What We’re Talking About
Embrace every moment. On Valentine’s Day Sloane Blakely recorded the second perfect 10 of her college career. Seven days later she hopped off the floor after suffering what appears to be a serious lower leg injury. Coach Jenny Rowland has said an announcement should be expected in the coming days.
The highs and lows of the sport is a reminder of just how tenuous each moment is. Heartbreak is a part of sports. If it weren’t for setbacks we wouldn’t have comebacks. Seeing the devastation on the floor—while not pleasant at all—is what makes the continued participation and success of someone like Oksana Chusovitina such a marvel. It’s why Simone returning to the Olympics, let alone dominating, garners so much awe and admiration. Life is not a sprint and neither are sports. Sure, some people run faster than others, but it’s the journey they travel that makes us pay attention. We’re guessing Rebeca Andrade appreciates her successes more than she would have if she hadn’t returned to world class form after tearing her ACL three times! And when Christine Peng-Peng Lee stuck her beam dismount in 2018 to record her second perfect 10 of the national championships to secure the team title; everyone in the arena following the sport understood how much those routines meant for the sixth year senior.
While we tune into meets for the expression of physical exceptionalism, we follow gymnastics to witness the human spirit triumph.
Feelings
- We salute Vivi Crain and her exquisite turns
- Thankful Spencer makes following NQS super easy
- Feeling the love: Madison Kocian is engaged
- We now know what computer things Simone will do in the office of her new house
- Wishing Sloane Blakely and Anya Pilgrim a speedy recovery
- Devastated for Jennifer Gadirova
- Zoey Molomo’s unintentional dismount is *chef’s kiss*
- Oklahoma’s documentary is worth a watch
- Regardless of your uniform thoughts, Frederick Richard made people look
- Alicia Zhou’s bars are clean and smooth
Facts
- Ashlee Sullivan is your Winter Cup champion
- Jordan Chiles is a TIME Woman of the Year
- Jade Carey is getting a statue at Oregon State
- The French Federation is allowing women to wear shorts in competition
- Faith Torrez scores the first perfect 10 of the season for the Sooners
- Oklahoma breaks 198 for the first time this season (and then did it again 48 hours later)
- Utah has joined the 198 club this season
- Grown ass women rule the podium in Cottbus
- You can watch the Winter Cup routines here
- Maile O’Keefe is still winning big awards
Award(s)
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- The Most Winter Cup Award: Zoey Molomo’s unintentional dismount
- Best Reason to Cancel NCAA Gymnastics as a Sport: Kayli Boozer’s impossible score with a fall
What’s On the Socials?
View this post on Instagram
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Quotes
“We can say that’s better but better is still a deduction. Right? And better is less than you are capable of.”
~ Tom Haley, Sooner National Champion
The Oklahoma Associate Head Coach spit constructive wisdom that explains OU’s dominance in a new documentary.
♦
“He was involved in the mass abduction, illegal deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.”
~ The Council of the European Union
The EU has sanctioned Olympic and World Champion, Nikita Nagorny, which among other things prevents him from entering EU territories and member states.
♦
“This does not change my LA 2028 plans.”
~ Jennifer Gadirova, Olympian
In a post on Instagram, Jennifer shares news that she’s suffered an injury that will slow, not stop, her comeback.
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What? You want even more? Join Club Gym Nerd and you get a bonus episode, College & Cocktails, every weekend after our meet of the week. Once the NCAA season is over you continue to get a weekly bonus episode every Friday afternoon. Plus you get access to all of our archives, exclusive content and more. Then we give the sober analysis on Monday (or Tuesday) after we’ve allowed the data to penetrate our feelings.
This column was composed and compiled by Steve Cooper, Editor at GymCastic, and co-author of the upcoming book “The Balance“; some thoughts culled from hosts Jessica O’Beirne and Spencer Barnes.
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