- Jan 31, 2021
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Chapter 20, Cont'd
- Back to Japan
- Al flew back to Kansas City, Armine and Leanne went to Chicago. Armine debated upgrading their seats, but they didn't because the plane was rather empty. Got rows of seats to themselves
- Slept most of the flight
- Similar screening and COVID protocols–at least this time they knew what to expect
- Released in three hours instead of six
- Overnight layover in Tokyo, in a hotel next to where she was quarantined. Was very glad it wasn't the same hotel
- Flew to Fukuoka, then 2 hour bus ride to Kitakyushu. Used the back entrance to avoid other hotel visitors
- Everyone had to stay in their bubbles, just like at the Olympics. Tracking apps, COVID tests the first few days, masks. Restricted tourism or travel outside the hotel. Couldn't leave their rooms except for training. If caught wandering, would be taken to police station
- Grateful she didn't have to share a room this trip
- Room was very small, bed hard and uncomfortable. Chief of Athlete Wellness ended up ordering everyone mattress pads. At the end of the trip, had to pack them for the rhythmic gymnasts who were coming next
- Hotel had a fitness center and pool, but they weren't allowed to be around Japanese citizens
- Everyone ended up working out in the hallways on the third floor.
- Meal Experience
- Meals in designated dining hall. Temperature checks and hand sanitization on entrance
- Everything was packaged and chilled in small portion sizes
- When asked how they could improve the experience, someone asked for hot meals–got those in the next few days, which was much better
- After several days, started ordering Uber Eats from Subway, Japanese restaurants, and a lot of Dominos. Portion sizes much small. Liked the pizza with teriyaki chicken, corn, shrimp, and steak
- Chocolate milk shake
- Tom was commenting he wanted a chocolate milkshake. Leanne told him she'd seen it on the hotel's menu
- After last day of competition, ordering Domino's for a 5th time, Leanne ordered herself a chocolate milkshake from there. When Tom saw it, he wished he had ordered one too. She told him it was actually for him–he was excited and thanked her for being so thoughtful
- Taxis
- Every place they had to go, US delegation had 5 taxis
- Rode with Dr. Marci, the team doctor, and eMjae the whole trip. Driver was also Otsuka–not assigned, just chosen
- Driver often laughed with them in the car, and they weren't sure how much she understood or if she just thought they were funny
- The only time they knew she understood was when they said her name, because they confirmed the pronunciation with her
- Always had a good 20-40 minutes of laughter going into practice–felt weird not being 100% focused before walking in, which Armine insisted on, but she looked forward to it
- Training Day
- Oct 14th had their first two workouts; Oct 15 was podium training. Had to mentally prepare for it–none of them had done Worlds before
- Tom told then pre-COVID teams arrived two weeks before podium training; they had two practices
- Podium training wasn't perfect, but it was about the same for everyone
- After a few workouts she was having great training sessions and Tom said he was getting American Cup vibes from her
- Very grateful to be given one of the AA spots with Kayla
- Fun
- In between and after workouts they had treatment, then had fun hanging out in the hallways with each other
- Mostly had their UberEats meals together; colored and hung up signs on each other's doors, did homework together
- One day told they were going to the park. Were so excited until the taxi drivers couldn't find it and they were driving around for hours. Park then turned out to be closed to the public and specifically reserved for the World Championship's delegations fun day
- The Green Park has the world's largest swing set and an obstacle course. Fun watching the coaches and staff swinging and playing on the obstacle course with them
- Having the time of her life
- Was taking Calc I and three other classes. Calc was challenging and she had to find time for tutoring in between everything else. She didn't mind because she wanted tasks other than just practicing and getting ready for competitions
- Competition
- Lots of Japanese citizens but not international viewers
- It was so stressful her parents decided not to watch the live streams but just followed social media
- Mom started following a lot of gymnastics fans on Twitter
- Quals
- Was 2nd after quals behind Melnikova and ahead of Kayla
- Kayla and Leanne qualified for beam and floor finals
- Mentions Hatakeda's spinal injury–Leanne was in the training session when it happened
- AA Final
- Knew that Melnikova had scored 1.5 points ahead of her in quals, but still wanted to be competitive with her
- Was disappointed her vault wasn't as good as her vault in the warm up gym
- Bar rotation went well with good handstands; beam was also strong
- Melnikova was ahead after three rotations
- Leanne fell on all her tumbling passes in a rushed warmup
- Nailed her competition routine. Highest floor score of the AA competition
- Finished ~.3 behind Melnikova with the highest E of the AA finals; Kayla won bronze
- Armine sat in at the press conference as a translator for Melnikova. Once accidentally repeated the question in English instead of translating for Melnikova
- Event Finals
- Had been 4th on beam and 3rd on floor in quals
- Knew beam would be tough
- After warm up, had to wait for the men to compete–went to the back gm and had time to lie down. Tried to nap
- Warmed up one routine in the back gym and then 30 second touch
- Was the last to go, grabbed the beam–it was hard to tell from the tv angle, but she did grab it. Finished 4th
- All six non-podium finishers had major errors
- Men's turn to compete, took another short nap in the back gym. An hour later was floor finals.
- Floor routine was good but not her best, earned bronze
- Talks about the inquiry drama with Melnikova and Murakami's floor scores and how it affected placement
- Armine said they'd been trying to earn a World AA medal for a long time, and they were proud she earned it for them
- Tom told her he was proud of her
- Biggest Lesson
- Learned everything goes a lot more smoothly when she avoids setting expectations and putting a lot of pressure on herself
- Handling stress levels comes from your mindset
- Felt Armine trusted her the most out of all their years of training under her coaching, that they communicated well and they were able to work together
- Armine said it was one of the most fun experiences she had at a competition
