2016 Women's Artistic Gymnastics Olympic Team!

[bookworm]

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1. Let's also not forget that the Gabby has a AA Olympic GOLD medal in her closet for team, as well as a GOLD AA

2. She earned it!

Point 1 : yes she does, but she really hasn't been in 2012 form since 2012...Team USA needs her Amanar and it's nowhere to be found now ..she was second to Simone at one Worlds competition but since then has been trending downward, not getting better....and whether that's from her mishmash of training ; outside commitments , whatever...her training has suffered while other gymnasts ramped up and focused, she did not appear to be of that same ilk...

Point 2: we'll have to agree to disagree here.... she may have "earning power" in endorsements but , while she's not as crazy a choice as say a Desiderio would have been and she's usable on her one event, I don't think she "earned" it....expected it? yes, earned it? no.....

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

In many ways I wish we would go back to the old way we did trials "back in the day" when we had two days of trials and it was a pure competition and may the best gymnast's make the team-fair and square. This is just how a lot of sports do it. I just finished watching track and field trials which were on for about 10 days and you run your best race/have your best throw and that's it-you're either on or off. Sure would end a lot of all of the nonsense!! Of course, even back then we had our controversies!

 

[WillWork4Flips]

S

Point 1 : yes she does, but she really hasn't been in 2012 form since 2012...Team USA needs her Amanar and it's nowhere to be found now ..she was second to Simone at one Worlds competition but since then has been trending downward, not getting better....and whether that's from her mishmash of training ; outside commitments , whatever...her training has suffered while other gymnasts ramped up and focused, she did not appear to be of that same ilk...

Point 2: we'll have to agree to disagree here.... she may have "earning power" in endorsements but , while she's not as crazy a choice as say a Desiderio would have been and she's usable on her one event, I don't think she "earned" it....expected it? yes, earned it? no.....

She earned it! I'll state it again. In you opinion who do you think 'earned' the spot and based on what data or stat?

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

Well I've been in this sport a long time and have watched the trials forever and have had former teammates both make and not make the team. In the current system, she was selected. However, for those of us who have been around, we are aware of the fact that in the "former" system, she would not have earned her spot. It's hard to teach us old dogs new tricks or at least to forget the old ones! lol! I can adjust, but still haven't forgotten how it used to be.

 

[MeetDirector]

Gabby did not "earn" her spot as a result of her performance at trials. There were 3 other athletes that outscored her in the competition. She was given a spot on the team for reasons beyond the strict outcome of this single meet. I get that. Let's hope that Marta's foresight in Gabby's abilities comes true; I have no reason to doubt it as she has been doing this for a very long time and can see things that we mere mortals don't see.

 

[Sandra]

Does anyone know why alternates aren't taken to Rio (like they do on the Men's side and Women do for Worlds)? Wouldn't it make sense to have them there in case someone gets injured at the last minute. Then they could be at peak form if they needed to sub in for anyone. And, the alternates could also have an experience of a lifetime being at the Olympic games cheering on their teammates.

 

[gymdog]

Although the USA team is the strongest in the world, it seems we aren't in the same position as we were in 2012. I think this team will still win and also win individual medals, but there were a lot of pros and cons no matter how you slice it. At this point on vault we had two Amanars at trials and Mykayla who was having some issues not unlike Gabby. We literally have a kid in the team vaulting a full (and I have NO PROBLEM with that and I'm super glad they're doing that) - but in 2012 we had a full lineup of Amanars, had kids with amanars who didn't even make the team or lineups. Every person in our Olympic lineup vaulted a 2.5. That 99% won't happen this time, although I suspect Marta hasn't completely given up on Gabby although it's a long shot. She's the only one physically capable of doing it.

I think coming off 2012 there was a lot of hype that it was always gonna be this way and we still had up and comers doing amanar and it was gonna be the next big thing and then...people started getting hurt (Laurie) or mental issues (Gabby) or got hurt and lost it (Maggie). And so on. I think right now people are a little shocked maybe at what it came down to for the team this year after all the hype and how amazing the team was in 2012 (and Gabby is fully included in that). It was a very strong team. Vault was a huge huge advantage.

This team is still strong in the world. But I'm not sure it lives up to all the hype. I think people thought this team would be better than 2012 and I'm pretty sure that won't be true. And remember a lot of it hinges on one person. Although I think they'll be equally successful on the medal count, fingers crossed that all goes well. But when it doesn't live up to the hype I think there's a lot of room for finger pointing and blame. Honestly, Gabby barely eked in and she did so because it was between her and someone who only trains two events, one of which wasn't even needed and she probably couldn't make the lineup on. They probably won't even use Gabby on some events this time, but if they had to, she's pretty much the only person who really would fit all the needs.

She's not an anchor on the team this time around, but remember in 2012 she was pretty inconsistent too. With an amanar and no falls, the only person she couldn't beat is Simone. But of course that's a long shot either way, but I'm just pointing it out. There was reasonable doubt she'd medal, much less win the all around in 2012, her shot hinged on hitting 4 for 4 which she did not always do by any means that year (example, basically missed her hands on vault and did a double to her face while attempting an amanar). Still she was an anchor on the team in 2012 simply because her potential put her neck and neck with Jordyn when she did hit.

Now if there was Jordan and Ebee or really a bunch of people this time around, forget about it. But we just have a lot of people with pros and cons who have hit and fallen. I'm not sure I get those "charts" because if you look at the meets leading up to this, so many things have happened. No one has hit every single routine (which wouldn't be expected at all) but even more so we have a lot of people who are basically 50/50 but could be good...its kind of random to try to total potential team scores for these people.

So I guess my bottom line is as amazing as the depth is right now, and I truly think some amazing gymnasts who would qualify in any other nation of the world (including Gabby of course) were left on the team, it's also made me realize how mind blowing 2012 was, particularly on vault.

 

[gymmummy]

I think a healthy Bailie would most definitely make the team.
Wasn't a fan of Kocian pretty trials but love her now. She earned her place & is aesthetically very pleasing to look at, she has that classical look that international judges love & I think she'll score very well in Rio if she hits.
What is Martha's death camp like, why is it different to ordinary training, surely these kids were giving it their all in training prior to trials, why is training so different at the ranch?

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I think coming off 2012 there was a lot of hype that it was always gonna be this way and we still had up and comers doing amanar and it was gonna be the next big thing and then...people started getting hurt (Laurie) or mental issues (Gabby) or got hurt and lost it (Maggie). And so on. I think right now people are a little shocked maybe at what it came down to for the team this year after all the hype and how amazing the team was in 2012 (and Gabby is fully included in that). It was a very strong team. Vault was a huge huge advantage.
.

Your right, that team was stacked with vaulters. I have one question though, did Laurie actually injure herself vaulting? Because I remember an interview with Maggie before Laurie's injuries saying that Laurie could probably get the double but not the 2.5 and that her ticket to the Olympics would be keeping her floor strong, adding skills to make bars stronger and re-working beam for consistency, funny that at the time Maggie saw her going on the team as a specialist and now she is likely to be doing all around. I respected her honesty and ability to actually see where her athlete had a chance and to work on it.

 

[Blackie6]

regarding meaningless trials:

I was at the trials and while waiting for the selection committee to come out, checked my facebook - the picture of the 5 girls was posted right as the girls were walking out onto the floor area...

The picture was obviously taken before tonight's competition... I think regardless of what happened Sunday night, they had already made chosen the team.. maybe they took 2 pictures - 1 with Locklear and 1 with Kocian...

I pretty much figured out the selection was made prior to Trials when Tim D (who just nauseated me both nights) kept saying "she just cemented her ticket to the Olympics" and we watched the camera follow Gabby to the water cooler! My daughter also saw the same B & W team picture! It was disapointing to watch some of these girls busting their asses to get back, like Maggie, to perform well, and the almighty selection comittee wasn't even watching their routines or did NBC even bother showing us the scores or routines. Oh, and the flash to Marta's face after every routine...could have shown a couple more routines NBC!

 

[skschlag]

The picture was photoshopped. Those are all individual pictures put together into 1. They did one for the men too.

 

[sce]

Well I've been in this sport a long time and have watched the trials forever and have had former teammates both make and not make the team. In the current system, she was selected. However, for those of us who have been around, we are aware of the fact that in the "former" system, she would not have earned her spot. It's hard to teach us old dogs new tricks or at least to forget the old ones! lol! I can adjust, but still haven't forgotten how it used to be.

Who knows with the old system. You can go back pretty far and find subjective team decisions.

 

[gymdog]

Your right, that team was stacked with vaulters. I have one question though, did Laurie actually injure herself vaulting? Because I remember an interview with Maggie before Laurie's injuries saying that Laurie could probably get the double but not the 2.5 and that her ticket to the Olympics would be keeping her floor strong, adding skills to make bars stronger and re-working beam for consistency, funny that at the time Maggie saw her going on the team as a specialist and now she is likely to be doing all around. I respected her honesty and ability to actually see where her athlete had a chance and to work on it.

I'm 90% sure it was vault but come to think about it I don't know if it was a 2.5 or a double. Gabby also apparently hurt herself on a 2.5 in training but it didn't require surgery or as much time off.

 

[profmom]

The 2012 team was unbelievably good and after everything was done, I thought I'd never see their like again. I now think this team is likely to be stronger than 2012.

In the qualifying round for the 2012 Olympics, the US scored a 181.863 to Russia's 180.429 and China's 176.637. Biggest event lead was on vault by a little over 1.3; US was narrowly on top on beam as well, second on FX, and fourth on bars. In 2012 Olympic team finals, the US upped its game and scored a 183.956 to silver medalists Russia with a 178.53 and bronze Romania at 176.414. On vault, Team Amanar was on top by almost 1.8 points and were more narrowly ahead of Romania on beam and floor. The US slayed in part because of a relatively weak Russian showing on FX (6th place) and relatively weak Romanian bars (8th place, having to count two scores in the 13s).

At worlds in 2015, granted we are looking at four scores instead of three in quals, but the US was ahead of second-place Russia by more than five points. A good deal of this was because the US's team floor score of 59.599 was so much further ahead of second-place floor workers GB (56.766) and everyone behind them. The differential between the US and Russia on vault was 1.8 points. For finals at worlds, the 2015 US team put up a 181.338 to second-place China's 176.164, but even Great Britain couldn't get close to the US on floor -- the differential was 2.5 points. Less than a point separated the US from Russia on vault (with the US ahead), but the US was also more than a full point ahead of second-place China on beam. In finals, the US was in second on bars but by only .2.

So . . . yes, the 2016 team won't have as many Amanars, but they don't need them. Keep in mind as well that the SV for an Amanar in 2012 was 6.5, whereas now it is 6.3. What vault was to the Fierce Five, floor will be on steroids to the 2016 team, and they will most likely do better compared to the rest of the world on bars than the 2012 team did. Furthermore, there's likely to be more daylight between them and the rest of the world on beam.

I haven't crunched without Simone, but even taking out Simone entirely and subbing in one of the alternates (let's just say Skinner for the sake of argument), the team is likely to be very far ahead. It's not just Simone. They are very good, they do hard stuff, and they don't have to count falls.

 

[wandrewsjr]

The 2012 team was unbelievably good and after everything was done, I thought I'd never see their like again. I now think this team is likely to be stronger than 2012.

In the qualifying round for the 2012 Olympics, the US scored a 181.863 to Russia's 180.429 and China's 176.637. Biggest event lead was on vault by a little over 1.3; US was narrowly on top on beam as well, second on FX, and fourth on bars. In 2012 Olympic team finals, the US upped its game and scored a 183.956 to silver medalists Russia with a 178.53 and bronze Romania at 176.414. On vault, Team Amanar was on top by almost 1.8 points and were more narrowly ahead of Romania on beam and floor. The US slayed in part because of a relatively weak Russian showing on FX (6th place) and relatively weak Romanian bars (8th place, having to count two scores in the 13s).

At worlds in 2015, granted we are looking at four scores instead of three in quals, but the US was ahead of second-place Russia by more than five points. A good deal of this was because the US's team floor score of 59.599 was so much further ahead of second-place floor workers GB (56.766) and everyone behind them. The differential between the US and Russia on vault was 1.8 points. For finals at worlds, the 2015 US team put up a 181.338 to second-place China's 176.164, but even Great Britain couldn't get close to the US on floor -- the differential was 2.5 points. Less than a point separated the US from Russia on vault (with the US ahead), but the US was also more than a full point ahead of second-place China on beam. In finals, the US was in second on bars but by only .2.

So . . . yes, the 2016 team won't have as many Amanars, but they don't need them. Keep in mind as well that the SV for an Amanar in 2012 was 6.5, whereas now it is 6.3. What vault was to the Fierce Five, floor will be on steroids to the 2016 team, and they will most likely do better compared to the rest of the world on bars than the 2012 team did. Furthermore, there's likely to be more daylight between them and the rest of the world on beam.

I haven't crunched without Simone, but even taking out Simone entirely and subbing in one of the alternates (let's just say Skinner for the sake of argument), the team is likely to be very far ahead. It's not just Simone. They are very good, they do hard stuff, and they don't have to count falls.

Agree with pretty much all of this, but after 3 of the 5 girls going to Rio fell on beam at trials, not as sure about the "they don't count falls" part. Hope they prove me wrong.

 

[raenndrops]

Does anyone know why alternates aren't taken to Rio (like they do on the Men's side and Women do for Worlds)? Wouldn't it make sense to have them there in case someone gets injured at the last minute. Then they could be at peak form if they needed to sub in for anyone. And, the alternates could also have an experience of a lifetime being at the Olympic games cheering on their teammates.

It has something to do with them not being allowed in the Olympic Village… if we have an athlete go down, that athlete has to be completely out of the Olympic Village before the replacement can come in.
It's rather … um… silly, unintelligent, idiotic, scatterbrained, nonsensical, senseless, unthinking, ill-advised, ill-considered, unwise, injudicious; inane, absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, laughable, risible, fatuous, asinine, mad, insane, lunatic; or informally speaking... crazy, dopey, cracked, half-baked, dimwitted, cockeyed, harebrained, lamebrained, nutty, batty, cuckoo, loony, or loopy. Take your pick

 

[wandrewsjr]

It has something to do with them not being allowed in the Olympic Village… if we have an athlete go down, that athlete has to be completely out of the Olympic Village before the replacement can come in.
It's rather … um… silly, unintelligent, idiotic, scatterbrained, nonsensical, senseless, unthinking, ill-advised, ill-considered, unwise, injudicious; inane, absurd, ludicrous, ridiculous, laughable, risible, fatuous, asinine, mad, insane, lunatic; or informally speaking... crazy, dopey, cracked, half-baked, dimwitted, cockeyed, harebrained, lamebrained, nutty, batty, cuckoo, loony, or loopy. Take your pick

The Olympic village already has to accommodate 10,000+ athletes. It is not practical to allow every team in every sport from every country to also house their alternates there. If an alternate comes in, the original athlete has to leave. I think it is mostly a matter of just not enough room.

 

[raenndrops]

The Olympic village already has to accommodate 10,000+ athletes. It is not practical to allow every team in every sport from every country to also house their alternates there. If an alternate comes in, the original athlete has to leave. I think it is mostly a matter of just not enough room.

I get that… but the gymnast can't even come in and train (bring her bags with her and go straight to training) until the other gymnast is completely removed from the village. That is the part that irks me. And they could always build an "alternates" village if they really wanted the Olympics… maybe not right there, but semi-close. Or they have 5 on the team… if you put 2 girls to a room, there is an extra bed - put 1st alternate in the "extra" bed.
What I am getting at is there would be a way if they wanted to do it… they used to have space for 7 girls on each team.

 

[wandrewsjr]

I get that… but the gymnast can't even come in and train (bring her bags with her and go straight to training) until the other gymnast is completely removed from the village. That is the part that irks me. And they could always build an "alternates" village if they really wanted the Olympics… maybe not right there, but semi-close. Or they have 5 on the team… if you put 2 girls to a room, there is an extra bed - put 1st alternate in the "extra" bed.
What I am getting at is there would be a way if they wanted to do it… they used to have space for 7 girls on each team.

They gave the spots that opened up when they went from 7 athletes to 5 in gymnastics to other sports. There aren't fewer athletes total in the village. You would have to allow every country, every team, every sport to allow their alternates to sleep in those "extra" beds. That's thousands more athletes to house and feed. They have to limit the numbers at some point.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Does anyone know why alternates aren't taken to Rio (like they do on the Men's side and Women do for Worlds)? Wouldn't it make sense to have them there in case someone gets injured at the last minute. Then they could be at peak form if they needed to sub in for anyone. And, the alternates could also have an experience of a lifetime being at the Olympic games cheering on their teammates.

When world championships are held, it's the championship of one sport. Plenty of room wherever they happen to be held to house alternate athletes. The Olympics include almost every sport and every country in the world. It mostly comes down to a matter of is there room for everyone.