Tyler Duckworth's Blog

On the Way - Beijing 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:33:00 +0000

The Journey Begins

I figured that my twenties would turn out slightly different than my present situation. Don't get me wrong, after spending thirteen hours dismantling wheat thins slowly in my mouth, in an attempt to feed the boredom of the plane ride, I could definitely think of a worse situation. I could be spending the summer selling boxes of Wheat Thins at the local cornerstore, or even worse, working at the local factory that actually bakes and distributes the Wheat Thins. On second thought, this is a pretty sweet gig.

This whole mess started about twenty-one hours ago. Having slept nary a wink the night before, due mainly to indigestion, my nervousness about my trip began to settle in and ultimately, enough was enough. Gas is one problem, flying across the world is QUITE another. I threw my covers off my bed with a dramatic, and surprisingly high-pitched grunt.

I mistakenly thought that a good education would afford me certain luxuries in life, mainly the ability to go to movies and chic bars with other professional ivy educated friends, maybe a weekend at the Vineyard from time to time each summer and my god, at least "Business Class" accommodations on all domestic and international flights.

My reluctance to go into finance or any other profession after college, suitable to support such a pipe dream, had reared its ugly head as I approached the ticket counter at Boston's Logan Airport. At 5:00 am in the morning. The ticket agent seemed chipper as I told her proudly,

"Yes, I'll be flying from Boston to Beijing today... I mean tomorrow, well, I mean, today AND tomorrow... you know what... you get it don't you...?!"

She wryly smiled at me. Embarrassed and clearly under caffeinated, I headed towards the closest eatery to grab a diet coke to wake up the senses. After making it through security, I burned a good hour thumbing through the essentials, as I like to call 'em, you know, PEOPLE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY and of course, HELLO!.

The trip to O'Hare from Boston was actually painless, if one was able to ignore the orphanage of screaming children three rows ahead of me. Failed Planned Parenthood policies aside, I was preparing for BEIJING 20008 and no amount of crying or crackers were going to ruin my trip.

As the mass of people began to cluster around the gate in Chicago, preparing for the non-stop flight across the world to Beijing, I noticed something very odd. People were lining up in order without being pushy or crass. People were even making eye-contact with each other and, gasp, SMILING!

Within five minutes of walking into the gate, I had made friends with the Mother of one of the U.S. Springboard divers, a sprinter from Barbados and caught the eye of a hunky German weightlifter. All bound for Beijing, there was a palpable energy at that gate, which was quite different than at C22 across the corridor where blurry-eyed passengers were lining up to fly to Sarasota with the lifelessness of a Soviet gulag prisoner. Ahhhh, things were QUITE different on this end of the isle.

Were were all going to Beijing, we were all going to THE OLYMPICS.....

I've taken long flights before, all filled with their own set of anxieties. When I flew to Sao Paolo, I sat white-knuckled the entire time over the Andes, replaying images from that TERRIBLE cannibal movie, "ALIVE" about the Chilean rugby team. Once we had finally passed over the Amazon, and my bottle of Xanax empty, I was able to relax and enjoy the colorful farmland of Brazil. Even the flight from Heathrow to LAX wasn't that bad. Though, on that flight, the movie projector was broken, giving us two options each more grisly than that other... Syndicated episodes of "Everyone Loves Raymond" or "BRATZ: The Movie!"

No, see, this was MY Olympic flight, and I just knew it would be amazing. The funny thing about traveling abroad is the sense of community and closeness you inevitably feel when you come across someone that knows someone you know. The proverbial game of "seven-degrees" is basically a way for nervous travelers to ignore the fact that they are currently suspended 10,000 feet above the Arctic in a steal megalith flying at the speed of sound. Not scary at all!

I sat next to a kindly couple from Chicago, who, it turns out, have a son who swam for Williams College, a rival of my alma mater, Tufts University. We talked race strategy, advantages of Division III vs. Division I, and whether or not it is a requirement for liberal arts students to chronically wear ugly "CROC" shoes around New England.

Synchronicity truly became evident when we realized that we were both friends, once removed, from former Entertainment Tonight anchor, Leeza Gibbons. This, my friends, is what we call and the Chinese both call.... DESTINY

Approaching Beijing on the flight plan map seen on the projector, I suddenly realized just how damn BIG Siberia truly is; not just on a map either. I liken it to driving the Florida panhandle. Once you pass from Georgia into Florida, eager road tripping "Spring Breakers" usually break into song upon realizing they've FINALLY reached Florida. Around nine hours later, and sill no closer to Ft. Lauderdale, they slowly realize how beguiling that popular Mercator Projection map from elementary school can be. Siberia is the same way, only colder and less interesting to look at out the window.

Besides some icy mountains in the distance and the expansive taiga forests, there seems to be little else out there other than a couple communist ghosts and some run down Soviet irrigation systems...

Tomorrow the adventure continues with more stories from the road!!!

Khorkina2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:40:00 +0000

I would say something snarky, however, I totally have been caught doing this by family members and roommates before, so, rock it out boy! Lovely flexibility for a big dude. Gotta admit.

Priceless....

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 05:49:00 +0000

बक्तुं बेबी

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Decided to do a somewhat serious blog, as I think I came across something really cool. I'm finally able to articulate my theory. Here it goes...based on something I came across today.

The Baktun, is an important unit of measurement, like a "year" or a "month" in the Mayan Long Form Calendar. The Baktun stands for 144,000 days.

2012 marks the end of the Baktun. No big deal, right?

Ever heard of the "144,000"? The twelve tribes of Israel who will enter the kingdom of heaven upon armageddon. Its a verse in the Book of Revelations Well, the Mormons and Jehovah's witnesses take this quite literally, and believe only 144,000 will inherit god's kingdom and go to heaven.

Revelation 7:3-8
" saying: "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads." And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
"
Revelation 14:1
" Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. "
Revelation 14:3-5
" And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. For it is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless.

What if there is a symbolic link between 144,000 and armageddon and the Mayan Calendar. Get it?! I'm trying to see if anyone has come across this "coincidence" before.

Moreover, this supports my theory that a lost civilization left remnants of an ancient knowledge throughout pockets of surviving humanity (lake Titicaca region, Nile-Egypt, Sumeria, Sub-Continental India and China) and that that lost knowledge has survived as religious myth and legend.

Why else are these crazy christians obsessed with the number 144,000, if not for the fact that its actually hidden knowledge of the end of this precessional cycle, and possibly humanity!

हन्कोक्कियन ठोरी

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:52:00 +0000

Much has been made, in my immediate group of friends, about my obsession with an event that took place around 13,000 years ago. I'm not going to get into it too much right now, as I'd like to simply present some evidence that SOMETHING happened.

As for the title of this blog post, well, I can't say much other than my blogger site seems to be off a bit. It translates everything into Thai. Why? don't know, but enjoy it while it lasts I guess.

It was meant to read, "Hancockian Theory", after Graham Hancock, a journalist/historian who I follow quite closely. He's dedicated to investigating whether or not there is evidence of a lost civilization, pre-dating dynastic Egypt.

However, that is beyond the scope of this blog post. In the meantime, enjoy this salacious bit of Mammoth-sized Gossip!

Mammoth Mystery

Dec. 18, 2007 -- About 34,000 years ago, a herd of mammoths found themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time. Analysis of seven tusks, purchased from a Canadian fossils vendor, show the ancient beasts were blasted by an exploding meteor.
"The only reasonable explanation is that a meteor exploded somewhere near where these animals were standing," Richard Firestone, a nuclear analytical chemist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco.
Scientists aren't sure if the animals died from their wounds, although the populations of several ice-age beasts decreased dramatically at about the same time of the suspected meteor strike. At least one creature, a bison, did survive, as its skull shows bone grew in after a fragment embedded, Firestone said.
"It was certainly a bad day," he said.
An amateur scientist, Allen West, got the idea to look at fossils for meteorite fragments in an attempt to find evidence of what wiped out the Clovis people of North America, as well as several large mammals, about 13,000 years ago.
After sifting through thousands of tusks at a Phoenix, Ariz., fossil show, he found one with a burnt hole in it and tested it with a magnet, as many meteors contain iron.
The magnet stuck. West bought the tusk for $200 and asked to look through the company's warehouse, which contained another 15,000 fossils. He found more evidence of micrometeorite impacts in a batch of tusks from eastern Siberia.
Some of the tusks had hundreds of tiny holes, made by burning fragments of the exploded meteor. The punctures all face the same direction, consistent with a blast from the sky.

More Digital Love

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:28:00 +0000

So, thought I'd give you some Khorkina, since you guys have been so good to me. But not any old "khorkina" footage. I'm gonna give you the GOOD stuff. We're talking beam routines, stuck dismounts, you name it. Enjoy! Don't say I never gave you anything

A little Zamo, because hey, when life hands you lemons, you make Zamolodchikova.

One more, just for fun...

Putin's Pride - #5 - The Great Khorkina

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:13:00 +0000

With Putin's recent "Victory" I thought I'd treat you guys out there with some gems from the ol' Soviet Union. That is to say, that, hey, sham elections aside, (oh, he's going there) these are some GREAT floor routines, all performed by our favorite former soviet gymnasts.

On a more serious note, I was told by a friend, who shall remain nameless for the time being, but is actually the Godfather to Khorkina's child. Basically, he's the Godfather of gymnastics really. Think about it. You can't be anyone- unless it involves Sveta...I digress.

So, as the story goes, The Goddess: Khorkina is thinking about running for office. Hmmmm. How'd you like Sveta serving in YOUR legislative Duma? Huh! So, only time will tell. However, if history is any consolaton, we know that Khorkina usually gets what she wants. Watch out Vladimir. She's hungry for POWER! (much like her tumbling in this piece- ZINGGGGGGGGA!)

# 6 Yelena Produnova - Sydney Olympics

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:45:00 +0000

My god, or rather, Slava Bogu. This girl can tumble. Probably the fiercest floor exercise you'll find by a woman, EVER, her ability to tumble ungodly passes actually came out of a wrist injury. A fact proudly broadcast endlessly thanks to Al and Elfi.

And, at the end of day, the eybrow is pretty cool

Russkaya Spire

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:19:00 +0000

Russian spy plane to be re-purposed as cellphone tower

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

We've already seen balloons used to provide cellphone service, but it looks like the Russians could soon be putting that setup to shame, with one of its Myasishchev M-55 spy planes now reportedly set to be demoed as a makeshift cellphone tower early next year. That'll apparently happen in Malaysia over the course of February and March, but it seems like that could just be the beginning, with one "unnamed Western firm" said to be in discussions with the aircraft's manufacturer about the possibility of resuming production of the planes specifically for this purpose. Among other things, that would allow the plane to used to provide cellphone service in disaster areas, with its 17,000 meter altitude and 5,000 kilometer range allowing it to cover a wide range on the ground with relative ease.

Its the Patriots yelling FOUL PLAY this time around...

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 18:03:00 +0000

NFL Experts Blog

Patriots complain about crowd noise

The NFL is looking into allegations that the Indianapolis Colts piped in noise during the game Sunday between the Colts and the Patriots. The charge comes after Patriots President Jonathan Kraft became the latest NFL team executive to accuse the Colts of the distracting tactic that is against the rules.
"We're aware of it and we're looking into it," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. "It may just be the TV feed from CBS, but we're checking it out."
Observers at the game said there seemed to be a "skip" in the sound during the game Sunday, which the Patriots won 24-20. That might confirm the long-held suspicion among many people in the NFL that the Colts play loud crowd noise to help distract opponents when the other team is on offense.
"We're aware of the accusations, but there has never been anything to substantiate it," Aiello said.
Kraft approached NFL Vice President of Security Milt Ahlerich after Kraft and his parents, Patriots owners Bob and Myra Kraft, left the Patriots locker room after the game.
Kraft was angry as he told Ahlerich the league needed to look into the allegation. Ahlerich is the same person who confiscated a videotape made by the Patriots during a game against the New York Jets in Week 2 that led to the Spygate controversy.
In addition, New England quarterback Tom Brady also commented on how loud it was in the RCA Dome.
"I don't know how you measure levels of being deaf, but we couldn't hear anything out there," Brady said.
This is the latest in a string of incidents between the teams that have fueled the growing Colts-Pats rivalry. In the past, Colts General Manager Bill Polian has vehemently argued that the Patriots have bent the rules in terms of use of replay challenges and the pass interference rule.

Higher Ground

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:21:00 +0000

Since ESPN usually devotes much of its Sunday programming to it, I thought I'd jump on the proverbial bandwagon. That being said, let's talk Jazz Dance. This is a fun little morsel that I found on youtube. Nothing too spectacular beside an interesting observation at 1:07 in the piece. Look to the right side of the screen. You'll notice something pretty sweet.

Yeah, Big Girls Can Dance Too! I'm pumped that they put Big Girl in formation for this performance. All throughout high school, people would kind of scoff at Dance Teams that allowed a fat girl on the team. And I was always of the mindset that, you know what, if you can get your legs in the air to the right count, you deserve to be on the line. And, I'll give it to her, Momma deserved her spot on this line. Check out that precision. The choreography was fun, light, a but lacking in substance, but again, that's what makes this piece fun.

All That Jazz

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:16:00 +0000

Immortalized by the Blazettes in 2006 with their silver-medal winning performance to the tune of the same name, this little showstopper is ready to take her place with the Elite Jazz dancers from B'ville. Incredible turns and technique. We need to get this girl into figure skating.

My favorite part being at the beginning, with the first "Cha!" in the music, she delivers an awesome signature jazz-hand swipe. I'm gonna steal that the next time I'm dancing at the club....CHA!

#7 - Anastasia Ulrich & Leah Knoblerova

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 14:59:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 21:23:00 +0000

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.

# 8 - Lavinia Milosivici - 1992 Olympic Games

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 19:40:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:58:00 +0000

Cata lives!

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:53:00 +0000

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...

#9 Catalina Ponor - 2004 Olympic Games

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 13:51:00 +0000

Just kidding. Its Catalina guys. I wouldn't really do that to you.

#10 Daniela Silivas - 1988 Olympic Games

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 01:47:00 +0000

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.

...

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:38:00 +0000

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)

Floor Excercises that changed the world

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:37:00 +0000

Shades of Blue

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 00:33:00 +0000

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.

Autumnal Auspices

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:02:00 +0000

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.

The Gospel of Khorkina Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:23:00 +0000

The First Ball: Atlanta 1996

Prior to the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996, Svetlana retained both her world and European titles on bars, and also helped the Russians to a team silver at the European Championships in Birmingham. Oddly enough, Svetlana also won the bronze medal on vault there as well. A fall from beam in the all-around, prevented her from medalling there, and sadly enough, this wouldn't be the first time it happened...

Thanks to her recent successes at the previous two world championships, Khorkina was considered to be a top contender for the All-Around title going into the 1996 Olympic Games. The Russian team was looking stronger than it had since the break-up of the USSR allowing for a glimmer of hope that Russia was BACK.
However, the competition proved to be a disappointment both for Svetlana and for the Russian team. Svetlana and the other more experienced members of the team, Roza Galiyeva and Dina Kotchetkova, performed strongly, but the younger athletes made several mistakes, seemingly overwhelmed by both the intense noise from the crowd and the strong performances from the US team. As the team accepted their medals, Svetlana remained stone faced, not allowing herself to show how truly devastated she was. There was to be no consolation in the All-Around however. Khorkina performed solidly on floor, beam and vault, but dropped out of contention for a medal when she fell from the uneven bars on a clear underswing half, a transition from the low to the high bar named for her; she finished in 15th place. However, she saved her Olympics by winning the gold on bars, much to her delight, and took the only gold for the Russian women's gymnastics team in Atlanta. Not surprisingly, Svetlana had turned her dissapointment into yet another "Svetlana Spotlight" moment. The silver co-medallists were Bi Wenjing and Amy Chow.

Sketchy Scoring, Ksenia

noreply@blogger.com (Tyler Duckworth) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:32:00 +0000

Breaking a promise I made before, I will simply not let this atrocity go. What issue you ask?

Oh yeah, the one where Nastia Liukin was literally ROBBED of a Gold medal in the UB final. We'll go over that conspiracy theory behind what happened, but for a quick low-down, this is what's up.
An Australian judge, throughout the entire competition, scored Nastia as an 8.9 on her B - Execution score. Now, this is odd, considering that throughout the entire competition, not one judge other than She-Who-Shall-Remain-Nameless, scored Nastia's B-score lower than a 9.2. In fact, Nastia's strength across the board on all four apparatus is her B-score! (more commonly known as execution) Her B - score average was actually 9.5. At the end of the day, this "difference of opinion" at the end of the day is mainly due to the fact that Nastia lost the world crown to one, Ksenia Semenova, by .250

Nastia : 16.300
Ksenia: 16.325

Given this information, now you can understand all of the Nastia drama. Nastia = Bars. Enough said. That isn't to take anything away from the tiny little Ksenia, as she had nothing to do with this. However, it just seems a bit odd...

But, this entry isn't a discussion of the politics behind this travesty. Well, travesty is a bit heavy. Ksenia isn't THAT bad. Had Catalina Ponor beaten Nastia on beam, well, I'd be in Lausanne already having a meeting with the IOC to have Mr. Grandi removed. Thankfully, PORNO was far from the beam podium, well, fourth is far enough for now. You get the point.

Past all that, let's get serious about how Nastia's dream of Olympic gold can come true, just by tweaking the composition of the order of skills, we come up with some awesome options. Assuming that Semenova doesn’t grow and has her full difficulty UB set ready by Beijing, what do you all think it will take for Nastia to win the UB title? Judging by the UB event final result this year, it seems that all the relatively hit routines will be ranked almost exclusively according to the A score. However, Nastia’s routine is already so long and exhausting that it’s hard to imagine her being able to add many upgrades. I think she needs to restructure her routine to maximize the B score while simultaneously making difficulty upgrades more feasible. Here is what I would suggest:

Her 2007 routine for reference:
KCH, stalder shoot to high bar (B+C)
KCH, piked stalder 1/2, l-grip Endo, Bi 1/2, Gienger (B+D+D+E+D=.4)
KCH 1/2, piked stalder, Tkatchev (B+D+D=.1)
KCH, stalder 1/2, l-grip giant full, Pak salto (B+C+D+D=.1)
KCH 1/2, toe-on shoot to high bar (B+B)
KCH, giant 1/2, double front tuck 1/2 (B+B+D)
19 total skills: (1E, 8Ds, 1C) (8Bs and 1C not counted) 4.0+.6+2.5=7.1

If she adds a regular Bi turn, she could do a shorter, more balanced routine with better use of the low bar and fewer possible deductions for the same A score (then she can work on adding the upgrades listed further down in this post):

Jump to HB, KCH, Tkatchev (B+D)
KCH 1/2, piked stalder 1/2, l-grip Endo, Bi 1/2, Gienger (B+D+D+E+D=.4)
KCH, Pak salto (B+D)
KCH 1/2, piked stalder, stalder shoot to high bar (B+D+C=.1)
KCH, stalder 1/2, Bi, front giant, double front tuck 1/2 (B+C+E+B+D)
16 total skills: (2Es, 7Ds, 1C) (6Bs not counted) 4.1+0.5+2.5=7.1

Advantages of this new routine composition include:
-Eliminates a KCH and toe-on shoot to high bar which don’t add value but can incur deductions
-Eliminates the tap (with bent knees) past low bar before Tkatchev
-Moving the Tkatchev to the beginning of routine may improve amplitude and reduce chance of bent arms upon regrasp
-Eliminates the deduction-heavy l-grip giant full
-Improves the difficulty balance by including a low to high bar transition in a bonus-earning connection (neither low to high transition contributes to A score in 2007 routine)
-Eliminates the tap past low bar in dismount sequence

Once she adjusts to this new routine structure, she can begin to upgrade by learning new skills and combinations such as:
1. Connect Gienger with the Pak salto to eliminate another KCH and increase the A score by 0.1 (If she catches the Gienger too close, she can leave this out and only lose 0.1)
2. Learn a piked stalder 1/1 and connect it to the Tkatchev for a 0.4 increase in A score (or insert it before the Pak salto if she is unable to learn upgrade 1)
3. Connect the second Bi turn to the dismount and increase the A score by 0.2
4. Add the l-grip giant full back in before the second Bi turn to increase the A score by 0.2

Here is the perfect routine, with upgrades 1-3 listed above:

Jump to HB, KCH, piked stalder 1/1, Tkatchev (B+E+D=.2)
KCH 1/2, piked stalder 1/2, l-grip Endo, Bi 1/2, Gienger, Pak salto (B+D+D+E+D+D=.5)
KCH 1/2, piked stalder, stalder shoot to high bar (B+D+C=.1)
KCH 1/2, Bi, double front tuck 1/2 (B+E+D=.2)
15 total skills: (3Es, 7Ds) (4Bs and 1C not counted) 4.3+1.0+2.5=7.8