February 16th, 2009 by Gymbit
Over the years, Cuba has produced an array of highly talented gymnasts. Olympian Erick Lopez Rios springs to mind as the AA Champion in four consecutive Pan-American Games (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003). Annia Portuondo Hatch brought a Vault medal home to Cuba from the 1996 World Championships, and then won a Silver medal on the same event at the 2004 Olympic Games while competing under the American flag. Another Cuban World medallist who would like a chance to compete for the USA is Charlie Tamayo. Though he defected from his homeland in 2003 during the Anaheim World Championships, citizenship paperwork prevented him from striving for a spot on the 2008 American team. Now his goal is to represent his adopted country at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
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January 20th, 2009 by Gymbit
The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. –writer Emile Zola
Hard work made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win. –gymnast Nadia Comaneci
Gymnasts and gym fans alike know the amount of intense training it takes to reach the top. Starting from a young age, gymnasts learn the discipline that is required to put their bodies through hours of rigorous training each day.
Fans from around the world have produced some amazing training montages over the years, but there are a few in particular I’d like to point out. The first is a fantastic one I came across called Training Emotions. I like it because it covers a wide variety of skills, gymnasts and eras, and I enjoy the dramatic music too!
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December 24th, 2008 by Gymbit
Three years ago on Christmas Eve, the mysterious black-and-white videos of the 1984 Friendship Games in Olomouc were suddenly unveiled. Indeed, there had been question as to whether or not footage of this competition actually existed, and discussions surrounding its whereabouts frequently popped up on gymnastics message boards.
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December 8th, 2008 by Gymbit
At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Nadia Comaneci was the talk of the town. Olga Korbut may have put gymnastics on the Olympic map four years earlier, but Comaneci continued its run as one of the most popular Olympic sports when she captured headlines by scoring seven Perfect 10s.
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November 19th, 2008 by Gymbit
Hello everyone! I am pleased to see that I’m getting a fair amount of traffic to my blog, and I want to give a special shout out to my friends from St. Catharines, Tallahassee, West Hollywood and New York City!
There are a few important tidbits of news circulating in the gymnastics world this week. To begin with, it has come to light that former gymnast Emilia Eberle (now known as Trudi Kollar) and choreographer Geza Pozsar are writing a book describing the alleged physical and emotional abuse they suffered or witnessed in Romania at the hands of Bela and Marta Karolyi. They have American Dominique Moceanu in their corner, too. She has been speaking out against the Karolyis’ training methods since before the Beijing Olympics, and has now encouraged others to do the same. More to follow when the tell-all book is eventually published….
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November 12th, 2008 by Gymbit
Nastia Liukin or Shawn Johnson? Svetlana Khorkina or Carly Patterson? Daniela Silivas or Yelena Shushunova?
The list could go on forever. The rivalry at the recent Olympic Games was the epitome of the Artistry vs. Power debate. Both Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson had a 66.1 Start Value, possessed nerves of steel, and represented the same country. But that’s where the similarities end.
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October 19th, 2008 by Gymbit
On the heels of the controversy surrounding the ages of the Chinese gymnasts in Beijing, I have decided to do an about-face and turn my attention to those at the other end of the spectrum: the gymnasts who continue to compete despite the common belief that gymnastics is a young person’s sport.
I recently discovered footage of a 63-year-old Japanese gymnast named Wakamatsu. His love for the sport shines through in his inspirational performances on all six events, competing against much younger teammates. He swings giants on the high bar with ease and he even attempts an iron cross on rings!
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