US Nationals WAG Day 2

[lovegymnasts]

I agree about both Wong and Skinner.
I thought Skinner would be crying her heart out and was delusional/not facing reality in regards to her chances of making it to the Olympics. I have to give credit where credit is due, her improvement from meet to meet ais phenomenal. She is doing all she can to make this team and I would not be mad if she did…not at all.
If Wong can maintain what she’s doing, I say she’s #4.

 

[JaJa]

If Wong can maintain what she’s doing, I say she’s #4.

I can not see MyKayla making the team. But Leanne just has to bring it at Trials and i think she will.

 

[Jack]

What is the rationale behind 5 specific alternates each tied to a specific athlete?

 

[irichluck21]

Covid related issues/ positive test/ contact tracing, etc.

 

[Rich]

Do you know if the team is vaccinated?

 

[makam]

I thought alternates weren’t even allowed into Japan though? Would they stage them in Hawaii or something and fly them in overnight?

 

[Jack]

I don’t understand why they have to be tied to a specific athlete, though. I understand probably having a larger pool of athletes, but it makes no sense why they have to be tied. You would probably want the same athlete replacing either Jordan, Simone, or whoever is going to be the #4, and mayyybe have a separate athlete for Suni, but that’s basically the system they have had in the past.

 

[irichluck21]

I don’t see Skinner on the team either.
The only event she can contribute is vault, where her Cheng will cap at 14.9/15.00 with the built in deductions. McCallum, Wong, DiCello will go 14.5 for DTY. 4 to 5 tenths is not a big deal to the team.
A consistent 4th should be an all arounder that can go up on any piece at any time in team finals. Again, that is DiCello, Wong, McCallum.
DiCello has the upper hand on FX at the moment and her UB could be used in team finals over Chiles. Beam is an issue.
McCallum has been strong on beam in the 4 meets she has competed in hitting 4 for 4. She is a solid and consistent DTY, Bars is a bit of an issue at the moment, and floor has been hit or miss so far 2 out of 3.
Wong is the strongest vaulter of the group, bars is decent but around the same score as Chiles, floor exercise has been 2/4, but beam is a mess and I would not want her leading off beam in prelims.

The odds are on Wong getting that 4th slot if she can hit 8 for 8 as she has the highest scoring potential of the group, but if McCallum hits 8 for 8 I would think she would get named for her experience and 6 for 6 beam sets this year.
However, DiCello fits the team perfectly letting Suni rest on VT and FX and also a stronger UB routine than Chiles for the 1st spot in team finals.
So it will be interesting.

 

[irichluck21]

That is pretty much what they are doing.
In 2016 Skinner/Smith covered Biles, Raisman, and Hernandez and Locklear covered Kocian, Douglas.

The point is that the alternates are unranked, so that if an athlete has to vacate a spot on the team, it will not automatically be the next in line, but someone who compliments the person’s spot on the team.

 

[emmade]

What the heck has Laurie Hernandez done to earn an award as Sportsperson of the year? She shared the award with Skinner, and I can actually see how Skinner would be an appropriate choice. How did end Hernandez end up with that award? Have I missed something?

 

[dco1987]

I too was surprised by that choice- I mean Skinner seems obvious. Even Memmel- by proving the whole age is a number and getting back to competitive routines/watching the weekly video progress. Riley- moving gyms and showing love of the sport again despite all the hardships. Very surprised at Laurie getting it. Even Morgan- would have been a nice touch.

 

[Stacey]

She looks so sad and dejected https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMdeUs6qm/

 

[emmade]

What was that international ad campaign going during the quad on with Hurd, Melnikova and others? I feel gutted for the girl and understand why she is not attending based on her performance and numbers, but I sure as hell hope USAG is helping her deal with the disappointment, anger, sadness etc.; USAG does have an obligation to look after the emotional/mental health of the gymnasts.

 

[RAFIKI]

On day two Tim said he thought that adding Simone to any team would lift them to gold. Does anyone have 2019 worlds results ready to go in a spreadsheet to test this? It would be interesting to know how far down the rankings this holds.

 

[RedBirdie]

In 2019 team final, USA won with 172.230. Russia was second 166.529, Italy third at 164.796.

Simone contributed 59.766 to the team score. Replacing her score with a 50.00, 52.00, 54.00, and a 56.00 gets the following:

50.00: 162.564 (6th)
52.00: 164.564 (4th)
54.00: 166.564 (1st, just barely squeaking past Russia)
56.00: 168.564 (1st)

 

[tsarinajen]

Chellsie’s dad just posted on Instagram that her petition to trials was denied. And she learned a new skill… a piked Tkatchev.

 

[RedBirdie]

Video of the piked Tkatchev?

 

[Passion]

 

[KathySantoni]

I think gymnasts from the National team voted for the person they thought deserved it most.

 

[KathySantoni]

Here you go;