SafeSport permanently banned Al Fong and Armine Barutyan-Fong; Arthur Akopian and Galina Marinova are facing yet another investigation; plus all the federation drama and roster shocker news heading into World Championships season in Rotterdam.
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HEADLINES
- Arthur Akopian and Galina Marinova are under investigation by SafeSport AGAIN
- Years after the Washington Post Investigation
- Al Fong and Armine Barutyan-Fong have been permanently banned by SafeSport
- In an interview, Ana Barbosu said she did not have the right to be happy in Romania, and chose to come to the United States
- World Championships drama
- Oksana Chusovitina declined a spot as a vault specialist at this year’s World Championships
- North Korea qualified its team via Asian Championships, but declined a spot to Worlds. Malaysia will take the team spot instead
- The head of the Taiwanese Federation has been fired after the federation allegedly rejected the invite for two apparatus specialists to go to Worlds
- Yang Fanyuwei is not on China’s Worlds team despite having the second-highest bars score in the world behind Kaylia Nemour
- Georgia Godwin is not on Australia’s Worlds team despite being Georgia Godwin
- Alice Kinsella returns to the all-around with a 53.900 after becoming a mom last year
- Want to win a full commissioned episode? Enter our raffle by October 9th! This is the only way to commission a full episode. We will draw the winner at Worlds in Rotterdam!
INTERVIEW: SAFESPORT CEO BENITA FITZGERALD MOSLEY
- Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, 1984 Olympic gold medalist in the 100-meter hurdle and CEO of SafeSport, joins us on today’s episode to discuss SafeSport’s hack, steps to improve data privacy, and resources provided by the Center
- Resources
- In-Person Training Resources
- Abuse Prevention Resources
- The weekly CDD news releases a 125% increase in new visitors to the CDD in the first month
- On extending the hotline hours for reporting abuse and misconduct
- SafeSport investigator fired after arrest for stealing drug money
GYMTERNET NEWS:
- Nadia Comăneci joins the jury of the reality show “Românii au talent” as a judge
- The US Classic will be returning to Hoffman Estates for the US Classic in July 2027
- Virgin Atlantic replaces British Airways as the new official airline for Team GB heading into LA28
WHAT MEETS ARE ON?
- The Szombathely World Cup from September 18-20 in Hungary
- Brazil is sending a top team of Rebeca Andrade, Flavia Saraiva, and Lorrane Oliveria
- The United States is sending Dulcy Caylor and Tatum Drusch
- Asian Games are happening September 21-24
- What’s the big deal? It’s a once every four year, multi-sport event, like the Olympics, but just for Asia
- China is sending its Worlds team
- Paris World Cup on September 26-27
- It’s the last FIG competition before the World Championships
- We will get to see live scoring statistics for the first time!!
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GYMCASTIC TOOLS, GAMES AND RESOURCES
- GymCastic tools:
- LA 2028 Roster Lab — Now with auto-fill highest-scoring team, team comparisons and updated roster briefs.
- Elite Score Explorer — U.S. Championships scores are in, plus new charting options and the vault bonus toggle.
- International Gymnastics Calendar
- GymCastic Games
- GymCastic Newsletters
- The Balance Beam Situation: Spencer Barnes’ GIF Code of Points
- Gymnastics History: Gymnastics history and Code of Points archive from Uncle Tim
- Resistance Resources
Cover art, Fong and Kinsella Photos © GymCastic / Steve Cooper. All rights reserved. Photo of Benita Fitzgerald Mosley used with permission from SafeSport.


