Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

US MEN'S SELECTION CAMP The worlds team has been named: Sam Mikulak, Yul Moldauer, Akash Modi, Trevor Howard, and Shane Wiskus. Allan Bower is traveling alternate.  The drama before the drama: VP of the men's program Dennis McIntyre resigned on the eve of camp Who is Dennis McIntyre? How do we feel about him? What's with the timing? And what's with those Danell Leyva/Jon Horton tweets? What went down at selection camp Why Colin Van Wicklen didn't make the team, and why Donnell Whittenburg had to high five himself The US men (that's right, the US men) had a 97% hit rate. And Sam Mikulak (that's right, Sam Mikulak) has gone 24-for-24, along with Akash Modi and Shane Wiskus. WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE? Allan Bower is the alternate. Kensley talks us through what's going on feelings-wise.  Why this was an impossible choice with no right answer, but also why the selected team makes sense GYMCASTIC GLOBAL The Netherlands friendly was LIT as the youths say. Do the youths still say lit? We gush about Lieke and Eythor

PLEASE TAKE OUR ADVERTISER SURVEY http://survey.libsyn.com/gymcastic GYMTERNET NEWS This week, we're discussing Russians and investigations (but not Russia investigations) as the USAG dumpster fire and Russian Cup dominate the headlines. Maggie Haney, coach of Laurie Hernandez and Riley McCusker, is under investigation for allegations of verbal and emotional abuse and pressuring athletes to compete while injured. Anna Li denied wrongdoing and came out as a survivor as well. We discuss that timing. According to new reporting, USAG has been aware of allegations against Anna Li and Wu Jiani since at least 2017. At nationals, Li Li Leung said they first learned of allegations in July of this year. Aliya Mustafina is out of worlds. Cancel it.  Jade Carey is training a triple double (and there was a broke-ass article about it that we discuss)  The qualification system for worlds in 2021-2023 is now official The FIG has approved the raising of the uneven bars by 5cm next quad. Is this a big deal?  Junior w

Spencer is alone this week for a comprehensive explainer of this comically complicated 2020 Olympic qualification process, answering all the questions you were too afraid to ask because you didn't quite understand them. THE PROCESS How teams qualify to the Olympics from worlds How individuals qualify to the Olympics from worlds WTF the "Jade Carey route" is How the all-around world cups are different from the apparatus world cups and why they matter (AHHHHH) Why continental championships are so important in 2020 YOUR QUESTIONS Jade Carey? Sub-question: Jade Carey, Jade Carey, Jade Carey? How is the US going to qualify its fifth and sixth women to the Olympics? What will these non-team individuals even do at the Olympics? What should the US strategy be for that second individual spot? How does 2-per-country work at the Olympics with all these individuals? BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF THE US WANTS JADE CAREY ON THE TEAM OF 4?!?!?! Could the US send MyKayla Skinner and/or Sunisa Lee to apparatus world cups? Won't some

              US NATIONALS TAKE OUR SURVEY http://survey.libsyn.com/gymcastic SENIOR WOMEN The saga of 6-time national champion Simone Biles From GOAT leos to badass quotes to "piece of shit" routines to the triple double and the double double to winning...a bowl, we dissect all things Simone But also...this meet was weird you guys What happened to Riley McCusker on day 2? Was this whole Pan-Ams-right-into-nationals thing a bad idea? Morgan Hurd's floor routines—from day 1 bizarreness to day 2 triumph Queen Sunisa rises above LI LI LEUNG The media had a 45-minute Q&A session with Li Li Leung and Kensley tells us everything she learned about new positions, the Daniels Report, bankruptcy, decertification, the Legacy Elite investigation, the Edward Nyman debacle, and the future of USAG SENIOR WOMEN CONTINUED Some CSI: Code of Points Unit with Leanne Wong's floor, NCAA triumph for Trinity Thomas and MyKayla Skinner, Jordan Chiles winning the E score crown, Jade Carey Olympic qualification implicati

CSI: Code of Points with Chellsie Memmel  Post-prelims code trends and common deductions with Brevet Judge, World Champion and Olympic medalist, Chellsie Memmel of My Gym Judge SUPPORT THE SHOW Join Club Gym Nerd here. Buy our awesome clothing and gifts here. RELATED EPISODES Live Blog: 2019 U.S. National Championships – Men Finals, August 10th Live Blog: 2019 U.S. National Championships – Women Day 1, August 9th Moving Forward: A Conversation with Li Li Leung Junior WAG and MAG Podium Training Interview Live Blog: 2019 U.S. National Championships – Men Day 1, August 8th Simone Sparkles With a GOAT on Her Leo & Expresses Frustration With USAG 379: US Nationals Preview, Pan Am Games, Gymternet News Live Blog: 2019 U.S. National Championships - Podium Training, August 7th 378: KONNOR MCCLAIN! US Classic Junior Review Episode 9: Chellsie Memmel, Swiss Cup & FIG Presidential Proposals  

GYMTERNET NEWS (7:46) Valeri Liukin opened his mouth and garbage popped out. Stefane is here with a special editorial comment.  Anna Li and Wu Jiani are being investigated by USA Gymnastics for alleged verbal and emotional abuse Jessica has an Aurora Games update What we learned from the Senate committee's damning report and the proposed legislation The new Olympic Channel series All Around is out!!!! Universal Gymnastics is closing PAN AMERICAN GAMES (1:20:14) Queen Ellie Black was unfazed by the nonsense that was this meet and won FIVE medals Deconstructing the US performance – successful and full of drama? Sounds about right. We discuss the team competition lineup, the AA final performances, Kara Eaker's emergence as a four-event gymnast, the Aleah Finnegan concussion situation, do some serious CSI: Code of Points Unit work, and break down the "Riley McCusker is inconsistent" narrative Arthur Nory broke the high bar and got to go again—but should he have? Plus, an impressive competition for the

 JUNIOR US CLASSIC Reminder: You can watch all the individual routines from the competition on USAG's Youtube.  KONNOR MCCLAIN. Jessica screams KONNOR MCCLAIN for a while. Konnor McClain. Queens of E: Konnor McClain VT, Kayla Di Cello UB, Nola Matthews BB (plus special mention of FX), Sydney Barros FX A theory on why the juniors are better performers than the seniors right now Ancient Bostonian Sign Language 101, with Professor Jessica Opportunity for comedy award: Skye Blakely, with honorable mention to Kailin Chio and motorcycle handles  The Wolf Turn Karmic Nightmare. It happened.  Plus: Karis German, Lilly Lippeatt, Sydney Morris, and others who impressed  GYMTERNET NEWS AND FEEDBACK The world championships draw is out, and we need to see receipts before we see your complaints Full Out 2: The Oklahoma Story Feedback on how awesome we are (oops, how did that get in here?), Gymkata, 2-per country ideas, pain catastrophization, GYMNASTICS MONKEY MOVIES, and more You can listen to the demo recordings of th

US CLASSIC Overall impressions This meet was goooooooood. It's Classic. It's not supposed to be this good.  Jessica talks about happiness and feelings and a kinder, gentler gymnastics The broadcast: Tim said "dickmount," the Tim Daggett/Tom Forster passive-aggressive showdown about over-competing that we wanted to last forever, and much more Listen. The WCC gymnasts walked out in capes. Simone had BILES on her back. All of our dreams are coming true. Obviously this has given us other signature leo ideas.  Simone's floor upgrades. I mean. Guys. We need to talk about this. For a while.  Event Queens of E: Simone's vault, McCusker's bars, Simone's beam and McCusker's beam, and McCusker's floor Honorable mention to Hurd's bars, Trinity's bars, and Gilstrap's next-level floor leaps  Scoring records and our problems with the execution evaluation The Pan Ams team has been named. Spencer has some concerns about the selection approach, and we need to commune about the absence of Sunisa on the team despite this.

The Magnificent Seven: The Musical (51:26) There's a musical about the Magnificent Seven. It's real. It exists. Your dreams have come true. Lindsey Green was there, and it was...good, you guys. She and Spencer fangirl about it for a while as Lindsey tells us all about her favorite moments, the fluff piece realness, what needs to be improved, and the part when Tim, Elfi, and Tesh get drunk in Atlanta (!!).  US Classic Preview Everything you need to know: When it's happening, who's competing, and what's on the line here—not a lot, but more than usual. Your annual reminder not to take the results of Classic seriously, complete with historical (i.e., from 2018) examples How the Pan Am Games team will be decided, who's in the running for it (not Trinity, Jessica), and what the approach to team selection should be How gymnasts can qualify from Classic to nationals and all of the problems we have with that What we're most excited to see from the seniors: Potential UPGRADES Unknown factors like MyKayla Skinner, Jor

GYMTERNET NEWS There is a MAGNIFICENT SEVEN MUSICAL, and Spencer will never be the same We discuss 82-year-old badass gymnastics, some dude who doesn't deserve a link, Simone granting wishes while being short, BYU's bottle cap challenge, and Katelyn Ohashi not doing DWTS because phew USAG's tentative women's calendar for 2020 and what we think of it Someone did a list of best gymnastics movies. We discuss the actual, correct list. Like Gymkata and the country of Parmesan And Spitfire which...just...you need to see this to believe it The deal with the Chris Riegel story Spencer cares a lot about the ESPYs you guys. Like a lot.  GYMCASTIC GLOBAL We trot around the globe to deliver news about Ana Perez, Courtney McGregor, why Poland is being very disappointing this month, Cuba actually having its act together, and how everyone is in Japan for a training camp MINI-COMMISSION World Champion-level Club Gym Nerd member Karla asked us to discuss the most tragic examples of getting two-per-countried with hypoth

In the second episode commissioned by the Participation Sisters, we talk about...ourselves? They've commissioned an episode called The GymCastic Podcast: Where We've been and Where We're Heading, saying very nice things like: “GymCastic has given gym fans everything we always knew we always wanted but weren't getting from major news outlets: Weekly in-depth updates, impassioned and informed stances on both serious and trivial topics, interviews with past and former athletes and coaches, Rage-O-Meters, and more. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, GymCastic is ushering in a new paradigm for gymnastics reportage -- authentic, humorous, and hard-hitting. Many of us are curious about the evolution of the podcast. We'd love you to give us a "behind the scenes" look into how you got started, and where you hope to be in the future.” We answer questions like How did you get started? How did Jess meet Spencer? How do/did you juggle your day job with your podcast? What was your first interview like, and how has your i

BUM-BUM-BUMMMMMMMM To start things off this week, we are joined by a little someone you might have heard of named Morgan Hurd, who has a special announcement about an exciting new project (WATCH HERE) she's been working on. The sound you hear from coast-to-coast is Jessica screaming (literally). Then Scott Bregman chats with us about how this project came to be and all the deets you need to know. What is it? “All Around” launches on Tuesday, 6 August with new episodes each month for the next year.  Where can I watch? “All Around” can be watched on the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Channel which is available worldwide at olympicchannel.com, its mobile apps and on Apple TV, Roku, Amazon and Android TV. It is subscription-free so you do not need a television subscription. In addition to the online episodes, we will be creating and posting exclusive content such as diaries and personal photos on social media in between episodes. What about TV? In the United States, episodes will be available on the ca

JUNIOR WORLDS Athletes from around the world gathered in Hungary for the inaugural junior world championship.  Thoughts on the concept of this meet: Does it undermine the purpose of an age limit in women's competition? Is it just a front for an elaborate conspiracy and other agendas (YES)? We didn't get to watch the team/AA competition because the FIG is terrible at this Coronation of the Russian junior amazing brilliant amazingness: with a special attention to Listunova's floor and important facial expressions China's surprise team silver medal, with love for Ou Yushan's floor routine and China's competitive floor scores. You heard that right. The US won bronze in the team competition and Jessica has a RAGE-O-METER for those of you who might have a problem with this. Spencer has a QUIETER-O-METER about pretending competitions were amazing even when they were OK Jennifer. Gadirova. End of lesson.  Romania...might survive? Words for that googly-eyed chicken and its focus-pulling chicken baby GYMTERNET NEWS

EUROPEAN GAMES In our first episode of the week (look out for a junior worlds/gymternet news episode later in the week where we tell you all to GET A GRIP about the US performance), we take on the events of the second-ever European Games, which is definitely not the European Championships, you guys. Don't even think that it is. Because it's not.  Complaining about the format: 18 people in the AA final? Six in event finals?? One per country??? Top women's AA qualifiers starting on bars???? This is not how it goes, European Games. Not how it goes.  Fangirling the queen: Angelina Melnikova edition. She had kind of an amazing meet and even hit beam all of the times.  Success for France, Ukraine being too Ukraine to function, and why the splatfest of an all-around final was definitely the fault of that damn personal-space-violating fox. The case of the last-minute allergic reaction Nina's rollercoaster from bars fall to all-time ANGER BEAM Why 80-hour, mid-meet medal ceremonies are not OK Oh also Putin was there

In our second episode of the week covering the gymternet news only. Earlier this week we took a deep dive into the events of the American Classic, the first "big" elite meet of the summer. Let us know if you like the new format.  STORIES OF THE WEEK Japan has gone crazy — Mai Murakami is not on Japan's worlds team, despite being healthy and MAI. Spencer explains how this travesty has been allowed to occur because of Japan's unnecessarily intransigent, early, and all-around-focused selection process Kohei and Kenzo are ALSO not on Japan's worlds team (pause for gasps), though it's kind of a different situation going on there USAG is making rules again — Jessica takes us inside the world of the Leotard Cut Debacle and new USAG leo rules that had the gym-parent community up in arms this month The new Safe Sport regulations are out, which are good in theory but we have some questions about grooming, practicality, and spelling New selection procedures — changes to the women's Olympic team selection, the Simon

AMERICAN CLASSIC In our first episode of the week (look out for a gymternet news episode where we fight for justice for Mai Murakami later in the week), we take a deep dive into the events of the American Classic, the first "big" elite meet of the summer.  You can rewatch (or just watch) the replay streams on USAG's Youtube.  General "what even is this meet" thoughts about...what even is this meet...and whether USAG needs to try to make it an actual event, with a gentle reminder that it's verrrrry early Fangirling the queens: Faith Torrez and Ciena Alipio — why Faith Torrez was so much better than everyone else here, and what Ciena Alipio has in common with Ukrainians Opportunities for comedy: Thank you to Emily Lee, Mia Heather, Ciena Alipio, and little Hopes gymnast for fulfilling the true prophecy and point of gymnastics by delivering the moments of the meet  Sunisa Lee's Nabieva + Bhardwaj. YOU GUYS. I MEAN... The new juniors we're now officially obsessed with. Spoiler: it's all of them.   Spencer's oppo

This episode has been commissioned by Club Gym Nerd members The Participation Sisters, who requested an episode called No-No Nunnoisms: The Era of Larger-Than-Life Coaches (and why it needed to end). Disclaimer: We're going to laugh about some of this stuff, and we also know Bela is horrible. Is Bela Karolyi patient zero for this kind of gymnastics coaching? Inside the belief that you needed an impassioned man to coach you to Olympic success (barf barf barf barf barf), and then the times when that was (sigh) actually true.  NBC's obsession with Bela Karolyi  That horrific 1996 fluff piece on Kerri Strug — His defeat? The only man who could make her dreams come true? That boat-rowing methodology? OH HELL NO. "Bela's girls" Obviously, Spencer can't resist talking about that creep-burger 1995 Moceanu fluff or crazy 1992 articles Exaggerating the important of coaches by minimizing the athletes as "little girls," even when they're adults Bela and Nunno and the 1992 Trials war of words What have we (or should

This week's episode has been commissioned by Brad, who commissioned this very special edition of GymCastic as a surprise gift for his girlfriend Tricia. We present...Shawn and Nastia: From Feud to Friendship.  All the makings of a classic rivalry—the preordained champion with OLYMPIC DNA LEGACY OMG, versus the little upstart from Iowa corn-fed-doo-dee-doo who just bounced along bouncily  The context of the new open-ended code and the BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE OF THE SPORT Who ultimately won that battle? The narrative of Nastia as "form" and Shawn as "power"—the aspects in which that holds up, and the aspects in which it definitely doesn't. Enough time has passed that we can get real about some of these skills.  "Nastia won the 2008 all-around because the Olympic judges loved her international look." We dive into that garbage barge and burn it from the inside.  The fan feud: Team Nastia or Team Shawn. You must pick a side. The culture war imposed on Shawn and Nastia. The "all-American girl next door" versus "the

GYMTERNET NEWS Simone's upgrades! (EEEEEE) That Sarah Finnegan abortion broom internet scam Terin Humphrey was fired from USAG What exactly is the virtuous performance of a value part? NCAA coaching developments and rule proposals Aliya's injury (NOOOOOOO) Nabieva is back on national team (Spencer has a tribute here) Ashton Locklear retires A rousing game of "The British Call It What?" hosted by Kensley (56:56) MEET NEWS (1:14:18) Canadian Nationals The Ellie Black/Ana Padurariu rivalry delivers another classic Brooklyn Moors tore her heart out for our sins Shallon Olsen has never slept ever, apparently World Challenge Cups Vault debacles—stopped runs and ad-board headbutts  Rhys McClenaghan is back and recording huge PH scores Tomas. Gonzalez. Spencer needs some smelling salts. Trends in women's floor composition for fans of dance elements Goksu Uctas Sanli is everything we want in women's gymnastics Bars, er, um, didn't go great Australian Nationals - updates on national champion Georgia Godw

The hair Olympics! And also gymnastics. But mostly hair! This week, we have a commissioned episode from Club Gym Nerd member Billy, who asked for an episode all about the team competition at the 1988 Olympics saying, “have fun with all the 80s styles and music." We don't need to be told twice.  Setting the scene Check out last week's 80s FIGHT episode for all the Romanian/Soviet lead-up drama to the 1988 Olympics Updates on the age falsification discussion from last week, featuring Soviets who were underage too Jessica finds an excuse to talk about another HBO show she's obsessed with Here is a video of then-FIG President Yuri Titov lying about Elena Mukhina being paralyzed (Thank you, Boris for sending us this video) Compulsories - perfection and politics We gush about the wonders of compulsories and pick out the skills from the 1988 compulsory routines that we would put in our dream 2019 compulsories Because of being an insufferable form queen, Spencer freaks out about people's leg positions and fake 1