Suni Lee's vault night 2 of 2024 US Nationals

[MaryClare]

Oh that was a WHOLE THING, lol.

These days at the Olympics, the athletes ID passes are much more hi-tech, but in 2008, it was just security staff checking photos and Shayla must have looked similar enough to Bridget, or they didn’t even check properly

 

[Dex]

so entertaining

 

[Hatsumomo]

Oh right, she did manage to get into the Olympic Village, didn't she?

 

[MaryClare]

Oh that was a WHOLE THING, lol.

These days at the Olympics, the athletes ID passes are much more hi-tech, but in 2008, it was just security staff checking photos and Shayla must have looked similar enough to Bridget, or they didn’t even check properly

Oh right, she did manage to get into the Olympic Village, didn't she?

Yes. There were photos of her in the gymnasts rooms

 

[rlayt]

Ahhhh

The story of Shayla lives on!

1. after winning team gold at 2007 worlds, she tried for the 2008 olympic team. she started a fund so her family could go to beijing to see her compete. she said if she didn’t make the team, she would give the money to someone who did. instead, after getting injured at the last training camp, she kept the money and went on vacation to beijing with her family.
2. she also said she would’ve been a lock for the olympic team if she hadn’t gotten injured (which anyone who paid any attention to gymnastics that year knows is bullshit).
3. she used bridget sloan’s olympic id to sneak into the olympic village.
4. she took part in the post-olympic 40-city “tour of champions” or whatever it was called back then but got kicked off part of the way through because she was caught drinking underage (which i heard she tried to blame on shawn?)
5. she made incredibly racist comments about the chinese gymnasts on facebook

 

[CameliasFingerpaint]

That gif will NEVER get old.

 

[MaryClare]

There’s another thing that predates all that. When Shayla was still very young, maybe 11 or so, there was a falling out with Florida.

Shayla’s older sister Jolene was a fairly average L10 who wanted to go to Florida. The Worley’s thought they could cut a deal whereby if Florida gave the sister a scholarship, they’d get Shayla. For whatever reason, Florida didn’t go for it and the Worley’s said that they’d never get Shayla.

 

[cftmoonlight79]

I sat near Shayla and some club teammates at a competition I was coaching down in Florida. The things I heard coming out of their mouths was enough for me to never root for her. Nothing racist or anything, just totally rude about everyone out on the floor competing.

 

[MaryClare]

I sat near Shayla and some club teammates at a competition I was coaching down in Florida. The things I heard coming out of their mouths was enough for me to never root for her. Nothing racist or anything, just totally rude about everyone out on the floor competing.

I remember someone else saying something similar, but it was at 2005 nationals when Shayla was still a junior and in the audience watching the seniors. She was pretty rude about everyone bar Nastia and Alicia

 

[RedBirdie]

Probably lost to time, but do y'all remember the pleading fundraising update's from Shayla's mom leading up to Beijing? Piece of work.

 

[rlayt]

Didn’t she laugh at making an elderly lady fall down in Beijing?

 

[Hatsumomo]

And running over people on a slide or something?

 

[Laura722]

And running over people on a slide or something?

And she acted like they were the ones in the wrong and being rude! It was at the Great Wall of China.

When she got to go to USA house, she was like "finally, people speaking English!" So entitled.

 

[Hatsumomo]

There's a travel journalist whose show I sometimes watch on PBS (Joseph Rosendo) and he closes with the first part of a Mark Twain quote: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." And then you see people like the Worleys who seem to be determined to prove that quote wrong.

 

[makam]

This thread has veered wildly off course and I am here for it!

 

[kimbee]

I sat near Shayla and some club teammates at a competition I was coaching down in Florida. The things I heard coming out of their mouths was enough for me to never root for her. Nothing racist or anything, just totally rude about everyone out on the floor competing.

This was my experience on day 1 of 2005 Nationals. Shayla, Jolene, Melanie Sinclair, and another girl from their gym were all sitting directly in front of us.
They were saying the meanest, nastiest, rudest things about all of the seniors, except for Nastia and Alicia. They especially hated on Chellsie.
They also screamed like Banshees for Nastia and Alicia. Headache-inducing screams. Melanie did apologize once, when she turned around and noticed us holding our ears.
We were so glad when the people who actually had tickets for those seats got an usher to kick them out.

 

[rlayt]

Shayla still wants your money. https://wealthpartners.jpmorgan.com/atlanta/the-firstman-horncastle-cram-worley-group/shayla-worley

 

[Hatsumomo]

Shayla is a member of the UGA Gymnastics Hall of Fame

Really? I'm glad if she improved, but is her name really on the same wall as Courtney Kupets?

This thread has veered wildly off course and I am here for it!

We lost WWGym so we have to rehash these things!

 

[RedBirdie]

Really? I'm glad if she improved, but is her name really on the same wall as Courtney Kupets?

The 2007 team was inducted, that's how she got in.

 

[Denn]

We lost WWGym so we have to rehash these things!

We also lost OObness, where a certain Gymnaverse member (who can name himself, if he wants) very, very regularly reminded teased us that Shayla's sister, Jolene, was also a good gymnast, though he admitted she was not quite as good as Shayla.

Alas, YouTube has failed to help Jolene live up to that reputation. There's no video of her gymnastics, best I can tell. So sad. :-(