Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

This week, we bring you the final installment in our epic 1996 Olympics TRILOGY: the event finals. This episode is brought to you by Club Gym Nerd member Kris (who also commissioned the 1996 all-around final because of legendary status—the rest of us could never), who thought it only fitting that we leave no stone unturned and no competition un-dissected when it comes to the glory and wonder and pageantry of the 1996 Olympics. Correct. Thank you for supporting the show, Kris!     You can watch the 1996 Event Finals along with us here. Spencer and Jessica discuss: VAULT Round-the-clock Kerri Strug ankle coverage Why the vault format at the 1996 Olympics was...weird Jessica's plan to institute martial law at gymnastics meets MO FREAKING HUILAN. END OF STORY. Spencer has a problem with certain vaults having certain 10.0 starts (because of course he does) Who should have won bronze: Gogean or Galieva? (Or Boginskaya!) Shannon Miller's death-trap Tsuk of death GroshevaEarringSituation.com ARE THERE NO RULES

U.S. CLASSIC Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica discuss everything important and unimportant that happened at Saturday's U.S. Classic. JUNIORS Our favorite, favorite, favorite future presidents Emma Malabuyo basically Simone-ed the entire junior and senior fields The glory of Kara Eaker on beam Annie Beard wins the performance award of the meet Gabby Perea won bars WITHOUT EVEN DOING A DISMOUNT Jay Jay Marshall channeled Kennedy Baker with her Dos Santos Surprises who rocked our worlds Audrey Davis unites the magic of China and Ukraine on bars Madelyn Williams has presence on floor and a bars that's ready for seniors Lilly Lippeatt and Love Birt are tiny adults made of perfection Moments of the meet Brooke Butler is the QUEEN OF SAVES on beam and floor Adeline Kenlin did the most perfect beam routine Konnor McClain's beam dismount that broke everyone (and the non-coach, non-controversy that ensued). Sienna Robinson, with a wink and a dab JaFree Scott did justice to her Terin Humphrey tribute leo Shilese J

MEET NEWS Lauren, Jessica, and Spencer preview this weekend's U.S. Classic! How to watch Hopes - Friday, July 28, 2:30 CT - USAGym Youtube  Juniors - Saturday, July 29, 1:00 CT - USAGym Youtube Seniors - Saturday, July 29, 6:30 CT - Olympic Channel & USAGym Youtube Juniors (3:30) Reasons why Emma Malabuyo, Adeline Kenlin, Maile O'Keefe, Ellie Lazzari, and Sunisa Lee are all going to win the meet simultaneously Special routines that will win your heart, including Brooke Siter's starting pose Grace McCallum's beam mount Breaking inside scoop about Gabby Perea! Jay Jay Marshall's ridiculous potential Shilese Jones' special floor Vika Smirnov's Russian realness Leanne Wong, Kara Eaker, and JaFree Scott leading the GAGE renaissance Nominees for the Olivia Dunne Award for baby junior you will be instantly obsessed with Youtube babies Konnor McClain and Sienna Robinson Leader of the Hill's children Anya Pilgrim and what she really needs to wear to the competition (hint: it's a pilgrim costume) Little L

IN THE NEWS Jessica speaks with John Manly of Manly, Stewart, & Finaldi, who represents Olympic and world medalists in the cases against Larry Nassar and USAG, about The plea deal offered to Larry Nassar last week The mistakes made in communicating with victims about the deal Who the real bad guys are here How settlement agreements can be used to change a culture and make an organization safer MEET NEWS Jessica and Spencer chat about: American Classic Jade Carey's star turn (that no one has seen) WHY SPENCER DOESN'T WATCH GAME OF THRONES OMG Margzetta Frazier's new Amanar The triumphant returns of Elena Arenas and Deanne Soza National Team Camp Jordan Chiles is back, and it's going to be spectacular Sunisa Lee did not attend but gave us an apology Nabieva. How to watch the U.S. (no longer Secret) Classic on July 29th. Men's National Qualifier Sam Mikulak returns on pommel horse, exactly five months after tearing Achilles Marvin Kimble wins the AA! Cue [hitting pommel horse joy-scream]! Sp

IN THE NEWS Deborah Daniels, a former federal prosecutor, was commissioned by USA Gymnastics to conduct an independent review of USAG's handling of sexual misconduct, and her report is OUT. MEET NEWS Spencer and Jessica chat about: National championships galore! Canada - Brooklyn Moors steals the show with a Podkopayeva Mexico - Nicolle Castro is going to save the world with her bars Germany - Pauline Tratz is ready for NCAA, and Michelle Timm teaches an important lesson on how to lie on the beam properly Australia - Emily Little's scary fall — but she's going to be OK! France - Marine Boyer's best-ever beam, and Juliette Bossu is the definition of expressiveness and musicality on floor Japan - Kohei puts all the HB specialists to shame GYMTERNET NEWS Valeri Liukin responds to our interview with Vanessa Atler Aliya had the baby! Jon Horton retires Aimee Boorman and Kim Zmeskal-Burdette are recognized for achievements in awesomeness Another plot twist in As the Stepko Turns Larisa Iordache's bi

This week, it's Part 2 of our very, very, extra special commission series about the 1996 Olympics, this time brought to you by Club Gym Nerd member Kris. Brave Kris channeled Lilia Podkopayeva and rose to Mount Olympus as a true and eternal hero by asking us to talk about the explosion of world champions that was the 1996 WOMEN'S ALL-AROUND FINAL! Thank you so much for supporting the show, Kris!   Jessica and Spencer discuss: Withdrawals! Kerri's foot and its many, varied costumes throughout the all-around final Marinescu being replaced by Amanar because Marinescu "didn't work hard enough." HRRRRMMMM (4:16) Romania's admitted age falsification, featuring conspiracy theories about why those medals have never been stripped but China's have (8:16) How we got here: an ode to compulsories Lilia's compulsory floor is what dreams are made of Why Shannon's compulsory beam is a CLINIC on what beam is supposed to be Compulsory bars scoring was crazy-town Rotation 1 (13:20) Intro fluff about what a failure it is

This week, we have another very special commissioned episode for you to sink your ears into. Loyal Club Gym Nerd member Robin helped support the show by asking us to talk about everyone's favorite competition, the meet that launched a million gym nerds, and probably the most important moment in the entire history of sports, the 1996 OLYMPIC WOMEN'S TEAM FINAL! Thank you so much, Robin! Jessica and Spencer discuss: Olympic Trials Drama! (6:24) Compulsive gym hopping Miller and Moceanu injury petitions All those heartbreaks (Kulikowski! Jennie Thompson! Kristy Powell!) JUICY, JUICY 1996 FLUFF (15:59) "Little girls dancing for gold" (Jessica has some feelings) Romania apparently training inside Dracula's castle "Just Shannon" and Shannon's epic snapback Racist propaganda fluff about Mo Huilan Putting Dominique Moceanu on a seesaw for some reason The competition (35:40) The important debate: who's better, John Tesh or Al Trautwig? How unbelievably super awesome the US team was on bars Romania's endless in

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW Vanessa Atler is an American treasure and fans have loved her from the moment they first saw her elegant power. She's a multi-time national champion, multi-World Cup champion, Goodwill Games event champion. She would probably have made the 1996 Olympic team had she been age eligible. She was one of those gymnasts for whom nothing ever worked out the way it should have and fans hearts broke along with her through the 1996-2000 quad. We discuss: Why she requested the interview with us Her thoughts on age limits and specialists (13:10) Elements she worked on but never competed (19:25) Dealing with emotions and tears of frustration The Comaneci-Salto & The Rybackis - (22:34) Why didn't she just take the Comaneci out of her routine and win all the things?  Beth and Steve's differing opinions on bars  What worked and didn't work with the Rybackis  How being at Charter Oak effected her own coaching Did she seek counseling or therapy? (31:01) Her early online presence… and her mom's (32:

IN THE NEWS In the news Spencer and Jessica chat about: Koper World Challenge Cup in Slovenia (results) Larisa Iordache BB  "Flavinha" (Flavia Saraiva) fell on a dance skill  Almost dies on floor, but she’s fine Champaign for all the winners Canadian gymnast Ellie Black scores triple silver Meet the Whittenburg - A TRIPLE PIKE OFF RINGS Eddie Penev won floor... but his 9.65 E score for his stuck upright landing Shewmanar vault Osijek World Cup in Croatia (results); Irish 17-year-old Rhys McClenaghan won pommel because you have to stay on the horse people! Obsessed with Kirill Prokopev FX - flares Shelgunova challenges Flavia’s choreography fall Thais Fidelis Dos Santos won BB and floor and her back handspring arabian is HUGE! Asian Championships It's one million degrees in Thailand and the training hall was outside. Despite FIG recommendation for a heat index equal to or less than 39 Tingting won all the things South Korea/North Korea world peace picture NHK Trophy Kenzo almost beat Kohei in

Welcome to another commissioned episode. Club Gym Nerd member, Alison, helped support the podcast by asking us to talk about the greatest myths, legends and unexpected moments in gymnastics history.  Thank you so much Alison!  Spencer, and Jessica chat about: Greatest Myths: Menstruation, height, beam width, Raducan's gold medal, and pregnancy doping Legends: Age stereotype-defining heroes in the Olympics and NCAA from Chusovitina to Daria Bijak Innovators from Mo Huilan, Hali Sheriff, to Elvira Teza The 1974 NCAA Championship streaker Champions from Khorkina, Shun Fujimoto, Gabby Douglas and Vera Caslavska Unexpected Moments The vault height during the all-around final at the Sydney Olympics 2004 Olympics men's gymnastics multifaceted debacle Wildlife Age falsification. Why do only the Asian countries get punished? Lingerie gymnastics The judge who gave an impossible score Tie breakers, wooden legs, circus discrimination, and that one time when Alijaz Pegan broke the P-bars SUPPORT THE SHOW Join

IN THE NEWS In the news, Spencer, and Jessica chat about: Chinese National Championships 2017 (1:40) The floor fell apart Shang Chunsong got a 3 on bars with a scary fall/ invents clear-hip seat drop to back tuck for 0.8 CV Lo Huan gorgeous beam and bars Li Qi (pronounced Lee Chee *squeals*) 6.3 D score (WOAH!) beam with so many missed connections. Adorable gallop to handstand Her floor is ready for NCAA. So. Ah. Mazing. Chen Yile switch ring to catastrophe but is it the future of chinese bars Du Siyu silver on bars Lu Yufei doing a GORGEOUS Fabrichnova  Zou Jingyuan stole the show and got really mad when he wasn't perfect on the 6.6. D p-bars routine.  Level 10, Junior Olympic National Championships (26:07) Watch every routines here. Kalyxta Gamiao (Hawaiian Island Twisters) toe-on counter Kim Aleah Finnegan (sister of Sarah) won age group AA/BB Leanne Wong - Basically just won the 2020 US Bars title Lexy Ramler (Minnesota, Kid Sport) toe-on full twisting shaposh to immediate pak;  also highest BB

IN THE NEWS In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica chat about: European Championships (2:00): Results Finals Day One, Finals Day Two Broken heart moments Euros highlights and lowlights: Devillard won the vault title with a Rudi + DTY Dragulescu won the FX title in Cluj Angelina Melnkiova (RUS) coming back from heartbreak to win floor. Nina Derwael UB win 14.633 (6.1), first ever for Belgium! Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) mindset perspective. Braegger (14.933 / 6.8) slayed Cluj with this HB Oleg won another PB gold! Ponor winning beam gold at home. Maria Paseka had a 9.95 in NCAA, stuck cold DTY  Eremina near face-plant on beam The Massive scoring error on Ponro's floor routine that took 30 minutes to correct (25:06) Our favorite skills, combos or single routines Oleg not dying, even though he balked on his HB dismount Artur Dalaloyan (RUS) TTY Belyavskiy took PH gold when Berki incurred a 0.3 deduction for mounting late! Evangelia Plyta bars - Maloney + Deltchev, Tkachev + Gienger Ana Fili

IN THE NEWS  Spencer,  and Jessica chat about the 2017 NCAA Championships: Semifinal One: Scoring started tight/correct but did it stay that way? Utah gymnast sent a lovey message to apologizes for alleged behavior of their fan OU was shaky, UCLA shook up their lineups and improved Ross made history by becoming the first female gymnast ever to be an Olympic, World and NCAA champion.  Maggie Nichols vs. the beam Fans of the Year Award goes to Iowa! Crack or Correct : Denver's Karr stuck her 1.5 but didn't get the score she deserved.  Semifinal Two: Alex McMurtry (FL) wins all-around and stuck her DTY after not doing one for a month. LSU on fire but used all their fuel too early. Save of the Meet Award: Lauren Johnson (Georgia) bars gienger Living Your Best Life Award: Ashley Lambert (NEB) floor and tweet to RuPaul Stick of the Meet: Mollie Korth’s stuck DLO 1/1 Event Champions (full results) Jessica loves all the ties, Spencer hate them Should every judge's score count to eliminate ties? Katie Bailey

IN THE NEWS In the news,  Spencer and Jessica chat about: USA Gymnastics Sexual Abuse Investigation: Gag Order lifted Dantzcher claims USA Gymnastics lawyers 'tried to dig up dirt on her sexual history and past boyfriends' after she filed lawsuit claiming the team doctor sexually abused her for years If you aren't horrified that the judge in the Nassar case hasn't recused herself, read this https://t.co/Ph3EtYvr7s Ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar's medical license revoked for 3 years Ex-MSU doctor Larry Nassar planned to return to clinic before inquiry ended IndyStar wins top investigative reporting award Head of SafeSport, based in Colorado, seeks to cleanse America's troubled Olympic movement U.S. Center for SafeSport has a phone line, 720-524-5640 By the numbers, the Dr. Larry Nassar case is worse than the Jerry Sandusky and Bill Cosby stories — put together.… The London World Cup Watch routines here. The E Score Beam Controversy Victoria Nguyen (7.166, no fall) Tabea Alt (7.066 with fall and overtime)

IN THE NEWS In the news, Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica chat about: Progress is being made at the top of the elite program Regionals Recap (5:00) Session I: Oklahoma, UCLA, Utah, Washington, Oregon State, Denver. Session II: LSU, Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Nebraska Denelle Pedrick, Central Michigan, vault with a DTTTYYYYYY Answer to criteria for the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year vote? There was no criteria. The coaches simply did not vote for MyKayla Skinner. Leotards: OSU and Oklahoma's lehenga choli style Kentucky gymnast Shelby HIlton update Jesolo (44:30) Results Ermine's Nabieva, Victoria Nguyen’s Chinese beam Riley McCusker = E score heaven  Trinity Thomas just being fantastic  Nina Derwael, Elisa Iorio, Ana Padurariu, Abby Paulson,  Everyone needs to do choreographed warmups to music like the French! Will Brazil beat the Russians in the future? We think so. 10 minutes just about Varvara from planet Zubova USA Gymnastics Sexual Abuse Investigation (1:17:10) Rachael Denhollander won he

THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW Kathy Johnson Clarke,  American Cup champion, World medalist, 1984 Olympic team silver medalist and Olympic bronze medalist on beam... and one of our favorite television commentators who practically raised with the foundational video, Gymnastics' Greatest Stars, is here to preview Regionals with us! We discuss: Her love for the Soviets and kindness in commentating Spencer and Kathy preview every regional!  The judging situation in NCAA gymnastics Kathy Johnson-ing  Morgan Lane; Erin Macadam; Lauren Rice (beam with robot, floor performance); Diana Mejia on bars; Taylor Houchin; Haylee Young of Iowa State  (floor), Maddie Karr (VT); MJ Rott; Mary Jane Horth, senior with THOSE BARS; Stacie Webb, BB; Autumn Jorgensen, BB, JO national champ; George Washington's Drouin-Allaire and Winstanley; Kirah Koshinski, WVU - underappreciated 1.5 and DLO; Rachel Stypinski, Kent State - all the 9.9s. Age and training hours What makes for good gymnastics television 1978 World Championships and the famous

IN THE NEWS In the news, Spencer and Jessica chat about: USA Gymnastics President has resigned after the USOC called for his ouster Why this is not the time to move on because nothing has changed Three things that still need to be done to prevent abuse at USA Gymnastics USAG using SafeSport for sexual abuse only--that means they are still going to do their own policing on non-sexual abuse misconduct and crimes.  NCAA Conference Championships (13:59) Regionals (38:30) Skinner's "snub"/character counts (35:15) Stuttgart World Cup (42:30) Results Tabea Alt wins, layout to two feet BB mount Eythora Thorsdottir's  floor save We almost start a Morgan Hurd podcast (47:32) Watch Morgiboo's beam dismount; double double FX with pointed toes and legs together! Baku World Cup (54:55) Results The crazy lighting problems Oksana Chusovitina winning all the things because, Chuso Catalina Ponor had a very Romanian  floor day This is basically the Vasiliki Millousi BB code Crack or Correct: The Most Controver

IN THE NEWS In the news, Spencer, Lauren, and Jessica chat about: Russian Championships 2017:  Seda Tutkhalyan tied  for the beam title with Viktoria Trykina and her monster double back  Daria Spiridonova tied for gold on uneven bars at the Russian Nationals Natalia Kapitonova tied for gold on uneven bars with a 14.700 Nina Derwael new bar routine vs the Russians amazingness Lilia Akhaimova floor champion 13.8 Elena Eremina's Nabieva release One of the best TTYs ever by Artur Dalaloyan Who does a triple back + a full-twisting double back as a side pass? Dmitri Lankin does! Gymnix Why the gymternet is obsessed with the Italian juniors Giorgia Villa of Italy has a few lovely bar combinations Brooklyn Moors:  front tumbling dismount    Sunisa Lee's has big things planned on bars  We loved all-around champ, Maile O'Keefe on beam Gabby Perea taking the whole Legacy Elite thing seriously - bar routine, which won her the gold medal Lauren compares Gymnix to the American Cup which had horrible fans Photo Galler

IN THE NEWS In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer and Jessica chat about: The American Cup & Nastia Cup: Our favorite routines of the weekend from Yul Moldauer and Colbi Flory's beam to Sam Oldham floor The Bart Deurloo Story - crotch vs  pommel horse Elite Code trends e.g., Dos Santos no pause before acro skill on beam, front tumbling and wolf turns-in-a-row-hell Which was better: American Cup, Nastia Cup or any NCAA meet Ignorant things Al Trautwig said The Nastia Interview about Nassar NCAA Update (43:10) Highlights and DII/III teams beating DI teams, Cal's bar dismounts Spencer explains why George Washington is the hipster gymnastics team Eye Roll of the Week Award Crack or Correct : Ohashi’s 10 on beam and Gnat vs. McMurtry vault, Rachel Schick beam GYMTERNET NEWS Our weekly roundup of the latest news stories from around the gymternet include: Aly Raisman's coach, Mihai Brestyan, is the new Australian national team coach. Romanian, Swedish, Canadian and Russian news Simone Biles broke her rib on t

  IN THE NEWS In the news, Uncle Tim, Spencer, and Jessica chat about: Melbourne World Cup Kenzo, Ting Ting and Sanne! NCAA Beligerent fans at Utah (6:25)? Chalkography rebellion! Crack or Correct: Every single routine from Utah/UCLA. The funniest, Peng’s 9.825. Winter Cup (21:01) Yul is amazing. End of story. Anthony McCullum's vault is gorgeous. Chris Brooks won his only event, HB Donell Whittenburg did his triple pike dismount on HB There were a lot of Winter Cup-ness moments, AKA injuries and crashes Watch every single routine here News and assignments for the American women! New seniors intro video American Cup - Ragan Smith and Riley McCusker THIS WEEK'S INTERVIEW Nancy Hogshead-Makar former professor of Sports Law and head of women's sports advocacy group, Champion Women, joins us to interpret our strong feelings about the Legendres interview from last week's show. We discuss (36:10): How did USAG allegedly fail the Legendres? Lack of a standard and professional protocol for the en