1) Dominique Moceanu is coming out with a book in June, and I can’t wait! Sounds like it’ll be a good read with juicy details from her days training with the Karolyis. It sure is brave of her to get that stuff out there.

2) Less than half a year to go until the 2012 London Olympics and the excitement is in the air! Already there is some disappointment, though: rising Ukrainian star Maria Livchikova was injured prior to the 2011 World Championships and now has no hope of qualifying to the Olympics. The good news was the announcement back in 2011 that Kohei Uchimura (JPN) would be pre-qualified the Olympic team. Now he can just focus on training and peaking at the right time instead of bothering with the Japanese trials.

3) I am so glad the Canadian girls qualified to the Olympic Games in 10th place! This has got to be the best team we’ve had in years. With Peng Peng Lee, Kristina Vaculik, Victoria Moors, Madeline Gardiner, Charlotte Mackie, Brittany Rogers, Mikaela Gerber, Dominique Pegg, Jessica Savona, Talia Chiarelli and Bianca Dancose-Giambattisto all in the mix (am I forgetting anyone?), it’s going to be a fight for the 5 Olympic spots. Here’s Victoria’s floor routine from the London Test Event, complete with a double-double mount:

Victoria Moors (CAN), Floor Exercise Event Final, 2012 London Test Event

4) I was re-watching some of the 2011 World Championships recently and was appalled by the atrocious E-score (7.866) given to Jessica Lopez (VEN) in the qualifying round. Yes, she did flex her feet a few times and one handstand was a bit overarched, but she displayed great swing and amplitude.

Jessica Lopez (VEN), Uneven Bars Qualifying Round, 2011 World Championships

Alexandra Raisman (USA) managed to get a 7.100 E-score with flexed feet, leg separations, knee bends, two falls and a hop on the landing!

Alexandra Raisman (USA), Uneven Bars All-Around, 2011 World Championships

Let’s hope that the judges deduct fairly at the London Olympics!

5) And finally, what would I do without the GGMB (Gymnastics Gossip Message Board)?! It is the most entertaining forum out there. Heff and Betty crack me up, and I’m always amazed at the amount of knowledge the members have to offer. Now if only I’d post more often there, too….

Georges St-Pierre: “I’m doing gymnastics to keep my body healthy, to change my routine, and I love gymnastics as well and it makes me a better athlete.”

Georges St-Pierre, Ultimate Fighting Championship

It got me thinking that gymnastics really is the “ultimate” sport. Take a gymnast and put him in pretty much any other sport, and he’s likely to achieve a moderate degree of success, but taking established stars in other sports and putting them in gymnastics could results in some rather awkward moments. Gymnast Amy Chow, who has an Olympic medal of each colour, has gone on to excel in not just pole vaulting but diving as well. (Oh, and she’s a paediatrician too!)

Amy Chow, Diving

Yelena Isinbayeva won the 2008 Olympic gold in pole vaulting after growing too tall for gymnastics. At 3:31, Isinbayeva is seen training in the gym, doing tucked Tsukaharas on vault, free hips and giants on bars, and even exercises on the rings! She explains: “Gymnastics gives me more coordination, more precision.”

Yelena Isinbayeva, Pole Vaulting

This reminds me of when I saw Alex Wong on So You Think You Can Dance. At the time, I remember thinking that if gymnastics can serve as the basis of sport, then ballet could well be the basis of dance. Here’s a classically trained ballet dancer who was able to learn a complicated hip hop routine in just a few days, and perform seamlessly with All Star Twitch. I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Alex Wong, Ballet

Alex Wong, Hip Hop

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992, many gymnasts who would have formerly been on the bubble were able to compete for their respective republics at the World Championships the following year. Interesting gymnasts such as Lyudmila Stovbchataya (UKR), the Yulia Yurkina (BLR) and Irina Yevdokimova (KAZ) were some of the 18 ex-Soviet female gymnasts competing in Birmingham.

Here are some of the top-notch performers who sadly never wore the Soviet flag at a World Championships or an Olympic Games:

TATIANA GROSHKOVA

1990 USA vs USSR, Balance Beam

The press handstand mount, the full-twisting back, the sideways backhandspring to Yurchenko loop, a full-in dismount, the flower leo and yarn…what more can a gym fan ask for?!

1989 Chunichi Cup, Floor Exercise

Don’t miss the double full-in first pass! She and Alexis Brion remain the only ladies to ever compete this skill.

ALEFTINA PRIAKHINA

1986 Chunichi Cup, Floor Exercise

Although the skill bears the name of Daniela Silivas (ROM) in the Code of Points, Priakhina was in fact the first gymnast to perform the double-double on floor.

1987 USSR Display, Uneven Bars

Check out how close together the bars are set!

OLGA CHUDINA

1988 Chunichi Cup

1988 USSR vs CHN, UNeven Bars

NATALIA FROLOVA

1986 Kraft Invitational, Floor Exercise

My favourite floor routine of all time!

YULIA KUT

1990 Dutch Open, Floor Exercise

1990 Dutch Open, Uneven Bars

ARMINE BARUTYAN

1985 Medico Cup, Floor Exercise

Barutyan, owner of a fantastic planche on beam, was rumoured to be training a double layout dismount of that apparatus!

Which other amazing gymnasts do you think could have won titles and been stars if given a chance to compete at a Worlds or Olympics?

Eleftherios Kosmidis stuck both his opening layout double-double and his full-in dismount on his way to the top of the podium. He managed to stave off recently crowned all-around champion Kohei Uchimura, who suffered from low landings in this final. Greek fans will find this win reminiscent of Ioannis Melissanidis’s winning performance at the 1996 Olympic Games.

1. Eleftherios Kosmidis (GRE) 15.700, 2. Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 15.533, 3. Daniel Purvis (GBR) 15.366

Eleftherios Kosmidis (GRE), Floor Exercise Gold, 2010 World Championships

Krisztian Berki took advantage of the absence of Chinese superstars Xiao Qin and Zhang Hongtao to claim his first World title on his specialty. His routine starts off right with some scissors that demonstrate tremendous amplitude, accentuated by his long lines.

1. Krisztian Berki (HUN) 15.833, 2. Louis Smith (GBR) 15.733, 3. Prashanth Sellathurai (AUS) 15.566

Krisztian Berki (HUN), Pommel Horse Gold, 2010 World Championships

Chen Yibing’s medal collection just keeps growing! The 2008 Olympic Champ on rings claimed his third World title in Rotterdam. His lines, toepoint and flaired full-twisting double layout sealed the deal for this veteran.

1. Chen Yibing (CHN) 15.900, 2. Yan Mingyong (CHN) 15.700, 3. Matteo Morandi (ITA) 15.666

Chen Yibing (CHN), Rings Gold, 2010 World Championships

Thomas Bouhail managed to upstage prelims leader Anton Golotsutskov (RUS) when it mattered most, and ended up with his first title at a World Championships. The Frenchman was no stranger to the international scene, having won the silver medal on the same apparatus at the 2008 Olympic Games and the gold medal at last year’s European Championships. He landed his opening piked double Tsukahara with just a hop, and came close to sticking his Dragulescu.

1. Thomas Bouhail (FRA) 16.499, 2. Anton Golotsutskov (RUS) 16.366, 3. Dzmitry Kaspiarovich (BLR) 16.316

Thomas Bouhail (FRA), Vault Gold, 2010 World Championships

Feng Zhe performed his three double backs and high straddled front well, but it was the solid double pike dismount and his 7.0 D-score that really earned him the gold in what turned out to be one of the most competitive finals of the Championships.

1. Feng Zhe (CHN) 15.966, 2. Teng Haibin (CHN) 15.616, 3. Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 15. 500

Feng Zhe (CHN), Parallel Bars Gold, 2010 World Championships

Zhang Chenglong flew high above the bar with his layout Tkatchev, straddled Tkatchev-half, layout Jaeger, Yamawaki and layout double-double dismount. The releases, in addition to his pirouetting skills, allowed Zhang to grab the gold over Epke Zonderland, who retained his silver medal position from last year’s Worlds. Zonderland displayed a difficult set with a Kovacs-Kolman combination, a Gaylord 2 and a Yamawaki and a nice stuck layout double double.

1. Zhang Chenglong (CHN) 16.166, 2. Epke Zonderland (NED) 16.033, 3. Fabian Hambüchen (GER) 15.966

Zhang Chenglong (CHN), High Bar Gold, 2010 World Championships

Alicia Sacramone won her first vault title, bringing her total number of World medals to nine. Nine medals is the record for most won by an American, and Sacramone’s gold puts her in a tie for first with Shannon Miller and Nastia Liukin. She demonstrated explosive power and good form on her layout Rudi and Yurchenko double full, and her 15.200 average put her ahead of all-around champion Aliya Mustafina, who experienced some judging controversy in this event final. It seems she wasn’t given credit for the layout position for her Yurchenko half-on layout front full. The Russian Federation rightly complained that it can’t be downgraded to a pike position since the FIG itself acknowledged that it’s impossible to do more than a half twist in a pike, and that this particular vault does not exist in the pike position. The silver medal here ended any hope that Mustafina could sweep all the gold at this World Championships. Missing from this World Championships was vaulter extraordinaire Hong Su Jong, who was embroiled in a controversy of her own after being registered to compete with yet a third different birth year. The North Korean delegation has been banned from competition through to 2013, leaving certain event finals without some serious contenders.

1. Alicia Sacramone (USA) 15.200, 2. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 15.066, 3. Jade Barbosa (BRA) 14.799

Alicia Sacramone (USA), Vault Gold, 2010 World Championships

Beth Tweddle earned another World title on the uneven bars with her high-flying routine that included a toe-on Tkatchev-half immediate barani to the low bar. It was an amazing day for Great Britain. In addition to Tweddle’s gold, the country also celebrated Louis Smith’s silver on pommel horse and Daniel Purvis’s bronze on the floor exercise. Tweddle held off He Kexin and Huang Qiushuang, both of whom dropped to the mat and out of medal contention.

1. Beth Tweddle (GBR) 15.733, 2. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 15.600, 3. Rebecca Bross (USA) 15.066

Beth Tweddle (GBR), Uneven Bars Gold, 2010 World Championships

Ana Porgras nailed her delightful beam routine for Romania’s first medal at the Championships, despite the fact that some her most interesting choreography has been removed. Mustafina ruined her chance for six medals with a fall on her standing Arabian. Ukraine’s only female finalist, Yana Demyanchuk, was on track for a great routine (awesome roundoff-full and full turn with leg at horizontal…with a flexed foot!) before stumbling backward on her double pike dismount.

1. Ana Porgras (ROM) 15.366, 2(tie). Rebecca Bross (USA) and Deng Linlin (CHN) 15.233

Ana Porgras (ROU), Balance Beam Gold, 2010 World Championships

What a wonderful way to end the World Championships! Lauren Mitchell improved upon her silver medal at last year’s Worlds to win the gold this time. Using the same music, Mitchell stuck her tumbling passes (Arabian double front to leap, piked full-in, 2.5-twist to front layout to scale, double pike, and of course that really cool triple turn down low). Mustafina showed her lovely routine for the fourth time in Rotterdam, but unfortunately she didn’t go for the triple turn with leg at vertical so it will not be named after her this time. Two favourites, Sandra Izbasa (ROM) and Ksenia Afanasyeva (RUS), both had a disappointing time in Rotterdam. Izbasa lost valuable points after landing out of bounds after her amazing 1.5-twist through to triple twist, and Afanasyeva put her knee down on her opening double layout and both hands down on her closing double pike.

1. Lauren Mitchell (AUS) 14.833, 2(tie). Aliya Mustafina (RUS) and Diana Chelaru (ROU) 14.766

Lauren Mitchell (AUS), Floor Exercise Gold, 2010 World Championships

On the men’s side, the Chinese team (Chen Yibing, Feng Zhe, Lu Bo, Teng Haibin, Yan Mingyong, Zhang Chenglong) reigned victorious once again! I was pleased to see Teng back in top form after injuries, having put his troubles from the 2004 Olympic Games behind him. They managed to stay ahead of an elegant Japanese team and a surging German team led by Philipp Boy.

The FIG has put together some amazing montages that capture the excitement in Ahoy Rotterdam.

Women’s Team Final, 2010 World Championships

Men’s Team Final, 2010 World Championships

Defending champion Kohei Uchimura (JPN) and new senior Aliya Mustafina (RUS) dominated every phase of the competition and rightfully ended up with the All Around crowns. They both showed unwavering confidence and flashes of brilliance. Uchimura is only the second gymnast in history to defend the World title, but at this rate it seems the entire quadrennium must surely belong to him! He defeated silver medalist Philipp Boy (GER) by a whopping 2.283. American Jonathan Horton grabbed the bronze medal by just 0.033 over Ukrainian Mykola Kuksenkov.

Kohei Uchimura (JPN), All Around, 2010 World Championships

Perfect gymnastics alert! Just about everything he does is textbook perfect, with added flair and cool confidence. I don’t even know what young gymnasts should study most…the triple twist at 1:12, the Yurchenko-2.5 at 4:35 or the gorgeous Kovacs that opens to vertical at 7:38.

The women’s all around medals were more cut and dried; Mustafina won by 1.034 over Jiang Yuyuan (CHN) and Rebecca Bross (USA) was another point behind in the bronze medal position.

Aliya Mustafina (RUS), Vault, Apparatus Finals, 2010 World Championships

Aliya Mustafina (RUS), Uneven Bars, Qualifications, 2010 World Championships

Aliya Mustafina (RUS), Balance Beam, All Around, 2010 World Championships

Aliya Mustafina (RUS), Floor Exercise, Team Finals, 2010 World Championships

This routine is one beautiful element after another. She gets so much height on her Arabian double front, and her triple turn is amazing. I love the little piece of choreography starting at 1:03 and leading into the final tumbling pass. That little step out of bounds after the triple twist was Mustafina’s second largest error in 16 routines. Not bad for a newbie!

This hauntingly lovely music, Hijo de le luna, has been in my head ever since she first performed in the preliminary round! I’m not sure how I feel about floor music with vocals but this is the perfect music for Mustafina, worthy of a world champion.

I’ll highlight the apparatus winners next time, but for now I’d like to pay homage to a wonderful coach, Boris Pilkin. When national team coaches told him he was wasting his time, doubting that the tall Khorkina could achieve much success, Pilkin stood by his protégée and turned her into one of the best gymnasts ever. His ability to teach proper technique and to invent new skills allowed Khorkina to be celebrated in the international spotlight for an entire decade, winning numerous Olympic and World medals for Mother Russia. He passed away in the night at the age of 82, just hours after watching the Russian women claim their first gold medal.

After a lot of deliberating, I decided to narrow it down to just three routines. Unfortunately, there seems to be a theme (a lot of Romanian routines from the late 1970s!).

Honourable Mention: Emilia Eberle (ROM), 1977 USA vs. Romania

I was debating whether or not I should include this floor routine. It’s definitely not my cup of tea, but it is bizarrely whimsical and the choreography matches the music quite well. I don’t think I can watch the slow-mo part from 0:47-0:52 with a straight face.

3. Nadia Comaneci (ROM), 1978 World Championships

Too bad this floor routine comes courtesy of the perfect Nadia Comaneci. She deserves better than this! Was Marta Karolyi behind this floor choreography?

2. Kerri Strug (USA), 1996 American Cup

Something about this routine just rubs me the wrong way, and it ain’t the tumbling. The little move at 1:12 really has no place on an international stage, but the best part of the whole video is when the divine Svetlana Boginskaya stands up at 1:18 and does her best imitation!

1. Gabi Gheorghiu (ROM), 1978 Romanian National Championships

This routine was choreographed by none other than Marta Karolyi, and it’s got to be the worst monstrosity I’ve ever seen. What were they thinking?! I have no idea what’s going on at 1:08.

But hey, at least these routines have choreography! There have been some routines in the past few years that hardly have any due to all the tumbling and leap requirements. Jade Barbosa (BRA), Park Eun Kyung (KOR) and even current World Floor Champion Beth Tweddle (GBR) come to mind. Even if a gymnast isn’t a natural dancer, she should be able to put together a cool and unusual routine like Mari Kosuge (JPN) managed in 1991 and Gina Gogean (ROM) demonstrated in 1992. Often the powerful gymnasts are the ones who lack dance skills, and that’s why I’m so excited that the complete package that is Russian Viktoria Komova has burst on to the scene. Now that the Code of Points requires fewer skills be packed into each routine, I hope that will give the choreographers a chance to shine as they did twenty years ago.

10. Lauren Mitchell (AUS), 2009 World Championships

I like this routine because Mitchell presents a style unlike any other. The music is cool, and the dance matches the music very well. Mitchell shows that you don’t have to have balletic elegance to create a memorable performance. I think she should have won the gold medal.

9. Lilia Podkopayeva (UKR), 1996 Olympic Games

I have to include Podkopayeva because she’s one of my favourite gymnasts ever and her double front-half out mount is just amazing.

8. Mo Huilan (CHN), 1994 World Championships

This is one of the few “cutesy” routines that I can really appreciate. Only a gymnast like Mo could pull off a routine set to typewriter music.

7. Shannon Miller (USA), 1993 Hilton Challenge

I can’t blame Miller for using this routine for three years. It was just about perfect and it helped her win silver all-around at the 1992 Olympic Games and gold all-around at both the 1993 and 1994 World Championships.

6. Tatiana Groshkova (URS), 1989 Chunichi Cup

Groshkova must surely be the best gymnast never to snag a spot on a World or Olympic team. She mounts with a double-full-in…unbelievable!

5. Svetlana Lebedinskaya (URS), 1986 Goodwill Display

With so much competition amongst her Soviet teammates in the mid-1980s, Lebedinskaya never had a chance to make much of a name for herself internationally. It’s such a shame, because she definitely had the talent!

4. Irina Baraksanova (URS), 1985 World Championships

A typical Soviet routine that exemplifies the grace, power and musical interpretation that made her team unbeatable. Nearly any gymnast on this Soviet team could have won the all-around gold at these World Championships, but Baraksanova and Olga Mostepanova (fresh off her 40.0 win at the Friendship Games!) were withdrawn in favour of eventual co-champions Omelianchik and Yelena Shushunova…but who’s to say that was the best decision?!

3. Silvia Mitova (BUL), 1991 European Cup

This next video includes not just Mitova’s inimitable Blues for Klook routine, but also the routines of five other gymnasts who used this music after her. No matter how creative a gymnast is with the interpretation, it seems to me that it’s never a good idea to use such a well loved piece. The thing is, many of those other routines would have been perfectly good if only I could stop myself from thinking of Mitova and her wonderful choreography the entire time.

2. Anna Pavlova (RUS), 2008 Olympic Games

I just love this routine, and Pavlova performed it to perfection in the all-around. All her fourth place finishes make me sad.

1. Natalia Frolova (URS), 1986 Kraft Invitational

Hands down my favourite routine ever. I can’t believe it has been 24 years since Frolova performed this; the tumbling would be world-class even today, and the choreography is exquisite.

So what makes a floor routine great, anyway? For me, it’s the combination of captivating music and lovely choreography, with a dose of difficult tumbling on the side. I know there are so many fantastic routines that I haven’t included. Please add a comment and tell me your favourite floor routines of all time.

Next up: the Top 5 Worst Floor Routines Ever!

Perhaps the only other current gymnasts who can boast such a record are Oksana Chusovitina and Jordan Jovtchev. Incidentally, they made their World Championship debut in 1991 as well, competing under the Soviet and Bulgarian flags.

In an era when many gymnasts choose to perfect and compete only a few events, it is refreshing to see Jansen continue to perform on all six. Indeed, he was the only gymnast in the entire field to compete on all events at the 2008 Cottbus Cup. His most recent results include 5th All Around at the 2009 Northern European Championships. He also qualified to four event finals in Cardiff, winning the gold medal on high bar and the bronze medal on rings. Jansen placed 42nd in qualifications at the 2009 European Championships and 64th the following year (four events only).

Espen Jansen, Parallel Bars

Espen Jansen, High Bar (with a funny dismount!)

Espen Jansen, a fun Pommel Horse routine

Jansen balances a busy lifestyle training, working, and spending time with his family. He taught gymnastics to the inmates at the prison where he worked, and he even took them to watch competitions in Oslo (International GYMNAST, May 2009, page 33). His enthusiasm makes him a great ambassador for the sport, especially in a country where gymnastics has not yet achieved much popularity.

There’s just one thing that still eludes Espen Jansen in his gymnastics career: competing in an Olympic Games. Norway will most likely not qualify gymnasts to London 2012, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed in hopes of Jansen receiving one of the coveted Wild Cards.

Youna Dufournet, Uneven Bars, 2010 European Championships

That was a mistake. Demay is not Dufournet’s personal coach, and he probably just erred on the side of caution and ended up mistiming his spotting.

What gets me is the turn of events just a few weeks later at the French National Championships. This time it’s Dufournet’s personal coach in charge: Marc Chirilcenco. Never before have I seen a coach spot a gymnast in such a fashion. Could it be that he was sticking it to Demay and making a show of not touching his gymnast? Well that plan sure backfired; Dufournet slipped off the bar and landed awkwardly, injuring her meniscus.

Youna Dufournet, Uneven Bars, 2010 French National Championships

Athlete safety should be paramount. Dufournet showed some lovely gymnastics at the 2009 World Championships and at the 2010 European Championships, but before that she was inconsistent as all get out and an accident waiting to happen. One of the most alarming examples of this is her floor routine from the 2009 European Championships. The scary crashes at 0:18 and 1:00 prove that she was not ready to perform a double layout or a 1.5-twist through to double back.

Youna Dufournet, Floor Exercise, 2009 European Championships

Why push her? She is such a clean gymnast that she will still score well with easier routines. Case in point: Dufournet won the bronze medal on vault at the 2009 World Championships with a near-perfect Yurchenko-1.5 and a clean layout Podkopayeva. I hope Dufournet recovers in time to make a run for the 2012 Olympic Games. And maybe a change of coach wouldn’t hurt….