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Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubbubbs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

TEXAS NIGHTMARES

Before we get to this week’s commission, a few…erm…rage thoughts on what we’ve heard about Texas Dreams this week from Ashton Kim and Kennedy Baker.

2000 TEAM FINAL

This week’s episode was commissioned by Club Gym Nerd member Casey because “it’s all fun and games until Russia goes to beam.” We discuss:

• Vault conspiracy theories. Was the vault also set incorrectly in the team final?
• Everything on beam is a Shushunova. We fight about it.
• The US team getting locked out of the arena and what it symbolizes
• Support, refute, or qualify: “Romania wins with boring gymnastics.”
• The concept of Maria Olaru
• Khorkina’s vaulting, Leonardo Da Vinci, and pumpernickel
• The importance of Liu Xuan and Ling Jie on floor
• Russia. Beam. It happened. We need to talk about it
• Dong Fangxiao’s age and the stripping of China’s bronze

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RELATED EPISODES

• 435: Let’s Talk about Terin

• 434: Svetlana Khorcanceled
• 433: Weirdest Gymnastics Exhibitions of the 90s (Commissioned)
• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)

• 430: Athlete A with Jennifer Sey

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

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Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

THIS WEEK

• Mark Alesia, formerly of the Indy Star and part of the team that reported the Criminal Ex-Doctor story, joins us to discuss Athlete A and #GymnastAlliance
• The Dutch federation has shut down the women’s elite program to conduct an investigation into coaching abuse. What does it all mean?
• Terin Humphrey is a survivor. We discuss reconciling that with her…other behavior and why her complaints about USAG removing her don’t really add up.
• What Terin has to say about Steve Penny trying to influence team selection
• Chellsie’s comeback – it’s officially official! We talk about her skills and her interview with the Olympic Channel
• Sam Mikulak says he will retire after the Olympics, citing a chronic wrist injury and a desire to preserve his mental health

MINI-COMMISSION

• Desirae asked us to come up with a gymnastics coaching qualification system for the US—what courses, information, and classes would we require? We have a lot of suggestions.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• A story of abuse allegations coming out of New Zealand that we have some questions about
• Australia’s Human Rights Commission is reviewing Australian gymnastics
• Some…unfortunate incidental translation issues from the FIG
• The Pac-12 football boys are making Jessica’s dreams come true
• Plus, spending the day with Aliya

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RELATED EPISODES

• 434: Svetlana Khorcanceled
• 433: Weirdest Gymnastics Exhibitions of the 90s (Commissioned)
• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• #GymnastAlliance is growing: We discuss the latest news out of Belgium and the Netherlands
• We have some THINGS to say on what we’ve now learned about Ellis O’Reilly’s health
• How do we handle abusive coaches who admit their mistakes?
• SIGHx100000. Khorkina.
• Reflections on the Heavy Medals podcasts and what Geza Pozsar has been saying lately
• The Human Rights Watch report on Abuse of Child Athletes in Japan

MINI-COMMISSION

• We have been commissioned to add two events to women’s gymnastics. Let’s go.

PLUS

• Wearing tights in gymnastics competition
• Riley’s new bars dismount
• Feedback on majoring in gymnastics, smoking while tumbling, Sarah Jantzi and Rhonda, Spencer needing to figure skate, Jane Allen, and Khorkina things

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RELATED EPISODES

• 433: Weirdest Gymnastics Exhibitions of the 90s (Commissioned)
• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)

• 430: Athlete A with Jennifer Sey
• 212: Rio WAG Olympic Prelims

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

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Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubbubbs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

No, Spencer didn’t self-commission this episode. Instead, an anonymous patron asked us for an episode all about the “professional” “gymnastics” “competitions” to “rock music” that populated the “1990s.” And we are more than happy to oblige. We discuss:

• That time Shannon Miller did interpretive floor while Vanessa Carlton played White Houses on the piano  next to her. The song is all about virginity and regrets.
• Queen Kristie Phillips, the only one who understood. Like when she did a Gianni Versace/Princess Diana tribute beam routine. Or when she did a Vietnam War protest routine. Or when she did a different Vietnam War protest routine. Or that time her genie pants came off during floor.
• Being too 90s to function: Dominique Moceanu’s Titanic beam routine, and Chris Waller doing the Macarena
• Men taking their shirts off. Like all the time. And sometimes Alexei Nemov took his pants off.
• The award for most awkward – Shannon Miller’s virginity floor routine, Valentin Moguilny’s alcoholism floor routine, and Dmitry Bilozerchev’s baby rings routine
• The MAG Seven: Who cared the least about this nonsense (a tough category!) and a conspiracy theory about Shannon
• That time Elena Produnova did an ill-advised floor routine to Who Let the Dogs Out
• That time May Lee Tracy had Kim Zmeskal do a beam routine to God Bless America
• That time Svetlana Khorkina went to Disney World, and that time Ukrainians did ALL the 1994 shopping

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RELATED EPISODES

• 432: #GymnastAlliance
• Best of GymCastic: The Leotard Episode
• 431: 2003 Team Final (Commissioned)
• 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commissioned)
• 422: Stick It (Commissioned)
• 400: 2024 Fantasy Compulsories (Commissioned)
• 368: No-No-Nunnoisms (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

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Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

GYMTERNET NEWS

• #GymnastAlliance
  • British Athletes, like our queen Catherine Lyons and co-queen Lisa Mason, are speaking out about the coaching abuses they’ve suffered and culture of fear in British gymnastics. We discuss what makes this moment different.
• Athlete A Aftermath
  • The influence of this documentary and Dave Tilley’s must-watch reflection and analysis
  • Moving the women’s age limit to 18—how do we feel about it now?
  • OK. But. We really need to unpack this narrative that Maggie was snubbed for a spot on the 2016 team. Spencer made a spreadsheet. Because of course.
  • Feedback on what we make of Geza Pozsar, whether Sarah Jantzi bears the same responsibility as Rhonda Faehn, and how sportsball boyfriends reacted to the documentary
• Copenhagen withdraws
  • Denmark will not host worlds in 2021. Jessica and Spencer are currently in different stages of grief.
• Simone is the first gymnast on the cover of Vogue
  • And the twitters are NOT happy with the pictures
• More abuse news
  • Terry Gray—formerly of Cincinnati, Browns, and SCEGA—has been arrested for 14 counts of “lewdness with a child under 14”
  • Thierry Pellerin—Canadian pommel horse specialist—has been arrested for sexual offenses against minors.
• Plus
  • Gymnastics survives the Stanford sports purge, all our favorite under-the-radar internationals are going to LIU—except international students might not be able to stay in the US (petition), everyone is coming out, and Jessica’s mouth goes to sleep while trying to say Ana Padurariu, which is our cue to stop.

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RELATED EPISODES

• 368: No-No-Nunnoisms (Commissioned)
• 367: Shawn and Nastia: From Feud to Friendship (Commissioned)
• 366: Virtuous Value Parts
• 365: 1988 Olympics Team Competition (Commissioned)
• 364: 80s Fight! (Commissioned)
• 363: Five Is the New Four (…Is the New Five)
• 362: Morgan Hurd & Heath Thorpe

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

This episode was commissioned by Club Gym Nerd member Jasmine, who asked for an episode all about the 2003 worlds team final. Hollie’s number. “Oh, that’s too bad.” Warming up on the podium. “So little talent.” A truly iconic choice!

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and watch the videos of the routines we’re discussing right along with us.

BUT FIRST

A little breaking news nugget: We discuss Shawn Johnson‘s latest YouTube video about being given Adderall for weight loss, not an approved therapeutic exemptions for this banned substance, and what the potential fallout could be, if any.

2003 TEAM FINAL

• • US injury drama – and more questions about the US team medical care
  • Jessica’s behind-the-scenes story about Khorkina interacting with children!
  • The birth of the legend of Chellsie Freaking Memmel
  • A frame-by-frame dissection of Tasha trying to block Martha’s head smack
  • “So little talent” and what Shevchenko herself thinks of that comment
  • Interpreting Khorkina’s choreography
  • Jessica’s tale of spying on a US practice and Carly’s crazy bars training
  • Hollie’s number: Was the US team given preferential treatment?
  • China’s neutral deduction for warming up on the podium
  • “Ooooh, that’s too bad”
  • AND MORE!

THE PLAYLIST

Tasha Rejects Martha’s Head Smush

 

Shevchenko “So Little Talent”

 

 

Patricia Moreno Terror Vault

 

Lin Li…Sigh

 

Hollie’s Number

 

Li Ya Is Perfect but Warmed Up on the Podium (GASP)

 

Oana Ban Beam

 

Ooooh, That’s Too Bad

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RELATED EPISODES

• 430: Athlete A with Jennifer Sey
• 429: John Orozco Does Not Hold Back
• 428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too
• 427: The Gymnast Who Kneeled During The National Anthem
• 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission)
• 422: Stick It (Commissioned)
• 368: No-No-Nunnoisms (Commissioned)
• 365: 1988 Olympics Team Competition (Commissioned)
• 364: 80s Fight! (Commissioned)
• 344: Shushunova vs. Silivas 1988 (Commissioned)
• 308: 2004 Olympic All-Around Final (Commissioned)

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

LISTEN HERE

WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.

THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEW

Jennifer Sey became the US national champion in 1986, just seven months after breaking her femur at the 1985 world championships, an injury that led to a change in rules about bars spotting. In 2008, she published her groundbreaking memoir Chalked Up and has since been an advocate for survivors and those fighting against abuse in gymnastics. She produced the documentary Athlete A about the failures of USA Gymnastics to deal with the criminal ex-doctor, which premieres on Netflix this week.

We talked with her about what she hopes the general public learns about gymnastics culture from the film, whether the Maggie Haney suspension represents progress or not, why watching Kerri Strug vault in 1996 didn’t feel like a glorious moment to her, and balancing the horror of Athlete A with hope by focusing on the triumphs of Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher, and the Indy Star journalists.

Related Reading:

• Jen Sey’s Op-Ed in the New York Times: How Gymnastics Culture Breeds Sexual Abuse  
• Why Not Being Racist is Not Enough 
• Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey

GYMTERNET NEWS

• A vital episode dedication to Natalia Frolova
• URGENT: An email from someone who coached at the Karolyi summer camps
• Feedback on the John Orozco interview and Kensley’s response
• Seattle Pacific eliminates its gymnastics program
• Major dumpster fire developments in bankruptcy court
• Germany (kind of?) did a gymnastics over the weekend
• Simone did a triple double off beam and we need to talk about it

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RELATED EPISODES

• Behind The Scenes: Laurie Hernandez Interview
• 187: McKayla Maroney
• Episode 28: Kristen Maloney
• 420: Jamie Dantzscher
• Aimee Boorman and Maggie Haney: The Olympic Experience
• Aimee & Maggie Extended Interview
• Episode 41: Laurie Hernandez & Coach Maggie Haney
• 423: Little Dumpster Fires Everywhere
• 422: Stick It (Commissioned)
• 420: Jamie Dantzscher
• 277.5: McKayla Maroney Alleges Abuse from Nassar
• 429: John Orozco Does Not Hold Back
• 428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too
• 427: The Gymnast Who Kneeled During The National Anthem
• 426: Body Roll Abomination
• 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission)
• 424 Emotional Abuse: The Maggie Haney Eight Year Ban

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

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THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEW

John Orozco is here and ready to blow it up. In this interview, he discusses the Black Lives Matter movement and the racism he experienced from leadership in the US men’s program, different standards applied to white and black athletes in national team selection and drug/alcohol enforcement, favoritism and score changing, the reality of a family situation that was far from what was painted by NBC, what really happened in the 2012 Olympic team final, the lawlessness of the post-Olympic tour, his nationality switch to Puerto Rico, and so much more. You don’t want to miss this one.

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RELATED EPISODES

• • 72: John Orozco (January 2014)
  • 241: The Pittsburgh Incident (Legendre’s accuse OTC coach of assault)
  • 428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too
  • 427: The Gymnast Who Kneeled During The National Anthem
  • 420: Jamie Dantzscher
  • 319: Aly and Lynn Raisman
  • 187: McKayla Maroney
    

RELATED ARTICLE

• • Shut Up and Tumble

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

Photo: Indiana State University

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WATCH HERE

Club Gym Nerd members can watch the podcast being recorded (pre-edits with all the flubs and hiccups) and see video of the routines we discuss.  *Note that the preview of the Orozco interview is not in the video this week but you can listen to it at the 00: 36:44 time stamp in the audio version.

HEADLINES

• Kurt Thomas, 1978 and 1979 world champion, died of a stroke at age 64. We discuss his legacy.
• More athletes detail stories of racism in college gymnastics—what Alabama’s Tia Kiaku, Auburn gymnasts Kennedy Finister and Telah Black, Florida’s Kytra Hunter, and Nebraska’s Ashley Lambert said this week
  • Why the aggressively empty platitudes from coaches like Dana Duckworth and Courtney Kupets-Carter bother us so much—and why we love the statement from Sac State
  • Plus, do we need to change our outro? And what should it be?

GYMTERNET NEWS

• European Championships have been rescheduled for December in Baku. Jessica is concerned for COVID reasons. Spencer is concerned for rule-consistency reasons. Kensley is optimistic. No one is surprised by any of this.
• The FIG published the new, official Olympic qualification rules for 2021
• The retirements of Courtney McGregor, Senna Deriks, and most of Romania
• Which US elites have decided to keep training for Tokyo
• NCAA transfer news for Addy De Jesus, Bailey Ferrer, and Mercedes Sanchez
• Problems with the FBI, NCAA, and Kathy Klages, as per usual, and a coach suspension at Chelsea Piers
• Nile Wilson released a documentary on his battle with addiction and mental health—we watched and have thoughts
• Plus, feedback on Alexis Brown, why the gymternet didn’t come for Sam Mikulak like it did for Ashton, and sports’ exploitation of black athletes

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RELATED EPISODES

• • 427: The Gymnast Who Kneeled During The National Anthem
  • 426: Body Roll Abomination
  • 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission)
  • 424 Emotional Abuse: The Maggie Haney Eight Year Ban

• Behind the Scenes: Scott Bregman
• Behind the Scenes: May 15, 2020
• Behind The Scenes: Denis Vachon

RELATED ARTICLE

• • Shut Up and Tumble

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN

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Usually video podcasts are a special feature for Club Gym Nerd members but we felt this one was too important not to make available to as wide an audience as possible. Thank You to our Club members for being so supportive.

 

THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEW

Alexis Brown was a UC Davis gymnast, is the co-program record holder on beam, and knelt during the national anthem in the 2017 and 2018 NCAA seasons. We caught up with Alexis to hear her thoughts on kneeling now—two years on—and how she feels about the current protests against police brutality of black Americans.

She tells us whether she feels more hopeful or disheartened about the experience in retrospect, what she makes of the NCAA programs who haven’t made statements, and what she would like to see from white members of the gymnastics community.

Resources For Action:

What White People Can Do For Racial Justice 

NAACP

Black Lives Matter Action Guide

Ben & Jerry’s Dismantle White Supremacy

The Action PAC

Anguish And Action 

Understanding White Privilege

Bystander Intervention Training

Movie : Do The Right Thing

Documentary: 13th on Netflix

GYMTERNET NEWS

• We round up the reactions (and occasionally lack thereof) to the protests from those in the gymnastics community, including Kennedy Baker, Tia Kiaku, and Steve Butcher.
• Plus, what we can do in the gymnastics community, obliviousness and defensiveness, reasons there might be silence, compassion fatigue, and how there’s no better time to get rid of IOC’s Rule 50 against demonstrations.

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RELATED EPISODES

• • 426: Body Roll Abomination
  • 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission)
  • 424 Emotional Abuse: The Maggie Haney Eight Year Ban
  • Behind the Scenes: Gymnast Nicknames with Scott Bregman
  • Behind The Scenes with coach Denis Vachon
  • Behind the Scenes: May 15, 2020
  • Behind The Scenes: Exactly What is Going on With Gymnast’s Special Underwear?
  • Video Podcasts

RELATED ARTICLE

• • Shut Up and Tumble

MORE WAYS TO LISTEN