US National Championships, June 3-6, 2021

[Doug1233]

I mean, if Simone gets a COVID positive test, the day before trials, of course there needs to be a mechanism to put her straight on the team.

 

[Doug1233]

Oh @RAFIKI i didn’t see your post but totally! Trials might be a total shitshow. It could easily take out the whole of WCC.

Then you might have Leanne Wong and Kara Eaker coming 1/2 at Trials.

Then what do you do?

 

[RAFIKI]

 

[RedBirdie]

Yeah, I don’t really understand why they are even naming alternates (let alone up to 5!) if there is only a week between when the team is named and the July 5 deadline. It’s not even like USAG can position the alternates in Hawaii to get them as close to Japan as possible, because come July 6, it doesn’t matter where the alternates are, they’re not going to be allowed into Japan.

 

[RedBirdie]

FYI, in case anyone has FLO, junior WAG podium training is going on right now, seniors start in a bit

 

[irichluck21]

I am not sure how the protocols will end up going, but if you are vaccinated, you might not be tested at all. That is what it is here, my staff was told if we are vaccinated we no longer need to quarantine if there is a positive case in class and we also no longer need to take Covid tests.

I am sure it will be more strict with Olympic athletes, but just saying I HIGHLY doubt that Biles will undergo much testing in Tokyo, especially considering that she is vaccinated. There is no way the star of the Olympics is going to be sidelined with a Covid positive test.

 

[makam]

More than ever before the timelines will really matter for replacements (any team). Not many countries near Japan will want to accept visitors so long flights will be required for the majority of countries if anything happens during training.

Team USA should rent a cruise ship and house alternates, support staff, etc. on the cruise ship. Nose swab coming and going, no outside visitors…seems like it would work to me!

 

[irichluck21]

Lippeatt I knew was injured.
Scott I wonder about, maybe not being able to do AA?
Greaves is interesting, she must have gotten injured, or just deciding to forgo Nationals and Olympic Trials since she had no chance. She graduates next year so I wonder if she is going to get healthy and drop down to level 10 so she can be prepared for NCAA.
Jung-Ruivivar must be injury or Covid, she was a leading contender for the Junior National title.

 

[lovegymnasts]

Didn’t they do this before for the US men; rent a cruise ship to house the team?

 

[Concorde]

Greaves is interesting, she must have gotten injured, or just deciding to forgo Nationals and Olympic

From Cecile:

 

[Sasha]

So what are the three (?) actual alternates for then?

Seems like a silly rationale for potentially throwing away an EF medal.

 

[cats]

I feel so sorry for Greaves. Her situation is so difficult. She had a real shot at 2020 and everything has just fizzled on her, doesn’t seem she will have a senior career at all (although who knows, she could do damage at Worlds if she gets her health sorted).

 

[MRR]

Eh, I’m not sure 2020 was ever in the cards for Greaves, despite the hype. The only impact she could’ve made was bars (admittedly an event the U.S. can always use) but that maxed out at 5.9 as a junior and the 6.5 set she was training never came to fruition as a complete routine. Haney’s initial suspension came prior to the postponement, so her coaching situation would’ve been in flux regardless.

Anyway, Tokyo was definitely all but over at Winter Cup. Cecile’s tweet implies Worlds selection is still a go, and she could be an interesting candidate if healthy. Not holding my breath, though.

 

[RedBirdie]

Inside Gymnastics just tweeted that Konnor McClain has withdrawn from nationals and will not petition to Trials. Holy shit.

 

[Sasha]

There is definitely something fishy going on here.

 

[ucrgirl]

Or it could be a healthy sign. Has she shown anything that would indicate she was more than a very long shot for even the alternate position? She seemed unhappy/unsettled/sick at the last comp and she just changed gyms. Why burn her out or risk injury pushing through trials and nationals if, for whatever reason, she isn’t ready?

 

[Sasha]

Yeah, from that perspective it’s an encouraging sign. But still, the timing is so weird. Something funky must have happened to precipitate all of this.

 

[RedBirdie]

I so desperately want to know the whole story.

 

[ucrgirl]

Hopefully when she is a worldbeater, she will give an in-depth interview.

 

[glamafonic]

Something has absolutely gone down to cause her to suddenly switch gyms out of nowhere and withdraw from the entire Olympic selection process, but I think taking a break and refocusing on Worlds is a great choice for her since she looked absolutely stinking miserable at Classics and seemed to have a lot of confidence issues after not being named to the National team at camp earlier this year. I know she was apparently super down on herself during some live streams she was doing with Suni and some other gymnasts.