US Gymnastics Olympic Trials

[Jennasis]

It's the team I was expecting. Congrats to them all!

 

[ndelaware]

Great to see the camaraderie and sportsmanship by all the ladies competing!


I wouldn't want to be the one to tell someone who has worked their whole life towards one goal that they didn't make it.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The commentators kept saying the girls would improve between now and the Olympics. Sure hope the commentary improves as well. Did they really have to show Friday's video of Gabby falling off the beam -- then show it again! -- before tonight's competition even began? They also pointed out while the selection committee was meeting privately that none of the audience had left the bldg. Well, duh! Did they expect anyone to leave before the team was announced? And saying that everyone in the audience was nearly as excited as the girls' families. Um, really? As former athletes themselves, you'd think they'd have a better idea of how much stress/anxiety the families have been through. It's also ridiculous how many commentators have said so and so "punched their ticket" to Rio. No one punches tickets any more -- that expression is beyond trite, cliché, and worn out.

Anyway, wishing the team all the best, including the alternates.

 

[elphaba91]

It's who I was expecting, but not who I was hoping for. Apparently one spot was extremely close and is still pending improvement at camp (no need to guess which spot that was!). Disappointed for MyKayla Skinner, but hope she's extremely proud of her progress over the last 4 years, going from not making trials in 2012 to 4th in 2016!

 

[winterwhite]

1. Was disappointed to see Gabby tank it again and still make the team. Feel really bad for Regan Smith, who has beat her in all nights of trials, almost tied her on just two events at Classic, but had a bad night at P&Gs, and got named as an alternate.

2. I thought Daggett's commentary that it was really nice that they were giving the alternates attention and that they should enjoy it "because this is the only taste of Rio they're going to get" was incredibly rude.

 

[Jennasis]

The commentators kept saying the girls would improve between now and the Olympics. Sure hope the commentary improves as well. Did they really have to show Friday's video of Gabby falling off the beam -- then show it again! -- before tonight's competition even began? They also pointed out while the selection committee was meeting privately that none of the audience had left the bldg. Well, duh! Did they expect anyone to leave before the team was announced? And saying that everyone in the audience was nearly as excited as the girls' families. Um, really? As former athletes themselves, you'd think they'd have a better idea of how much stress/anxiety the families have been through. It's also ridiculous how many commentators have said so and so "punched their ticket" to Rio. No one punches tickets any more -- that expression is beyond trite, cliché, and worn out.

Anyway, wishing the team all the best, including the alternates.

Well, they did have to stretch to fill a fairly long break there at the end of the competition while the selection committee was deliberating even longer than expected. As for the ticket punching, it's just a saying....and while I haven't ridden the train in a good 20 years, they ARE still punching tickets https://www.quora.com/How-do-NJ-Transit-Rail-seat-checks-work
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/130...h-still-using-hole-punchers-to-check-tickets/

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

The team's exactly who I was expecting as well. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Laurie Hernandez competes in Rio. It's a solid team, I just hope they can whip Gabby into shape. I like her a lot, but two falls at trials, even on an event she probably won't compete in team finals, is worrying.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I can't get over this. Simone is doing the hardest skills in gymnastics right now and can do even harder skills. She is compared to the most decorated man in gymnastics right now and is actually a better vaulter than him. She is miles ahead of everybody else in the world. Her floor routine alone shows how good she is. Her last pass is so hard that someone would usually use it as their first pass and have no where near the energy to do it as a middle or ending pass unlike Simone who could probably still do more. She is being called one of the greatest gymnasts to ever compete.

EXACTLY

I call Simone the Serena Williams of gymnastics. She has raised the bar.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

Simone Biles is amazing. Her body structure alone tells you how much work she has put into training for the Olympics. I think some of the reason that people don't think she's as good as others do is because she is SO GOOD she makes it look easy. She does skills that I have seen top male gymnasts shy away from.

I was really pulling for Madison, but after her fall off the beam last night I wasn't sure if she would make it. Very happy she did!! I also didn't expect Gabby to be on the team, but the benefit to being an athlete who already went once to the Olympics is that she nows what to expect and can withstand the pressure. In that same vein, rooting for Aly to be team captain again because she definitely has the head on her shoulders for it and was always shown congratulating every athlete without fail.

Ideally I would want to see Simone, Laure, and Aly competing for the AA, but we'll see what happens in August!

 

[surfgirl]

referring to the Gabby comment upthread about her leaving Chow's:
Is that the first time she left Chow's or the second? Is that before she moved overnight to LA to find fame and fortune? Is that before or after she left behind a trail of unpaid gym bills? Was that before or after she accused a gym of racism?

Unfortunately, Gabby is not advised well. She doesn't appear to be doing it for the love of gymnastics, but for the love of supporting her family. And it shows.

I'd be interested from those who were there in person... it certainly seemed like she alienated herself while other girls were cheering each other on. Was that true or the camera angle?

I'm worried this will be the Gabby Douglass Olympics... will she fail? Instead, it should be celebrating Simone Biles and the other amazing 4 girls.

 

[JaneBanks]

referring to the Gabby comment upthread about her leaving Chow's:
Is that the first time she left Chow's or the second? Is that before she moved overnight to LA to find fame and fortune? Is that before or after she left behind a trail of unpaid gym bills? Was that before or after she accused a gym of racism?

Unfortunately, Gabby is not advised well. She doesn't appear to be doing it for the love of gymnastics, but for the love of supporting her family. And it shows.

I'd be interested from those who were there in person... it certainly seemed like she alienated herself while other girls were cheering each other on. Was that true or the camera angle?

I'm worried this will be the Gabby Douglass Olympics... will she fail? Instead, it should be celebrating Simone Biles and the other amazing 4 girls.

Well, lets just put it out there that at that time, she was still a minor. We all know that Gabby's mother is the issue when it comes to what happened after the 2012 Olympics.

And it is really unfair to say that she was trying to find fame and fortune when most girls who go pro do so after the Olympics. Shawn Johnson and Aly Raisman were on Dancing With the Stars. Carly Patterson tried to have a singing career. Nastia Liukin is and NBC commentator now! The rest did commercials or modeling and advertising for their sponsors. They all have agents. Totally unfair to call out Gabby for doing exactly what she should be doing as a Pro athlete.

As far as the racism goes, you or I have no idea whether she made it up or not. I won't be the one to call her a liar. If it happened, I wouldn't be surprised.

I also saw Gabby with the girls celebrating during the competition.

 

[winterwhite]

Well, lets just put it out there that at that time, she was still a minor. We all know that Gabby's mother is the issue when it comes to what happened after the 2012 Olympics.

And it is really unfair to say that she was trying to find fame and fortune when most girls who go pro do so after the Olympics. Shawn Johnson and Aly Raisman were on Dancing With the Stars. Carly Patterson tried to have a singing career. Nastia Liukin is and NBC commentator now! The rest did commercials or modeling and advertising for their sponsors. They all have agents. Totally unfair to call out Gabby for doing exactly what she should be doing as a Pro athlete.

As far as the racism goes, you or I have no idea whether she made it up or not. I won't be the one to call her a liar. If it happened, I wouldn't be surprised.

I also saw Gabby with the girls celebrating during the competition.

She was still a minor, but there is a lot of precedent for child athletes and actors to control parents who are not responsibly managing money or careers.

Dominique Moceanu sued her parents and won after she found out the million dollars she had earned by age 15 was all gone up in smoke, her father had spent it all.

As an aside, I seriously doubt that USAG got involved in the contract dispute. Many other high level gyms have similar agreements to keep another gym from swiping a gymnast they've invested years of time in producing. As far as the percentage of earnings, I don't know how true that component is, I wasn't there. But many gyms have stiff financial penalties for level 10s and above leaving.

 

[lillygator]

I am disappointed that GD made it. she does not seem to be on her game, she looks angry all the time and it didn't appear that she even had her hair done. Like her heart wasn't in it.

 

[LisaR]

referring to the Gabby comment upthread about her leaving Chow's:
Is that the first time she left Chow's or the second? Is that before she moved overnight to LA to find fame and fortune? Is that before or after she left behind a trail of unpaid gym bills? Was that before or after she accused a gym of racism?

Unfortunately, Gabby is not advised well. She doesn't appear to be doing it for the love of gymnastics, but for the love of supporting her family. And it shows.

I'd be interested from those who were there in person... it certainly seemed like she alienated herself while other girls were cheering each other on. Was that true or the camera angle?

I'm worried this will be the Gabby Douglass Olympics... will she fail? Instead, it should be celebrating Simone Biles and the other amazing 4 girls.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm a fair weather fan so I don't know what happened with Gabby after London.
The couple things I noticed as a total outsider was that she didn't look like she wanted to be there at all on night one.
She did seem happier on night two but not the smiling girl I remember from four years ago.
I asked my husband multiple times where she was when a girl would come off the floor and everyone else seemed to be there but Gabby. The few times I did notice her there, it seemed like she was the last one they hugged. She went in a few times and someone else got in there before her. She just struck me as someone looking in from the outside. I don't know enough about her to know if she brought it on herself.

 

[Hrhpd]

I'm worried this will be the Gabby Douglass Olympics... will she fail? Instead, it should be celebrating Simone Biles and the other amazing 4 girls.

I don't think that is going to happen. An official photo of the team and Simone is front and center

Just saw a Rio commercial and it featured Simone with the hashtag # smallisthenewbig. Gabby was pretty much ignored.

 

[monsterkitty]

referring to the Gabby comment upthread about her leaving Chow's:
Is that the first time she left Chow's or the second? Is that before she moved overnight to LA to find fame and fortune? Is that before or after she left behind a trail of unpaid gym bills? Was that before or after she accused a gym of racism?

Unfortunately, Gabby is not advised well. She doesn't appear to be doing it for the love of gymnastics, but for the love of supporting her family. And it shows.

I'd be interested from those who were there in person... it certainly seemed like she alienated herself while other girls were cheering each other on. Was that true or the camera angle?

I'm worried this will be the Gabby Douglass Olympics... will she fail? Instead, it should be celebrating Simone Biles and the other amazing 4 girls.

Well, lets just put it out there that at that time, she was still a minor. We all know that Gabby's mother is the issue when it comes to what happened after the 2012 Olympics.

And it is really unfair to say that she was trying to find fame and fortune when most girls who go pro do so after the Olympics. Shawn Johnson and Aly Raisman were on Dancing With the Stars. Carly Patterson tried to have a singing career. Nastia Liukin is and NBC commentator now! The rest did commercials or modeling and advertising for their sponsors. They all have agents. Totally unfair to call out Gabby for doing exactly what she should be doing as a Pro athlete.

As far as the racism goes, you or I have no idea whether she made it up or not. I won't be the one to call her a liar. If it happened, I wouldn't be surprised.

I also saw Gabby with the girls celebrating during the competition.

Yes, Chow asked for a percentage of Gabby's winnings and mom said no way! The reason he did that is because they owed him and the gym money from the lead up to the 2012 games. Same with Excalibur - Gabby's gym before moving to Chows. They owed the gym money and when the gym asked for it, mom cried to the press. There may have been racism or there may not have been.

Gabby needs to get away from her mom. Let's look at other amazing gymnasts, such as Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Both girls went to their parents and said, "I don't want to do this anymore, I want to quit". Shawn wanted to quit in 2008., "It's your decision. We love you no matter what and will support you." In the interview her mom said a part of her died inside, but that she would support Shawn no matter what. Nastia said her mom got out a vision board and had Nastia focus on the positive. When Gabby wanted to quit before 2012, her mom came unglued and ran the car off the road while screaming at her. She told Gabby how selfish she was and to not bother coming home if she quit. Yes, a mother told her 15-year-old DD that the entire family had given up so much for her and that if she quit she was no longer welcome at home.

Further, after winning gold in London, Gabby's agent Sheryl Shade, suggested that they put some of Gabby's money in a trust fund. Mom said no way and fired Shade. When Chow wouldn't take Gabby back, mom began to look for other gyms that would take Gabby. She tried several, but none wanted to take a gamble on her because of the baggage she was bringing with her. Her current gym took her in and all was fine. Until after P&G Championships and Gabby "fired" the head coach and owner of the gym. Yes, Gabby does have a right to any endorsement that comes her way, the same as any other athlete. However, she needs to be advised where the money is going and how she needs to put some aside for her future. That's not happening.

I think Gabby is unhappy because the pressure her family is putting on her. She's not prepared as she wasn't doing full routines. Her mom and sister have said many times that they have had to quit their jobs to support Gabby. Why does a 26-year-old sister have to quit her job to help her 20-year-old sister? Who's the one making the money in the family? Gabby. If Gabby didn't make the team, there would not be as much money coming in. Did you see the article today on the new Gabby Douglas Barbie Doll? The last quote by Gabby answers a question that was probably, "what do you want to accomplish in Rio?" Gabby's answer, "More merchandise!" Her family has taken Gabby's love for gymnastics and turned it into a money machine for them, ala Dominque Moceanu's parents after the 96 games.

I hope that the next month, away from her mother, Gabby will find the joy in gymnastics again and the drive. She has the talent. When she is on, she is on. Right now, though, I think she's lost and has no idea how to get out of the hole that's been dug for her.

 

[cabanafrau]

Can I ask a question of you folks who seem to be up on gymnastics? I tuned in last night just in time to see commentators talking during the wait for the announcement of the team and one of the comments pertained to the US being so far beyond the rest of the world we could probably send two teams and finish gold and silver, blah, blah, blah. What about Russia and China, are they not pretty serious contenders in gymnastics anymore?

Sorry, don't really follow the sport except for the Olympics, but the comment surprised me.

 

[KristiMc]

I was disappointed that they picked Gabby for the team. I loved watching her in 2012 but her time has passed and they really should have put one of the other girls on the team. I loved watching Laurie Hernandez.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

As for the ticket punching, it's just a saying....and while I haven't ridden the train in a good 20 years, they ARE still punching tickets

We took a short train trip last month. They punched our ticket when we boarded the train.

 

[LisaR]

Yes, Chow asked for a percentage of Gabby's winnings and mom said no way! The reason he did that is because they owed him and the gym money from the lead up to the 2012 games. Same with Excalibur - Gabby's gym before moving to Chows. They owed the gym money and when the gym asked for it, mom cried to the press. There may have been racism or there may not have been.

Gabby needs to get away from her mom. Let's look at other amazing gymnasts, such as Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Both girls went to their parents and said, "I don't want to do this anymore, I want to quit". Shawn wanted to quit in 2008., "It's your decision. We love you no matter what and will support you." In the interview her mom said a part of her died inside, but that she would support Shawn no matter what. Nastia said her mom got out a vision board and had Nastia focus on the positive. When Gabby wanted to quit before 2012, her mom came unglued and ran the car off the road while screaming at her. She told Gabby how selfish she was and to not bother coming home if she quit. Yes, a mother told her 15-year-old DD that the entire family had given up so much for her and that if she quit she was no longer welcome at home.

Further, after winning gold in London, Gabby's agent Sheryl Shade, suggested that they put some of Gabby's money in a trust fund. Mom said no way and fired Shade. When Chow wouldn't take Gabby back, mom began to look for other gyms that would take Gabby. She tried several, but none wanted to take a gamble on her because of the baggage she was bringing with her. Her current gym took her in and all was fine. Until after P&G Championships and Gabby "fired" the head coach and owner of the gym. Yes, Gabby does have a right to any endorsement that comes her way, the same as any other athlete. However, she needs to be advised where the money is going and how she needs to put some aside for her future. That's not happening.

I think Gabby is unhappy because the pressure her family is putting on her. She's not prepared as she wasn't doing full routines. Her mom and sister have said many times that they have had to quit their jobs to support Gabby. Why does a 26-year-old sister have to quit her job to help her 20-year-old sister? Who's the one making the money in the family? Gabby. If Gabby didn't make the team, there would not be as much money coming in. Did you see the article today on the new Gabby Douglas Barbie Doll? The last quote by Gabby answers a question that was probably, "what do you want to accomplish in Rio?" Gabby's answer, "More merchandise!" Her family has taken Gabby's love for gymnastics and turned it into a money machine for them, ala Dominque Moceanu's parents after the 96 games.

I hope that the next month, away from her mother, Gabby will find the joy in gymnastics again and the drive. She has the talent. When she is on, she is on. Right now, though, I think she's lost and has no idea how to get out of the hole that's been dug for her.

If all of that is true, WOW! I hope Gabby can find the joy again. She seems miserable.