2023 Winter Cup

[RichardL]

Totally agreed.

Which speaks to the problem of even choosing a 5-person team from the US at the moment. There are so many athletes who are in the same “categories” in terms of what would be usable for the team. Have we ever had such a “celebrity” team that seems to be forming itself on its own? Biles, Lee, Carey, Chiles – three Olympic gold medalists (two AA!) and Chiles who is a double World silver medalist and Olympic silver medalist, obviously (and World team gold medalist). Jones is an easy add to that team, but it’s still a very strange quad without any breakout stars before the previous cycle. All five of those gymnasts competed at the 2021 Trials, as did the next runner-ups: Wong, Blakely, DiCello, etc. (and McClain who was eligible but injured for Trials)

Roberson and Sumanasekera ended up being the only 2020(1) juniors who are even possibly making a splash, which is frankly shocking if you look at history.

 

[Denn]

Well, one part of is that there’s 1 less year than usual. 1 out of 3 years in the lead-up is a lot… And who knows, next year, at this time, there could be another name in the mix

That said, it’s very indicative of the trend of gymnasts competing longer.

 

[Bob]

Im with you lets not feed

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

For me, it doesn’t feel shocking at all. The sport has been going in this direction for a while, covid meant the normal Olympic experience wasn’t on offer last time (including commercially) and gymnasts no longer have to choose between NCAA and elite.

 

[RichardL]

You’re right! I guess I’m just so used to each new quad being a largely new team. But I became a fan in the 90s, and looking back, I should totally have been prepared for this, re: Miller, Dawes, Strug all returning from Barcelona to Atlanta. The only new senior to cause any drama that quad was Moceanu, with Phelps, Borden, and Chow also being on the Worlds team in 1994 with the Olympians.

I repent, etc! And I’m living for the new normal. LA '28 AA battle: Biles, Lee, Melnikova, Andrade, Listunova, Black. Sign me up.

 

[RichardL]

And then obviously Chow and Dawes making the team in 2000, with Miller and Moceanu in the trials process but too injured to continue. What a world! We are back to the 90s and I love it. (Even as I recognize that this has been true of most teams for a long time. Brazil with the same A-team over many quads etc.)

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

You’re right, for the US this has been going on quite a while. 2012 was the exception. It’s just that the veterans in 08 and 04 had come a more circuitous route.

 

[arabiandoublefront]

Phelps tried to come back, too, in 2000, but got injured.

 

[RedBirdie]

And Borden competed at 1992 Olympic Trials.

 

[makam]

I like the trend of gymnasts getting a chance for multiple quads. Martha was too quick to go through them, always looking for the new hotness. A bit like Russian women’s figure skating. It is always exciting to see a new phenom but then even more disappointing when they burn out before they can really get started.

 

[rlayt]

I hope athletes have learned better ways to take care of themselves and it’s a part of their longevity.

 

[irichluck21]

And then obviously Chow and Dawes making the team in 2000, with Miller and Moceanu in the trials process but too injured to continue.

Jaycie Phelps got all the way to Nationals but had to withdraw after day 1. She petitioned to Olympic Trials but it was denied.

 

[RichardL]

I remember! You can hear my voice in the background of the videos of her routines from Nationals on YouTube haha. I guess I just didn’t mention her because she didn’t make it very far in the selection process. Looking back at her routines from that summer, it’s clear that she just didn’t start training early enough, because there’s promise what she was showing for sure.

 

[irichluck21]

I guess I just didn’t mention her because she didn’t make it very far in the selection process. Looking back at her routines from that summer, it’s clear that she just didn’t start training early enough, because there’s promise what she was showing for sure.

She had the knee issue since 1997/1998 that kept her out of several pro meets.

Too bad about the post Olympic tour and opportunities. Phelps and Moceanu really could have been at the top of the field in the AA and a few events in Lausanne, had they trained seriously for it. We saw this evidenced by Moceanu’s win at Goodwill Games the next year. Had Moceanu not had the domestic issues with her father and having to emancipate herself, she really would have been in the mix for multiple medals in Tianjin and had led the team in Sydney.

 

[RichardL]

Don’t even get me started with Moceanu and Atler from that quad! What a mess. But we’ll always have the Goodwill Games. (1998 was the last year without a World Championships, right? ugh.)

 

[RAFIKI]

Had Moceanu not had the domestic issues with her father and having to emancipate herself, she really would have been in the mix for multiple medals in Tianjin and had led the team in Sydney.

As a huge Moceanu fan I’ve always wanted to see this timeline play out.

 

[esta]

1,000,000% this!! Moceanu, Phelps, and I’d add Chow as my hopeful ‘96 carryovers at that time thru to 2000 alongside Atler. Chow kept most of her skills when she came back, but I wonder how strong she’d have been had she stayed 97/98. Of course though, pre-med kept her busy.

 

[irichluck21]

1,000,000% this!! Moceanu, Phelps, and I’d add Chow as my hopeful ‘96 carryovers at that time thru to 2000 alongside Atler. Chow kept most of her skills when she came back, but I wonder how strong she’d have been had she stayed 97/98. Of course though, pre-med kept her busy.

I was actually quite surprised that Miller and Chow didn’t go for 1997 Nationals and Worlds. But Miller did the University Games instead and that was a schedule conflict with Nationals which also doubled as World Team Trials.
I was sorta shocked to see them both at the International 3 on 3. Granted they competed slightly modified Olympic sets, which didn’t have full difficulty to have a high enough start value.

I often wonder what motivated Dominque Dawes to go for Goodwill Games. She just had to show bars and beam though so maybe that was it plus being in New York was enough to motivate her.

 

[RichardL]

If it hadn’t been for the tour and all the publicity around the team win, I wonder which of them might have held on for a year or two (or more) at the international elite level. Phelps was just hitting her stride in 1996 and was doing really great gymnastics that would’ve translated well to the new COP, for example. She could have been one of the stars of Lausanne for sure.

 

[irichluck21]

The 97-00 COP would have suited Phelps extremely well.