Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I love Simone and she is 24 and has taken significant breaks off training in the last 4-5 years. So there is an aspect of that. And while I realize it wasn’t meant that way, Simone even with her phenomenal talent has dedicated most of her life and sacrificed enormously in order to perform at this level. As much as everyone else. Maybe more in some cases.

It is great that she is proving you can still take breaks, live less rigidly and compete into your 20s and dominate. But I just want to put in a word in for the lifetime of work, physical and mental pain, emotional hardship that is behind this.

She is proving that SHE can take breaks, then return and dominate. No one else ever could and, probably, won't be able to in the future. She truly is an anomaly.

Well I don’t think many gymnasts will start at her baseline and that does have to be acknowledged, but then again neither will their field of competitors. Obviously like with most “greatest of all time” athletes there is an aspect of anthropometric advantages, I just wanted to point out that competing at this level is still a huge strain and takes enormous sacrifice that Simone might not constantly show on social media (but she did give an extensive interview about a year ago where she opened up about being in a dark place at different times, especially when learning Tokyo would be postponed and she would have to keep training for another year).

I disagree that no one else ever could compete. Dominate? Probably not, but with or without breaks no one really has if you look at scores and ability to overcome a major error like a fall and still contend. Will anyone else do a yurchenko double pike, I mean probably not many with or without breaks, if someone else can do that they’d probably be able to take a break too. Breaks aren’t really the issue. But both Gabby and Aly took breaks after 2012 and then competed in another Olympic cycle, so it’s already been done. Aly was second to Simone in the 2016 Olympic all around final and had improved substantially in certain areas.

Simone is amazing, no doubt about it. One of the best athletes of all times hands down. But I also don’t see much of a valid argument that gymnastics hasn’t “really changed” since the 90s or even the last 10 years. And a lot of that change has happened pretty recently. We will continue to see a trend of older athletes and with that will probably come some breaks. But yes, we will not see a trend of athletes doing any training schedule breaks or no breaks and then doing a yurchenko double pike or being able to fall four times and win AA competitions.

Anonymous wrote:It's awesome. I hate that they kept saying it was "unbelievable." It was TOALLY believable. What i can't believe is that there were so many girls around her and not one of them was like "hey, lemme fix your hair for you." I don't think Simone meant for it to look like that, based on how her hair always looks.

Is Laurie Hernandez not in this meet? I don't see her anywhere.

Don’t start this BS about her hair again. No one is looking at her hair.

Anonymous wrote:

Those age limits have been in place for almost 20 years now. Many gymnasts have been 15 at the time of the Olympics since Moceanu. You just have to turn 16 in the year of the Olympics. Simone really is an anomaly. Although this year some gymnasts are older due to the postponement. However, the new crop of seniors who are 15/16 are good and giving them a run for their money.

We definitely have some great senior gymnasts in the US. More than enough Olympic quality athletes to fill multiple teams. But right now it’s looking like most of all our Olympic athletes will be over 18. As of now, I see a lot of wildcard potential especially in the alternate spots. The two athletes who already have an Olympic spot (either officially or basically) are 20 and 24. The next top pick for an all around spot is also 20. I do see a lot of wildcards but we have a fair amount of other 18+ athletes in contention.

It seems to me that when the team size gets cut down, in the US, it tends to favor an “older” team overall. The sheer depth of competition here means that athletes need a lot of consistency and competitive experience, not just big skills. Athletes who have previously competed at Worlds and Olympics have some kind of edge in that respect.

In the US in the last 20 years there’s only one 15 year old I can think of on an Olympic team and that’s Kyla.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I love Simone and she is 24 and has taken significant breaks off training in the last 4-5 years. So there is an aspect of that. And while I realize it wasn’t meant that way, Simone even with her phenomenal talent has dedicated most of her life and sacrificed enormously in order to perform at this level. As much as everyone else. Maybe more in some cases.

It is great that she is proving you can still take breaks, live less rigidly and compete into your 20s and dominate. But I just want to put in a word in for the lifetime of work, physical and mental pain, emotional hardship that is behind this.

She is proving that SHE can take breaks, then return and dominate. No one else ever could and, probably, won't be able to in the future. She truly is an anomaly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I love Simone and she is 24 and has taken significant breaks off training in the last 4-5 years. So there is an aspect of that. And while I realize it wasn’t meant that way, Simone even with her phenomenal talent has dedicated most of her life and sacrificed enormously in order to perform at this level. As much as everyone else. Maybe more in some cases.

It is great that she is proving you can still take breaks, live less rigidly and compete into your 20s and dominate. But I just want to put in a word in for the lifetime of work, physical and mental pain, emotional hardship that is behind this.

Absolutely. Making it “look” easy doesn’t mean it comes easily. Quite the opposite.
It’s true in other disciplines too: one of my kids plays violin. She needs to practice hard to make a concerto sound beautiful and as near flawless as possible. Then she needs to practice even more to make it sound - and look - *effortlessly* beautiful. It’s a ton of work.

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I love Simone and she is 24 and has taken significant breaks off training in the last 4-5 years. So there is an aspect of that. And while I realize it wasn’t meant that way, Simone even with her phenomenal talent has dedicated most of her life and sacrificed enormously in order to perform at this level. As much as everyone else. Maybe more in some cases.

It is great that she is proving you can still take breaks, live less rigidly and compete into your 20s and dominate. But I just want to put in a word in for the lifetime of work, physical and mental pain, emotional hardship that is behind this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's awesome. I hate that they kept saying it was "unbelievable." It was TOALLY believable. What i can't believe is that there were so many girls around her and not one of them was like "hey, lemme fix your hair for you." I don't think Simone meant for it to look like that, based on how her hair always looks.

Is Laurie Hernandez not in this meet? I don't see her anywhere.

Laurie was there, in the earlier session, and didn’t compete all 4 events.

Thanks, I found her on Youtube! I have been watching her progress - she's really come a long way, especially after testifying against her old coach. I'm rooting for her and Chellsie Memmel to get spots (with Simone and I think Jade already automatically made it).

They won't for the olympics. Maybe for worlds though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's awesome. I hate that they kept saying it was "unbelievable." It was TOALLY believable. What i can't believe is that there were so many girls around her and not one of them was like "hey, lemme fix your hair for you." I don't think Simone meant for it to look like that, based on how her hair always looks.

Is Laurie Hernandez not in this meet? I don't see her anywhere.

Laurie was there, in the earlier session, and didn’t compete all 4 events.

Thanks, I found her on Youtube! I have been watching her progress - she's really come a long way, especially after testifying against her old coach. I'm rooting for her and Chellsie Memmel to get spots (with Simone and I think Jade already automatically made it).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I think the sport has changed a lot for the better with the removal of the karolyis and their staff and their eastern European style of training the national team at the Karolyi ranch--and their favoring of younger girls who fit into a certain body type. It sadly took hundreds of girls being molested and/or abused .

The current crop of gymnasts--Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey etc. are older and all seem to have normal personal lives.

They also put in place age minimums, which resulted in older gymnasts.

Dominique moceanu was 14 when she won her first gold medal.

Those age limits have been in place for almost 20 years now. Many gymnasts have been 15 at the time of the Olympics since Moceanu. You just have to turn 16 in the year of the Olympics. Simone really is an anomaly. Although this year some gymnasts are older due to the postponement. However, the new crop of seniors who are 15/16 are good and giving them a run for their money.

Simone is amazing. Greatest of all time. Bar none.

One of the things that has been critical for older gymnasts and their older bodies to continue in high level gymnastics is the training aids. Rod floors, foam pits, air tracks, sting mats, etc. are all used on a daily basis. There were pits and sting mats 20 years ago but training has gotten so much smarter. And that really helps bodies hold up.

Anonymous wrote:It's awesome. I hate that they kept saying it was "unbelievable." It was TOALLY believable. What i can't believe is that there were so many girls around her and not one of them was like "hey, lemme fix your hair for you." I don't think Simone meant for it to look like that, based on how her hair always looks.

Is Laurie Hernandez not in this meet? I don't see her anywhere.

Laurie was there, in the earlier session, and didn’t compete all 4 events.

Anonymous wrote:What blows me away - one of the many things that blows me away - is how easy she makes it look. Like she has this absolutely nonchalant look on her face, she just strides off after this groundbreaking, absolutely astonishing feat.

She is a f**king legend.

Seriously. She always looks like she put forth the same amount of effort I do brushing my teeth. It’s insane.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I think the sport has changed a lot for the better with the removal of the karolyis and their staff and their eastern European style of training the national team at the Karolyi ranch--and their favoring of younger girls who fit into a certain body type. It sadly took hundreds of girls being molested and/or abused .

The current crop of gymnasts--Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey etc. are older and all seem to have normal personal lives.

They also put in place age minimums, which resulted in older gymnasts.

Dominique moceanu was 14 when she won her first gold medal.

Those age limits have been in place for almost 20 years now. Many gymnasts have been 15 at the time of the Olympics since Moceanu. You just have to turn 16 in the year of the Olympics. Simone really is an anomaly. Although this year some gymnasts are older due to the postponement. However, the new crop of seniors who are 15/16 are good and giving them a run for their money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I think the sport has changed a lot for the better with the removal of the karolyis and their staff and their eastern European style of training the national team at the Karolyi ranch--and their favoring of younger girls who fit into a certain body type. It sadly took hundreds of girls being molested and/or abused .

The current crop of gymnasts--Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey etc. are older and all seem to have normal personal lives.

They also put in place age minimums, which resulted in older gymnasts.

Dominique moceanu was 14 when she won her first gold medal.

Anonymous wrote:I find Simone Biles fascinating because she's such an unreal athlete yet seems like she has a normal personal life (which for anyone who follows gymnastics knows how crazy things can get). She has a long-term boyfriend, she goes on vacation, drinks alcohol, etc etc. and yet performs on a world-class level time and time again. It's astonishing.

I think the sport has changed a lot for the better with the removal of the karolyis and their staff and their eastern European style of training the national team at the Karolyi ranch--and their favoring of younger girls who fit into a certain body type. It sadly took hundreds of girls being molested and/or abused .

The current crop of gymnasts--Morgan Hurd, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey etc. are older and all seem to have normal personal lives.

She is amazing!