#7 - Anastasia Ulrich & Leah Knoblerova
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Tuesday, October 30, 2007 If the world were perfect, this floor routine would obviously be at the top of the list, however, due to lack of difficulty, I had to put them in their appropriate place. However, the ease with which they move through their choreography is simply breathtaking. No, seriously!
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posted by Tyler Duckworth on Saturday, October 27, 2007 FACT: After retiring in 1996, Lavinia was paid more than $40,000 to appear in gym porn in Japan. No, seriously. Apparently, all she did was a couple vaults topless, but really now...
Makes you think what you can buy with an Olympic medal, especially in Eastern Europe. 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
# 8 - Lavinia Milosivici - 1992 Olympic Games
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Saturday, October 27, 2007 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Friday, October 26, 2007
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Cata lives!
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Friday, October 26, 2007 Though, I will say in all fairness, Catalina does have one of my favorite ending poses, EVER! Emmanuelle and I, both gym freaks can often be seen in a similar fashion on a Saturday night... 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
#9 Catalina Ponor - 2004 Olympic Games
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Friday, October 26, 2007
Just kidding. Its Catalina guys. I wouldn't really do that to you. 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
#10 Daniela Silivas - 1988 Olympic Games
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Thursday, October 25, 2007 Bad Hair - Good Gymnastics!
Questionable choreography, her ability to truly sell the beat is admirable. Plus, let's be honest, it was '88, that was the music at the time, and considering that she lived in a Communist Romania, not bad. 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
...
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Thursday, October 18, 2007 My ineptitude rarely surprises me, however- today, has been, well...affirming, and in a rather brutally honest way. Oh god that sounds dramatic. Basically what I"m trying to say is that I don't really understand how to make the design or interface of my website work. I want to create a GROUNDBREAKING new blog series focusing on floor exercises that changed the world. Cheeky, but fun, it was supposed to be an irreverent look at some of the greatest floor exercises in history, and rate them, as, with everything in life, nothing is anything without organizational social heirarchies. So, without further adieu, I'll try and make them ascend in countdown order. Nevermind, it makes sense in my mind, you just sit back, and enjoy the ride...down memory lane...(yeah, I'm gonna be cliche and go there...) (feigns an emoticon icon grin while re-reading paragraph and realizes the ironic truth mentioned in sentance one) 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
Floor Excercises that changed the world
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Thursday, October 18, 2007 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
Shades of Blue
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Thursday, October 04, 2007 Sometimes, when life gets me down, all I need to do is remind myself that Romania's Steliana Nistor is the current AA-Silver Medalist. And...that makes me laugh. A lot!
I mean really, she has all the pizazz of a bridge-troll. Or, it looks as if one choreographed that routine. 0 Comments | Leave a Comment
Autumnal Auspices
posted by Tyler Duckworth on Tuesday, October 02, 2007 With the elite gymnastics season over, the swimming grand prix circuit back in full swing, and well, the Figure Skating season still waiting to begin, there is some time for us to enjoy some of the other sports out there. Thankfully, I'm stubborn and myopic, leaving us with nothing else to talk about, other than...wait for it...GYMNASTICS. Surprise, Surprise...
And, let's be honest, its not like this hypothetical conversation, though rhetorical in nature, is any different than the myriad of those being shown on ESPN right now. Sports nuts are sports nuts, and we obsess over the most minute, ridiculous scenarios. And what of today? Did Shannon Miller REALLY deserve the silver in the Barcelona AA competition?
In all seriousness though, now that the 2007 season is over, and the Olympic season just on the horizon, I wanted to take a look back at some of the most exciting and exhilirating AA competitions of past Olympiads. More often than not, some asshole will forget to set the vault correctly, or a Soviet regime will boycott an entire Olympics, leaving us with a rather less-than-satisfying AA comp. I mean really, Mary Lou Retton...really? She couldn't even hit a clean 180 degree split on her beam leaps, yet she marched out of the LA Games with an AA gold. Mostepanova and Yurchenko must have been sleepless in the Soviet Union that night. Knowing that the "Grande Ball" had been won by a silly American girl must have killed them, no matter how much propoganda was thrown at them about the "Olomuoc Alternate Games". Take the FALZE OLYMPIK of 2000, it really goes to show that no matter HOW many talented gymnasts walk into the Olympic hall that night, the best girl may not end up winning, case in point, the great gifting of Gutsu in '92.
Part of the reason that I do bring up Mary Lou Rotten is that I honestly believe it determined the fate of the next two all-around competitions. If Shannon Miller, Daniela Silivas and Natalia Yurchenko had any real sense about the legal implications of globalization, they'd hire a great trial lawyer and bring America's favorite pixie into the courtroom, where she belongs. Granted, her veritable "miracle on the mat" allowed for thousands of young girls to have a reason to get in the gym. However, that is where the praise stops. The Soviets, although shooting themselves in the shoot by chosing not to attend the Games in the first place, could have never imagined a less-deserving AA champion, and were dead-set on never letting it happen again.
Say what you will about the AA competition of Seoul, most everyone will agree that Ms. Shoushounova was basically handed that title over Silivas, of Romania. No amount of perfect 10's could have allowed for a Romanian to win, not while Yuri Titov was President of the FIG at least. No, there would be a Soviet winning the AA championship, as it was written by LENIN, or so they told themselves.
On that magical night in Barcelona, a small painted bird, not from Odessa, but from an even smaller, more humble town, Edmond, Oklahoma. Shannon Miller, though making a name for herself at the World Championships in Indy the year before, shouldered no real expectation at the games. Thanks in part to Bela's ego, his pupil Kim would be the focus of the media's attention, while Shannon, with her flawless lines and execution, quietly stole the judges' and the crowds' hearrts.
Even now, when watching the competition on youtube, I sit in disbelief that someone who chased perfection so earnestly, so honestly and so precisely, would arguably come the closest of anyone before her at attaining it. And though her AA-silver was the highest AA placement by an American at a fully-attended games, Shannon stood proudly, but quietly on her podium. What she didn't understand was that the Soviets (or by then the Unified Team) had already won the competition months earlier, behind closed doors, over whiskey and cigars. Okay, so maybe the imagery is a little dramatic, but you get the point. Tatiana had but one job, to hit! Go 4-4 on her events, and the title was hers. Imagine then, the drama, during Team Optional Beam when Gutsu fell on her back stepout-layout mount. An entire nation held their breath, collectively wondering what would happen now. After some good ol' fashioned Soviet "Politiking", Ms. Gutsu found herself back in the AA comp. after a "knee injury" sidelined teammate Rosza Galieva.
Given this second chance, Tatiana knew the stakes. Miss again, the American's get gold, and you'll be in a gulag! Predictably, she hit all four events. And, in a sport where mere tenths divide dreams, Gutsu's henchmen were able to eek out enough of them, to take the AA crown that night. There Shannon was, having performed some of the most beautiful gymnastics in history, left wondering what she did wrong.
The answer for Shannon was that she, nor Tatiana had done nothing wrong. It was Mary Lou. It was ALL Mary Lou, well, and a little Bela. Had she not won that title, there would be no excuse to hold the Soviet's above the rest in reperations for the debaucle of '84. Had Mostepanova won the crown she deserved that night in Los Angeles, Daniela and Shannon would have, without a doubt, been Olympic AA Champions. However, after blemishing the sport with her win, the Soviets made sure that the title wold again, win its prestige back. And, in many ways, the gymnastics of Elena Shoushounova and Tatiana Gutsu were medal worth...silver medal worthy. And, thankfully Lilia's 96 win gave the world a deserving AA champion, setting the stage for what could have been an excellent 2000 Games. But, well, we won't go there...
So as you hear the pitter-pat of feet jumping in gyms around the world, remember that in Beijing, the politics are much different, but still very present. How do you explain this sentence: Vanessa Ferrari won the 2006 All-Around World Title, after falling on beam. Please...explain! It would have nothing to do with the fact that she was from Italy, also the country of our beloved dictator of gymnastics, Bruno Grandi. I mean really, with all the steroid scandals going on, at least we know that in gymnastics, drugs have no place here, all you really need is a great campaign manager. 2 Comments | Leave a Comment
