Smooth Skills Episode 3
Ever heard of Han Jong Ok? Me neither, but check this out!
Han Jong Ok Bars 2005 East Asian Games
Awesome!!! What a clever idea to do that Tcatchev-gienger from the opposite direction so she can tap early and get enough turnover on the Tcatchev. I love routines like this with lots of flight elements directly connected. It’s exciting, fast-paced, and without any boring breaks in rhythm (i.e., cast handstands to Pak saltos…) I can’t find any other videos of her unfortunately, but she did compete in the 2004 Olympic Games for PRK.
Wang Lili Beam 2005
Probably one of the best beam workers ever…and she never got her shot on the world stage. She shows unbelievable confidence in all of her skills and connections, and just perfection of some of the most difficult combinations in the world. And just to prove this wasn’t a fluke, here’s a look at another routine of hers:
Wang Lili Beam 2004 Chinese Nationals
There are others as well if you’re still not convinced how amazing this girl was!
Li Xue Hong Beam EF 2001 Chinese Nationals
WHOAH! Talk about incredible extension and flexibility…not to mention probably the HIGHEST leaps I’ve ever seen. That combo of wolf-full to the huge Yang Bo jump at the end of the routine was incredible. This girl was an absolute master, but unfortunately most of us have never heard of her. Thank goodness we can still enjoy this type of gymnastics through YouTube!
Many of you may remember Fan Ye, the 2003 world beam champion. After nailing a perfect routine for the gold in the world finals that year, expectations rose for this new star. Beijing brought disappointment, though, as she faltered in prelims on beam and failed to make the event finals. She also suffered a very scary crash on her uneven bars dismount in the team finals, where China finished a disappointing third behind Romania and the U.S. Many of her fans hoped she would redeem herself when she made the event finals on both of her specialities at the 2005 worlds. She ended up 5th on bars and had a disastrous beam routine that left her 8th. Unfortunately, that was the last we would see of Fan Ye on the world or Olympic stage. But I did find a routine that proved her memorable 2003 gold medal was no fluke. Watch this equally perfect one from 2005:
Fan Ye Beam 2005 Chinese National Games
That’s the Fan Ye we all hoped to see again. She retired last year, but she’ll go down as one of the all-time greats on beam.
Remember 2003 world championship team member Kang Xin?
Kang Xin Beam 2001 Pontiac American Team Cup
Unbelievable. This gymnast actually finished 7th all-around at the 2003 worlds (she had a beautiful double layout and full-in dismount on floor), but unfortunately was left off the 2004 Olympic team. We never saw her again.
Here’s how she looked in 2004…she had undergone quite a growth spurt from the previous year, but still looked quite strong:
Kang Xin Beam 2004 Chinese Nationals
Kang Xin Floor 2004 Chinese Nationals
There’s a look at some of the best Chinese beam workers we’ve ever seen. We’ll see more in future episodes of Smooth Skills!