Category Archives: Andy’s Angle

Notes From Men’s Podium Training: USA and Japan

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Andy Thornton
mikulak wave

Session 2: USA and Japan The American men had a bit of strange day.  On one hand, their pommel horse was a success, as Mikulak, Leyva, and Orozco all hit - AND it was their first event.  And Mikulak showed he is back to full strength on floor and vault, showing some soaring Kasamatsu double fulls ...

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Notes From Men’s Podium Training: China and Great Britain

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Andy Thornton
teng haibin

Although I'll be writing for www.nbcolympics.com here at the Olympic Games and also providing live tweets at https://twitter.com/AndyThorntonNBC, when time allows I'd like to give some further details here on Andy's Angle as well.  Right now I'm awaiting for the third and final session of men's podium training to begin, and I wanted to give some ...

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Londonalysis: Romania Still Two Points Behind?

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Izbasa floor pose

One of the big stories of 2012 has unquestionably been the resurgence of the Romanian women’s team.  The 2000 and 2004 Olympic team champions have failed to medal in the team competition at both of the last two world championships, but this year have looked every bit as sharp and consistent as they did when ...

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We Saw It Coming…Romanians Throw New Vaults!

Posted on July 3, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Izbasa stare

Larisa Iordache Landing an Amanar and Sandra Izbasa Landing a Cheng:   Sure, these are being done on a relatively soft landing surface, but this is a sign they're likely planning on throwing these in London.  Might Ponor have one up her sleeve as well? Iordache's Amanar looks TOTALLY feasible on a competition surface, while Izbasa's ...

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The Men’s Selection Committee Dilemma: Horton vs. Legendre?

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Horton cheer

I have somewhat cowardly avoided posting my picks for a men’s team since watching yesterday’s finals and also learning of Mikulak’s sprained ankle.  Perhaps I unintentionally jinxed Mikulak with my post yesterday regarding the incredible health of all fifteen Trials participants…or at the very least, I spoke too soon.   Regardless, there’s no question we’ve had a ...

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Women’s Prelim Wrap-Up…And My Current Five Olympians!

Posted on July 1, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Maroney floor pose

Two of the biggest question marks from the women’s competition are whether the falls from Kyla Ross (vault) and McKayla Maroney (bars and beam) will affect their Olympic chances.  The four-for-four performances from Wieber, Douglas, and Raisman simply secured these three even more firmly onto this team, but Ross and Maroney are slightly more tenuous.   Although ...

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Men’s Trials Day 1…A Sudden Realization

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Mikulak cheer

Although I wasn’t able to see the full coverage of men’s Day 1 unfortunately (didn’t get the TV station at my house), I did follow along all the quick hits and have seen numerous routines from Leyva, Horton, Orozco, Dalton, and Mikulak on www.nbcolympics.com.  I wanted to go ahead and post my initial impression of ...

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Final Thoughts Before The Men’s Trials Begin!

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Orozco face

Here’s one final quick rundown of my most recent London StockWatch, ranking these 15 guys as we head into the first day of Olympic Trials: 1.    John Orozco 2.    Danell Leyva 3.    Jonathan Horton 4.    Jake Dalton 5.    Sam Mikulak 6.    Alex Naddour 7.    Glen Ishino 8.    Chris Brooks 9.    Brandon Wynn 10.  Steve Legendre 11.  Paul Ruggeri 12.  Alex Buscaglia 13.  David Sender 14. ...

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If Maroney Is Out…Who’s Next In Line?

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Maroney pose

We’ve received word that McKayla Maroney is at least back in the gym after the concussion she suffered at the recent Visa Championships, and we haven’t received any information suggesting that she won’t be able to compete in this week’s Olympic Trials in San Jose.  But the truth is, we still need to be ready ...

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Could Finnegan Score The First 16 On Beam This Quadrennium?

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Andy Thornton
Finnegan beam pose

To my knowledge, no gymnast has scored a 16 on beam since the 2008 Olympics – partly due to the fact that the number of “counting” elements for the women was reduced from 10 down to 8 after Beijing.  With two fewer skills to add points to the difficulty scores, it’s obviously harder to score ...

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