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In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, and Jessica chat about:
- Retirements, Valerie’s first official camp as team coordinator, US Team to the White House, Ponor dragged into election scam, Lauren Mitchell retires, and Ellis O’Reilly’s fractured vertebrae.
- The answer to the question: where’s Gabby Douglas?
- Why the UK men are all learning Pegan’s on high bar.
- What leotard designs do we want to see now that GK has a deal with Disney.
- A British promoter is marketing the British Gymnastics all-around World Cup. We give him our advice on how to host the best meet ever.
- Gymnastics scoring displays: what ice skating and baseball already have that we need.
- An update on the allegations against USA Gymnastics team doctor, Larry Nassar, and USA Gymnastics sex abuse cover-up investigation.
- Dancing shows update on Laurie Hernandez and Claudio Fragapane.
- The NCAA has pulled all championships out of North Carolina because state laws makes it legal to discriminate against LGBT citizens. Should USA Gymnastics do the same?
- Your Feedback on our Sacramone interview, WADA hack and the ethical conundrum of buying tickets to the Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions during the USAG Sex Abuse Cover Up scandal.
RELATED LINKS
Watch the continuous graphic which shows difficulty score adds up, in real time, as the ice skating routine is performed.
A blind eye to sex abuse: How USA Gymnastics failed to report cases. Read the report here.
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RELATED EPISODES
- 223: Tasha Schwikert
- 222: New King
- 221: Jane Doe vs. USAG Doctor
- US Olympian Files Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against US Team Trainer/Physician
- 220: Get Your Random Trash Aerial Off My Lawn
- 219: Rio Olympic Event Finals Day 3, Gala, Houry Behind the Scenes Deets!
- Greatest Gymnast Ever by Medal Count: Svetlana Khorkina vs. Simone Biles
- Height, Ages and Repeat U.S. Olympic Gymnasts
- 210: Women’s Podium Training at the Rio Olympic Games
- 209: Men’s Podium Training at the Rio Olympic Games
- 208: Rio Olympics Preview
- 207: A History of Political Protests in Gymnastics
- 206: The Russian Situation
- 10 Most Popular GymCastic Episodes
- 200: Alicia Sacramone
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I also credit Lauren Mitchell for popularizing the trend of jumps and leaps out of tumbling passes that we have seen on FX during the last 2 quads.
Gymnasts in the bathroom:
When my son was six, a friend who is a coach at U of Michigan arranged for us to visit a gymnastics practice. Some of the gymnasts ignored us, some nodded hello, but a few people took a few minutes to talk to us. Coach Xiao Yuen talked to my son for a surprisingly long time about gymnastics, telling him to work on perfecting his handstand because \”the handstand is the foundation of everything!\” Nick Hunter endeared himself to me forever by also taking the time to say hello and talk with us a bit.
And then along comes Sam Mikulak, who also introduces himself, and chats with my son. Their chat included him asking my kid how many pull-ups he could do; my kid said 23 or whatever, and Sam said, \”At your age I could do 45,\” which immediately became my kid\’s new goal.
Eventually, my kid needed to pee. The only bathroom in the facility was in the locker room, so Sam volunteered to take him. My kid always says, \”Mom, please don\’t tell that story again,\” but it cemented to me what a really, really nice guy Sam Mikulak is. Two-time Olympian, national champion, NCAA champion, whatever: this is a guy who will, when a kid needs to use the bathroom, step right up and take him to the bathroom.
OMG! GymNerd bathroom moment! In Rio I saw Kim Zmeskal lining up to go to the bathroom (the line was super long), and I fan girled massively and super awkwardly asked for her autograph. All I had that she could sign was my ticket and the pen I had was highly temperamental, but I got it!! Didn\’t get a photo though (although, could have been weird having a photo with her outside the bathroom).