Usually we’ve at least heard of a gymnast before he or she bursts onto the world scene on a powerhouse team like Russia or China. And in this day and age, we can just about always go back in retrospect and find videos of such a gymnast before he or she made that first world or Olympic team.
I don’t mean to dig up an old grave, but on Rick McCharles’ site, www.gymnasticscoaching.com, I came across some recent comments regarding the Paul Hamm and Yang Tae Young controversy from the 2004 Olympics.
We’ll next take a look at an event that many fans find a bit difficult to judge because the values of the skills can be hard to remember – men’s p-bars. As we did on floor, we’ll use the current world champion in order to see how a D score is calculated from some of the most difficult skills in the world
I’ve decided I would like to periodically do some posts entitled “From the Judge’s Chair” in an effort to increase awareness about how some of the top routines in the world are being judged on both the men’s and women’s sides. My main focus will be on the D-Score (Difficulty Score), since that is certainly the most complex and the most difficult for even us seasoned fans to calculate in our heads
I’ve made a big deal recently about the artistry and choreography of many past French gymnasts. Now I want to point out a few past Spanish routines that you might have missed…or at least forgotten about.
Remember how good Tasha Schwikert was in her prime? I had almost forgotten until I came across some videos of her nationals performances in 2001 and 2002.
You may have read one of my recent posts regarding the fact that women’s college gymnastics floor routines are so much more entertaining and even “artistic” than international elite routines, which often tend to be rather stoic, boring, and simply uninspiring
A few weeks back I highlighted two of the best dancer’s in women’s gymnastics history – France’s Ludivine Furnon and Isabelle Severino. Well the history of artistry from this team doesn’t stop there. Here I wanted to highlight two other French sensations who were also known for their creativity and innovative choreography.
Remember back in the 80’s and early 90s’, when every year we used to have a big dual meet between the USA and USSR? It was always held in the United States, and it was a big televised event (sometimes live) in which we saw the very best gymnasts from these two countries– JUNIOR AND SENIOR – go head to head in a really but often dramatic competition
We already took a look at some of the incredible tumbling passes of the Japanese men…now let’s check out some of their best high bar and parallel bar routines.
Granted this video is only a week old, but I couldn’t believe I hadn’t even heard that Kohei Uchimura was doing a triple twisting double back on the floor. Not that it surprises me, but after watching it, I’m even more convinced he is quickly becoming one of the very best gymnasts of all time.
I came across some videos of the men’s Japanese nationals last month, and there were a few floor passes in particular that blew me away. I had to watch a couple of them more than once to be sure what I was seeing
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