2013′s breakout star, Simone Biles talks to us about competing at the American Cup, her planned upgrades on floor and vault, who she should star in a realty show with, the triple-twisting yurchenko, what to do if surprised by a confetti bomb or wild peacocks, gives advice on handling fear, and tells us her goals for 2013.

Simone’s coaches Aimee Boorman and Luis Brasesco from Bannon’s Gymnastix, tell us what it’s like to coach a person who, as Aimee’s says, “On any given day could have three new skills named after her in the code of points.” The duo opened up about strategy, concerns and philosophies on coaching Simone as a person and an athlete. We hear how Luis approaches coaching a skill that has never been done before (yes, we mean the triple twisting yurchenko in WAG), what happened the first time Aimee saw Simone, which coaches they learn from at The Ranch, how they balance Simone’s power and difficulty level while considering fun, happiness and safety. Finally, and obviously most importantly, we asked about their reaction to the video of Simone trying the standing double back!

Remember to enter the Cloud & Victory poster contest. Just send your single-cameraman-podium-training-strategy ideas to us at gymcastic@gmail.com with the subject line “Ideas for Scott Bregman” Include your name and address so that Cloud & Victory can send you this beautiful poster. Deadline is Tuesday, May 21st. Winner will be announced on episode 34!

Simone Biles Amanar Vault at American Cup 2013

Getting To Know Simone – ah-dorables!

Make sure to check out USAG’s JO National Championships Channel, organized so you can see the event and all-around winners in each age group! SWOON!

Yao Jinnan UB AA Chinese Nationals 2013

Huang Huidan UB EF Chinese Nationals 2013

Fan Yilin UB EF Chinese Nationals 2013

Shang “Weird Cowboy Choreo award goes to..” Chunsong FX EF Chinese Nationals 2013

Natsumi Sasada BB Japanese Nationals 2013 – featuring the laid out Garrison mount!

What we thought was going to happen to Natsumi when she wound up for her Y-turn.

Kohei Uchimura High Bar HB Japanese Nationals 2013 (15.900, D 7.000, E 8.900) – featuring an Adler/Tak ½ to Kolman

Kohei Uchimura Floor Japanese Nationals 2013 – no double saltos

2013 NCAA AA champ, Sam Mikulak in full Wolverine beast-mode competing for the University of Michigan

2012 Olympic vault finalist and two time NCAA All-Around Champion, Sam Mikulak takes us through the thrills of being raised by collegiate gymnasts, competing with two broken ankles, fast food runs, keeping his NCAA eligibility after London, his love life, J.O. rivalries, his gymnastics heros, the best thing a fan ever did for him, advice to young gymnasts, and the deets on his skill upgrades! You can follow him on Twitter: @SamuelMikulak Facebook: Facebook.com/SamuelMikulak .

Special guest, Scott Bregman, communications manager for USA Gymnastics, joins us to talk about the Men’s NCAA Championships which took place in April. There was so much drama with the new 5-up-5 count format, multiple protests and “overlooked” bonus points it was practically a rhythmic gymnastics meet! We discuss exciting newcomers at the Ljubljana World Cup in Slovenia, Lord of the high bar Alijaz Pegan‘s farewell, Swedish mayhem for Adlerteg & Gustafsson, hot new Hungarian Noemi Makra, Pro Gymnastics Challenge relationship with ESPN, and justice at last for the great Jair Lynch.

If you need help understanding what the hell Sam is talking about with his rings skills? Never fear! Just read Uncle Tim’s Rings Primer :5 Variations of the Maltese and Rings Primer: Five Variations of the Iron Cross. Check out our April GymNerd Challenge Meme Gallery here and Blythe’s story on the Ljubljana World Cup. If you are so inclined, donate to the Challenged Athletes Foundation verify their legitimacy on Charity Navigator.

To enter the poster contest, send your single-cameraman-podium-training-strategy ideas to us at gymcastic@gmail.com with the subject line “Ideas for Scott Bregman” Include your name and address so that Cloud & Victory can send you this beautiful poster. Deadline is Tuesday, May 21st.

One of our NCAA ticket sweepstakes winners, Jared from Nova Scotia, shared his photos with Olympic gold medalist, Kyla Ross and LSU’s Jessica Savona. Damn, we treat our listeners right!

The tkatchev front salto Mikulak refers to in the interview.

An example of the goofylicious Michigan Men’s team videos.

Sam giving the vault a big kiss after sticking the crap out of his double front in the event final of the London Olympics.

Sam Mikulak – Floor – 2012 Visa Championships – Sr. Men – Day 1

Sam Mikulak Floor Exercise 2012 London Olympics

Our special guest, Scott Bregman from the School of Nemov gymnastics

Noemi MAKRA (HUN) BB, World Cup Ljubljana, Slovenia 2013

Aljaz Pegan (SLO), Maribor 2008, Hor. bar: 1st

Historic medal for Adlerteg of Sweden

Paul Ruggeri HB, World Cup Ljubljana, Slovenia 2013

Jossimar Calvo Moreno (COL) Barra Fixa World Cup Slovenia 2013

An example of the awesomeness that can be found in the full archives (that they have that USAG has uploaded onto their YouTube Channel 1976 American Cup – Full Broadcast

Jair Lynch finally has justice! The “Lynch” is a Tkatchev (a straddled, catch-and-release move backwards over the bar) with a half turn prior to the catch to a mixed el-grip and swing back up to handstand. It is valued as a D skill on a scale from A to G, with G being the most difficult.