British WAG and MAG talk 2025

[J175]

I wouldn't mind seeing some new faces at Euros. The "A" team seem to have been constantly on the go for the last few years. Alice and GMF were both on every team in the 2022-24 cycle. I don't think there's been a team without at least one of them since Rio 2016.

 

[QuietColours]

With Chusovitina it’s financial. Whilst she’s still able to do the skills that can make her money on the World Cup circuit, then it makes sense for her to continue even if Olympic qualification isn’t realistic. If she had another way of making decent money, I don’t think she’d still be competing.

She can't make decent money coaching?

 

[cftmoonlight79]

Speaking as a coach, nope
Honestly have no idea what coaching gets paid over there.

 

[FlipSkippy]

She can't make decent money coaching?

Or open / own a gym? I don't know her educational background or skills outside of being an athlete, but continuing to compete doesn't seem sustainable. She's been doing an amazing job, but for how long? What would be her Plan B?

 

[hmmmm]

I think it has been implied before that as a coach she was difficult to work for/with.

 

[FlipSkippy]

I think it has been implied before that as a coach she was difficult to work for/with.

Sounds like Michael Jordan. Amazing athlete does not always translate into great coach.

 

[MaryClare]

She can't make decent money coaching?

She doesn’t speak English and only broken German. That’s the biggest issue

 

[OnlyBeansOnToast]

O

Post in thread 'Insanely Premature 2028 Olympics Predictions Thread'

Sep 5, 2024

Becky Downie returns at the age of 36 as British Gymnastics are terrified of headlines and court cases if they drop her again. All Aylesbury gymnasts absent after it's discovered that Josh and Molly own shares in ACL repair specialist.

• OnlyBeansOnToast

• 

This is starting to look less like a joke and more like a prophecy

 

[Bob]

Alia Leat with 13.4 on beam. Super impressive considering she’s only been back training for 6 months.

Interestingly there was also an Aspire gymnast from Heathrow called Elisabetta Cardelli who scored 13.8 (with bonus) on beam yesterday, so she will probably outscore all the seniors today.

Cardelli looked good last year so was expecting her to do well. Alia Leat is a lovely gymnast and has always been beautiful on beam. Good to see her back. Her floor was also really nice.

 

[Bob]

My point is that it feels very different to the examples you’ve given.

totally agree with you. I'd rather she moved on. I feel it's less about loving it and more about proving a point. Which is fine and admirable but at what cost. And for how long.

 

[OnlyBeansOnToast]

I feel it's less about loving it and more about proving a point. Which is fine and admirable but at what cost. And for how long.

It's all just speculation but as that's all we have... I agree. And it's not healthy in the long run. I used to work with someone who, in his mid 60s, still had a mildly critical school report from when he was 11 framed on the wall of his office. He used to show it to everyone who visited: "Look! They said I couldn't do it but I proved them wrong!" This is starting to feel a little like that.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Our lack of knowledge about Becky's motives is so great that I find myself unable to summon up the wherewithal to speculate on the matter.

What I do find very interesting is what a sign of the times this is. For all that the waifs thing is decades out of date, never did I think we'd start seeing discussions about why gymnasts have competed so long people wonder why they don't go and do something else.

Chusovitina is obviously not a representative example of anything. But gymnasts from bigger programmes wanting to try competing well into their 30s isn't going anywhere. Maybe we'll see greater speculation about people's motives, maybe it'll become completely normalised in the same way that people know it is in other sports. Let's revisit the issue in 2035!