British WAG (and MAG!) talk

[Rich]

I am not sure with the depth of the British Team if the amanar is worth it. I would protect the knees and not bother with it.

 

[irichluck21]

Amanars are not worth it unless you can get the height and drill it like Maroney and Biles.

 

[RichardL]

Amanars are not worth it unless you can get the height and drill it like Maroney and Biles.

Chiles, too, back in the day! I'm curious to see what hers looks like now.

 

[MaryClare]

I’m guessing that the rationale behind Alice training an Amanar is the threat of being 2-per’d for AA finals rather than any potential boost to a team score. But it does seem a waste, given the amount of training time required to achieve it versus the advantage it brings.

A gymnast like Alice who is capable of a decent E score on bars, should be focussing on maxing out her D score. A big UB score is a huge advantage, both individually and team

 

[RichardL]

I’m guessing that the rationale behind Alice training an Amanar is the threat of being 2-per’d for AA finals rather than any potential boost to a team score. But it does seem a waste, given the amount of training time required to achieve it versus the advantage it brings.

A gymnast like Alice who is capable of a decent E score on bars, should be focussing on maxing out her D score. A big UB score is a huge advantage, both individually and team

Hopefully she's doing both! She's certainly in the group fighting for an outside chance at AA bronze. Maybe she'll just save the Amanar for that phase of the competition and not compromise GB's shot at their own team bronze medal with a possible fall.

 

[RedBirdie]

Yeah, my first thought on seeing her still working on the Amanar was that she's trying to get that bronze she was so close to in 2022. Trying to squeeze every last tenth out. Whether this is the right way to go about maximizing scores, I dunno, but I see why she and her coaches might think this is the way to do it.

 

[RichardL]

Yeah, my first thought on seeing her still working on the Amanar was that she's trying to get that bronze she was so close to in 2022. Trying to squeeze every last tenth out. Whether this is the right way to go about maximizing scores, I dunno, but I see why she and her coaches might think this is the way to do it.

In 2022 you can actually go through her routines and eliminate a few errors to get her all the way to silver ahead of Jones. Unfair to other athletes of course but you can see how it was possible.

 

[KorbutFan]

Kelly Simm has announced her retirement.

 

[Snowfan]

I really admired her persistence even it was only a minute possibility to make teams.

 

[Angelika]

Kelly Simm has a surprising range of hardware for a gymnast that isn't an automatic first team choice - World bronze, Commonwealth golds and a cheeky AA title at the Summer Universiade!

 

[blake]

Kelly Simm has a surprising range of hardware for a gymnast that isn't an automatic first team choice - World bronze, Commonwealth golds and a cheeky AA title at the Summer Universiade!

And an un(?)official skill on bars!

 

[RAFIKI]

19th AA in Doha as well. Not too shabby.

Looking back at her results tonight and I’d completely forgotten she was in Nanning.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Feeling quite emosh that this is the last time Kelly Simm's retirement will be announced in this thread.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Shannon Archer has also confirmed her retirement



I guess that answers our questions about the Scottish Championships.

 

[irichluck21]

So who is in the running for Paris?

Morgan, Kinsella, Achampong, Evans, Fenton, Downie, Stacey, Martin
Morgan, Becky, and Fenton seem to be competing for one spot.
Kinsella and Achampong are essentially locks, especially for AA purpose.
Evans looks likely for VT and FX.
How likely is it Martin can compete with the seniors this year?

Out: Stickler
Likely Out: Jen Gadirova, Jess Gadirova

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I would say the only locks at this point are Alice and Ondine.

GMF could be, depending on how Amelie looks, but I'd disagree they're competing for one spot alongside Becky. Depending on what's going on elsewhere, a team with Alice, Ondine, Ruby then two of them is quite plausible and well balanced. Like so:

VT- Alice, Ondine, Ruby. 3 good DTYs
UB- Alice and whichever two of Becky, GMF and Amelie.
BB- Alice, Ondine, GMF or Amelie
FX- Ondine, Ruby, Alice

The only real weakness there is the floor leadoff, but there's not really any way round that unless Jen gets back to something like 2022 form. And if she doesn't, I don't see how they can manage without Ruby.

Abigail Martin wasn't bringing in particularly competitive numbers when we last saw her, so unless she's improved a lot since November I think she's a long shot.

 

[J175]

I think the situation at the moment is if you were picking the team today it'd be Kinsella, Achampong, Fenton, Downie and Evans, just because who else is there?

The question marks seem to be can either Gadirova get back from injury in time (realistically Jessica seems unlikely, Jennifer may recover from her surgery but whether she can get to a level to make the team is another matter), and this possible comeback from Amelie Morgan. This seems a bit out of the blue for Morgan, so it'll be interesting to see where she is at. She'll need a good bars routine to get in contention, and that seems to be the event with the biggest adjustment from NCAA.

For the record, if they can't put together a team plus alternate(s) from the gymnasts mentioned above, the other current members of the senior national squad are

Simm (retired)
Stickler (injured)
Fragapane (???)
Evie Flage-Donovan
Ruby Stacey

Plus Abigail Martin is apparently being sent for her first senior appearance at Cottbus.

 

[Bob]

I think Abi Martin is a possibility. Don't forget Charlotte Booth is making a run at it too.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

Cant remember a time when team GB was this thinned out. Have they just been incredibly lucky with injuries or is this far less depth than normal?

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Cant remember a time when team GB was this thinned out. Have they just been incredibly lucky with injuries or is this far less depth than normal?

Bit of everything. Injury crisis years aren't uncommon, 2018 springs to mind, but as well as that there's also the Covid stuff.

In England, where most GB athletes live, after the first couple of months the very top athletes were able to train even when there were later lockdowns and local restrictions. Whereas the exemptions in the rules didn't cover people who weren't already at the top of their game. I forget the exact wording, but it meant athletes who'd have turned senior this quad faced many more limits on their training than those already in national squads. So it's not a surprise that it's been a weak couple of years for new seniors breaking through. Also some clubs have gone to pot.

But also, this is just how a lot of teams look now. Every minor WAG team medal this quad has been won by a team who rely heavily on their superstar. That's been a more successful cohort than the teams who are more balanced like Japan. The talk is about GB because the others still have theirs available, but GB are better off than Canada or France would be in this situation and probably no worse than Brazil. A team of Kinsella, Achampong, GMF, Evans and Downie could break 163 without anyone doing anything remarkable.