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| http://gymnastics.teamusa.org/multimedia/photo_gallery/221/photo/3516 |
After Blythe from Gymnastic Examiner has pointed to a great photo shoot by USA gymnastic girls, see here, let's explore what the US team could look like.
Team USA can go different ways because so many gymnasts are returning to competition whether because they were retired or because of injury. But nevertheless I will take a stab at it.
Interestingly enough, the photo shot in Hollywood with the prospective USA gymnasts only included a few, and I find, gives us a clue of who is being seriously considered. But gymnastics is also a game of chance, so we never know. We can attempt to though.
Jordyn Wieber: I am not the biggest fan of Wieber. I feel that a gymnast of her caliber should have better artistry all around. Johnson for instance is a power gymnast that had much better form in her artistic elements than Wieber has ever showed. Nevertheless Jordyn is extremely good, powerful and talented, and pending a crazy injury in the last second that I seriously doubt, she will be in London vying for that team gold and an individual AA gold as well. She will certainly contribute on vault, floor and beam in TF. Wieber has faltered twice on UB in the last to big competitions: American Cup and Worlds so Martha might not want to use her on this event, but she might not a have a chance.
McKayla Maroney: Now a World vault champion, Maroney has a good chance at this team particularly because she has the best Amanar around and is capable of scoring big on it. Her bars is not awful and could be used in the prelims. Her beam was atrocious at Worlds, she is just not strong and confident in her performance. Hers was the only floor routine in the USA team at TF Worlds that I thought was worthy of this name and if she can figure out a way to keep that double arabian under control she can have a high difficulty routine and solidify her place in the 5 member team. It will be difficult for Maroney to rely only on her great vault to make the team so she needs to constantly show that she is a great all arounder.
Alicia Sacramone is in a difficult position at this point. She had a great couple of years, but this serious injury so close to the Olympics may really put her position in this team in jeopardy. She already was fighting with others, like her teammate Raisman, for a spot, and now, she may not have enough time to recuperate. Other gymnasts, like Raisman, will have the chance to prove themselves again in the American Cup and at Pacific Rims and Sacramone just will not be there, so she is definitely at a disadvantage. Also, her best events are vault, beam and floor and a Aquiles tear will keep her out of training for a substantial amount of time on those events. We will have to wait and see.
Aly Raisman: the just-turned-pro Alexandra Raisman is the solid, consistent gymnast Martha Kalolyi just loves. Her ability to compete under pressure is impressive and if she is healthy and competing at full strength I cannot phantom Martha not taking her to London. My opinion of Raisman has always been twofold: on one hand she is a type of gymnast that I love: consistent, resilient, determined and guaranteed to hit. On the other she is the type of gymnast that I hate: the bad form, lack of extension across the legs and feet and with some seriously ugly choreography. At the same time that watching her pisses me off, I cannot help but admire her as a gymnast. Her contribution to the team will be on vault, floor most likely, and beam if the team needs her. Bars is a disaster for her and it is not looking like it is going to improve. It has lost her a medal in the AA at Worlds twice already.
Anna Li has what so many US gymnast lack: a good bar routine. She is capable of a very good, difficult bars and a decent, but not so difficult beam at this point. She really needs to get consistent at her bars and put together a much more difficult beam if she hopes to be a viable choice for the team. I find it hard to believe that a gymnast that can only contribute in one event can make this team. The high difficulty on bars can be a serious asset for team USA, but Li will have to compete with some very strong gymnast for this spot.
Rebecca Bross has had a tough year. At the Visas she looked frustrated, tired, and that led to her injury. But Rebecca is a valuable asset to team USA. Her bars are good, she is very strong mentally and can contribute on beam and floor. However, she already had problems with her vault even before the injury. She had been landing with her chest very low and under rotated for a while. I hope she can come back for Pac Rims and be ready to go because with all the veterans making a come back, she needs to be on top of her game. What she has on her corner is that she has proven herself many times, even when she has had problems, Rebecca always comes back strong and delivers and that you cannot teach, some have it and some don't. And I don't know anyone that does not want a gymnast like that on their team.
Gabrielle Douglas has done herself quite a favor at the world championships. Many did not believe she could hold it together after her disastrous performance at Visas. But she kept her head on her shoulders and did very well. Her bars are also why she is such a good bet for this team. Furthermore she is an all arounder and that counts on a 5 member team. However, just her performance at Worlds is not going to be enough if she continues being inconsistent this year. Upgrading will also not hurt her. With big bar workers like Li and Liukin, Douglas is going to need to upgrade on this event and become more consistent on all events.
Kyla Ross has the problem of being too young and of not competing this year like many of the other of the prospective Olympians. This might come back to bite her, but she is a two time Junior champion with some international experience. Ross is consistent and has competed an Amanar last year which increases her chances of being in this team. She has solid difficulty all around and she is clean. But if Martha will consider her at all, she will first send her to some international competitions to see how mentally prepared she is for this. I really believe Ross is an great asset.
Nastia Liukin is back. How much she can do and how well she can score with what she can do is yet to be decided. I am sure that her and her father had a serious look at this quads' scoring system and changes before making this call, so I believe she is planning some high scoring routines on beam and bars. Whether she will do floor I don't know. Taking under consideration how brutal the judging has been on this event I am not sure it is worth it for Liukin to attempt a come back there and get injured. She can probably put together high difficulty dance elements, but I am not so sure about the tumbling. I feel she cannot compete the all around as I doubt she is capable of a more difficult vault than she has shown in the past, so Liukin will really be a event specialist and bars and beam are her best bet. If she can put together a bar routine to score on the high 15s, low 16s, like He Kexin has shown this year, she is extremely valuable for team USA and might punch her ticket right there.
Sabrina Vega also made her case at this year's Worlds. Although reports were that she was very nervous, she delivered when it counted and started off the US on some tricky events. I honestly find her a little boring, but she is clean and has consistent difficulty in the all around. Her bars, floor and beam are good, but she does not have outstanding difficulty and she cannot contribute with a big vault, so really it will depend on how much she can upgrade and her consistency next year. She is certainly in the running, but definitely not in front. She needs to take out the tour jete half on beam and floor as well as the tour jete half full on floor because they are both atrocious and nowhere near 180 degree.
Shawn Johnson has been back for some competitions this year, but did so without her full difficulty and has yet to show a floor routine in competition. She has improved considerably from one competition to the other. From Classic to Visas to Pan Ams, she got more powerful and more confident in her performances. Her fall off beam in Guadalajara was disappointing and did not help her case, but I think she might be able to upgrade and develop a decent floor. With that and maybe even a Amanar, Johnson can be a great asset for this team.
Chellsie Memmel: Although not in the Hollywood photo shoot, I for one, will never count Memmel out. I believe she has earned that. She is one of the most determined, mentally tough gymnasts I have ever seen. She is a solid beam and floor worker, and although she did not show it this year, has also good potential on bars. However, she was yet another victim of the grueling USA system and had surgery this year on her shoulder which complicates her situation. I hope her all the best because I really admire her and her work.
My Team:
1. Jordyn Weiber
2. Kyla Ross
3. Nastia Liukin
4. McKayla Maroney
5. Rebecca Bross
Alternates:
Aly Raisman
Shawn Johnson
And this is how I see it in 3-up-3-count TF/ in no particular order as this depends a lot on the composition of the routines and the mental game.
Vault:
Kyla Ross
McKayla Maroney
Jordyn Weiber
Bars:
Nastia Liukin
Rebecca Bross
Kyla Ross
Beam:
Jordyn Weiber
Nastia Liukin
Rebecca Bross
OR
Kyla Ross
Floor:
Kyla Ross
OR
McKayla Maroney
Jordyn Weiber
Rebecca Bross
I know I am making some quantum leaps with this team. I am betting Nastia Liukin can deliver massive scores on bars and beam, and that Bross can bounce back to deliver what she used to. Also, I am believing Ross can deliver under pressure and maybe clean up her vault just a tad. More importantly, I am hoping Martha's prejudice will not jeopardize a more balanced team in order to take some of the gymnasts she has shown particular inclinations towards (aka Raisman), but at this point I would like to believe that all is going to work out and that the US will have a solid team that can beat others like the Chinese and the Russians.
What do you guys think?
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