Held on March 30-31 at Hawaii, team USA, Romania and China competed in
a regular team competion where they take the top four scores of the five
gymnast on each apparatus. This event foreshadowed to the future stars in this
next four year leading up to the Athens games. Team USA won both the Men's
and Women's competition which can only show a bright future ahead. There
are a few athletes I'd like to comment on.
Sean Townsend - The leader of the men's team. Sean showed great compusure
and consistency throughout the meet. The only low score came for him on
the Pommel Horse, perhaps his weakest event. He was strong all around however,
contributing huge scores on the Vault, with his Double Front. I was amazed how
difficult the NEW CODE of POINTs has made to get start values of 10.00 In Olympics
just a few months back, Sean's Double Front off the vault was valued at a 10.00
Now, with the NEW CODE of POINTs, his start value for his vault was only a 9.8.
However, this start value is respectible because many of the other gymnasts still
don't have high start values like that. This event also allowed me to see Sean
in an interview. From what I've read, and heard from others, Sean typically does
not enjoy the interviewing process but to me, he seemed very approachable. He gave
his fans and audience his future goals. Note how he mentioned that he was pleased
to make the Olympic team, but after the games, he left unsatisfied mainly because
the team didn't bring a medal home. I'm glad that he has a newfound confidence, and
his fans can see that Sean's confidence level is much higher now. He's not even
affraid to take the leadership role, stating that he has a "big heart," which is
what the US team is known for. After seeing him compete in this event and do well,
he definitely could put Blaine in a run for his money. Tim Dagett event points out
how strong a possibility Sean has at Nationals this year. With this being said and
done, Sean's 2001 season is only going to get better.
The Hamm Twins - I was impressed on how their events have gotten stronger. The thing
that is prominent is the improvement in their fluidty and presentation of their events.
One would be on Parallel Bars where they showed more fluid flow in each skill in
comparision to their Parallel Bars sets at Sydney. New skills were shown too, like
the awsome full twisting Kovacs displayed on the High Bars. The only thing that I
saw that was still pretty weak in both the Hamms was the form on their release moves.
But then again, everyone was struggling on their form, and it would just be a matter
of time this year when everyone catches up. Regardless of this, both the twins are
still ahead of many of the guys out there.
Romania Team - Placing third, and losing by a larger margin, I was disappointed in their
competitiveness. They weren't as sharp as I thought they would be. I couldn't believe
that they actually registered a score around the 6 range!! That's just unheard of around
elite gymnasts. The most glaring mistakes came on High Bar with back to back falls.
Hopefully they will be a much stronger, and polished team by the time the World Championships
come around this fall.
China Team - Again, I was surprised that they weren't as sharp as I expected them to be
since the USA won by a substantial margin. This is however, China's junior team and
most of the guys still have to work toward higher start values. I really didn't see
any of their gymnasts striking. Maybe I thought this because I'm so use to seeing the
Chinese Men dominate, and then I watch and event like this and see that they aren't
as good. However, I may sound like I'm too critical of the Chinese, but actually, I'm
still in awe because I expect such high quality from them. Despite some weaknesses,
I was able to see some potential on certain events like the Still Rings and Pommel Horse.
Ling Jie - Bars and Beam diva of the Chinese Women's team, Ling didn't show a strong
bars set, being the Silver Medalist from last year's Olympic games. From just looking
at her, she seemed tired and worn down to me. She wasn't as enthusiastic as she was
at the Olympics. Perhaps that three month break after the Olympics caught up to her.
However, she still poses to be a factor in competition because she had two start values
of 10's in her specialtites: Bars and Beam. They did an interview of her thoughts after
the games, and I was surprised at the answers she gave. She states that she "will never forget
taking a step on bars finals." Having this said, I know how something like this could
still in her mind for the rest of her life. But what I didn't expect was that she planned
to train harder for the 2004 Athens games! She's already 18 this year, and by the time the
Olympics come around, she will be 21! But that of course doesn't mean a whole lot because
Simona Amanar of Romania, and Svetlana Khorkina of Russia where in their 20's at Sydney.
It would be great to see Ling Jie again but I fear that the younger Chinese gymnasts like
Peng Sha and Kang Xin might make it harder for her to make the Olympic team. Another startling
comment that I got from Ling was the fact that she actually shared her jelousy toward
the Chinese Men's winning the Gold. It takes a maturity level and confidence to even
recognize these feelings which are true human instincts that are sometimes lost when one
trains so hard. I'm glad to see that Ling isn't "robatic" like some of the gymnasts I've seen
in the past where they are so stoic in pressence. This brief interview gave me an indepth
look at Ling Jie's personality. Although some people might think that she might be a little
selfish being jelous of the Men's team or regreting not winning the Gold, but I see how
she actually is mature and handles these so frequently "hidden" emotions well. Her new
beam routine is nice, with of course a lot more difficulty. She takes advantage of the New
Code of Points rule where they can gain .3 of a points in artistry. She certainly has that.
The biggest change in her beam routine is her dismount where she tumble the length of the beam
rather than tumbling and doing a side dismount. I kind of prefer the side dismount more, but
I'm sure the new dismount adds more tenths to her start value.
Kang Xin - This tiny, and I MEAN TINY, 14 year old is something else. Although I only saw
her on Beam and Vault, I have to say that she's definitely going to be a front runner on China's
Women's World Championship team. Her beam routine is amazing. Her face, resembling more like a
child's face, can easy deceive those for she does beam like a veterian. The combination of a wolf
jump into a punch front was awsome! I didn't see one balance check in her routine, and she has
an incredibly difficult beam set. Kang's beam routine is the total package. She has the difficulty,
but she has the artistry as well. I watched the Romanian women's beam sets, and none could match
Kang's artistry. In addition, Kang resonates an air of confidence that you typically don't see
in a junior. Like I said I saw no balance checks in her beam set, and the only mistake was on
her dismount where she took a small step. As far as style, Kang has her own as well. I like
how she tips her head up after she completes a combination, or skill and her flexibility is amazing.
From all this, you all can tell that I am a fan of Kang and I will be watching for her developement
as she comes along. The lasting image I got from her is when Ling Jie bent down to hug her. It
was cool to me because it gave me an image of an older sister supporting a younger sister.
Carly Patterson - The NEW star of the US Women's team, and the hope of the USA in the next four years.
Carly is extreemly talented. I haven't seen anyone with that talent on the women's side in a long time.
She has the body built for gymnastics, as well as style and expression. During her first two events, she
stuck both her dismounts. Then I saw her beam set, and I was in complete awe. Again, she had no balance
checks like Kang Xin of China, and her jumps and leaps were sky high. The most amazing skill Carly does
is her dismount. As of now, no one in the world is doing it, for it is extreemly difficult. You would
think this could only be done on the floor. She takes a small step forward on her beam dismount, but
it doesn't damage her score of a 9.725, the highest recorded score of the women's meet. I look forward
to seeing Carly and only hope that she doesn't lose her calmness in competition.
Romanian Women's Team - I've never been a big fan of Romanian Women's gymnastics mainly because they typically
lack innovation and artistry in their gymnastics. What I think makes gymnastics special is the fact that it is
always an evolving sport, ever changing year after year. The Romanian women don't contribute to that. I
am still of course in awe of their hard work, and consistency. There's probably no team out their who
possess these qualities, and I am a big fan of hard work. The thing that is going to hurt this team is the
.3 in artistry that a gymnast must gain in a routine. Many around the world have critisized the Romanian
Women for having routines that were very similar to each others, and quite compulsory. Just watching the
meet, I saw the Romanian Women's beam routines, and I saw the same mount, and almost identical tumbling
sequence on beam with the note on how they all doe a full twist on the beam. Yes, I agree that these
skills are incredibily difficult, but again, I think gymnastics should be equally elegant, and I can't really
see the artistry in Romanian gymnastics. Perhaps that is why I am a big fan of Chinese Women's gymnastics
because all of them are elegant. Although the Chinese Women aren't as strong sometimes or as consistent
as the Romian Women, they bring to the sport many new skills. They have the best form, especially on
Bars, and the beam routines are totally different from each other. I am not downing Romanian Women's gymnastics
however. They are incredibly talented, but I just feel they need to improve on the artistry. They have
all the acrobatic skills to get it done.
Final Thoughts - After watching both the men's and women's competitions, I see the these next four years
will be very exciting indeed. As one of the commentators mentioned at these games, we might see a
quad on floor perhaps. That would be amazing. The only thing is, I feel that the new code of points
demands a lot of difficulty. With this in mind, I fear that a lot of gymnasts will possibly get hurt
trying to elevate their star values to be a 10.00 The thing that I am glad about this whole change
in the code is the artistry emphasis. That .3 in artistry is huge, and this makes me happy because
gymnastics should be artistic. I was a little disappointed in not being able to see more of the Chinese
Women. The program showed a lot of Romanian gymnasts, but not Chinese. Overall, I feel this was
a good event for the US, and I am convinced that the US is probably ahead of the world in this new
code, especially the US Men.
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