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Amy's Gymnastics Blog

By Amy Van Deusen, About.com Guide to Gymnastics

Motivational Quotes from Famous Gymnasts

Wednesday July 8, 2009
Nadia Comaneci Blog
Nadia Comaneci
Photo © Allsport / Getty Images

Need a boost? Check out these inspiring thoughts from Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Nadia Comaneci, Svetlana Boguinskaya, Mary Lou Retton, and many more.

Plus: Submit your own favorite quotes.

Make It or Break It: Episode 3

Tuesday July 7, 2009
Make It Or Break It BLOG Vups
Photo © Craid Sjodin / ABC Family

The third episode of the new ABC Family gymnastics drama is now online. Be sure to look for 2000 US Olympian Tasha Schwikert around the 5-6 minute mark! There's also a funny reference to Kerri Strug's vault in the 1996 Olympics.

The show airs at 9pm on Mondays.Watch episode three.

Crazy Vault: Full-Twisting Tsuk Double!

Thursday July 2, 2009
I just saw this video on GymnasticsCoaching.com and it's pretty insane. It's of an unidentified North Korean gymnast doing a Tsukahara double back with a full twist. Though he puts his hands down, it looks like he can make the skill. This video was from training, but it seems like it won't be long until this vault is competed.

Watch the video. (I wish I could embed it, sorry!)

I still get freaked out watching a lot of gymnasts' Tsuk doubles, so I for one, am a little nervous about seeing this one in a meet.

Brand New: Gym Reviews

Tuesday June 30, 2009
Are you a coach, gymnast, or gym parent? Tell us about the gyms where you've worked, watched or trained. I get tons of e-mails asking about gyms in specific areas, so hopefully this will help us all. All reviews can remain anonymous, and the more info you can give, the better. Review a gymnastics club.

Make It or Break It: Episode 2

Tuesday June 30, 2009
Make It Or Break It BLOG Beam
Photo © Isabella Vosmikova / ABC Family

If you missed last night's episode of the new gymnastics drama Make It or Break It, it's now available online here.

It's no more realistic than the pilot episode (parents standing by the beam during practice?), but is it possible this episode was more entertaining? Maybe I'm just getting used to it.

As Lou said in the comments of my other post about the show, the scene at the gas station is comically bad. But we did get to find out what was in the photos used to blackmail Marty!

The Top 10 Stuck Landings: #8

Monday June 29, 2009
Alexei Nemov BLOG
Alexei Nemov
Photo © Andy Lyons / Allsport / Getty Images

Alexei Nemov was the runner-up in the 1996 Olympic all-around competition, and in 2000, he was determined to win it all. He put together a near-perfect meet, capped off with a flawless parallel bar set and a stuck double pike dismount.

He won the all-around by just over a tenth of a point – anything less than a stick would have most likely given the gold to Chinese gymnast Yang Wei.

He went on to win four more medals in the individual event finals, winning six Olympic medals in all. (He'd also earned bronze with the team). Watch it.

Find out all of the top 10 stuck landings of the last decade.

Tell Us: What's your favorite stick of all time?

Vote for Liukin, Johnson, and Kupets

Thursday June 25, 2009
Nastia Liukin & Shawn Johnson
Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson
Photo © Harry How / Getty Images

2008 Olympians Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, and 2009 NCAA all-around champ and 2004 Olympian Courtney Kupets have all been nominated for ESPN's ESPY Awards.

Liukin was nominated for Best Female Athlete, Johnson for Best Breakthrough Athlete, and both for Best US Female Olympian. Kupets was nominated for Best Female College Athlete.

Voting begins today and closes July 11. The awards show will be on July 15, airing on July 19 on ESPN, with Samuel L. Jackson hosting.

Having three gymnasts on there is very cool.

Vote. (Note: You have to register to vote.)

Make It or Break It: What Did You Think?

Tuesday June 23, 2009
Make It or Break It BLOG Bars
Photo © Isabella Vosmikova / ABC Family.

Now that I've watched Make It or Break It I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It's so ridiculously unrealistic, that I hope people don't think this is what gymnastics is really like. Starting a new gym the week before nationals, gymnasts without any muscle, the very low skill level of these supposed Olympic contenders? Yikes. I started to list out all the things that were off but the list got too long.

The silver lining: At least it's so over-the-top that it's sometimes funny. I liked the blackmail part at the end. Nice touch. I will be watching next week because I'm dying to know what was in the photo! (Too bad we'll probably never find out).

Good TV this is not, but it's given us all something to talk about before the actual gymnastics season picks up next month. What did you think of Make It or Break It?

Watch the episode here.

TV Alert: Make It or Break It on Tonight

Monday June 22, 2009
Make it or Break It BLOG 2
Photo © Bob D'Amico / ABC Family.


The new gymnastics show Make It or Break It will premiere on ABC Family tonight (June 22) at 9pm.

Though I think the promos look terribly cheesy, I'm pretty sure I'm not in the target audience, either. And the Los Angeles Times gave it a positive review, saying it's "worth watching."

So, check it out and tell us what you think.

Update 6/23: Missed it? Watch the full pilot here.

Photo of the Week

Wednesday June 17, 2009
Lena Back Walkover


Lena, 15, lives in Essen, Germany. She's been a gymnast since age five, and names Nastia Liukin as her role model. She says, "[Nastia] loves [gymnastics] and spends her life for it! She's my inspiration."

Lena's favorite events are bars and beam, and she loves to do back handsprings and front and back walkovers on beam. Right now she's training for "Rheinische Meisterschaften," a competition among all gymnasts over 12 in the Rhein-Ruhr area of Germany.

This photo above was taken during a meet last year -- I love the coach smiling in the background!
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