Very Early 2012 Olympic Team Predictions!

1. Rebecca Bross- The WOGA star has great mental strength and is a good all-arounder. She is also great on bars, the USA's worst event. She is the 2010 U.S. Champion, the 2009 all around silver medalist, the 2010 all around bronze medalist, the 2010 American Cup Champion, and the 2010 Pacific Rim Champion.

2. Ivana Hong-  The 2008 Olympic Alternate has great form and is excellent on beam. She placed third on beam at the 2009 World Championships. She also placed second all around at the 2009 U.S. Nationals.

3. Jordyn Wieber- The new senior has many big skills including a double-double on floor, a full on beam, and an Amanar vault. She won the 2008 Junior U.S. Nationals, the 2010 Pacific Rim,  2010 Covergirl Classic, and the 2009 American Cup.

new floor routine: 

4. Alicia Sacramone- The veteran is crazy good at vault with a handspring rudi and a clean double twist. She was a member of the 2008 Olympic team and is a world champion on vault and floor.

5.  Kyla Ross- The 2009 and 2010 Junior National Champion has good technique and is good on all events. She is powerful but shows great extension and toe point.

6. Shawn Johnson- :) The 2008 Olympic gold medalist on beam is coming back after a knee injury and is training for 2012. She has not competed yet but based on her training videos and past routines I think she can make the team at the last second.

 current training

                                              

Katelyn Ohashi and the future of WOGA

image from woga.net

After Katelyn Ohashi's performance at the WOGA Classic I feel that she may continue WOGA's Olympic legacy in 2016. WOGA's gymnastics team is currently very strong. There are many other young rising stars including Madison Kocian, Lizzie Leduc, Alyssa Baumann, Mckenzie Wofford, and Sophia Lee. Rebecca Bross is the 2010 U.S. Champion and Ivana Hong was the 2008 Olympic Alternate. Both are currently dealing with injuries.

 There is another question that many people (including myself) ask: Will Nastia Liukin return to elite competition? She has been in and out of the gym but despite announcing a comeback in 2009 she has yet competed in many competitions. If her body can take it, it might be a good idea for her to do bars for USA because even with a "watered down" routine she can be a major contributor on USA's worst event.

Even with the impressive juniors from other gyms turning senior soon I think that WOGA might continue its legacy in 2012 with Rebecca Bross. It might be too soon to tell but if there is a person to continue WOGA's winning streak in 2016 it is Katelyn Ohashi. She has the perfect combination of execution/artistry and difficulty. At age 13 she has layout full on beam, a piked full in beam dismount, and a two and a half twist to rudi combination on floor. She might not have all of her current skills when she's older, but there is also a possibility that she might upgrade again. Lets just all hope that she does not burn out and that she stays at the gym. In my opinion, Katelyn's coach Valeri Liukin is too knowledgeable to let that happen.

Modify the Beam?

Blythe from Gymblog  and gymnastics examiner has asked an unusual question. Should we make the ends of the beams wider? I say no. The challenge of the balance beam is all about how thin it is, so it will not be as exciting if you knew that the ends are wider than usual. Also, many gyms would not like to replace all of the balance beams after replacing the vault.

Katelyn Ohashi and Marine Brevet Win WOGA Classic

Marine Brevet of France won the senior elite division and Katelyn Ohashi from WOGA won the junior division at the 2011 WOGA Classic. Katelyn Ohashi had the highest all around score of the competition, despite falling twice on floor. She upgraded to a front layout double front on her first pass but sat it down. She also fell on a two and a half twist to rudi combination. She performs highly impressive skills for a juinor at only 13 years old. On beam she did a back layout full twist and a pike full in off, a super difficult dismount that is rarely seen. She scored a 15.9 on beam, the highest score of the competition.