Yao Jinnan takes Chinese Nationals!

credits to: thecouchgymnast.com

You may have noticed I've been AWOL for the past while. I've been going through a really busy time, and probably won't be updating anything major for the next week or so, but I couldn't resist the opportunity to do a quick update. Yao Jinnan has won Chinese Nationals AA! Hopefully this means good things for her at worlds?

In lieu of a real post, if you haven't seen it yet, check out my Ode to the Lovely Yao Jinnan.
I cannot wait until I can do real updates again.

The Original Not Impressed

This post really has no connection to anything meaningful about gymnastics, but I was going through old archives researching for my last post, and I came upon an interesting picture. Who knew that McKayla Maroney wasn't even the first gymnast from the USA to be anything less than happy on the podium? To see who it was, click below

Missed Medal: Jiang Yuyuan 2008 Olympics Floor Exercise Final

 credits unknown, but isn't she a cutie?

Of course, one of the most hotly contested gymnastics events during the 2008 Beijing Olympics was the uneven bars final, with that mess between He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Nastia Liukin, and Beth Tweddle. (for what it's worth, I'm of the opinion that Yang Yilin was the clear winner) A less debated topic is the floor final. I firmly believe that Jiang Yuyuan should have ended up with the bronze. For why, see below

Random Routine: Zeng Siqi at the Doha World Cup

Zeng Siqi; credits unknown

Today, I thought I'd take a chance to showcase one of my favorite routines from the Doha World Cup, Zeng Siqi on balance beam. It's early in the quad, but already it's looking like beam routines are starting to look more original, although it's probably because I'm thinking of the recent lovely routines of Grishina and Iordache. Anyway, on to the routine!

Random Routine: Deng Linlin vs Sui Lu 2012 BB EF

Credits: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

So I recently discovered one of the coolest things ever on Youtube. Someone made a comparision video of Sui Lu and Deng Linlin at the Balance Beam Event Final at the 2012 Olympics. And it's not just two videos spliced next to each other, it's two videos spliced on top of each other! So it's like a direct comparison of one of the most controversial podium placings of the Olympics! 

For the video, and my thoughts on that placing, click below!

An ode to the lovely Yao Jinnan

Photo Credit: AFP

The lovely Yao Jinnan, like many others, had the talent, but was plagued by bad luck. Along with Larisa Iordache, McKayla Maroney, and Jordyn Wieber, Yao was a stunning talent who should have made a much bigger impact on the podiums in London than she did, due to injuries. Victim to an untimely pulled thigh muscle, she pushed through as best she could, but just couldn't do it. For a trip down the memory lane of Yao's senior career, click read more