2004 Athens Prelims

[Doug1233]

I had never realised that Carly scored the highest on vault in Athens Prelims out of the Americans. She beat both Mohini and Annia who both had a pretty shitty set of vaults:





Crazy to look back at Cheng Fei’s vaults in Athens. 9.375 (9.8) and 9.225 (9.6).

She came 11th in Prelims. She was the second reserve for finals.



Also recently found this that I had never seen before:



I didn’t even know she did the BHS Pike Back out of the Tuck Front.

Full results here.

 

[onodian]

I also luv me these b-c-d beam series, here’s hoping they make a comeback



Ghastly legs, but solid with the onodi at the end

And this:



I can’t find the qualirs one but they were pretty similar i think

 

[blake]

Ghastly legs, but solid with the onodi at the end

wow, mega undercut on the Onodi! her feet are barely off the beam by the time she puts her hands down

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Mo and Annia both happened to stink up prelims a bit, I think trying and failing to stick, and Carly’s elbow was freshest at that point. Her vault got worse as the rounds went on. Annia drew the short straw a bit with them going on vault last, she had to sit there for 23 of 24 routines and it looked like her nerves got to her.

 

[onodian]

Can you explain “undercut”? I don’t understand that term

 

[arabiandoublefront]

I remember first hearing it during the 1997 Junior ITC.

 

[rlayt]

Does undercut mean forcing and/or achieving less height and distance? Rather than a smooth completion with extension and distance? I’m sure I’ve heard the term before.

 

[RedBirdie]

“Undercut” is easiest to understand in reference to backhandsprings. When a gymnasts does a bhs, they should cover quite a bit of length between the takeoff from their feet to when their hands hit. A gymnast that has their hands land close to where their feet were, showing a lot of arch, is undercutting.

A Yurchenko Loop on beam requires a gymnast to undercut.

 

[Doug1233]

Like, a “gainer”?

In tramp we say “you gained it” if you travel forwards on a back somi.

 

[RedBirdie]

Yes, very similar. We say undercut rather than gainer because gainer means that specific single-leg swing-through takeoff–which sometimes also results in undercutting! Think: gainer dismounts off the end of the beam.

 

[arabiandoublefront]

Another example of undercutting is Stucky’s second pass here:

 

[RedBirdie]

Great example, and oof! My back hurt watching that!

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Specialism of mine back in the day!

 

[RAFIKI]

Crazy to look back at Cheng Fei’s vaults in Athens. 9.375 (9.8) and 9.225 (9.6).

Yeah it’s probably one of the biggest improvements from one year to the next that we’ve ever seen. IIRC Tweddle improved by half a mark on FX that year (Euros [can’t find a video to check her landings]->WCF) which is also darn impressive. Quick improvements might be a fun thread.

Offff I’d forgotten how empty the stands were in Athens.

 

[rlayt]

There was some bitterness about the empty stands on the part of us who wished to be there.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I remember Beth saying she was surprised and pleased with her 9.4 in the AA. But she had a reliable 10 SV, iirc, and that was half the battle in 2004. There were gymnasts who on paper were much better than her who couldn’t manage it.

 

[irichluck21]

Offff I’d forgotten how empty the stands were in Athens.

The Greek economy took a hit after 9/11 IIRC but also WAG prelims were held during a religious holiday, The Assumption of Mary. It is very similar to Easter in the United States and other countries. Most of the country is shut down and families attend church and various religious festivals.

 

[Doug1233]

I couldn’t believe the number of gymnasts who WEREN’T doing Cat 2/1 to Cat 3/2. Was literally worth the same as a Full In. And you could totally cheat it and still get full credit.

Terin Humphrey, for example, had a completely exhausting routine full of gorgeous and complex dancework, but probably had the most difficult 9.7/9.8 routine that you could think of.

 

[RedBirdie]

Never change, Al Fong!

 

[Doug1233]

It’s literally his philosophy. How can I make the most difficult routine for the smallest possible SV. It carries through the ages; across all Codes.