tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post2648492704904914405..comments2024-03-27T00:19:55.641-07:00Comments on Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand: The Martha InterviewOlympicEffecthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11708554152461551887noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-44785178369827790422011-10-17T00:50:13.762-07:002011-10-17T00:50:13.762-07:00Nah. To answer my own question, Martha being Mart...Nah. To answer my own question, Martha being Martha will still want to go with at least one event specialist who either isn't a great AAer or doesn't compete AA. So, no, selection will most definitely NOT be that simple. Not since what was it...1996? 2000?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-46634844671892362662011-10-17T00:33:49.145-07:002011-10-17T00:33:49.145-07:00Someone posted that Nastia has a better shot at ma...Someone posted that Nastia has a better shot at making the Olympics than Shawn or Chellsie. I can only assume that's because her past strength is currently the US's greatest weakness. Other than that reason, I couldn't agree less. I honestly don't know how long Nastia's been training or how intensely or even which skills, but just like Shawn and Chellsie, she, too, hasn't been in elite level competition in 3 years. And from many years of following the sport, I've kind of gathered that your name can carry some clout, but the judges usually prefer to see you out there for more than a qualifier and a nationals before they score you high enough to attend the Olympics. At least the other 2 gave themselves a little more time to reassert themselves to the judges and the rest of the world (granted that while I don't know how serious Chellsie's shoulder injury was, I think if she could've held off and competed in Mexico, she should've. She needed the international competition, even if it wasn't the Worlds. Bad timing). And Nastia, too, had a weight gain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling her fat. I actually thought she looked better, but it would affect her center of gravity, therefore affecting even more how hard it's going to be to hit and hold handstands. <br /><br />I do agree, however, that she needs desperately to get rid of her double front/half dismount. She missed it more times than she hit it and aside from the landing she made it obvious in the air that she struggled with the power and the timing of it. She used to compete a double layout dismount which was far more consistent for her. <br /><br />I also agree that Martha is more excited at the prospect of scaring the younger girls with yet another returning big name. Though I won't rule out she's also excited at the prospect of higher bar scores. But I seriously think it's more the former. <br /><br />I truthfully also believe that Martha will take only 2 specialists, but maybe only 1. And they'll most likely be bars specialists. She seems to be pushing more for the AAers at this point. She's smart. Five positions leaves far less room to waste on 1 to 2 event athletes. So I suppose to put it plainly, I'd say if you want to go to London, you'd better be great on all 4 events, and if you can't do that, you'd better start cracking on bars. LOL, they did just announce that the final team will actually be chosen AT the trials believe it or not. So maybe all these gymnasts are going to have to do is finish in the top 5 there. Could selection really end up being that simple? :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-28718737083874209512011-10-14T01:50:18.583-07:002011-10-14T01:50:18.583-07:00@ anonymous 12:49.
To say that Marta wants a lot o...@ anonymous 12:49.<br />To say that Marta wants a lot of athletes so she can wreck them without consequence is super cynical and petty. I'm sure that Marta would like to see all national team members healthy and able to perform to the best of their ability. Issues of over reaching I suspect are more likely due to athletes pushing themselves too hard to be competition ready. The responsiblity for properly conditioning the athletes in a safe, systematic, progressive way, and properly adapted to higher intensity belongs to the individual athlete's coaches. And, it's their coaches' duty to reel an athlete in if they are not getting enough recovery time. With so many quantifiable markers, it's certainly not rocket science these days to determine whether or not an athlete is over training.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-79102390636577465712011-10-14T01:22:05.335-07:002011-10-14T01:22:05.335-07:00Does it seem a little late in the year to be aimin...Does it seem a little late in the year to be aiming to return to competition at the Cover Girl Classic? Any other year, fine, but it being an Olympic year it seems like it gives her very little time out competing and having her routines scored. I guess time will tell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-59143089001921209862011-10-14T01:09:07.301-07:002011-10-14T01:09:07.301-07:00Nastia, potentially at least, definitely has a bet...Nastia, potentially at least, definitely has a better shot than Shawn or Memmel, but her pirouetting elements won't be as valuable as people think. She very rarely finished her Ono-half in handstand, and her invert full before her Pak was never in handstand. She has quite an uphill battle to not only get a strong routine back, but to address the handstand issues, which are a MAJOR part of bars now. The Chinese have always had weak kips and toe shoots, but got exceptional execution scores anyway. Now they aren't getting those great e-scores, because their invert pirouetting is almost impossible to get perfectly in handstand.<br /><br />I also think Nastia will face major issues with her dismount. I'm not sure she can get the double front half back. The judges are no longer going to ignore the massive pile of deductions in that thing. And expecting her to switch to a full in or something like that isn't realistic, especially because she has such bent knees on back giants. I wish Nastia the absolute best, but this isn't going to be easy. Taking off a month to go to Japan probably isn't helping matters either. Signs Nastia not being used to all this intensity of training and competition may start to show late in the selection process during Trials.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-614965474957277022011-10-14T01:06:23.795-07:002011-10-14T01:06:23.795-07:00Gabby's Amanar may not have surfaced yet for a...Gabby's Amanar may not have surfaced yet for any number of reasons, who knows. But, hasn't she been hampered by an injury as of late? Better to hold back than start chucking it all over the place before it's ready a la Raisman.<br /><br />I would assume, however, that it must be somewhat there for Marta to mention her as having one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-85673050116516999842011-10-14T00:51:03.448-07:002011-10-14T00:51:03.448-07:00Oops, my comment didn't post right.. I'm a...Oops, my comment didn't post right.. I'm agreeing with the paragraph in "Anonymous 7:11 PM" that talks about why Marta likes to increase the talent pool.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-46942593743763788042011-10-14T00:49:18.804-07:002011-10-14T00:49:18.804-07:00Aly's 14 on bars in Prelims was a ridiculous s...Aly's 14 on bars in Prelims was a ridiculous score. I tend to doubt she would have gotten that with a hit routine in AA (then again the judges were willing to give her a 12.9 when she probabl deserved a 10.9), so she may have still stayed in 4th. Point is, I don't think she or Marta should feel that disappointed by her efforts. <br /><br /><<<>>><br /><br />I agree with the above paragraph. Also, an increased talent pool allows Marta to push the girls harder, because she knows that she can injure more girls and still have plenty left over. Sad but probably true.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-84146178735256704602011-10-14T00:35:45.753-07:002011-10-14T00:35:45.753-07:00Maroney is so frail... Having her just doing the p...Maroney is so frail... Having her just doing the pounding events all day would wreck her! If nothing else, at least training beam and stuff gives her a bit of a rest for the day. <br /><br />Marta gushing over Nastia is not because she "wants" her on the Olympic team, but because she knows that whether Nastia's comeback is successful or not, it will at least scare the other frontrunners into trying to become better at bars, where we generally still suck. I mean, Mustafina plus Komova will just wreck us there next year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-9430127739721824572011-10-14T00:27:47.657-07:002011-10-14T00:27:47.657-07:00If Gabby did an Amanar at camp LAST SPRING and it ...If Gabby did an Amanar at camp LAST SPRING and it hasn't surfaced since, chances are that thing isn't very cute looking or very consistent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-23570976032244735142011-10-13T20:00:54.894-07:002011-10-13T20:00:54.894-07:00As much as it pains me. Given I hate the rewards ...As much as it pains me. Given I hate the rewards for piros...and Nastia's general twink appeal...the girl does fill a substantial hole, mathematically. I think Marta let slip some honest impressions. Plus, she is not injured like Shawn or Chellsie (and both girls are still question marks if they can ever get their bodies back to scratch...and Marta is savvy about that sort of shit.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-25072625081253799292011-10-13T19:21:06.253-07:002011-10-13T19:21:06.253-07:00@ anonymous 7:11
Touché. Monday morning quarterbac...@ anonymous 7:11<br />Touché. Monday morning quarterbacking is just a rhetorical game of coulda', shoulda', woulda'. Yes, IF Yao had not fallen and IF Aly had hit she probably would not have medaled. It's just a question of how many 'ifs' you want to put in the equation. I just chose to use one 'if.'Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-6801364916304915722011-10-13T19:15:12.060-07:002011-10-13T19:15:12.060-07:00@ anonymous 4:28
Stupid much?@ anonymous 4:28<br />Stupid much?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-42815781787346240222011-10-13T19:11:53.490-07:002011-10-13T19:11:53.490-07:00Didn't Yao also fall on beam? So, if we're...Didn't Yao also fall on beam? So, if we're pretending that Aly matched her earlier bar score, what if Yao hadn't fallen. Would Aly still have eclipsed her had both hit accordingly?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-86244872046942208782011-10-13T19:11:42.892-07:002011-10-13T19:11:42.892-07:00Marta's no one's fool. It doesn't matt...Marta's no one's fool. It doesn't matter who could be queried as a 2012 prospect, Liukin, Zamarippa, Caquatto, Peszek, Larson even, she will encourage them and welcome them to the fray with open arms. From a 'negative' perspective some would say to 'light a fire' under the butts of the front runners, but more realistically, the broader the athletic base, the higher one can put the summit. Fill the pool with more talent and skill and it inevitably rubs off on everyone, focusing minds, generating energy, sharpening execution. Marta can sound like a giddy school girl when asked about Liukin, but the only girls on the plane to London will be the ones with their foot on the gas come the final selection camp.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-45880215757399716842011-10-13T19:04:01.559-07:002011-10-13T19:04:01.559-07:00That's pretty ridiculous, Anon 4:28. Martha c...That's pretty ridiculous, Anon 4:28. Martha clearly stated that it wasn't going to be easy for Nastia. She'll have to earn her ticket to London just like everyone else.<br /><br />As far as Becca getting lower scores next year, we'll have to see what she looks like next year. She was certainly off this past summer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-11800205492812372802011-10-13T18:53:07.198-07:002011-10-13T18:53:07.198-07:00Oops, previous post, 3rd graph, 4th line I meant b...Oops, previous post, 3rd graph, 4th line I meant bars, not beam. Duh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-12275386530995889692011-10-13T18:51:22.543-07:002011-10-13T18:51:22.543-07:00@ Anonymous 12.59 p.m.
"In all likelihood Aly...@ Anonymous 12.59 p.m.<br />"In all likelihood Aly would have finished fourth whether she hit or missed."<br /><br />Au contraire. If you check the math, Aly scored a 14.0 on bars in prelims. In the AA with serious bar issues she scored a 12.9, 1.1 difference. The difference between Aly and third-place Yao was 1.04 points. If Aly had simply matched her qualifying bars score she would have medaled.<br />If nothing else, Aly is a work horse. She knows where she needs to improve. I would be surprised if after a reasonable break she doesn't really hunker down and work on her beam. Personally, I think she should go hang out with Twitter pal Dannel Leyva for some peer training and really kick it up a notch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-33427569557529497532011-10-13T16:32:17.420-07:002011-10-13T16:32:17.420-07:00Olympics are 2012 and it's Oct 2011. Marta wi...Olympics are 2012 and it's Oct 2011. Marta will pick a team, based on who's healthy/hitting at that time. And her motivation is to win gold, i.e., get the biggest bonus her contract with USA Gymnastics stipulates. Marta is human, i.e., just like the rest of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-35324887223410679642011-10-13T16:28:40.090-07:002011-10-13T16:28:40.090-07:00Nastia has a free pass to the Olympics even if she...Nastia has a free pass to the Olympics even if she falls at Nationals and Trials. That is a bad way to run a team.<br /><br />I hope China or Russia wins in 2012 so Marta can be knocked down on her ass for cheating in favor of Nastia.<br /><br />I bet Becca starts getting lower scores next year.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-65530595302688932862011-10-13T14:56:59.257-07:002011-10-13T14:56:59.257-07:00@Anon 2pm. Thank you! No one really comes close to...@Anon 2pm. Thank you! No one really comes close to Maroneys vault. If I were her I would drop BB & UB and focus on vault & FX. With 2 srong SV in both I can see: <br /><br />Maroney: Vault, FX<br />Nastia: UB, BB<br />Three solid AA: Jordyn, Aly?, SJ?, Bross?, Douglas? <br /><br />Then again it'll really be a case of whose left after injuries occur. <br /><br />& yes I'm including Nastia in the mix without seeing a routine or even knowing her SV. Theres no way she (& Valerie) would risk their prestige with a half ass attemp (like 09). Not with Olympic gold at stake. I have no doubt they have been focused & planning for longer than just 2-3 months.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-62792721383151525222011-10-13T14:27:07.183-07:002011-10-13T14:27:07.183-07:00Not to be maudlin, but I really feel for all the t...Not to be maudlin, but I really feel for all the talented girls who have worked their young lives and won't make the Olympic team. Can't we just pretend it's 1996 and use the 7-6-5 format (w/ compulsories)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-87292767015375511682011-10-13T14:23:27.472-07:002011-10-13T14:23:27.472-07:00Of course you're going to analyze how and when...Of course you're going to analyze how and when Shawn was mentioned -- we get how you feel about her vs Nastia.<br /><br />How is Gabby's bar routine NOT being shown a blow to her confidence? She hit what she has control over - her routine - and that should be enough of a confidence boost. Not whether or not it was shown and where.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-32241782622837373412011-10-13T14:16:11.703-07:002011-10-13T14:16:11.703-07:00Gabby did the Amanar at camp last spring.
Martha ...Gabby did the Amanar at camp last spring.<br /><br />Martha has always been a fan of Nastia---she is an Olympic Champ who is a huge bars score. <br /><br />If you notice, Martha didn't mention Shawn until she was mentioned because her spot on the team is less clear. If Gabby, Ross and Wieber form a solid AA spot on the team and/or cover VT, UB, FX, they can bring it Nastia and Maroney. Raisman can also still be in the mix if Wieber can improve her bar routine.OlympicEffecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11708554152461551887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6387050766907671577.post-81971981679154985362011-10-13T14:04:38.392-07:002011-10-13T14:04:38.392-07:00I doubt that Nastia can only do simple giant swing...I doubt that Nastia can only do simple giant swings on bars. In the clip shown during Worlds last year, she was going an Ono and an el-grip 1/1. Also, there has been talk on message boards that she has most of her individuals skills back, just not a routine ready - which is, of course, the bigger challenge. Who knows if it's true, but we'll know more about Nastia as the year moves forward. It will be an interesting mix. There are probably about 5 or 6 realistic variations of the team, and that could change depending on injuries, upgrades, etc.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com