Gymnastics 24/7

China OKs gym for US alternates
The Associated Press - USA - Tue July 22, 2008
The Chinese Gymnastics Association gave the Americans permission to train at one of its gyms in Tianjian, China, on Tuesday, and the alternates are in the process of applying for visas.

Martha responds to Moceanu
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA - Tue July 22, 2008
Martha Karolyi said she was saddened that Moceanu only remembered the bad days. I feel sad that a gymnast so accomplished as Dominique, being part of the 1996 Olympic team and being the individual medalist in the 1995 world championships, can remember the harder days during the preparation. I feel sad.

The Chinese Gymnastics Association announces its Olympic team members
Shanghaiist, China - Mon July 21, 2008
Although it's not official yet, according to this Xinhua article, the following gymnasts are expected to be named to the Chinese Olympic gymnastics team next week (in ranking order): Men: Yang Wei, Li Xiaopeng, Chen Yibing, Xiao Qin, Huang Xu, Zou Kai. Women: Cheng Fei, Jiang Yuyuan, Yang Yilin, He Kexin, Li Shanshan, Deng Linlin.

Moceanu rips ex-coach
Houston Chronicle Sun, USA - Sun July 20, 2008
A 1996 Olympic gold medalist, Dominique Moceanu, said in an interview airing Tuesday on HBO that elite gymnastics has a "dark side" and that many athletes, former athletes and administrators hope her former coach, Martha Karolyi, will be removed from her leadership role in USA Gymnastics.

USA Gymnastics finalizes 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics
USA Gymnastics, USA - Sat July 19, 2008
Joining Johnson and Liukin on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics, pending USOC approval, are: Chellsie Memmel, Samantha Peszek, Alicia Sacramone, Bridget Sloan, The three replacement athletes are: Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong, Corrie Lothrop. Liang Chow was named head coach for the U.S. Olympic Team for women’s gymnastics.

Worley Suffers Leg Fracture
International Gymnast, USA - Fri July 18, 2008
Worley, a member of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2007 Worlds in Stuttgart, broke her right fibula Friday while warming up for the Olympic selection camp competition at the Karolyi ranch in Houston.

Morgan Hamm is confirmed for 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for men’s gymnastics
USA Gymnastics, USA - Wed July 16, 2008
USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) today reaffirmed Morgan Hamm’s status as a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team for men’s gymnastics. It has been determined that Hamm’s recent public warning by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) did not impact his qualification for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.

Romania wins gymnastics competition in Germany, without Nistor and Izbasa
Nine O'Clock, Romania - Tue July 15, 2008
Romania won the trilateral competition with a total of 231,250 points, ahead of Germany which registered 230,150 points and France, which registered 225,800 points. In the individual competition France’s Marine Petit registered the highest score (58,600), followed by Gabriela Dragoi with 58,500 and Andreea Acatrinei with 57,850 points. The rest of Romania’s points were won by Daniela Druncea – 41,900 points, Andreea Grigore – 57,550 points, Madalina Gutu – 42,950 points and Anamaria Tamirjan – 27,950 points.

Gold still the goal for Hamm
The Associated Press - USA - Fri July 11, 2008
Hamm is training five of his six events, including doing a full routine on pommel horse, coach Miles Avery said Friday. Hamm isn't vaulting yet as a precautionary measure, but likely will start next week — just in time for the July 19 training camp where he must show he is physically able to compete at the Beijing Olympics.

Australia name gymnastics team
sportal.com.au - Australia - Thu July 10, 2008
Australian Olympic Gymnastics Team: Georgia Bonora, Ashleigh Brennan, Naazmi Johnston, Daria Joura, Lauren Mitchell, Shona Morgan, Sam Simpson, Olivia Vivian, Ben Wilden

2008 July 6 ♣ Russia finalized the Olympic training squad:
Women's squad:
Ksenia Afanasyeva, Kristina Goryunova, Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova, Svetlana Klyukina, Yekaterina Kramarenko, Yulia Lozhechko, Anna Pavlova, Kristina Pravdina, Ksenia Semyonova and Daria Yelizarova.

Men's squad:
Alexander Balandin, Maxim Devyatovsky, Dmitry Gogotov, Anton Golotsutskov, Sergei Khorokhordin, Nikolai Kryukov, Konstantin Pluzhnikov, Yuri Ryazanov and Anatoly Vasilyev.

2008 July 6 ♣ 2008 Russian Cup - Apparatus Finals

Men’s Floor Exercise 1 KHOROKHORDIN Sergei 15.300 2 VASILIEV Anatoli 15.225 3 GOGOTOV Dimitri 15.100 Men’s Pommel Horse 1 PETROV Matvey 14.975 2 OLENNIKOV Vladimir 14.825 3 KRYUKOV Nikolai 14.650 Men’s Rings 1 BALANDIN Alexei 16.450 2 PLUZHNIKOV Konstantin 16.200 3 DEVIATOVSKI Maxim 15.500 Men’s Vault 1 GOLOTSUTSKOV Anton 16.437 2 LOBACHOV Anton 16.275 3 VASILIEV Anatoli 15.313 Men’s Parallel Bars 1 KRYUKOV Nikolai 16.000 2t RYAZANOV Yury 15.200 2t GOGOTOV Dimitri 15.200 Men’s Horizontal Bar 1 VASILIEV Anatoli 15.675 2 KHOROKHORDIN Sergei 14.700 3 GOGOTOV Dimitri 14.625

Women's Vaults 1 PAVLOVA Anna 14.812 2 AFANASEVA Ksenia 14.475 3 KURBATOVA Yekaterina 14.400 Women’s Uneven Bars 1 SEMENOVA Ksenia 16.350 2 MYASNIKOVA Karina 15.225 3 PRAVDINA Kristina 14.925 Women’s Balance Beam 1 PAVLOVA Anna 16.075 2 GREBENKOVA Liudmila 16.000 3 LOZHECKO Yulia 15.925 Women's Floor Exercise 1 SEMENOVA Ksenia 14.925 2t PRAVDINA Kristina 14.750 2t MYZDRIKOVA Anna 14.950

2008 July 5 ♣ 2008 Russian Cup - All-Around Finals Women

1 AFANASEVA Ksenia (Khimki-Tula) 60.850
2 SEMENOVA Ksenia (Khimki-Tula) 59.925
3 KRAMARENKO Ekaterina (Sankt-Peterburg) 59.875
4 PAVLOVA Anna (Orechovo-Tzuevo-Khimki)59.600
5 LOZHECKO Yulia (Bryansk) 58.275
6 GORYUNOVA Kristina (Velikij Novgorod) 57.550
...
10 GREBENKOVA Liudmila (Khimki) 56.025
12 ZAMOLODCHIKOVA Elena (Moscow) 55.700


2008 July 4 ♣ 2008 Russian Cup - All-Around Finals Men

1 DEVIATOVSKI Maxim (Leninsk-Kuzneckij) 90.950
2 KHOROKHORDIN Sergei (Barnaul-Khimki) 90.750
3 RYAZANOV Yury (Vladimir) 90.725
4 GOGOTOV Dimitri (Moscow) 89.000
5 BARKALOV Dimitri (Vladimir) 88.125
6 LOBACHOV Anton (Ekaterinburg) 88.100

2008 July 3 ♣ 2008 Russian Cup - Qualification Women

1 AFANASEVA Ksenia (Khimki - Tula) 60.800
2 SEMENOVA Ksenia (Khimki - Tula) 60.750
3 KLYUKINA Svetlana (Severodvinsk) 60.275
4 PAVLOVA Anna (Orechovo-Tzuevo - Khimki) 59.975
5 KRAMARENKO Ekaterina (Sankt-Peterburg) 59.125
6 PRAVDINA Kristina (Voronezh) 57.925

2008 July 2 ♣ 2008 Russian Cup - Qualification Men

1 KHOROKHORDIN Sergei 90.300
2 RYAZANOV Yury 89.350
3 GOGOTOV Dimitri 89.200
4 BARKALOV Dimitri 88.700
5 DEVIATOVSKI Maxim 88.250
6 OLENNIKOV Vladimir 88.250

Dasha Joura, Olivia Vivian, Lauren Mitchell in Beijing gymnastics team
Sunday Times.au - Perth, WA, Australia - Mon June 30, 2008
Australian coach Peggy Liddick named six Olympic first-timers in the team after the final selection trials at the AIS in Canberra at the weekend. Joura, Vivian, both 18, and Mitchell, 16, will be joined in Beijing by Victorian trio Shona Morgan, Ashleigh Brennan, both 17, and 18-year-old Georgia Bonora.

Tweddle leads medal hopes
Sportinglife.com - UK - Sun June 29, 2008
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Beth Tweddle will lead Great Britain's medal hopes after being named in a six-strong women's artistic gymnastics team for the Beijing Olympics. Hannah Whelan and Marissa King will travel to the Far East for their first Olympics and will also be joined by Becky Downie, Laura Jones and Rebecca Wing.

Olympics-Gymnastics-Izbasa and Nistor head Romania team
Thomson Reuters - Thu June 26, 2008
European champions Sandra Izbasa and Steliana Nistor will head Romania women's team at the Beijing Olympics in August, coach Nicolae Forminte said on Thursday. Anamaria Tamarjan, Gabriela Dragoi, Andreea Acatrinei and Gabriela Grigore were also appointed in the team, while Daniela Druncea was picked as a substitute, he said.

Johnson, Liukin nominated to 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team
USA-Gymnastics.org - USA - Sun June 22, 2008
Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, automatically qualified for nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Women’s Gymnastics Team following the conclusion of the women’s competition at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Ten women were also selected to attend a final selection camp on July 16-20, where the balance of the squad will be nominated to the U.S. Olympic Team pending approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee.

2008 June 22 ♣ U.S. Olympic Men’s Gymnastics Team
Joe Hagerty, Rio Ranchero, N.M./Team Chevron
Morgan Hamm, Waukesha, Wis./Team Chevron
Paul Hamm, Waukesha, Wis./Team Chevron
Jonathan Horton, Houston/Team Chevron
Justin Spring, Burke, Va./Team Chevron
Kevin Tan, Fremont, Calif./Team Chevron

The three replacement athletes are:
Alexander Artemev, Lakewood, Colo./Team Chevron
Raj Bhavsar, Houston/Team Chevron
David Durante, Garwood, N.J./Team Chevron

Gymnastics Champion Will Miss at Least First Day of U.S. Trials
New York Times - USA - Thu June 19, 2008
As it turns out, David Sender, the all-around champion at the men’s gymnastics nationals last month, will not compete Thursday in the first day of Olympic trials. Sender sprained his right ankle Wednesday afternoon while warming up on the high bar at the Wachovia Center. He may still compete in the final day of trials on Saturday.

Johnson returns to gym
ESPN - USA - Sun June 15, 2008
About 100 volunteers spent 17 hours at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute on Saturday, cleaning out the gym and building a new gymnastics floor so Johnson can train there. The floor isn't an Olympic regulation floor, but with the Olympic trials only a few days away, Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, is trying to disrupt her routine as little as possible. Johnson trained Friday and Saturday at Iowa State, about 30 miles north of her hometown.

Britain's young Olymmpic hopefuls
Times Online - UK - Sun June 15, 2008
Beth Tweddle, Gymnast. “Without question, she is the best British gymnast ever,” says Vera Atkinson, head of media for British Gymnastics.

Iowa Flooding Hits Shawn Johnson’s Gym
New York Times - New York, NY, USA - Sat June 14, 2008
So instead of trying to keep the adrenaline at bay with Olympic trials about one week away, Johnson and her coach, Liang Chow, had new things to worry about. Liang’s gym, Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, is filled with about one foot of water, with so much water in the parking lot from the adjacent Raccoon River that fish are swimming where cars used to be.

U. gymnast qualifies for German Olympic team
Deseret News - Salt Lake City, UT, USA - Tue June 10, 2008
After finishing fourth in the all-around at her country's national gymnastics championships on Saturday in Chemnitz, Germany, University of Utah gymnast Daria Bijak was informed Tuesday morning that she has made the German Olympic team for the Beijing Games in August.

Oxana’s battle to save her son’s life
Reuters India - Mumbai, India - Mon June 9, 2008
The fact that the 32-year-old — who began her career for the Soviet Union before its demise and then for her native Uzbekistan before moving to Germany — is twice the age of some of her rivals in a sport long the domain of teenagers is another feat on its own.

33rd Memorial Joaquim Blume 2008 Barcelona (ESP) Finales Day 2
GymnasticsResults.com - USA - Mon June 9, 2008