British WAG (and MAG!) talk

[Samxo]

Who knew that selecting the team in May would cause issues ? Seriously hope they change it for 2028

 

[tempest]

 

[MaryClare]

GMF issues are more than just one bad competition. She has proven time after time that she cannot be relied upon to bring in a decent score

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Well, to make selection even harder, Downie also falls and scores a 12.9. Morgan finishes in third place after coming in as a reserve and Achampong is the new British champion on bars. Martin in 5th with a 13.1, i think her first 13+ ever on bars. On to BB…

Honestly I don't think the Downie fall makes any difference. She's still exactly what everyone knows she is. The clear best at bars on her day, inconsistent and no more unreliable than anyone else they might use instead.

It feels like they need some additional selection events nearer the Olympics - at the moment who can really tell who will be on form in 4-5 months time?

They do still have Doha, Euros and any other international anyone gets sent to between now and the start of May. I agree with @Jerkin it'd be wise to send GMF to something, but yeah, it's more the timing that's the issue. The selection policies have put them in a position where they're choosing at least partially based on competitive performances months away from the Games at a point when gymnasts shouldn't be peaking.

 

[J175]

On the depth issue. There is only room for five gymnasts on a team. Maybe the sixth or seventh best can count on a decent number of international appearances, covering for injuries. It is an enormous financial and time commitment to train at that level if you are not being selected for the GB team. And BG doesn't get any prizes or funding for the standard of the B team.

I think if the sport is moving towards older athletes with longer careers, and away from having juniors coming through already competing at the same level as seniors, there are naturally going to be fewer who ever reach that level, not just for GB. Something that might particularly affect GB though outside the main team is if the Commonwealth Games don't continue, that will definitely reduce the incentive for Welsh and Scottish gymnasts to continue in the sport.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I think GB are outliers more in terms of injury than depth at the moment.

 

[RAFIKI]

Given the state of things, GB are not defending their Euros title so I was wildly wondering if they might use it as a de facto Olympic trials with a team of:

GMF
Martin
Downie
Morgan
Evans

However I suspect they will want Achampong to cement her beam reputation and, assuming she’s healed, Kinsella will want to test the upgrades she’d planned for Liverpool.

Refresher on the Euros targets and selection timeline:

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

They'll definitely take Ondine to Euros, and should. She's legitimately one of the best gymnasts in Europe at the moment and could win multiple medals. I'll reserve judgement on Alice until we find out more about the injury. Might not be the worst thing in the world for her to be rested though.

Agree the others could all do with an international assignment before selection. It probably matters least for Downie and Evans, in that all the others are all bigger question marks, but I think they'll probably want to take Becky to Euros anyway. With an eye on medal targets.

 

[Bob]

Agree.

While it's not ideal, there's nothing to prevent them planning for a bars lineup of Alice, Ondine and Becky. Then Ruby can be VT/FX and they could take probably Amelie as a beam specialist for the 5th. This assumes Alice is ok of course. If she's not, nobody can be ruled out.

The thing about Amelie is she can put up a routine on any piece. Becky can't, her bars is her only usuable piece and it is so unreliable. I'd rather have GMF than Becky as she has more usuable pieces. Is a hit Becky going to win bars? Probably not.

Ondine and Ruby are locks I am sure. I feel Abi pretty much is too. Everything else depends on Alices injury.

Alice was injured in the back gym but there were way too many injuries on the competition floor on all pieces, ages, men and women. And a junior threw up all over the floor after her floor routine which was funny/ not funny.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Not sure Abi Martin is a lock. Her and Ruby are going for the same spot as they're both unusable on bars and beam. There's nothing much between them on floor, but Ruby has a strong DTY and international experience. While it's theoretically possible to put together a team with them both in it, or would be if GMF were hitting anyway, I can't see BG wanting to go for that. Obviously if Alice is out then it may be a needs must situation, but I can't see that Martin is locked at present. Is there something I'm missing wrt her?

On the Becky v Amelie point, it's not necessarily one or the other. It might be, if GMF gets her shit together. But there aren't a lot of opportunities left between now and team selection, and she's been crashing stuff to the extent that it's potentially dangerous. I really don't think GMF is someone who can fill in anywhere on most recent evidence. GB need the 2022 her back.

It's so annoying that Amelie's NCAA schedule seems to clash with all the world cups, would be great to see her in Doha or at a challenger or something. She also seems like one of those most likely to still be in one piece by Paris, which is important.

 

[RAFIKI]

With the timing of Olympic selection I always thought they’d take the A team to Euros. The above team was just fun wild speculation and I can’t see it happening.

Becky is on the Doha list. Doha is post-Euros selection but pre-Euros. She has shown a usable back up floor internationally and honestly the third beam routine will be a crapshoot unless Morgan goes.

I don’t think you can justify GMF on the Euros team given how many falls she’s had across worlds, English and the British. It’s not the same thing each time as well which is extra concerning. She might have run out of chances to prove herself.

At this point I see them sending Martin to Euros for experience and I think she’ll be an alternate for Paris if she does well (assuming Kinsella is healthy).

ETA
I really don't know what to think about Morgan. Beam specialist and back up routines? If she ends up going to Paris instead of GMF I'll be a bit annoyed on GMF's behalf but relieved that we won't have to worry about GMF's consistency. That said - in 2022 she fell multiple times on beam at the GBR vs WAL vs SWE comp two weeks before worlds and then hit in TF. Feels like a long time ago though.

 

[RAFIKI]

I'd rather have GMF than Becky as she has more usuable pieces. Is a hit Becky going to win bars? Probably not.

Lately I trust Becky's (in)consistency more than GMFs.

You never know. The watered down routine she did in her private Tokyo trial scored 14.5 and given how the Olympic bar final played out, she could have won bronze/silver. Event finalists are also important for BG.

 

[Hatsumomo]

And a junior threw up all over the floor after her floor routine which was funny/ not funny.

I suppose it was lucky for her that the event wasn't widely viewed...

 

[RedBirdie]

It almost doesn't matter if its GMF or Becky. I can't see either of them hitting at least 2 routines in a row. They will splat, it's just a matter of when. Or how often. I suppose Becky has more upside, as far as being a potential bars medalist. But even that will require a hit rate beyond what she's shown herself capable of this year.

Glad I'm not on the selection committee.

 

[RichardL]

If both Jessica Gadirova and Alice Kinsella are somehow out, then it doesn't really matter who goes. The team won't be getting anywhere near the medals. Achampong can't carry a team the way Andrade and MJDS can like they did in Antwerp, and of course there's Italy and China...

 

[MaryClare]

Alice posted a training video today of her doing rebound work with a lightly bandaged arm, so it wouldn’t appear to be a serious injury

 

[RichardL]

Alice posted a training video today of her doing rebound work with a lightly bandaged arm, so it wouldn’t appear to be a serious injury

Very good news! I'd love for her to have a great Olympics.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Do we know why GMF didn't do the floor final? She qualified first.

 

[MrSixkiller]

It almost doesn't matter if its GMF or Becky. I can't see either of them hitting at least 2 routines in a row. They will splat, it's just a matter of when. Or how often. I suppose Becky has more upside, as far as being a potential bars medalist. But even that will require a hit rate beyond what she's shown herself capable of this year.

Glad I'm not on the selection committee.

You have to think a team medal is not a priority anymore, right? I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they didn’t even make the team final.

With that in mind, it makes zero sense to take GMF over Becky, who at least has a 5% chance at a UB medal.

It has never made sense when teams who aren’t going near the podium build teams around the highest possible team score. Does it really matter if they finish 9th instead of 11th?

 

[RedBirdie]

I don't pretend to understand the thought process of BG. While you and me can look at the reality of British gymnastics right now and what the top teams are looking like currently and say "yep, prioritize individual over team," BG may still be delusional enough to think they could snag a team medal if everything goes their way.

I'm leaning "take Becky" only because if she does hit (as wildly unlikely as that may be), she adds more to bars than GMF and potentially could medal, so covers both the team and individual medal goals. But, again, neither gymnast fills me with any confidence.

Doing some serious what-if with Jess Gadirova's knee. If they had done surgery right away, would she be able to land a bars dismount in Paris? Definitely not the prettiest bar worker, but she's reliable AF.