our lord & savior he kexin @deng-linlin - Tumblr Blog

“ I think the Chinese looked really good at their nationals! Currently my dream team is Li Shijia, Tang Xijing, Lu Yufei and Guan Chenchen, with Fan Yilin and Zhang Jin as individuals. “

deng-linlin

love how none of the gymnasts mentioned in the confession are in the pic lmao??

queen-chengfei

What I really hate about the discourse about “zomg they are BIASED against Simone for having super duper high difficulty skills!!!!11!!” is that it completely ignores all historical context surrounding the real issue of undervaluing difficult skills, in favor of centering the entire narrative on a gymnast from a wealthy and favored country, when said country almost always gets the benefit of the doubt from international judges.

FIG’s history of arbitrarily undervaluing and discouraging certain skills is a problem with the sport. But framing the narrative like FIG is out to get Simone is just hilarious, because Simone has always been extremely and rightfully well rewarded by international judging. The undervaluing of the double double dismount on beam is a small action that’s pretty much in line with what FIG often does with extremely difficult elements, and a decision that ultimately affects Simone very little — especially considering that she has been well rewarded for all the other extremely difficult, original work she’s done.

Instead of acting like Simone is somehow this ~unique~ case and as if it’s Simone versus the big bad international gym federation, we should instead be talking about how front tumbling elements are criminally undervalued as a whole. How it disadvantages talented front tumbling gymnasts willing to take the risk, and results in homogenized floor routines with predominantly back tumbling elements (like Simone’s fx routine).

We should be talking about how difficulty caps on bar transitions and pirouettes discourage innovation and affect programs that don’t rely on difficult release skills. How difficult skills are often undervalued just because FIG doesn’t want to see them anymore (like sheep jumps - which didn’t really affect USA gym at all!!) We could talk about how FIG decisions regarding the code of points very rarely disadvantage American gymnasts, and sometimes appear to unfairly target other countries that often don’t “fit” into Eurocentric/Western culture.

When FIG REALLY wants to ban an element, they will either outright ban it (roll-outs, which are very very dangerous and rightfully banned long ago), or REALLY undervalue it (the one-armed giant on bars, which is rated as a B skill when it really should be way way way higher).

People could use this issue around Simone to shed light upon a far deeper problem that more often than not affects non-American or less famous gymnasts, but that wouldn’t get them the clicks and social media clout and fake outrage points, would it? 🤷🏻‍♀️

gymfanconfessions

“Are there actually examples of elite gymnasts who continued gymnastics as a regular fun hobby after there career is over? (Not counting NCAA in this because it’s still very competitive and gives them a financial benefit)Cause I think it is a shame that they put so much work and talent into gymnastics and then quit entirely and unlearn all of the skills they put all that time and effort in.”

deng-linlin

literally shang chunsong, she’s still training and competing in the provincial level while going to university because she seems to genuinely love the sport

suiluwu

Hello! How do I get more involved in the Chinese gym side of the fandom on Tumblr and Twitter? I don't really talk to or know any of you and I would really love to!

just regularly interact & avoid being annoying lol

deng-linlin

emphasis on the avoid being annoying part

gymfanconfessions

“ Simone’s undoubtedly the best vaulter at the moment but I think people would still collectively agree that McKayla Maroney is the GOAT at that piece of apparatus. Even in the vault episode in ‘Defying Gravity,’ they talk about how McKayla’s the only (female) gymnast so far who’s been able to truly pop off the vaulting table. “

deng-linlin

ehhh in the list of vault greats, simone should still be on top, followed by cheng then maroney. i’d put cheng above maroney by virtue of having a more difficult 2nd vault (that’s named after her!!) + 3 her consecutive world titles + popularizing the amanar+cheng winning combo that’s still used to this day

Mikhail Kolyada

Triple lutz

Liu Tingting

Front aerial - Split ring jump - Korbut

Jiang Tong

Grigoras

Wang Xiaodi

Split ring jump

#wang xiaodi #chngymgifs

gymfanconfessions

“So Gao Ning competed a piked tsuk and a handspring in the vault finals of Chinese Nationals. She was there because other people got disqualified since they didn’t pass the physical abilities test. Some folks think it’s ridiculous but I’m like, “Hmmm…Chow, is that you with the long term planning?” “

deng-linlin

qiao isn’t responsible for the fitness test lmao; it’s mandated by the government across all sports