fuck yeah subjective sports

…about the revelations this IG interview with rebecca bross holds:

Initially diagnosed as a stress reaction prior to worlds, the hot spot on Bross’ ankle developed into a stress fracture. On Tuesday, Bross underwent surgery, in which doctors inserted two screws into the bone to ensure the fracture heals properly.

IG stopped by WOGA in Plano, Texas, to chat with Bross a few days before her ankle surgery. The injury limited Bross to mainly uneven bars and conditioning, while her training partners in Liukin’s group showed off some impressive new skills for the upcoming season. Grace McLaughlin, a senior next year, threw a beautiful Jaeger-half on uneven bars, while Katelyn Ohashi, a senior in 2013, tumbled a 2 1/2, Rudi combination on floor. Nastia Liukin — who only recently returned to training full-time as she tests the waters for a comeback — looked outstanding, and caught a new layout Jaeger from elgrip. Two-time world team member Ivana Hong, who also trains under Liukin and Kamalova, looked physically fit after a torn ACL in February.

1.) so she was competing on a broken ankle in rotterdam (or broke it while in the process of competing there). that’s two broken ankles at major events in three years!  go marta, 2-for-3!

2.) katelyn ohashi is somethin’ else.

3.) a layout jaeger is cool.  what exactly does “outstanding” mean?

4.) sounds like valeri is really taking his cues from the chinese.

…about this teamusa.org piece on aly raisman:

1.) i never really realize that aly is six and a half years younger than asac, which is a testament to aly’s maturity & alicia’s timelessness.

2.) this is adorable:

Six years ago, Alexandra ‘Aly’ Raisman walked into Brestyan’s American Gymnastics for the first time, excited to fulfill a dream. 

The 10-year-old switched gyms and coaches in order to train with her idol, Alicia Sacramone.

…

After staying at the same gym all those years, Raisman made the change from Exxcel Gymnastics in her hometown, Needham, Mass. to Brestyan’s, now in Burlington, Mass., to become more like Sacramone.

“It was really exciting for me because I never trained with an elite gymnast and I had never seen one up that close,” Raisman said.

“I think she’s such a great gymnast and she’s had so much success that it makes me more determined because I have the same coaches as her and I think anything’s possible and if I work then hopefully I can get the same results as her.”

the idea of her being excited to see an elite gymnast up close is so adorable and earnest and reminds me what an amazing thing this sport really is.  /cheese

3.) this girl goes to real school?!?  does she really do a full school day??

But after that, it was back to business as usual. In addition to going to full days of school five days a week, she trains at Brestyan’s six days a week, between four and six-and-a-half hours each day.

if so, i’m all the more impressed by her.

4.) good to know that when bela dies (if he ever does), his voice will live on.

Everybody say she similar to Alicia, she has something because she try to copy. She try to because Alicia was #1 and still is #1 and is the role model.

Trying to copy, it looks like the same – face, body, they look alike but they are different attitude in the gym. She is hard worker, more hard worker. With Alicia was very talented and for her was easier to get to the goal – with Aly, it’s a little bit more difficult but she’s a hard worker and will be successful in the long term.

In general in gymnastics, when we have good juniors and they coming up in their first meet, they don’t know what is expected for this meet.

When you get already there [senior level], people have expectation for you, you get under the pressure. Already you have a name, the people’s expecting for you to see you again be very good. It’s hard to be every time perfect, especially when you know you’re on a meter and you need to get on top.

Aly, she’s a new generation… I hope she will succeed because that’s only prove you need to work hard to get in top of the world. She’s very close to that… and now she know where to go, cause she’s one of the best in the United States, who’s one of the best in the world, being a very young age.

the romanian-gymnastics-coach dialect of english will not be lost for all time. 

…about this icenetwork interview with frank carroll:

1.) frank carroll is awesomely honest: 

I hope I kept my composure [in the kiss & cry]; I tried to keep a smile on my face, but I was mad. I was disappointed for her. I felt she could have kept it going better than she did. She’s a well-trained athlete. In the [six-minute] warm-up she was actually better than all of the other girls. She was fabulous, not one flaw, so I said wow! This is going to be good. And then she skated.

(on nagasu’s long program at cup of china)

2.) frank carroll is awesomely retro:

She said, ‘I hate being in first.’ I said, ‘So pick a spot, one through six, and [pretend] you’re there.’ Isn’t it the goal to be first in everything, short, figures, free? You want to be first all the way through. She can do it.

awww, figures!

3.) frank carroll is evan lysacek’s awesome gay uncle:

He called me, said he missed skating, and asked to stay with me; I have a two-bedroom place [in Arrowhead] and I said, sure, come up. The only bad part was he made me cook for him. He’s amazing. He did his Olympic programs, with his triple Axel, and later did a quad. I don’t think Evan will compete this season, but [who knows] for the future. He said to someone else, not me, ‘I don’t want to be a 24-year-old retiree.’ It was great having him there; all the kids worked harder after seeing that, let me tell you.

hey kids - frank carroll is awesome!