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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Live From the Ranch - Part 2

I'll be updating this post as the night goes on.

From NBC Sports:
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4:27pm: Just got the announcement that Paul Hamm is on the Olympic Team. The women are warming up.
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4:43pm: Mary Lou Retton is here, talking to reporters.
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4:53pm: Start lists have been distributed. These line-ups are subject to change.

Vault: Ivana Hong, Chellsie Memmel, Bridget Sloan, Corrie Lothrop.

Bars: Ivana Hong, Chellsie Memmel, Bridget Sloan, Mattie Larson, Nastia Liukin, Jana Bieger, Samantha Peszek, Chelsea Davis, Shawn Johnson. (Everyone but Sacramone and Lothrop.)

Beam: Chelsea Davis, Shawn Johnson, Samantha Peszek, Alicia Sacramone.

Floor: Alicia Sacramone, Jana Bieger, Nastia Liukin, Corrie Lothrop.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - Looks like Martha has everyone where they need to be. Especially bars!)
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5:03pm: Shayla Worley is here, in the training room.
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5:13pm: The girls have gathered in a circle, Alicia Sacramone is leading the pep talk. Shayla Worley dropped her crutches and has joined the huddle.
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5:22pm: Alicia Sacramone is on floor. After a nearly flawless full-twisting double and Arabian double, she had a low landing on her 2 1/2, front layout. Closing double pike was a little short again.
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5:26pm: Jana Bieger stepped out of bounds on her full-twisting double layout and looked like she did on her final double pike. Her double layout was landed perfectly.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - Yes, you step out of bounds Jana! That way I have more reason to not like you! -_-)
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5:30pm: Nastia Liukin went out of bounds on her third pass. A back 1 1/2 to Rudi. Everything else was landed perfectly, especially her first pass of a double front.
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5:35pm: The final competitor on floor, Corrie Lothrop, continued the string of strong floor routines. She did a 2 1/2 twist into a front full for her first pass and a full twisting double tuck for her second. Big cheers as she finished. The athletes are now getting ready to rotate to their second event.
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5:39pm: Unofficial scores on floor: Sacramone, 15.4; Bieger, 15.0; Liukin; 15.4; Lothrop 14.85.
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5:45pm: Ivana Hong took one step back on a Yurchenko double full.
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5:48pm: Chellsie Memmel just did a Yurchenko double full, stepped back. She has a large cheering section here.
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5:50pm: Bridget Sloan vaulted a high Yurchenko double full with a small step on the landing. A bigger, better vault than yesterday.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - Go Bridget, go Bridget, It's your birthday... XD)
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5:52pm: Corrie Lothrop vaulted a Yurchenko double full with a step back.
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5:53pm: Vault scores: Hong, 14.95; Memmel, 14.65; Sloan, 15.1; Lothrop, 15.2.
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5:56pm: The gymnasts are warming up on uneven bars. Bela Karolyi is still pacing and greeting people.
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6:02pm: Alicia Sacramone and her coach, Mihai Brestyan, are deep in conversation.
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6:03pm: Ivana Hong hesitated on a handstand on the low bar and had a low landing on her dismount. landing so far away from the high bar that she took a step off of the mat.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - Oh Ivana... at this rate you'll be seriously lucky to get alternate.)
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6:05pm: Jana Bieger is sitting in the corner of the gym behind the vault with her mom, back turned to the rest of the competitors. Mattie Larson is getting a back rub from her coach.
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6:06pm: Chellsie Memmel's cheering section was very vocal through her entire bar routine. A little bit off on a pirouette and a small step on her dismount.
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6:09pm: Bridget Sloan caught her toe-on Tkatchev a little close to the bar.
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6:10pm: As soon as Mattie Larson's name was announced, her cheering section starts up.
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6:12pm: Bars scores so far: Hong, 14.85; Memmel, 15.9; Sloan, 14.9.
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6:13pm: Larson takes a small step back on ehr Arabian double front dismount.
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6:16pm: Nastia Liukin had problems with her Pak salto (back flip between the bars) during her warm-up, but had no problems during the competition. Steppped to the side on her dismount.
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6:19pm: Svetlana Boguinskaya is here, sitting in the front row of the bleachers. Liukin got a 16.65 on bars. Bela is still pacing.
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6:22pm: Jana Bieger fell on her a stalder-Tkatchev. Stuck her dismount, but she walks away without even looking at her mom and goes back into the corner, sits down and faces the wall.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - Well. That'll do it. Can you say c-h-o-k-e? I'm thinking it's Bridget's to blow now.)
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6:26pm: Big smile from Samantha Peszek after her dismount. Shayla Worley was cheering her through every move.
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6:29pm: Chelsea Davis hit a great bar routine, very quick swing and great handstands. Almost stuck her dismount, but circled her arms after she landed.
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6:33pm: Shawn Johnson hit her usual solid bar routine, stuck double-double dismount.
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6:35pm: The girls who have finished competing have joined Shayla Worley on the sidelines.
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6:37pm: More bars scores from the longest rotation: Bieger, 15.0; Peszek, 15.4; Davis, 15.1; Johnson, 15.75. Coach Marvin Sharp was talking to Bridget Sloan about her bar routine, looked like he was saying something about her piroetting skills -- which weren't completed in perfect handstands. Again, it's hard to see the angles as we're in back of the bars.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - How is it the Jana scored higher than Bridget with a fall? I didn't think their difficulty was too far apart...)
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6:41pm: We're down to the final four routines of the night: Sacramone, Johnson, Davis and Peszek.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - And then it's the time we've been waiting for for 4 freakin' years! :D)
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6:45pm: Chelsea Davis hesitated on the connection between her front aerial, back handspring, layout. The rest of her routine was solid.
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6:49pm: Shawn Johnson's front pike on beam is much improved. She didn't wobble except for a slight waver on her full turn. And that turn, her trouble spot on beam, was also improved -- she held her leg up at the end long enough to probably get credit for the skill. Really, no wobbles. It's like she's magnetic.

(Kayleigh's thoughts - "It's like she's magnetic"... I think I just died a little inside! XD)
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6:51pm: Davis scores a 15.2.
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6:53pm: Samantha Peszek wobbles after her standing full, so it's not connected to the back pike. Everything else is solid, including a front pike and double pike dismount. She had a great competition, even though she said her first two days of practice were very rough.
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6:58pm: Alicia Sacramone finally connects her front pike mount to the back tuck. Had to save her flip flop layout. Big cheers when she lands, but she doesn'tn look happy. Samantha Peszek almost tackles her with a hug. The gymnasts get a standing ovation from the crowd.
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7:03pm: Shawn Johnson, 16.3. Samantha Peszek, 15.7, Alicia Sacramone, 16.2.
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7:06pm: Martha Karolyi exits, saying 'The clock is ticking.'
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7:09pm: Shayla Worley is talking to the media. "[My leg has] been sore and bothering me for a while. I keep hoping I'm going to wake up and it's a nightmare. It's devastating. It's still my team."
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When the meet ends, the athletes are going to the Clubhouse here at the ranch while the committee meets.


Oh boy guys, we're getting close! Look out for the new post with your official US Olympic Team within the hour! :D

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