care of this question. While the elimination of those exercises might have expanded the number of countries that can compete internationally, when is the skill level just too low? Are these girls benefiting from representing their countries and competing on a large international stage (which is undeniably a huge honor)? Or do they feel embarrassed to be competing at this skill level when their routines are being compared to those of gymnasts such as He Kexin?

This issue affects other Olympic sports as well, most famously, Eddie the Eagle and Eric the Eel. Though Eric the Eel was undeniably inspiring, should the Olympics be the showcase for these types of performances? Or should they only show the best in the sport?

Personally, I think it is great to see athletes from non-traditional countries compete internationally. I do question at times if the World Championships and Olympics are the right place to showcase these routines. However, if competing in those events is what motivates the athletes, then I support it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issue, so please comment below!

Quick Update

Just a quick post before I head out of town yet again.

Chinese gymnastics nationals are going on now. Check out Komova's Youtube Channel for videos. Canadian nationals are going on as well. Blythe at the Gymnastics Examiner is liveblogging the event.

Former USA Swimming national team director Everett Uchiyama was those named a list of lifetime bans. Uchiyama was banned for inappropriate sexual behavior.

Dinara Safina lost in the first round of the French Open to Kimiko Date Krumm who turns 40 this fall.

Caster Semenya's return to competition was delayed after the meet in which she was supposed to run was canceled.

TJ Lanning will skip the 2011 skiing world cup circuit as he recovers from a fractured neck suffered last November.

A good read on Jesse Owens being awesome can be found here.

Weekend Update

The London Olympic mascots were unveiled earlier this week. According to Seb Coe, they are meant to be a kid-friendly creation made by drops of steel from the girders of Olympic Stadium and are based on a story by Michael Morpurgo. The singular eye represents a camera lens. They are named Wenlock, for the town of Much Wenlock, who's Games inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin to found the modern Olympics and Mandeville, for Stroke Mandeville, where the Paralympics were founded. I'm really not sure how I feel about their appearance, but I do really enjoy the names and what they represent. Share your thoughts in the comments section.

WADA lost an appeal that would have left breast stroker Jessica Hardy banned for two years instead of one. The world record holder tested positive for clenbuterol at the 2008 Olympic Trials. The steroid was mistakenly put in a nutritional supplement she regularly took, contaminating that batch, and received a one-year ban instead of the standard two-year ban because of this manufacturing mistake. She voluntarily withdrew from Beijing and her status for the 2012 Olympics is uncertain.

The Queen is going to Wimbledon for the first time in 33 years. Beach volleyball player Kerri Walsh gave birth to a second son, less than a year after her first son was born. The French Open starts today. Get excited!

News and Notes

Marion Jones is now officially a member of the Tulsa Shock. I hope she is able to take advantage of her athletic second chance, though she has not played much organized ball since winning a national title with North Carolina in 1994.

Top swimmers recently competed in the Charlotte UltraSwim, the first long-course race of the season. In the upset of the meet, Nick Thoman beat Micheal Phelps in the 100m back. I am a huge Thoman fan and am always excited to see him win. I hope that he is able to make the major world or Olympic team that has always eluded him. Peter Vanderkaay won two individual races and captured the overall Grand Prix series title. Rebecca Soni and Chloe Sutton also captured individual titles to secured second and third place finishes in the overall Grand Prix standings respectively. Another personal favorite, Dagny Knutson, also took home two individual titles. Her short course swimming is generally better than her long course swimming, but I expect that to change once she begins college in the fall and has access to better training facilities. Other winners from the weekend included Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Elizabeth Beisel, Eric Shanteau, Emily Brunemann, Missy Franklin, and Ryan Lochte.

Lindsey Vonn was named the US Ski and Snowboard Association Athlete of the Year, while Nordic Combined Coach Dave Jarrett was named the coach of the year. Other athletes recognized include Alana Nichols (adaptive athlete), Kikkan Randall (cross country), Hannah Kearney (freestyle), Johnny Spillane (Nordic combined), Sarah Hendrickson (ski jumping), and Seth Wescott (snowboarding).

Tyson Gay set a world record of 19.41 seconds on a 200m straight track.

Bobsled gold medalist Curt Tomasevicz got to play on stage with Pearl Jam at concert in Kansas City.

Pairs skaters Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski officially retired.

A friend of mine will be guest blogging about the World Cup. Get excited!

Weekend Update

In a week of changing the results of Olympics past, Polish cross country skier Kornelia Marek was officially disqualified from the Vancouver Games after testing positive for EPO.

Justin Gatlin will return to competition July 24th following a four year doping suspension. The sprinter is a former world record holder in the 100m. In other track and field news, sprinter LaShawn Merritt accepted a provisional suspension following a positive drug after. He used an over-the-counter male enhancement product that contained a banned stimulant. Some people need to learn how to read labels...

The Bryan brothers won their 60th ATP tour title this weekend. With two more titles, they will hold the all-time tour record. Justine Henin won her first WTA tour title since un-retiring, winning the Porsche Grand Prix while playing with a broken finger.

Ian Thorpe is considering making a comeback to competitive swimming. I love the Thorpedo.

Sidney Crosby fails at growing a play-off beard. The joys of being a 22-year-old star...

Mark Grimmette was named Sports Program Director for USA Luge, a nice way to begin retirement for the five-time Olympian.

Jordyn Wieber's much talked about new floor exercise from Pacific Rims:

Weekend Update

At the Columbus Grand Prix, Eric Shanteau won the 200 breast, Caesar Cielo won the 50 and 100 free, Peter Vanderkaay won the 400 free, Nick Thoman won the 100 and 200 back, Tyler Clary won the 400 IM, and Arthur Frayler won the 1,500 free. In women's races, Chloe Sutton won the 400 free, Elizabeth Pelton won the 100 and 200 back, Corrie Clark won the 200 breast, Vanessa Garcia won the 50 free, Justine Mueller won the 400 IM, and Jasmine Tosky won the 200 fly.

The America's Cup circuit for bobsled and skeleton ended today. Annie O'Shea won women's skeleton while Matt Anoine won the men's race. Patrice Servelle drove the two man bobsled to victory with Ethan Albrecht won the four man.

The US women's field hockey team lost to Korea in the finals of the qualifier for the World Cup. Will Spear and Kat Holmes will represent the US in fencing at the Youth Olympics.

Euros Teams and More

The Romanian senior team for Europeans is Ana Porgras, Amelia Racea, Diana Chelaru, Raluca Haidu, and Cerasela Patrascu. The junior team will be Diana Bulimar, Larisa Iordache, Anamaria Baicu, Maria Balea, and Madalina Neagu.

The Russian training squad consists of Ksenia Semenova, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Ekaterina Kurbatova, Anna Myzdrikova, Ramila Musina, Tatiana Nabiyeva, and Aliya Mustafina. Five of these women will compete in the senior division. Personally, I prefer Semenova, Afanasyeva, Myzdrikova, Nabiyeva, and Mustafina.

The Germans will be sending Oksana Chusovitina, Marie-Sophie Hindermann, Elisabeth Seitz, Lisa-Katharina Hill, and Dorothee Henzler. Katja Roll, Désirée Baumert, Janine Berger, Rosa-Lynn Schmitz, and Isabelle Marquardt will compete as their juniors.

Chloe Sutton won the 200 and 800 meter freestyle races at the Ohio State Grand Prix. Elizabeth Pelton won the 200 IM and Corrie Clark won the 100 breast. Minot, ND's Dagny Knutson notched two 2nd place finishes (gotta love Minot). Peter Vanderkaay won the men's 200 free while Mathias Gydesen won the 100 fly and Marcus Titus won the 100 breast.

Jim Tracy is stepping down as the head coach of the US women's ski team.

Scam Cup

The American Cup can now be viewed on YouTube here . I really wish Jonathan Horton could go six-for-six one of these days. He has been working on his pommel horse routine and it was sad to just see him miss it on the parallel bars. If he does not have it together by this year's World Championships, he might unfortunately be a lost cause as an All-Arounder.

It bothers me that Elsa Garcia gave up a scholarship to UCLA to continue to compete internationally. Why can't women be both elites and collegians like men? I get that their skill sets develop at different ages, but I hate the fact that women have to choose between the NCAA and elite gymnastics and men do not. Doing both should not be a rarity. Even if the NCAA women use the JO code, it teaches a lot about consistency and hitting under pressure. Plus, the women could always choose to do harder skills at meets.

In other news, Brian Fleischmann and Sarah Haskins won the USA Triathlon Elite Development race. Christopher Lutz, Tommy Zaferes, William Huffman, Alexandra Weber, Gwen Jorgenson, and Lauren Gross earned their elite licenses at the race. Michael Phelps broke the short course 200 yard fly record, swimming the distance in 1:39.65 at the Maryland State Championships.

The next gymnastics selection camp begins in 10 days to choose teams for Jesolo. UGA beat UCLA and Oklahoma beat Alabama. Figure skating junior world championships begin tomorrow! Get excited!