Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams

[rlayt]

Kathy Johnson wrote about what it was like, fighting puberty, trying to stay thin, and it being a time where younger girls were becoming more dominant. The pressure made her bulemic.

 

[eanda]

Shaposhnikova retired at 19, alas. I would have loved to see her compete in '81, but I think her ankles were shot.

I loved Shaposhnikova - she was my favorite right with Nadia.

And relevant to this thread, Sey's straddle planche on beam was a disgrace. Shaposhnikova set a high standard there.

ETA: Sey was several years younger than these older Soviets, who were really part of the group (Kim being the exception) that set the trend for younger gymnasts. Being closer to Sey's age than theirs and the way the young gymnasts were talked about at the time, I can see where she thought 18 would be old.

 

[IratePanda]

I loved Shaposhnikova - she was my favorite right with Nadia.

And relevant to this thread, Sey's straddle planche on beam was a disgrace. Shaposhnikova set a high standard there.

Agreed! Shushunova and Szabo came close, but Sey did not.

 

[IratePanda]

Sey is way more obsessed with both age and ranking than Miller or Strug were. I'm not sure if that's an effect of being a mid-80s athlete instead of 90s athletes or just her particular approach to gymnastics.

Kathy Johnson was noteworthy in the 80s for her age in the US, but I've never seen anyone else indicate it looked like a refusal to grow up--if anything, the general impression of gotten from people talking about her in interviews was them being impressed by her

Strug and Miller were still technically juniors when they competed at '91 Worlds. Sey couldn't compete senior until 1984, so she probably felt extra pressure to advance as quickly as possible. Of course, even if 14 year-olds had been allowed to compete at '83 Worlds, she probably wouldn't have made the team. Come to think of it, though, that team was so decimated by illness and injury that Sey might have ended up competing in Budapest--alongside the very gymnasts she resented. Hilarious.

 

[Puffin]

I loved Shaposhnikova - she was my favorite right with Nadia.

And relevant to this thread, Sey's straddle planche on beam was a disgrace. Shaposhnikova set a high standard there.

ETA: Sey was several years younger than these older Soviets, who were really part of the group (Kim being the exception) that set the trend for younger gymnasts. Being closer to Sey's age than theirs and the way the young gymnasts were talked about at the time, I can see where she thought 18 would be old.

Shaposhnikova was a beautiful gymnast with one exception. It always bugged me that she never cleaned up her form on her bhs/lo series. She could maintain beautiful form, extension and 180 split on the planche, on hand hs, valdez etc etc - but had such nasty form on the series

 

[RedBirdie]

Sey competed as a senior at nationals in 1983! She finished 38th.

 

[Hatsumomo]

Where did all that supposed dance training go?