A look at some contenders for the Nastia Liukin Cup:
The Nastia Liukin “Supergirl Cup” will take place this Friday evening, in Massachusetts, just before the American Cup the following day. I decided to check out some videos of the competitors, most of whom I knew nothing about. Although I couldn’t find videos for all of them, I did find quite a bit of impressive stuff. Below I’ve highlighted a few I was particularly impressed with.
The first gymnast is awesome, although I didn’t realize that gymnasts 18 and over could compete in this competition. Kimberly Jacob won her “Level 10” session at the Circle of Stars Meet in Indiana, but she has competed as a senior gymnast since 2007. In fact she competed in the SENIOR US Nationals in 2008 and 2009, placing 17th and 12th, respectively. She is 18 and will be competing for Alabama this fall. I thought the Nastia Liukin Cup was for “up-and-coming” Level 10 gymnasts? I did look at the rules at the Circle of Stars Meet, and it said that the winners of the Level 10 sessions, regardless of age, would qualify for the Nastia Liukin Cup.
Anyhow, she has an AMAZING beam combination that is one of the most difficult ever done:
Kimberly Jacob Beam 2009 Senior US Nationals
Unbelievable routine! A front aerial to a back handspring full – done perfectly! Here’s a look at all of her routines from the year before:
Kimberly Jacob All Events 2008 Senior US Nationals
Nailed that combination both times! I would guess she’ll have a good chance of winning this meet.
Here’s another gymnast that really caught my attention:
Gabrielle Douglas Beam 2009 US Nationals
What a dynamite routine!! And not to mention with that OBNOXIOUS music in the background!
Gabrielle Douglas All Events 2009 American Classic
And here is a more recent look at her, from January 2010:
Gabrielle Douglas All Events 2010 Sand Dollar (she's the first half of the video)
She's the "Dominique Dawes" I referred to…very powerful but also a great line and swing on bars – I really like her handstands there. I think she’s definitely one to watch for in this meet.
Here’s another one from CGA:
Amelia Hundley 2010 Metroplex Challenge
Awesome meet! She looks VERY solid and clean everywhere. I bet she’ll be in contention to win this meet as well.
Lauren Beers 2009 I Love NY Cup
Great gymnast! She looks very clean and confident. That Arabian double front on floor was sky-high! Nice line on bars. I bet she should be one of the top gymnasts at this meet as well.
And this gymnast may not be quite the all-arounder as the others I’ve shown, but I wanted to show you one of the highest Tcatchevs I’ve EVER seen:
Summer Garcia HUGE Tcatchev 2010
Wow!!! Try PAUSING the video when she’s at her peak, and you’ll be astonished to see just how high over the bar she actually is.
I’m sure there are other great ones, but those are the best I’ve come across so far. Let us know if you know any others to watch out for!