GYMN-L Digest - 20 Jul 1996 - Special issue

There are 16 messages totalling 703 lines in this issue.

Topics in this special issue:

1. Straight from the opening ceremonies...athlete spot (2)
2. TV coverage
3. MENS COMPULSORIES
4. Yuri Chechi in AA (somewhat of a spoiler)
5. olympic radio coverage
6. Openeing Ceremonies
7. Podium training
8. CBC schedule???
9. New member intro
10. Most improved gymnasts...
11. COMMENT ON DEAN TYGART'S "IRONIC LITTLE STORY!"
12. Introduction
13. Talavera's age eligibility
14. Opening Ceremonies
15. Men's optional podium training

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 10:14:24 -0400
From: ***@GRFN.ORG
Subject: Straight from the opening ceremonies...athlete spot

After watching the whole opening ceremonies (and being awed, moved
to tears and the like...Everything in the flame torch relay in
the stadium was perfect), I spotted a lot of gymnasts!!

1) There were at LEASt seven gymnasts in the opening montage
NBC did (not talking about the gymnastics preview, just the opening
sequence). I remember Borden, Miller, Moceanu and Strug, the
rest might've been the US team, but I think there were some others.

2) Looked throughout the parade of nations for female gymnasts,
and lo and behold, there were some. I believe the entire french
team marched, or at least Elvira Teza. Looked like them, anyhow.

Did any of the US gymnasts march? I could've sworn I saw Jaycie at
the top of the ramp, but I might be wrong.

And Maria Petrova did not retire, and is part of the Bulgarian
delegation, if there was any doubt there.

For anyone who did not watch the opening ceremonies, try and copy
a tape. It was beautiful exotic, and classy.

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 11:19:41 -0300
From: ***@CCN.CS.DAL.CA
Subject: Re: TV coverage

You wrote:

Does anybody know what NBC's coverage plans are? It would be tough
for them to beat that.
---
You're right - CBC is doing well with their coverage!!! I just watched
MAG compulsories on the english channel, then flipped to the french and
tey've been showing different stuff. NBC is airing Herbie Rides Again
this afternoon...

According to the TV Guide, NBC's coverage begins at 4 my time this
afternoon...Guess that's 3 pm est. And at 1 pm est Sunday...They've got
evening coverage going on...

I like this particularly because CBC's morning coverage doesn't get
overlapped with NBC's lack of morning coverage (I'm speaking of this
wekeend).

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Date: Sun, 21 Jul 1996 01:23:40 +1000
From: ***@JCU.EDU.AU
Subject: MENS COMPULSORIES

Hi Gymners, Im taking some notes off the tv, maybe OZ tv will show a few
different routines from other national networks, so Ill try to post short
notes. Im mostly trying to take notice of the smaller countries, and I
will spoiler! Disclaimer - I know almost nothing about MAG, so these are
just overall impressions of routines, they are NOT technical!!!!!!
*
*
*
*
*
spoiler mag olympics
* *
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
MAG COMP 1A

GALLI (ITA) P.BARS -Lost toe point a few times, no step on landing, but
slight body imbalance, rythmn not always continuous in routine but
adequate routine 9.4

CHECHI (ITA) P>BARS - DISASTER!!! fell on half turn to upper arm hang,
turned too early and missed a hand, finished ok, with stuck landing 7.8

BELENKI (GER) POMMEL - good flairs, then lost rythmn on leg circles and
fell, pity:( 8.7

DONGUA (sp?) (SUI) FLOOR - no major faults 9.275

WANNER (SUI) FLOOR - pretty good tumbling 9.15

HUDSON (AUS) H>B 8.9 Didnt show routine,
FLOOR- ok, some hesitancy on scale 8.9

DOWRICK (AUS) H.B 9.35 Didnt show routine
FLOOR- solid routine yipeee!! <----small burst of patriotism
9.2

CARBALLO (ESP) FLOOR - nice flair on double cartweel, sluggish punch fr,
dive roll, hop forward on arabian, missed the score

TAICULET (ROM) FLOOR - good front tumbbling, nice planche, hop on arabian
9.25

SANDRO (ROM) FLOOR - good opening pass, hesitant c/wheels, excellent
arabian 9.425

CHECHI (ITA) RINGS - precise, great bodyline, awesome cross, stuck landing
WOW 9.675

BUCCI (ITA) RINGS - good routine 9.512

GALLI (ITA) VAULT - distance good 9.550

CHECHI (ITA) VAULT - good distance, good repulsion, stuck landing 9.6

Scores for some routines not shown
DONGUA (SUI) P.Bars 9.4
HUDSON (AUS) VAULT 9.525...go Brett!!!!
Belenki (GER) FLOOR 9.450

Till the next post
Regards
Sharyn

P>S please other gymners post on routines as our coverage is ok but not
great, network hopping from sport to sport, ads galore! and the aussie
swimmers are also competing, so they have top billing here! Im sure
between all of us we can cover nearly every gymnast

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 12:01:26 -0400
From: ***@VAXC.HOFSTRA.EDU
Subject: Re: Straight from the opening ceremonies...athlete spot

I saw Ludivine Fyrnon. The camera focused on her for about ten seconds
as the french delgation marched in.
In the opening montage I saw mo, and pod.
as well as moceanu, and borden.
Alisa

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 12:50:03 -0400
From: ***@YORKU.CA
Subject: Yuri Chechi in AA (somewhat of a spoiler)

I was just watching on CBC and there was an update on Chechi after
he scored only 7.8 on compulsory parallel bars. They said he is still the
third place Italian at this point, so is still in position for the AA
finals qualification. I have a question though: can anyone tell us how
many of the Italian men did all 6 routines today? I'm wondering if Chechi
is in third because only 3 from his country did all 6 routines. Is there
a web site where results are posted as they happen and could someone
perhaps check this out and e-mail me privately when you know something?
CBC has also taken the time to explain the 7-6-5 rule, saying that
the coaches have up to 30 seconds before the rotation begins to confirm
who will compete on that event, so last minute switches seem to be
allowed. Does that mean that 7 can warmup each event, or is it only 6?
ALl for now.
Chris.

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Date: Fri, 19 Jul 1996 23:02:08 -0700
From: ***@FLASH.NET
Subject: olympic radio coverage

the west wood one radio network is covering the olympics live. it seems
that htey are giving only scores when it comes to the gymnastics, but.
they are doing it live, not waiting until it comes on tv.
katrinka

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 13:01:19 -0400
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: Openeing Ceremonies

Were the US gymnasts marching in the parade of nations yesterday? I didn't
see one, that stood a foot shorter then the rest. I know they missed it in
Barcelona, but they had competition the morning after and this is THEIR
Olympics. This kind of excitement and pride in their country will probably
never happen again in their homeland, in their Olympic lifetimes. I can't
believe that the coaches would have them miss this. Can't training and rest
be put on hold for this special night? It's not about the medals down there,
it's about honor, and pride, and uniting the world. It's about the oath,
the flag, the flame, the song. These are such special moments that happen
only every four years, and these moments are for them. It's beyond me why
the coaches would take this part of the Games from them.
* I spotted some of the French gymnasts in the march, namely Kerri Strug's
long lost twin.
* The playing of the "Coming to America" song at the beginning was a great
choice, and it was cute to see, Mo coming off the plane, Podkopyeva on the
plane, and Marinescu being greeted at the airport.
*the gymnastics segmant was very well done. It focused on a variety of
contenders and not just Moceanu or the American.
*I loved seeing Nadia up there, and that oldest living Olympian was so
cute!!!
* The Clinton's looked very happy and excited to be there, and the tears in
Bill's eyes touched my heart.
* The choices for flame bearers were EXCEPTIONAL!!!!!!!!!! I was very
excuted to see Janet Evens and am rooting for her in Atlanta. Also, while my
father is one of the leading Parkinson's Disease and Turrettes Syndrom
specialists in the country, both he and I were very touched and amazed by
Mohammed Ali. What a moment!

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 13:00:55 -0500
From: ***@PRODIGY.COM
Subject: Podium training

I had the opportunity to attend 2 of the podium training sessions at
the
Georgia Dome. I attend the men's comp session on Monday and the
women's
optionals session on Thursday. There was no comparison.

I attend both sessions around the same time (5:30 to 6:00 pm). The
men's
comp session had around 4,000 people in the audience. The women's had
almost
30,000. As for the speculation on whether the U.S. will have home
advantage
in regards to the crowd response, the U.S. will. The crowd just went
crazy
whenever the U.S. did anything. And when the team moved from
apparatus to
apparatus, people just went crazy. People were running to the bottom
of the
stands, trying to take pictures.

Forget about the fact that almost all of the pictures taken in the
dome
will, for all intents and purposes, be useless in photographic terms.
I am
an amateur photographer. Trying to take good pictures of a person in
the GA
Dome with a "point and shoot" camera is like trying ride a tricycle
to the
airport. You are just wasting your time. Those cheap cameras cannot
focus in
enough to get a good closeup of the body of the gymnast. All you are
going
to see when the photographs are developed, is a little blurry stick
figure.
And do what the annoucer says- Turn your flash off. You are just
wasting
your batteries and possibly putting the gymnasts in danger. She or he
might
see that flash during a competition, and fall, or something. Also, in
that
huge area, a flash is useless.

But aside from the photography point, the point I was trying to make
is the
crowd was estatic over the U.S. women. Just wait until the
competition
starts. The crowd will go crazy, especially over Shannon and Dom. All
the
U.S. women looked good. This is really a good team. I think I see
gold over
the horizon.

Oh, by the way? Where are the gymn adminstrators? I have tried to
reach somebody with the forum. I am switching internet accounts at
the end of the month. I can't sign on the forum, nor receive digests
from my new account. I have tried repeatedly, but all I get is error
messages. What's going on? It seems that this is the only way I can
contact them. I have tried privately, to no avail. If you guys are
out there and see this- HELP.

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 10:18:50 -0700
From: ***@FLUTE.AIX.CALPOLY.EDU
Subject: CBC schedule???

I was wondering if there is any team handball on the CBC schedule,
because I just got the tv guide to the olympics on nbc, and there isn't
any team handball scheduled. Personally, I think it's a very exciting
sport to watch and play. If somebody is recording it, I would pay for a
copy. Thanks...

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 13:51:48 -0500
From: ***@PRODIGY.COM
Subject: New member intro

Hello!

My name is Joanne from California, and I'm a former gymnast. I trained
for about 5yrs up 'til age 13 (you know how crazy teen-agers can get!),
then I made a comeback at age 24, not to mention one LONG absenteeism
of doing NO gymnastics previously. I had a blast there for several
months, but unfortunately, frequent ankle tendonitis threw me out.
Maybe, if my busy schedule allowed, I could go back again... Who knows?
Anyways, you guys can drop me a line or 2, if ya want. I missed your
intro's earlier (if you ever did). I hope we all make one good ole fun
team here! =} Have fun digestin'!

GO USA!!
Joanne

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 13:51:46 -0500
From: ***@PRODIGY.COM
Subject: Most improved gymnasts...


Hello to all!

Dominique Dawes is 1 of the most improved gymnasts; therefore, she
deserves media recognition. In Barcelona, she wasn't nowhere near the
top (#26 in the world, team competition), and nobody expected her to
advance to event finals as well. But she managed to stay in the top 5
over the recent years: #4 in '93 worlds, #5 in '94 worlds, #3 in '95
team worlds, had the team competition been AA.

Other gymnasts that I think earns the equal recognition are: Amanda
Borden & Kerri Strug. They both usually got relatively low beam scores
(9.6's) for a while, but I praise them for increasing their consistency
over the recent years. Now they both are pretty rock-solid on beam.

At age 16, Borden could've quit like the others who didn't make in '92
Trials (isn't she the only one who failed in '92 & tried out for '96
Trials?), but she stuck it out for another 4 years of hard work &
strong will.

Kerri Strug is a good ole vet. She's been around forever, w/ FIVE
world championships under her belt (if I count right, I can't remember
if she did make it in '94 cuz of her back sprain). She is finally a
smilin' gymnast.

A BIG hand for those GREATLY improved gymnasts--
GO DOM! GO AMANDA! GO KERRI! GO USA!!!

Yours in gymnastics,
Joanne

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 15:39:59 -0400
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: COMMENT ON DEAN T'S "IRONIC LITTLE STORY!"

Dean:

I enjoyed the story about your foot surgery, but I found your surprise that
someone from Michigan would want to "go all the way to Georgia to go to
college," especially a female gymnast, puzzling for one who interacts with
this discussion group. Since Suzanne Yoculan began coaching at Georgia in
1984, the University of Georgia has produced the most exciting collegiate
gymnastics in the country, throwing Olympic-level difficulty, with the added
elegance brought by mature gymnasts, . Because of the excellent collegiate
environment, outstanding coaching and facilities, average attendance at meets
exceeding eight thousand, and an impressive record (eight consecutive NCAA
Regional Championships, five of the past six Southeast Conference
Championships, three NCAA National Championships ETCETERA) Georgia has been
able to attract several outstanding gymnasts from Michigan. Among them are
Heather Stepp, NCAA champion on floor and vault (twice); Leslie Angeles, NCAA
champion on floor; and Lisa Kurc, an outstanding 4.0 student- athlete, who
will join Leslie as a senior leader this year.

Georgia's team traditionally performs the most difficult routines of any team
No collegiate coach in the country would argue otherwise. Unfortunately the
current collegiate scoring system fails to give credit to gymnasts who
perform difficult routines. The current system is analogous to putting the
bar in high-jumping at five feet and not raising it or giving credit to a
seven-foot jumper for jumping more than five feet. Even so, at the end of the
1996 regular season, GymDogs managed to hold 14 top-ten national rankings in
four events, as many as were compiled by gymnasts from the next four teams
combined. During the year, freshman Karin Lichey scored the first "Perfect
40" all-around in the history of gymnastics. These are some of the reasons
top-level gymnasts like to come to Georgia.

I should add that Michigan gymnasts who want to stay in the state have two
excellent choices in Michigan and Michigan State. The Wolverines perform
some great routines themselves and have contended for the National
Championship the past two years. The Spartans are also rising rapidly.
Georgia helped fill the gym at Michigan this past season, enjoyed hosting
Michigan State in Athens, and we are looking forward to a visit from the
Wolverines on March 8, 1997. The two states are enjoying an exciting,
friendly, and wholesome rivalry in women's gymnastics. I suspect that Coach
Yoculan would welcome more gymnasts from Michigan like Heather, Leslie, and
Lisa.

For more information on Georgia Gymnastics try:
http://www.sports.uga.edu/gymnastics/index.html

Since you will be in school in Tennessee, which unfortunately doesn't have a
women's collegiate gymnastics team in the state, check the 1997 schedule at
the web site listed above and come down to enjoy the excitement. On March 8
you can see lots of Michigan gymnasts, some on each team.

Thanks for the chance to blow some smoke.

Bill

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 15:32:31 -0500
From: ***@PRODIGY.COM
Subject: Introduction

Hi gymners,
Since the Olympics have started, I thought I might be
tempted to post about the gymnastics, so I decided to
post an introduction now.

name: Kathy
age: 30
I live in the suburbs of Washington, DC.

I subscribed to gymn-l almost a year ago, but I haven't posted.

I am not a gymnast. I started watching in late 1978 or
early 1979 for two reasons: 1) I thought Kurt Thomas was
really cute and 2) I liked Tracee Talavera's style, and
she was about my age. At that time, Kurt Thomas & Bart
Conner had a kind of rivalry (real or media event, I don't
know), and they had international success. (1979 World
Championships were in Ft. Worth, TX, USA - I don't remember
if there were complaints about scores.) Back then it seemed
that the U.S. men's team got more attention than the women.

One of the U.S. controversies in 1979 was that Talavera was
too young to compete in the 1979 World Championships even
though she was 3rd in the U.S. In an interview, she said
that age shouldn't matter; if you were good enough to make
the team, you should be able to compete. It seems as if a
lot more girls will be saying that in years to come.

I'd say Tracee Talavera is still my all-time favorite.

I've been to very few gymnastics meets in person, although I
did go to some when I was in college (University of Illinois
- Charles Lakes was there at the time - he was amazing).

I don't have one particular favorite among today's gymnasts.
Everyone has something that I enjoy about his/her performances.
I do want to see Roza (Rosa?) Galieva in the Olympics.
I've seen very little of her. I started wondering about her
after seeing her name so high in the prelims of the 1992
World Championships - but not in the finals. Then she missed
out on the 1992 Olympics AA because of the Gutsu thing.

I subscribed to _IG_ so I could find out more about the sport
and follow it better. But this list is incredible for learning
who's who and what's going on.

Sorry to be so long.

Bye for now,
Kathy

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 16:06:26 -0400
From: ***@YORKU.CA
Subject: Talavera's age eligibility

If Tracee was old enough for the 1980 Olympic team (I believe the
age requiremente was only 14 then) shouldn't she have been eligible for
1979 worlds? For example now a gymnast can be one year under the minimum
age in a pre-olympic world championship since they will be old enough for
the Olympics in the next year (and also since the pre-olympics worlds are
a qualifier for Olympics). Was this not the case even back in 1979 or did
that rule only come into effect the next cycle?
Chris.

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 17:11:44 -0400
From: ***@AOL.COM
Subject: Opening Ceremonies

To all:
I have lost my voice. I am sunburned. I am exhausted. My bones
ache.
I am at one of the happiest points in my life.
Last night, a lifelong dream came true - I attended the Olympics Opening
Ceremonies.
How does one describe a dream coming true?
Do I tell you I had trouble taking pictures because tears were in my eyes?
Do I tell you about laughing and joking everywhere I went with people from
other countries who immediately treated me like a friend? Or do I tell you
about the elderly couple from Korea who kissed each other and cried in each
other's arms when the torch was lit?
Indeed, how does one describe such an experience?
Perhaps the best way is to not attempt to do so. I ll let the Olympic
Experience describe itself:
* My first vivid memory of the day is of an Oriental man, upside-down,
howling with glee. He was trying out a high-tech virtual reality flight
simulator, where you are strapped inside a giant gyroscope and fitted with
headgear. As you "fly" your airplane, the gyroscope turns. When you fly
upside down, you re turned upside down.
When the Oriental man finished the ride, he jumped down and began recounting
his experience in his native tongue. None of us understood his words, but we
knew the excitement he was conveying. Nearby, kids from different countries
laughed together at his excitement.
*A man from Mexico was in desperate need of Opening Ceremonies tickets. So he
dressed in his country s native garb, complete with a giant sombrero, and
stood on a wall. After every sentence, he would yip and yell in rapid
succession.
"I need tickets! Ya-ya-ya, yip-yip,yip!"
*Here s a real Olympic lesson: drunken people sound alike in all languages.
Walking into Opening Ceremonies was a drunken man, hanging on a very sober
and very perturbed German fellow. I couldn t understand the drunken man, but
the way he was leaning on the guy s shoulder and talking a hair s width from
his ear, I m sure he was saying something like, "I love you man."
*You know that look Mom used to give you when she meant "no way?" Well,
that, too, looks alike in all cultures. There is a ride in the Olympic
village where you are in cage held up by bungee cord. The cage hangs about 10
stories in the air. Once you re in the cage, a machine pulls the cage down to
the ground, then lets go, catapulting you higher than some of the buildings.
Every kid for miles around gravitated to this ride. And every mom was right
behind, giving the universal look that can decalcify the spinal columns of
children.
*Pin trading is a big deal at the Olympics. Kids and adults alike trade the
pins off their hats and shirts. No language is needed. You point at the one
of theirs you want, and they do the same to you. And what was the most
popular pin on my hat? The one everybody wanted? Was it any of my Olympics
pins?
No way. They wanted my Star Trek pin. Trekkies really do come from all
countries.
*During Opening Ceremonies, certain crowds would chant a country s name as
the athletes passed by. For many of the countries, the chant was easy.
"China! China! China!" Or, "Congo! Congo! Congo!"
But for some countries, the crowd settled on just waving and cheering. After
all, how do you chant, "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia?"
*When the French athletes walked by, one woman yelled loudly, "Oh my God!
They ve accessorized! They ve got purses."
*When the Comoros athletes walked by, nobody in one section of the stadium
could figure out where that country was located. So the crowd began to chant,
"Where are you? Where are you?"
Perhaps the most significant moment of the night came when Janet Evans ran
up the aisle with the torch and handed it off to Muhammad Ali. When Ali s
picture came up on the giant television screen, the crowd, in near unison,
gasped, cheered, then yelled his name. It didn t matter what country you were
from. Everybody knew Ali.
Indeed, in that stadium that night, 197 countries were represented and, yet,
it seemed like there was just one country that of the human race. There
were no borders, no hatred, no fear and no bigotry.
The Atlanta Games organizer, Billy Payne, asked us to make a promise about
the Olympic Games: "Promise that you will never forget what you see and
hear."
I, for one, will not.
-- Ronald

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Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 18:00:00 EDT
From: ***@PSUVM.PSU.EDU
Subject: Men's optional podium training

I am telling you all now that I am not as sure who everyone is in the
men's field, so I'm just going to give you some of the highlights I
caught...

RUSSIA--I saw 3 round-off entry vaults (including one from Nemov) and 2
handspring double fronts. On High Bar, Voropaev had by far the best
regrasp and flow out of a Kovacs out of any male gymnast. I think
Kharkov was they guy who did the best full twisting double layout off of
high bar; he could easily do a double or triple twist in that skill.
That little Podgordny (or whatever his name is) did his great triple
back on floor. I didn't see any other triples practiced on floor.

BULGARIA--Wow, do these guys throw the tricks. That also leads to some
really messy gymnastics, but they're definitely more concorned with
being the daredevils of the competition. One of their guys did a Manna
to an immediate double front dismount which was great. Funny that the
Bulgarians had rather weak tumbling on floor, espeically compared to the
tricks they threw on the other events. Release combo on bars:
Tkatchev-Tkatchev-full over-full over-Geinger was awesome. Don't look
for them to be team or AA contenders but event finals had better watch
out.

CHINA--These guys seemed to know that they are the defending world
champions, and if they hit, they're going to win again. The Chinese
have focused more on precision in landings than throwing the outrageous
skills--I didn't see any triples from teh Chinese. But still.. The
high bar showed a great piked Kovacs. I really don't know their names,
except for Li X. Their vaulting seemed a little weak--I didn't see a lot
of it as I was at the opposite end of the Dome. I saw a lot of
round-off 1/2 on pike front vaults. These guys are confident, though,
and they look prepared. Very consistent.

FRANCE--I didn't see much of these guys. They had a lot of problems on
their front tumbling on floor (I think they should take some tips from
the French girls, who had some of the best front tumbling of the
competition...). One guy did a whip immediate double back, and I know
it's been done before, but it was something different. Oh high bar, one
of them did a full-twisting tkatchev, which he caught--barely. Another
guy did an incredible one-arm sequence that lasted forever: (all is
one-arm) full turn-giant-1/2 turn-giant-giant-giant to Gienger. I can't
really explain it, but it lasted a long time. In general, the French
looked a little out of it.

THE GREEK GUY--Okay, so that's not very nice, but I don't know his name.
We should, though, because he was really fabulous. I think he's a real
contender on PBars if he makes finals. He showed great peaches, good
form, and if he lands his double front watch out. His floor was really
good as well. First pass was a whip to double layout punch front, he
showed a Y-scale that was too extended to be called a "Y", and ended
with a double layout punch front. (Does he know Mitova?) He's a great
twister (like Amanar) and showed a Yurchenko full with real flair, and a
Yurchenko double full which was equally as good.

ROMANIA--These guys looked a little flat but still performed the skills.
On high bar, I saw a lot of Kovacses (what is the plural for Kovacs?)
and one into an immediate hop-full. Their vaults almost landed them off
of the podium, and all but 2 of them did Yurchenkos. In general, they
were solid, but not great--I expect that to change if they make the team
finals.

OTHERS--The Italians made a lot of little mistakes. Chechi garnered a
lot of attention, applause, and taking his shirt off didn't seem to
bother most of the women in attendance. (I AM NOT SAYING IT'S GOOD THAT
HE TOOK IT OFF--I WASN'T PERSONALLY AROUSED--BUT I OVERHEARD MANY WHO
SEEMED TO BE EXCITED...) A German gave the crowd a scare when he landed
what was supposed to be either an Arabian double front or a 1/2 in 1/2
out on his side on floor--he was okay, though. Plus, Belenky, along
with Li X of China, absolutely FLEW to a prone drop after his
front-full. The Armenian guy has a beautiful compulsory vault. I think
that's about it.

USA--Okay, I was skeptical, but these guys may be in team finals. There
were the usual small steps and mistakes, but not too many major breaks
that I caught. John Macready was the only guy to really rock his
routines with stuck landings and precision. All the guys look good on
rings, and Mihai looks really improved from US champs and Trials. On
vault, their energy really whoed and many overrotated big-time. I think
if any event will cause major problems for the US it will be the vault.
On P-Bars the US looked good, and if Jair hits his dismount he will
definitely be in medal hunt, maybe even gold with his form. However,
Jair is having major problems with his Tkatchev-Gienger combo. His
Tkatchev is great, his Geinger is not--he missed the Geinger every time
but one, and that one time he caught it really close to the bar. The
rest of the guys hit, though, and I don't think anyone else really had
any major problems.

BELARUS--Scherbo wore a completely different outfit than the rest of his
team...rather flashy. Vitaly seemed a little off on many events and was
clearly mad at himself. I found it really nice to see that Vitaly has
kind of taken the role that Boginskaya had in 1992--the father to the
team. He counseled a lot of the younger gymnasts and it was unexpected
in my mind. However, the Belarussians have too many young and
inexperienced gymnasts. Their were many mistakes such as intermediate
swings that will hurt the team. I think Ivankov would have made a huge
difference for this team.

JAPAN--These guys looked great. Their P-Bars were good, and they threw
a lot of tricks on high bar. One of them (who is well-known but his
name isn't coming to me...) threw a Kovacs-Kovacs and a stuck triple
back. That got the crowd's attention. The guys seemed very loose and
relaxed and could easily medal.

OTHERS--The Korean threw the highest P-Bars releases I have ever
seen--absolutely breathtaking!

That's all the notes I have--I guess I can babble about any gymnastics,
even men's. Next I'll try to condense my notes from women's optional
podium training. Hope this helps...

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End of GYMN-L Digest - 20 Jul 1996 - Special issue
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