What We’re Talking About
We got an update on the back and forth between Romania and the United States for the Paris bronze floor medal and whether Ana Barbosu or Jordan Chiles (or both) should retain the prize. To make their case in front of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court both parties mention GymCastic and our interviews with Simone Biles Rising director, Katie Walsh as evidence that furthers their argument. In short, Romania argues Jordan Chiles’ team failed to produce evidence in a timely manner from the documentary and questioned the integrity of the evidence. The U.S. counters that they found the evidence at a later date and explains the process of the evidence’s production. The Romanians and Americans point to our conversation with Katie to make their points. Having done the interviews, we can say with clarity that the U.S. response in their newest filing is the one in line with what Katie said in our interviews. You can listen to our first interview here and our second interview here. With that said, we feel the Swiss court shouldn’t punish the athletes and recognize them both as bronze medalists.
What’s remarkable is we’re entering week five of the college season and only one team, Florida, has scored a 198+. This time last year three teams (Oklahoma, LSU and Ball St.) had broken that mark. In fact, Oklahoma finished the season with a historic NQS of 198.500. Perhaps more remarkable in this season’s tighter scoring is we’ve still only had two perfect 10s compared to the 20 this same time last season. This has some in the sport, like Livvy Dunne worried. She shared a post on Twitter/X about her fear the tighter scoring is turning fans away. We share our thoughts on Livvy’s statement in this week’s podcast, but more than anything, we love that she’s expressing her feelings and standing up for something. Using her voice and platform elevates gymnastics into the general conversation. We need more of this.
Speaking of platforms, we announced on this week’s show that we will no longer link out to Twitter so long as a Nazi is running the platform. We don’t say that flippantly. We saw the Sieg Heil gesture, but more importantly we’ve been following what Elon Musk is saying, posting and amplifying on his platform. Even if we gave Musk the benefit of the doubt that he’s being misinterpreted or that he’s just trolling, his actions are inexcusable. He’s supposedly one of the smartest humans on the planet, definitely one of the richest, and he controls what used to be the most influential social media platform on the planet. To believe Musk does not understand the power of his words and actions is to hand over our integrity for likes. Yes, we’ve already received pushback and we’re truly sorry if you disagree. It’s scary for us because we have a lot of followers there and in some instances social media reach is how media credentials are distributed. Nancy Armour of USA Today really dives into the value proposition of staying on the platform while ignoring the main alternative, BlueSky. Unfortunately, most colleges are still posting exclusively on X so we need to maintain a presence there to follow the news. However, more are joining the new platform by the day along with the fans. Legendary Utah coach, Greg Marsden, has created a starter pack of college teams and organizations that report on them; and you can find even more here, here, here and here.
Feelings
- We wish more gymnasts should express their opinions without fear or favor
- And when they do, we hope the community remains civil and considerate
- We hope Ella Zirbes figures out how to disarm her anxiety
- Levi Jung-Ruivivar is brave and we wish her a speedy return to full health
- Nobody has thought more about that beam mount than Leanne Wong
- Raphaelle Perreault could use a larger landing area
- Paige Zancan’s handspring entry vault is awesome
- Aleah Finnegan’s accidental ejection from the floor puts her in good company
- All judges should be required to watch the Florida vs. Georgia and the Oregon St. vs. Auburn meet back to back to understand fan frustration
- Up-to deductions should be eliminated from the code of points
- We need everyone to watch Brenna Nault’s twisting ring leap
Facts
- Chuso is back!
- Arkansas (17) had a big upset win over LSU (2)
- Florida is the only team to score a 198+ this season
- Clemson has already sold out their home opener for Friday
- An 11-year-old turned down the opportunity to watch a Pirates game in Livvy Dunne’s suite (among many other incentives) in exchange for her boyfriend’s rare baseball card
- Cameron Machado announced she is medically retiring
- There’s a new German gymnastics podcast Perfect 10
- The GEC Conference is not participating in the S.C.O.R.E. board judging accountability system
- Konnor McClain has scored a 9.925 three weeks in a row on bars
- 15 gymnasts have received a 10.0 from at least one judge so far
- Bonus: It’s not too late to play our fantasy game. Join here.
Award(s)
- Benjamin Button: 49-year-old, 8x Olympian Oksana Chusovitina
- Underdogs: Arkansas
What’s On the Socials?
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Quotes
“When my nervous system doesn’t know the difference between competing a routine and being held at gunpoint.” ~ Ella Zirbes, Ute
In a post on TikTok Ella shares a thought, which might explain why she has stopped twice during her floor routine this season.
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“If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy! People understand what a perfect 10 is and want people who do things that look great to be rewarded.”
~ Livvy Dunne, National Champion
Livvy shares her thoughts on the tighter scoring based on the feedback she’s been receiving from her larger and broader audience of fans.
♦
“Evidence:
—Interview by GymCastic with Katie Walsh on July 21, 2024
—Interview by GymCastic with Katie Walsh on October 30, 2024”
~ Case No. 4A_510/2024
GymCastic being submitted into evidence as part of the appeals process over the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal dispute
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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, GymCastic; as performed by hosts Jessica O’Beirne and Spencer Barnes.
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