Former Gym Rat

Fan of WAG, Especially Girls from USA

[gymnastlurker]

Morgan, Ellie, and Elena do make a nice podium...

Proud of them all. Good to see Morgan shine on a big stage, Canada win a medal at home, and Elena be her talented self. Heartbroken for the girls who were injured, but still happy for the ones who medaled. 

[gymnastlurker]

Happy for Morgan...

and sad for Ragan, Lari, and Kohei. This worlds has ripped my heart apart...

[gymnastlurker]

Team USA is wearing a sparkly blue leotard to Podium Training...

It’s so elegant, and I just love the color of blue that they chose. Simple, clean, and classy with some glitter. 

[gymnastlurker]

Jade’s Vaults are Pretty Impressive...

Good power and nice form in the area. Just wish she could clean up the landings a bit so she wasn’t taking such big steps, but I really think she could medal in vault if she can keep performing on this level. 

[gymnastlurker]

Liked what I saw from Ragan and Morgan on Vault...

Pretty good, solid, and clean vaults. 

[gymnastlurker]

Loved Morgan’s Podium Training Beam...

So confident and flowing. That’s the Morgan I want to see in competition. 

[gymnastlurker]

Ragan’s Beam in Podium Training was Rough...

A fall and several noticeable wobbles. I think her nerves were showing there. Hopefully she can control her nerves better in competition. 

[gymnastlurker]

Predictions for Women’s AA Finals at Worlds...

1) Ragan Smith

2) Larisa Iordache

3) Elena Eremina

[twoflipstwotwists]

USA Gymnastics’ live streaming schedule for Worlds! (x) 

[gymnastlurker]

A useful reference.

[gymnastlurker]

USA Gymnastics Announced the Worlds 2017 team:

It includes: Ragan Smith (obviously), Ashton Locklear (I thought she’d go after Riley withdrew from camp), Jade Carey (for her vault and floor exercise), and Morgan Hurd. 

Morgan Hurd was the only surprise here, but I am happy for her. I love how fluid but strong her gymnastics is, and her flexibility is superb. Valeri seems to believe in her, and that probably helped her, but from the camp videos USA Gymnastics posted, Morgan had a really good camp, whereas Jordan Chiles, who ended up being the non-traveling alternate, seemed a little “off.” Jordan also didn’t seem to have her second vault, even though I know after Championships she was saying that she wanted to have a Lopez ready for selection camp. I think if she had that second vault she’d be going to Montreal instead of Morgan or maybe instead of Jade. I hope Morgan can have a consistent Worlds and show everyone her potential. 

In terms of medaling I think we’ll see Ragan medal in the all-around, on beam, and maybe on floor exercise as well, depending on how well her routine goes over with international judges. Ashton Locklear should hopefully be able to medal on bars. Morgan Hurd could medal in the all-around and maybe on floor exercise or beam. Jade might medal on vault (though I wish that she showed more signs of cleaning up her landings; she really hasn’t improved in that regard since Classics) and maybe floor exercise. Each girl has a chance to medal on one or more event, though whether she will is the question, of course:D 

[gymnastlurker]

Riley has Pulled out of Worlds Selection Camp Due to Injury...

So sad for her, since she does have beautiful gymnastics and was consistent at Championships, but I think this means the US world team will be Ragan Smith, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Ashton Locklear.

[deannahongproductions]

View this post on Instagram

COMING SOON: After years of falling short of her potential due to constant injury, a change in mindset, a new trainer, and a holistic approach to her gymnastics finally made @liekewevers an Olympian at age 24. In Rio, Lieke achieved 20th in the AA final and 7th for the Dutch team. The road to Rio was not an easy one, but one she was able to conquer once she took control of her gymnastics. - Yesterday my friend Lieke was named to the Dutch team for next month’s World Championships in Montréal. Her beautiful and elegant gymnastics make her a favorite amongst gymnastics fans worldwide. Even more incredible is her story of how she became the gymnast she is today, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.

[gymnastlurker]

A tribute to perserverance. 

[illyria-and-her-pet]

Absolutely disgusting! John Geddert just keeps proving over and over again that he is trash. Kathy Klages who got suspended from MSU for being extremely vocal about her support for Nassar and encouraging her gymnasts to not support any of Nassar’s abuse is working at Twistars now. She was allegedly even trying to get the gymnasts to write support cards to Nassar while he was in jail wtf. And Geddert is also being sued by his insurance company for ignoring a complaint from a parent about Nassar back in 1998! One of the girls who testified in court also said that once Geddert walked in on Nassar’s treatments and made an inappropriate joke about it.

[gymnastlurker]

This whole situation makes me sick. It is absolutely terrible how gyms continue to hire abusers and those who defend them instead of prioritizing the safety of their athletes. I always got a “creeper” vibe from Geddert but hiring Klages and ignoring a parent complaint about Nassar make me think that he doesn’t just seem sketchy; he really is a sleaze. 

[mamaliukin]

Not sure why everyone is suddenly pining for Eremina to take gold in the AA; if ragan is even remotely consistent she’ll take the gold pretty roundly.

[gymnastlurker]

I think as long as Ragan can keep her nerves under control, the World AA title should be hers. 

[literallyygarbagee]

I just read the last few of the posts on Katelyn's blog and oh my god everyone should read all of them. There's a story about a GAGE gymnast from the late 80s who went on to develop an eating disorder and died?!? How that didn't cause a shift 20 years ago, I'll never know. Major props to Katelyn, her story is heart wrenching and it makes me so angry that she even still is getting body shaming comments today...

Yeah, I mean, pretty much everyone knows about Christy Henrich and it did lead to major changes in the women’s program overall…her death was followed by Little Girls in Pretty Boxes which shed a light on a lot of what was rotten about the sport, and then the ridiculousness that was 2000 thrust it all into the spotlight even further, causing that major overhaul of the women’s program. Things got INSANELY better between Heinrich and when Martha took over, especially as many old school coaches started retiring and being replaced by younger coaches, many of whom grew up under tough coaches and wanted to take that aspect out of the sport. Of course, the Nassar stuff happened all through that period with almost no one knowing about it, and the ranch was always an intense place, though individual coaches absolutely began standing up for their gymnasts in a way that made a difference. One gymnast told me that Martha didn’t give a crap about what they did, their eating, etc, as long as they showed up ready to work and look good, and her personal coach was super chill but everyone else’s personal coach was a million times more problematic than Martha, so she’d bring a duffel bag of food to share with everyone not because Martha wouldn’t let them eat, but because their coaches didn’t (which is a big change compared to when Bela ran things and was super controlling about food). Like if you saw the ranch in the mid-90s compared to the mid-2000s you wouldn’t recognize it as the same place, basically, and between the mid-2000s and now there has been even more change for the better. But there are always going to be those coaches who are awful people who put their athletes at risk, and while USAG still needs a crap ton of change from the top down, on a smaller scale I think parents really need to know what kind of person they’re sending their kids to every day, because if they’re getting that kind of emotional (or physical) abuse from their coach, then going to the ranch with a coach like that won’t protect them from the larger systemic abuses. The kids with good, attentive, protective coaches tend to have really good elite experiences whereas the kids with awful coaches tend to have horrific elite experiences, so while USAG is to blame for so much, the fact is that the national team experience is like night and day depending on who’s bringing you through it. Kid A might have the most amazing, beautiful experience EVER, and Kid B might come out with nightmares. Club coaches need to be vetted by parents just as much as national team coordinators need to be vetted by USAG.

[thisblogisgettingdeleted]

Dang.

[gymnastlurker]

A lot of important points here. Sometimes parents do need to intervene in gymnastics (and sports in general) if it’s a matter of abuse or safety. If it’s a matter of abuse or safety for your child or someone else’s kid, always speak up, please, parents. 

[dear-aliya-count-me-in]

Katelyn ohashi’s most recent blog post (1 of 2, second to come later) where she talks about body shaming she dealt with throughout elite

[tripletwistsandtripleaxels]

:(((( I’m crying

[thisblogisgettingdeleted]

She makes me so sad.

[gymnastlurker]

This is horrible to read. It makes me so sad and angry to hear about athletes or anyone being shamed about their body and encouraged to develop unhealthy dieting habits. I feel so much sympathy for what Katelyn experienced, and, this, combined with what Vanessa Atler has said about developing bulimia under Valeri Liukin and being weighed and being forced to condition if she was deemed too fat, makes me anxious about Valeri as National Team Coordinator. Vanessa’s and Katelyn’s stories are so hauntingly similar that I fear that USA Gymnastics will continue to not protect its female competitors adequately:( 

[thisblogisgettingdeleted]

NEW SWAP ALERT!!! 

Ragan Smith to Carly Patterson’s music!

It was a little difficult to find something that fit Ragan’s crazy music changes, but this was what fit the best! 

You have a swap? Click on the @swagslikemags​ page and click on Submit a Swap and submit!!

[gymnastlurker]

Wow, this fits really well with Ragan’s routine! Love it.