Simone is out of the AA, VT, UB and FX

[Denn]

You can’t?!?!

 

[AmiK]

Under his bio in that link it says “position vacant.” As to why it says he was present at a meeting in July, I’m not sure. Now I’m just confused, but it would absolutely seem like a conflict of interest for him to be the athlete rep for both organizations, especially since NGA’s goal is to replace USAG.

 

[gymskatefan]

I mean, Simone proved herself just 5 days ago. She has no reason to make stuff up to me or for me to believe she suddenly can’t do the vaults any more because she trained too many.

I think people underestimate WHAT all the extra variables mean. Trials and Nationals should have been held with no spectators, like the Olympics would be. They didn’t.

There are no family, friends, or fan support at the Olympics. We know how much Simone loves to perform and have fun. Simone’s the only LN survivor still competing at the Olympics. It’s become nothing but a joyless obligation.

Simone has not only been forced to answer all the intrusive Nassar questions in the lead up to the Games and during the post-qualifications interviews, but she’s had to be all things to all people. THE only 2-time Olympian so it was “Simone and the other people who happen to be on her team.” She was supposed to deliver all the points to cushion the much weaker other 3 members vs. any what anyone on the 2012 or 2016 teams faced. The others had far weaker vaults AND floor than anyone on those last 2 teams.

She had to be team captain and the cheerleader/consoler when the other girls melted down or underperformed in qualifications. NBC (Tim Daggett and Mike Tirico) and all the media said it was all Simone’s fault USA qualified 2nd, ignoring that she still qualified #1 for AA on one of her worst competition days.

It’s also probably more isolating to stay in a hotel than in the Olympic village. They don’t even get to have that Team USA house atmosphere, even if they don’t hang out with other athletes. Simone’s said in an interview just before the Olympics that one of her big fears was staying in a hotel room alone, because that’s where all the LN things happened.

She’s had to read all this garbage about herself on social media and defend herself on Instagram because there apparently was no competent American official to do so.

So where was the support for Simone? Clearly, not from useless Tom or USAG.

 

[Denn]

Did you mean to reply to me or to the thread in general? I don’t see how that relates to my post.

 

[gymskatefan]

It relates to your comment that you’re not sure if it’s because of a mental block on twisting.

She’s been doing the 3 vaults fine all year. I don’t see how suddenly it’s because of overtraining 3 different vaults. Yes, she clearly has a mental block for some reason, but there are all these other unusual and unaccounted for variables that no one really prepared for, so it’s difficult for me to agree on speculation that it had just one or a primary cause. I think it’s all of the things together that just became too much.

 

[MaryClare]

Regarding the athletes still being in Tokyo. They are allowed to be there until 48 hours after their sport finishes, whether they’ve qualified for finals or not. So for artistic gymnastics, they have to be out by Thursday.

 

[Denn]

I thought it was entirely obvious that the alternative to the mental block was all the stress you described.

Why are you putting words into my mouth and then arguing with them? If you’re not sure, ask a question. But don’t tell me what I think and then argue with that.

 

[MaryClare]

Yes, the whole training 3 vaults thing was weird. Literally every man in the vault final tomorrow will have trained 3 or more vaults for the last few years, including double saltos and different numbers of rotations

 

[gymskatefan]

“One question I keep coming back to is “Is this really a mental block on twisting, and if so, why now?””

That was literally your first sentence. Sorry, I haven’t figured out how to do the real quote thing yet.

I wasn’t putting words into your mouth. I was literally responding to what you wrote. Also, I was giving my opinion on your opinion, which I thought was the point of a discussion forum?

Also, stress can cause a mental block. I don’t know why you call it an alternative. Are you suggesting she’s making things up as to why she can’t perform her skills now? She’s literally posted videos of herself failing on twisting on different apparatus, not just the vault. The problem is the same in the end, in that she can’t do her skills right now.

 

[RAFIKI]

There are no family, friends, or fan support at the Olympics

I doubt she’d be able to tell you “why”. It’s probably cumulative factors and a lot of the gymnasts posting their twisties stories still have no idea why it happened to them even years later.

Re the above point though - Simone kept saying in interviews that she was nervous about not having her parents there because they’ve never missed a competition (!). Every time I wondered why she didn’t practise for it by not having them come to Classic or Nationals.

 

[Denn]

Are you suggesting she’s making things up as to why she can’t perform her skills now?

Um, no.

 

[gymskatefan]

I don’t expect her to tell us why. If she knew herself, she’d be over it.

Also, regardless why, it’s obvious that if she could do her skills, she’d be out there competing. So the comments of other gymnasts not understanding why she suddenly can’t NOW is really pretty disrespectful, even if it’s happening in private. (re: the Paul Ruggeri comments) No one is Simone or at her level and understands what it’s like to be her.

 

[Denn]

No, we should NOT expect it, and we shouldn’t read everything she says and think it’s the full story. It’s not even our business really.

Yet, just a couple posts earlier, you literally went off on me for saying we don’t know the “why” and that she might not know why and claimed to know perfectly well every thought and feeling she has and exactly how it all came together into the gymnastics she did and didn’t do this week.

 

[gymskatefan]

Uh, I think it’s you making things up that I said now or misreading what I wrote. Text can get lost in translation. I did not “go off” on you or claim to know perfectly well every thought and feeling she has.

I responded to this part of your post: “Is this really a mental block on twisting” and also added my opinion of whether it was because she trained too many different vaults. I said there was a whole list of possible variables that no one accounted or prepared for to experience.

Apologies that I didn’t quote exactly the right parts of the discussion. I assumed, as has been happening all along, that it’s a running forum discussion.

I wasn’t making any personal attacks like you are doing now. I’m out.

 

[Passion]

I wasn’t making any personal attacks like you are doing now.

I don’t see any personal attacks from Denn?

 

[Denn]

Don’t worry about the quotes. That’s understandable. Also, my last statement about “knowing perfectly well”, etc. was hyperbole, not a literal accusation. Fear not.

Finally, I didn’t list all those other things because they already have been discussed in this thread — some briefly, some at length. Apparently, so was the double pike vault idea, but I missed it somewhere in the 450 or so posts that came before mine. LOL.

 

[JaJa]

’d go further. It isn’t only silly, it’s inappropriate on a number of levels.

Agreed. Totally

 

[Doug1233]

You can’t?!?!

Can* obviously

 

[Doug1233]

One question I keep coming back to is “Is this really a mental block on twisting, and if so, why now?”

I think this is the part of your post that was unclear.

I’m sure you don’t mean to - but this could insinuate that you think her current mental block on twisting is not genuine.

You questioned whether it “really is” a mental block. When Simone has categorically confirmed that it is.

That’s all.

 

[Crow]

Denn, are you at liberty to tell us, however generally, more about the range of views in the US gymnastics community about Simone’s participation in the Olympics? And who is stating them, i.e. athletes, coaches, USAG staff, people in Tokyo vs. people at home?

I’m sorry to pry–especially in my first post here (I mostly lurked at WWGym, but when I posted, it was under this name). I have been a gymnastics fans for decades, but I was never a gymnast, so my understanding of this whole issue is coming entirely from this sort of online discussion.