PICTURE perfect
mckayla
Remember the 2012 Olympic Trials when McKayla Maroney blew everyone away with her powerful vaults and graceful dance? Maroney went on to make the 2012 Fabulous Five Olympic team who were nothing short of fabulous in London. It is always admirable when a gymnast can do a powerful Amanar on vault like Maroney, yet can also dance on the floor like a ballerina. Maroney has her sights set on Rio in 2016, and we hope to see her there!
MARONEY
Photo by Grace Chiu
in the [know]
john’s [take] LOOKING AHEAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS The best part of making predictions is being right. The second best is ripping someone else’s bad predictions. That being said, I thought we should do a follow up to see how the NCAA season is shaping up after my February article that forecasted things to watch. On the women’s side, I said we would have another new champ, the LSU Tigers. However, I took it a step further and said we’d also have two repeat champs, Florida and Oklahoma, because there would be a three-way tie. If you’re going to be bold, why not be really bold? As we stand right now, I look pretty smart. The top three teams in the country are OU, FL and LSU respectively. If you throw in Utah, it looks an awful lot like those will be the four teams fighting for a spot in the three-way tie. In all seriousness, these teams have looked pretty dominant and, as high and tight as the team scores can be, these four teams look like the cream of the crop. Utah is showing that they have a legitimate shot at getting back to the winner’s circle. They’re the team that has nine NCAA Championships but also seven runner-up finishes since 1982. Recently, they seem to have become kind of the forgotten great team, amongst the buzz of the SEC and the rise of OU. People are taking notice this year. OU is undefeated and FL has gotten to the number two spot without the defending all-around champ, Bridget Sloan, competing much this season. LSU, even though they finished an outstanding third at the NCAAs last year, has put others on notice that this may be their year. They have the top end talent and depth to get it done! In the all-around, throw a dart. I said we would have a new champ in another Olympian, Sam Peszek. However, at this point of the season 21 of the top 25 ranked all-arounders in the country have scored a 39.5 or higher at least once. This doesn’t include the likes of Sloan or Peszek, who do not have enough scores for an RQS. Kytra Hunter has shown she wants to be the first repeat champ since Courtney Kupets, and she sits at the top. It’s going to be a stick contest to win this one, and anyone could come out with the title. On the men’s side, Oklahoma looks an awful lot like the team that wants to defend its home turf, much like Michigan did a season ago in Ann Arbor, Mich. Their four score average is clear of number two Penn State by almost 10 points, and they are the only team to score in the 450s this season. Oklahoma is trying to snap a four-year run as the bridesmaids of men’s gymnastics. Going back to 1938, that’s the longest consecutive run of “kissing your sister” for any team. Yikes, I think OU will break through this year. Although Michigan is ranked down at number five, I don’t think you really know the strength of the teams relative to one another, until they are all on the same floor at the end of the year. On top of that, Michigan still has some big guns despite the loss of Mikulak. I still think they make a strong run at OU, along with Stanford. In the men’s all-around, Akash Modi, has made a case for becoming the next NCAA all-around champion. He is currently ranked number one! Sean Melton hasn’t been 100 percent this year. I’m not sure if he will be back at 100 percent for the end of the season but, regardless, it is hard to jump into the all-around at the end of the year and contend for a national title when you haven’t been working all-around during the season. We will see, but right now it looks like it is Modi’s title to lose.
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inside on the scene
Kupets Finds A New Hobby Courtney Kupets, 2004 Olympian and one of the greatest NCAA athletes of all time, recently posted this on her Instagram account. If she is as good at playing the piano as she was at doing gymnastics, we definitely want to hear her play!
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verniaiev & biles Verniaiev And Biles Capture Gold Congratulations to Oleg Verniaiev and Simone Biles, winners of the 2015 American Cup titles. Verniaiev stunned fans with his consistency, and his incredible parallel bar routine, where he earned a 15.900. Biles posted the highest score on every event making it simple for her to take the gold!
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ABC.Craig Sjodin, Grace Chiu
Nastia Liukin On Dancing With The Stars 2008 Olympic all-around champion, Nastia Liukin is paired with five-time Mirrorball champion, Derek Hough on Dancing With The Stars. Can you say dream team? The two are sure to dominate on what will be the 20th season of the show! Tune in to ABC on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET to get in on the action!
ALY RAISMA
Inside Gymnastics caught up with 2012 gold medalist, Aly Raisman to get the inside scoop into her training and to hear about her goals for Rio in 2016.
Olympian, Aly Raisman started gymnastics when she was just two years old. Who knew that many hard days in the gym and countless years later, she would become a team gold medalist at the 2012 Olympic Games. Raisman also managed to capture the bronze medal on the balance beam and another gold medal after performing a perfect floor routine in London. Following the Olympics, Raisman made countless public appearances at different events and soaked up her time in the spotlight. However, Raisman recently made a comeback to the sport and is training hard to make the 2016 Olympic team.
Catching Up With Aly Raisman
THE ROAD TO RIO Taking A Break Raisman admitted that it was awesome having a break from gymnastics for the first time in her life and getting to experience new and different things. She says that, “Having a complete year off was so crucial before my comeback, as I believe it gave me an even better appreciation for [gymnastics].” After a full year away from gymnastics, Raisman began to miss the sport that had been her life since she could walk. It was at the 2013 Championships that Raisman realized it was time to get back into gymnastics and start training again. She saw how great the U.S. team looked at the competition and realized how much she missed being a part of Team USA. Aly does not regret taking time off from the sport and says that, “Although the year off was fun and amazing, nothing compares to gymnastics. It is an addiction. I love going to the gym every day, trying to perfect every little detail.” Back In The Gym After her break, Raisman began training again with hopes of making the 2016 Olympic team. She says she took her comeback very slowly, “My coaches, Mihai and Sylvie, were very strict when it came to getting my skills back. They were very careful in making sure I got all of my strength back before throwing any big tumbling passes.” Raisman admits the comeback was tiring and hard, but taking it slowly was the best decision she could have made. Raisman said, “I was never overwhelmed because I had so much time to get everything back. I am a slow learner, so having that opportunity of a full year to come back gave me more confidence to learn new skills and improve from the [2012] Olympics.”
There Is Always More To Accomplish Aly says her main goal at the 2012 Olympics was to win gold in the team competition and also on the floor exercise. She accomplished these goals with power and grace, but had a devastating blow when she was knocked from third to fourth in the All-Around Finals, due to a tiebreaker. This only motivated her to come back stronger and better than ever. Raisman says her comeback is about proving to herself that she can still be an amazing gymnast, even after accomplishing her life-long goals, “My determination and dreams do not stop because I accomplished a few of my goals. You can always accomplish more!” Upgrades And Training Camps Raisman has now been to four National Team training camps and has earned a spot on the National Team. Raisman says one of the hardest parts of her comeback was being in front of Marta Karolyi again, “Just showing routines in front of Marta is more nerve wracking than actually being in a competition,” stated Raisman. Raisman now has all of her old skills back, and she has also made some changes to both her bar and beam routine, “I also added in more difficult tumbling, but I’m still working on different connections that I am not ready to compete yet,” said Raisman. Raisman currently trains 30 hours a week and will likely add on several hours in 2016, leading up to the Olympics, “The Olympic year is the most I’ve trained my entire life! I did around 36 hours a week. I will likely add on a few hours to my weekly training next year as well,” stated Raisman.
FUN FACTS
By Emily Lusk Photos By Grace Chiu
2016 I N S I D EGY M N A ST I C S . CO M
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Aly is a spokesperson for having a healthy body image
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Aly’s favorite thing about gymnastics is that it never gets boring!
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Aly’s favorite skill is her 1.5+double Arabian+Front Layout on floor
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Aly loves to eat chicken or salmon with vegetables before a competition
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The Fabulous Five all wore bronze eye shadow at competitions for good luck
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Aly loves listening to country music during workouts
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If Aly could trade workouts for a day with any athlete it would be a football player
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Aly threw an Amanar on vault at the 2012 American Cup and scored 16.100
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Flashback to Aly’s Olympic Gold Medal Tumbling Passes: 1.5+double Arabian+Front Layout, Dos Santos+Split Jump, Triple Full, Double Pike
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Aly was the most decorated U.S. gymnast at the 2012 Olympics
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Aly+Gabby Douglas+Shannon Miller are the only Americans to win two gold medals at a single Olympics
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Photo by Grace Chiu
final dismount grace
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Nastia Liukin was the queen of perfect form and artistry in the sport of gymnastics. She never failed to execute with textbook perfection, regardless of the event she was competing on. Although Liukin was an American gymnast, she performed with the classic Russian style, which is the perfect combination of grace, elegance, and power. This came as no surprise considering both her father and mother were successful Russian artistic and rhythmic gymnasts. Liukin will now have a chance to showcase her grace and artistry as a top contender on this season’s edition of Dancing with the Stars!
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