Relive the ridiclous, wonderful, and deeply influential 1997–1999 International Team Championships, the friendly meets that defined the pre-Sydney quad. From Vanessa Atler, Dominique Moceanu, Simona Amanar, Ling Jie, Maria Olaru, Kristen Maloney, Elise Ray, and more—plus China’s bars innovation, Romania’s beam dominance, and the USA’s rising queens. From NBC’s fingerpainting fluff pieces to vault disasters, age-rule drama, and iconic routines, we revisit the meets that shaped a gymnastics generation.
90’s International Team Meets Commission:
This is a Commissioned Episode by Club Gym Nerd member Casey. Club Gym Nerd members help us pay our bills and in return get thank you goodies from us in return like a FULL extra Q&A podcast every week! Membership makes a GREAT GIFT!
- For the youngins, what even was this meet and what is it’s significance?
- What is the present day equivalent of this meet?
- NBC is back at it again with infantilizing teenagers, this time we have the *checks notes* International Finger Painting Championships?
- Chen Mi (China) presenting the case for the modern vault table by almost smashing her face and missing her hands on both of her attempts
- Why Vanessa Atler is actually the patron saint of the gymternet and invented blogging
- A dump-truck off between Romania on bars and China on floor
- Shout out to Liu Xuan’s one-armed Gienger, Kulikowski’s beam, and Maloney’s wolf to immediate Korbut
- Obviously we need to talk about our opportunities for comedy from this meet brought to you by Hershey’s, McDonalds, and Nicorette
- Was Gina Gogean… okay?
- The spaceship noises in Ungureanu’s floor music
- Chen Mi falling on a tuck jump
- When Maloney almost fell on a Shaposh
- Our favorite time capsule moments
- ”The bars are too far apart, we can’t do anything interesting”
- NBC wants you to get your grandma aerial front walkover off of its lawn
- Tim being wowed by a front double-full on floor
- WTF 1997?
- Looking back retrospectively, should the DTY have been downgraded to a 9.9 SV?
- Atler’s age issue and the first time senior women had to be 16 in the calendar year
- The Moceanu fluff piece about her dad burning all her money. Yiiiiikes.
- Atler vaulted a great DTY and all the male coaches congratualte Steve and ignore Atler???
- 1998, the time there were no Worlds
- Belu getting in trouble for talking to the judge and then saying he was too scared to talk to Jackie – as he should be
- Li Jiya getting excited about her American chocolate and hair clips
- Kristy Powell meeting her boyfriend at TGI Friday’s like you do
- The era when every floor routine was a 1950s sock hop
- LING FREAKING JIE with a Rulfova mount, back handspring Onodi, and allll the el-grip on bars
- Presecan’s layout on beam! Just as NBC craps all over her routine
- Things got dark reallll fast
- The Romanian delegation member getting shot in Venezuela
- Sang Lan was here and talked about tweaking her back
- The 1999 show starring Atler and Bai Chunyue’s height
- You can’t make a fluff piece about Atler’s bars if she doesn’t compete bars. Well played Vanessa, well played.
- NBC’s obsession with Bai Chunyue’s age and height
- Beckerman being a fun free spirit before NBC re-branded her in 2000
- Should this meet be brought back?
RELATED:
- Jakarta Worlds Debrief: The Romanian Drama Explained With Coaches Daymon Jones & Patrick Kiens
- Trouble in Romania
- The History of Romanian Gymnastics (Commissioned)
- 80’s Fight! The great Soviet Romanian Rivalry (Commissioned)
- The Fluff Cast: Deva isn’t a castle?!
- World Championships Headquarters Videos, Interviews, Podcasts, Fantasy, Guides from Jakarta World Championships
- Behind the Scenes – all episodes
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