2024 US Olympic Trials WAG Day 1 (6/28)

[Laura722]

 

[Laura722]

 

[RedBirdie]

Thanks for that stunning update, USAG. In other news, bears shit in the woods, the pope is Catholic, and water is wet.

 

[ucrgirl]

And Chellsie remains upset she was left off 2004 because of an injury--she said in a couple interviews during her comeback she thought she should have been on that team, she would have been recovered in time

I thought I heard that at one point Marta told her she would be “called up” to take the place of the injured Kupets … only to change her mind later. I know I heard Chelsie was looking good in Athens.

 

[navyblue]

If Shilese wins bars again on day 2, put her on the team on the strength of the single event and give it four weeks to see if a second event (beam, where she's 3rd best) could materialize?

Then, if bars doest still remain a clear #1 and/or beam doesnt become usable, consider swapping her out for an alternate.

 

[Aeris]

Nobody will like this, but the mathematically best team based on tonight's scores only is:

Simone (VT, UB, BB, FX)
Jones (UB)
Lee (UB, BB)
Carey (VT, FX)
Roberson (VT, BB, FX)

Yes Chiles out scored Roberson on FX, but they tied on vault and Roberson scored higher on beam. Neither would be in the top 3 for bars.

This is not only the highest scoring team based on tonight, but on top scores from the entire season, if we assume Shilese will be limited to only UB.

Joscelyn is very close to making it. One fall from Jordan on Night 2 could completely swap their standing in the AA. It's absolutely wild to imagine Joscelyn 2nd in the AA, but it really is a possibility.

 

[MRR]

Finally caught up.

Chiles, Carey, and Roberson all on the team would be very strange. Beyond our general aversion to Roberson, Lee is steadily climbing in the AA and could even be top 2 after Trials are finished. Unthinkable a month ago, but after tonight she is within 0.4 of Chiles's best day with three big errors. Taking a VT/FX dominant team all but prevents her from doing AA in Paris.

I don't expect Jones to do more than bars day 2. That injury did not look minor and she looked unable to straighten her knee when warming up on the side. Will she put the layout jaeger back in? Terrible for her chances if she misses it, but also leaves the door open with a 6.1 to be topped by Lee, even Biles. If she is picked as a one-eventer she has to win bars, IMO, and under that condition I would still take her.

FWIW, I found the counting out of Roberson premature, but tonight was also her ceiling in the AA. Not much room to improve, unless she upgrades floor day 2.

 

[Passion]

If Shilese wins bars again on day 2, put her on the team on the strength of the single event and give it four weeks to see if a second event (beam, where she's 3rd best) could materialize?

Then, if bars doest still remain a clear #1 and/or beam doesnt become usable, consider swapping her out for an alternate.

This would be a plausible idea if this was Worlds, since USAG/FIG run the show there and alternates are part of the team anyway. There's a lot more leeway for playing around.

USAG would never try this at the Olympics. This is now the USOC/IOC's domain. Jones would have to return all items/gear given to her by the USOC + sponsors and immediately leave the Village. She would be stripped of all things "Olympian." The team they pick Sunday is the absolute final team unless someone becomes injured or sick to the point of not being able to perform any gymnastics at all.

 

[Kittentoes]

I thought alternates got to get Olympic swag?

 

[Passion]

I thought alternates got to get Olympic swag?

They get whatever USAG can give them, they don't get the USOC stuff.

USAG treats the alternates like they're team members, the USOC does not. The IOC doesn't acknowledge their existence at all.

 

[Denn]

So did we find out about Wong's neutral deduction that was removed?

Was it because they claimed "She supported on her fingertips. The rule does not say 'palm of the hands'"???

 

[BB12]

If Shilese wins bars again on day 2, put her on the team on the strength of the single event and give it four weeks to see if a second event (beam, where she's 3rd best) could materialize?

Then, if bars doest still remain a clear #1 and/or beam doesnt become usable, consider swapping her out for an alternate.

I don't think she even needs the 2nd event. Jade is solid enough on beam for a clean qualification routine and Simone/Suni/Jordan should still give the 2nd biggest event total (behind China).

 

[navyblue]

Someone mentioned on another thread that the vocals in Jordan's music might be inching close to being considered words. Any other thoughts on that or are they safe?

I mean i hate Jordan's current cheerleader-manic mash-up style. Like her Beyonce leo, her Beyonce medley just has way too much going on. It almost feels like a subtle trolling of the incident she recounted where an official tried to dissuade her using overly contemporary music, which she read as a bit of coded anti-blackness... and now she comes back with music way more in that style. It'd be fun if she owned up to that kind of audacity.

To clarify, I'm not anti-pop, and I really thought her Normani-sampling routine in 2022 was excellent, as were several of her UCLA medlies. But for elite, I feel like a quick skim of the artistry checklist makes it obvious why crammimng like 8 distinct pop instrumentals into one track would be a bad idea. Her artistry is back to where it was in Tokyo IMO, erasing some real progress we saw this quad. :/

OK huge digression, but so if Jordan is at faultfor 'vocals', she's in good company: Jordan, Simone, Tiana, Hezley, Joscelyn, Kaliya (and probably more I'm forgetting) have joined the vocals bandwagon to various degrees of offense -- Tiana's being a gorgeous and inspired mix, with subtle and fitting use of vocals (best), and Hezley's sounding like a full on Christmas choir that haunts my nightmares (worst). Circling back to my earlier comments, I can understand why Jordan's might be perceived worst of all these examples though, because it's not just 'unintelligible vocal', it's also recognizably the voice of the most famous pop artist in the world, and that does have a different effect -- your brain can starts filling in the lyrics. (OK great now I've just come around to side with the offensive official ... )

If gymnasts can keep riding the wave of this trend, it would seem to be a good crowd-engaging strategy... Nothing Jade Carey is doing physically could cause me to bop my head along to her, but one of the most recognizable bass riffs in modern rock music does actually work on me, so there's a trick I didn't see coming.

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Crazy that NBC skipped the 2nd best floor routine of the night (and it's not like that result is a surprise) so if anyone missed it. I also think this was underscored 2-3 tenths when comparing routines like Biles and Lee's.


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Final thought I really wish Suni's vault experiments at Auburn had given her a usable Lopez at least instead of her haggard DTY. I would really like to see her beat Jordan in the AA if we have to be deprived of Shilese.

 

[Beamer]

Kaliya’s FX was outstanding!

 

[RAFIKI]

Woken up after very little sleep and I am a bit dazed thinking about last night. That really happened!

 

[QuietColours]

Slow mo close up of Leanne's block :

 

[Caroline]

I am saddened to see the judging of Leanne Wong seems low. She is being held to a different standard then the rest of the competitors. Yes she has had deductions that influence her score but so have others with much better outcomes.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

This would be a plausible idea if this was Worlds, since USAG/FIG run the show there and alternates are part of the team anyway. There's a lot more leeway for playing around.

USAG would never try this at the Olympics. This is now the USOC/IOC's domain. Jones would have to return all items/gear given to her by the USOC + sponsors and immediately leave the Village. She would be stripped of all things "Olympian." The team they pick Sunday is the absolute final team unless someone becomes injured or sick to the point of not being able to perform any gymnastics at all.

Agree. So I just don't see how Shilese can be taken now, sadly. The risk is too great. As things stand I reckon it's Simone, Suni, Jade, Jordan and then the 5th is wide open. Not one of Kaliya, Josc, Hezley or Tiana would particularly surprise me. Doesn't feel like it's going Leanne's way. And not for the first time, the US should thank their lucky stars for Simone.

Also agree with the points made about Jordan's floor by various posters. I've come to accept that all her floor routines are going to have some dubious dance elements in them. It's just what she does. Might as well make your peace with it. The music, though, feels like an unnecessary risk. I really like the concept of a Beyonce routine for her, but the vocals could bite her in the arse and it's a looooot of songs.

 

[Deleted member 408]

I would love to see Wong in the 5th spot, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Failing that, Rivera and Sumanasekera are both beautiful gymnasts and either would bring artistry and strong beam (if Rivera hits the dismount), plus decent bars or floor respectively. Lincoln seems unlikely since it’s really just the one strong event / a useful but not stunning DTY.

But if they pick Roberson, I will be pretty disappointed. (No hate towards her as a person, but I don’t ever enjoy watching her.)

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I would love to see Wong in the 5th spot, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Failing that, Rivera and Sumanasekera are both beautiful gymnasts and either would bring artistry and strong beam (if Rivera hits the dismount), plus decent bars or floor respectively. Lincoln seems unlikely since it’s really just the one strong event / a useful but not stunning DTY.

But if they pick Roberson, I will be pretty disappointed. (No hate towards her as a person, but I don’t ever enjoy watching her.)

It doesn't feel like she adds much, compared to Kaliya at least.

Let's assume the top 4 are Simone, Suni, Jade and probably Jordan (and fwiw I think they'll want the optics of taking the top 3 AAers). That's a vault heavy team already. Josc is not obviously top 3 on either of her events in that scenario. The E panels at worlds weren't particularly generous to her, and she's not likely to win an individual medal.

And those Cheng landings look like they did last year when we were worrying over her risk of injury. If she were one of those tank like gymnasts who can brush off a short landing like nothing and who you knew could fill in whenever wherever, I'd probably lean towards taking her, even though she's not my favourite to watch. But she's not at all.

None of which is to rule out her chances. Her stock has risen and she's in the mix.