Revisiting Izbasa's Olympic FX

I wound up watching this routine again today, and was reminded of what a great routine it really is. The landings are incredible, the dance is decent, and it connects with the crowd.

And I love her music! :]

Hong Heads to WOGA

Couldn't have seen this one coming from a mile away! Here's the article from IG;

World gold medalist Ivana Hong will make the move to Plano, Texas-based WOGA to train under Valeri Liukin as soon as her right ankle heals enough to resume training, she told Inside Gymnastics earlier this week.

In the past few months, Hong, who turned 16 in December, has sampled several clubs across the U.S., but settled on the WOGA, home of the last two Olympic all-around champions, after a successful trial run in early January.

“You know, four years ago when we were looking for a gym it was GAGE and WOGA, and it was really close between them,” Hong revealed. “[This time,] I tried some other gyms too and [picked] WOGA [because of] their training schedule and Valeri is just a wonderful coach, and Nastia is there—we all know each other so well. I just thought that was a really good fit.”

After Hong moves to Texas she plans to live, at least at first, with another WOGA gym family, so that her oldest sister, Isabelle, a high school senior, can graduate with her class in Blue Springs, Mo. Whether her mother and younger siblings join her in Texas at some point is yet to be determined. “Right now we’re not too sure where everyone is going to be,” Hong said of her close-knit family, which will soon be spread over three states.

Hong, an alternate for the 2008 Games, plans to make the move to Texas “in the next month or two,” perhaps following the February National Team training camp, or even sooner if she gets the all clear from her doctors.
“We’re planning on it soon, because I have to start training—actual training,” Hong said of her timeline.

Hong said she first fractured her tibia in December 2007 but a premature return to the gym as part of her efforts to make the U.S. Beijing Olympic team, kept the injury from ever healing fully and, by the time Hong competed at last summer’s U.S. Championships and Trials, she says she was in constant pain.

Now, Hong is working with doctors to make sure she’s fully healed before getting back in the gym. Surgery was scheduled last October, but later canceled when the injury finally began to respond to treatment, which includes daily electric stimulation. (A scan in mid-January revealed the fracture was still there, but healing.)

Olympyn!

Hey Chells, you spelled it wrong!

Just kidding.

Chellsie "makes her status as an Olympian official" (thank you, USAG) with her fabby-poo new license plate.

Cute pic, so I thought I would share.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 17th Birthday Shawn! :]

New Montage

I don't know if any of you would be interested in this, but I'll post it anyhow. The montage above is of yours truly... I really like the way this turned out. Let me know what you think! :]

Stunning.

That's the only word I can think of after seeing this picture. :P

Fun on Picnik

So I've become relatively obsessed with making pretty pics on Picnik lately, and I thought I would share them. Let me know if you use them for something... www.photobucket.com/gymchat

Here's a few of my favorites:

The Newbies

Well friends, it's a new year... and you know what that means!

Yes, that's right. We've got a group of newbies on our hands. No longer forced to stay in the lonely world of junior elitism with no tv coverage or acknowledgment whatsoever, these are your new SENIOR ELITES of 2009!

Note: I'm not sure how many of these girls will actually be competing Sr. Elite this year. If I have any misinformation here, please let me know!



REBECCA BROSS: Let's face it; this is your new "it girl". The new Nastia of '05, or Shawn of '07. She's already won a junior national title and four Pacific Alliance medals, among various other titles. She actually reminds me alot of Nastia 4 years ago; just a few months shy of being able to compete at the Olympic Games, they both train at WOGA, and they both got that prestigious jr. national title. The girl has skills, no doubt about it, and she's going to be a tough competitor. Barring injury or burnout, she's got a decent shot at '09 Worlds and the 2012 games.





ALEXANDRA CHRISTENSEN: Alex unfortunately doesn't have a website, so I have to go by what little information there is on her on Gymdivas.us. Alex won the all-around and uneven bars titles at her level 10 regionals in 2005. In 2006, she qualified to Jr. Elite. She decided to compete at the Elite Zone Meet, but wound up injuring herself... and as far as I know, she hasn't done anything since (?). She trains at Exper-Tiess.






ALEXIS CARROLL: Alexis only qualified to jr. elite in 2008, so I doubt she would compete sr. this year... but I don't know. Her major accomplishment at this point in time is a silver medal at the US Challenge as a jr. pre-elite. We'll see what 2009 brings.





KAITLYN CLARK: Kaitlyn seems to be one of those girls who just can't catch a break. When she finally qualified to her first national meet in '07, she tripped on the chalk box on her final floor pass. After qualifying for the third time to elite, she injured her knee at a camp while preparing for the US Classic. She did compete at nationals this past year with watered down routines and placed 16th AA and 4th on VT. Poor girl still hasn't made a national team. Maybe this will be her year. She trains at Precision Gymnastics.






REBECCA CLARK: Rebecca is GAGE's next Olympic hope, I'm sure. She shows some promise. She nabbed a 6th place AA finish at '08 Nationals and is a two-time national team member. She also competed in a friendly-meet in Italy, and she was also a member of the gold medal team from the '08 jr. Pacific Rim Championships. She's one to watch.






SHERIESE CLARK: Sheriese is a 4-Time TOPS team member. She qualified to junior elite in 2007, and continued competing as a junior through 2008. She doesn't have a website, so not much info on her.






ANNETTE MIELE: Annette qualified to junior elite in the summer of '06, and has been competing there ever since. Again, no website. Fail. -_-






BROOKE PARKER: Brooke is currently training at Capital Gymnastics. 2008 was her first try at junior elite and she qualified for nationals.

What is with these junior elites not having websites?!?! Lamecakes. -_-






SAMANTHA SHAPIRO: Here's another one to watch. She's already got some major competitions under her belt, and her gymnastics is absolutely beautiful... not to mention unique! Sam was a member of the 2008 Pacific Rim gold medal team, and she also received a gold medal on the bars and a silver medal in the all-around. She also competed in her third national championship and won golds on bars and beam, and a silver all-around. She will definitely be vying for a spot on that 2009 world team, and will be a threat for 2012. However, I will not be able to fully appreciate her gymnastics until she waxes. her. eyebrows. -_-






CASSIE WHITCOMB: Cassie is another relatively accomplished junior elite. She's the 2006 Gymnix International champion. She competed at nationals in 2007, but was sidelined afterwards due to a surgery. She returned full-force in 2008. She placed 3'd at the US Classic AND Nationals. Watch out for her!



PHEW. Two hours later. Haha. If I missed anyone, be sure to let me know and I will add them in. :]

New Year, New Layout!

I must say, I rather impressed myself with this layout. :P

Let me know what you think! :]

-xoxo
Kayleigh