Gabby Douglas Comeback Thread (New goal: LA 2028)

[RichardL]

She was so naturally talented that I do wonder what she could've come up with in a different COP. The 2004 code was truly garbage. I would've loved to see her try a Silivas, for example.

 

[MaryClare]

To be fair according to Carly she wanted to continue after the Olympics but was forced to retire due to back problems in 2006.

But I wonder how much the forced to retire was down her believing that she didn’t have time to rehab an injury because at 18 with an injury there was just no point?

I would have loved to see an open code beam from Patterson and her and Ponor to have gone toe to toe under open ended scoring.

There is always a lot of criticism of Valeri’s injury track record, but much less so of Yevgeny. But that 2004 group of seniors was an absolute disaster.

It definitely has got me thinking about gymnasts in the past who retired due to injury. Were these injuries medically beyond repair to a level that would allow for the intensity of training required, or was it driven by the belief that there isn’t time, by the time you are healthy you’ll be too big, too old, forgotten about etc

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

Was WOGA back a thing for Marchenko’s athletes as well?

 

[MaryClare]

Was WOGA back a thing for Marchenko’s athletes as well?

Yes. Marchenko’s original group of 2004 seniors (Gentry, Childs, VDE, White, Vise) were chronically and endemically injured. Vise clearly never had the appropriate strength training to protect her flexibility

 

[RedBirdie]

WOGA never prioritized strength and conditioning. Beautiful gymnasts with gorgeous lines and stunning flexibility, but they broke in half if a stiff breeze blew. Their track record when it comes to rehabbing injuries is a whole separate issue.

This is a long time ago, so I hope the perspective has changed a least a bit, but I remember Valeri disparaging the TOPs program as too focused on strength and not enough on "pretty" gymnastics. But what good is a pretty gymnast if she's constantly too injured to compete?

 

[MaryClare]

WOGA never prioritized strength and conditioning. Beautiful gymnasts with gorgeous lines and stunning flexibility, but they broke in half if a stiff breeze blew. Their track record when it comes to rehabbing injuries is a whole separate issue.

This is a long time ago, so I hope the perspective has changed a least a bit, but I remember Valeri disparaging the TOPs program as too focused on strength and not enough on "pretty" gymnastics. But what good is a pretty gymnast if she's constantly too injured to compete?

I find Claire Pease very much old style woga

 

[RedBirdie]

Yeah, and I worry about her as a result. Can she stay healthy? Can Valeri manage her so she's still in one piece for 2028? Or will he toss her aside once she inevitably gets injured and he's got some new junior in the wings?

Madray Johnson doesn't appear "old school WOGA" at first, but watch her and you'll notice she's lacking in core strength. And I think that's why she's been unable to upgrade. I always feel like she's working at her absolute max.

 

[RichardL]

Yeah, and I worry about her as a result. Can she stay healthy? Can Valeri manage her so she's still in one piece for 2028? Or will he toss her aside once she inevitably gets injured and he's got some new junior in the wings?

Madray Johnson doesn't appear "old school WOGA" at first, but watch her and you'll notice she's lacking in core strength. And I think that's why she's been unable to upgrade. I always feel like she's working at her absolute max.

Johnson is definitely not conditioned properly. Pease also isn't developing strength the way she should. She was doing double doubles on floor last year but now has clearly regressed.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

I find Claire Pease very much old style woga

Same. She even turns senior the year after the Olympics. The way her career is going to pan out is unfortunately so predictable, which is sad because she may not even have a world championships to attend in 2025.

 

[Beamer]

Same. She even turns senior the year after the Olympics. The way her career is going to pan out is unfortunately so predictable, which is sad because she may not even have a world championships to attend in 2025.

Wait, there may be no 2025 Worlds?

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

Wait, there may be no 2025 Worlds?

There still isn’t a host.

 

[MaryClare]

I wouldn’t panic. They won’t be in a rush to find one. There will be a bidding process but probably not until after the Olympics

 

[RAFIKI]

I’ve been calling it “zoom worlds” for a while now. Wild there’s still no host.

 

[MaryClare]

I’ve been calling it “zoom worlds” for a while now. Wild there’s still no host.

It really isn’t! It’s a good sign that they are doing a re-bidding process. It means they aren’t desperate and it makes sense to wait until after the Olympics, since if a country does particularly well, they might be keen to host a post Olympic worlds.

 

[KorbutFan]

I wonder if it’s time to go back to simply having a full Worlds every two years.

 

[MaryClare]

I wonder if it’s time to go back to simply having a full Worlds every two years.

This would be my preference. Same for continental championships. It also opens up the calendar to have a bigger variety of meets, as was the case in the 80s

To me the format should be
Year 1: continental championships
Year 2: worlds
Year 3: worlds
Year 4: continental and Olympics

 

[irichluck21]

It will be interesting to see how FIG will select the host.
They also cut down the number of athletes per country and per event. For WAG before it was 4-3-2 but now it is 3-2-2. Countries would generally send 2 AAers and then two event specialist. If you send 2 AAers, then you can't have any specialists. If you send a specialist then you can only have one AAer.

So it will be interesting to see who gets to host. I could see countries like Turkiye, Egpyt, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, or Armenia potentially hosting a smaller Worlds as it would be on par with some of the World Challenger Cups.

To be honest, they should just eliminate the All Around and just make it a World Cup for Individual Event Finals.

 

[MaryClare]

We used to have a World Cup final in the December of the Olympic year. Possibly every December, I can’t remember

 

[RAFIKI]

I went to those (Glasgow 00, Birmingham 04, Madrid 08) and they were pretty good competitions. Lots of Olympians and near-Olympians.

I’d like to see another iteration of the EF only worlds that included semi-finals (2002, 1996). With the increased number of specialists these days I think they’d be fascinating.

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

I wonder if it’s time to go back to simply having a full Worlds every two years.

I wouldn’t want this. I always think of those gymnasts who peaked in 1990 and 1998 who never got a worlds to show it.