Gymnastics round up (pre-Olympic edition)
Before the excitement of gymnastics at the Olympics begins, some fun stuff/updates!
The new Netflix docuseries Simone Biles: Rising premiered last week. The first two episodes cover the Tokyo Olympics through the 2024 pre-Olympic season. Other gymnasts interviewed include 1992 Olympic medalist Betty Okino, 1992-1996-2000 Olympic medalist Dominique Dawes, and former world champion Svetlana Boginskaya. The former discuss what it was like being Black athletes in a very white sport. There is also behind the scenes footage of Simone with her family, her 2023 comeback, and spending time with her husband. She talks a lot about her mental health. There are some very sweet moments with her mom. They show footage of her mom getting a phone call from Simone immediately after she withdrew from the Olympics and we later get to see her mom doing Simone's hair before the 2023 World Championships. The final two episodes will be released in the fall (presumably so they can use footage from Paris).
Jordan Chiles covers Teen Vogue
Jordan talks about being criticized for her weight and how it affected her relationship with food:
"Early on in my gymnastics career, I was shamed into thinking I wasn't fit enough and that I should just consume clear-based soups. At that time, I had no body fat and abs for days." This, she said, resulted in “a very unhealthy relationship with food... But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized we’re human. Our bodies go through different changes. I’m a woman, so obviously, when it comes to hormonal situations or my cycle, I can’t control that.”
She also discusses being a Black gymnast, from the microagressions about her hair and body to the flat out racism she received to her face beginning at childhood competitions. As a collegiate gymnast, she used songs like “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool and “Push It” and “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa for her floor music. When she returned to elite gymnastics, she was asked to change her floor music (she didn't specify who said this, but she later clarified that it was not someone from USA Gymnastics).
Read the full interview and see more photos here
qualifying shenanigans
There is a very specific rule for USA Gymnastics which says that 18-20 year old male gymnasts who have a cumulative minimum difficulty score of 32.0 at the national championships automatically get a spot on the national team and get to compete at Olympic trials, so Tate Costa did exactly that, upgrading his routines so that his total difficulty score would be exactly 32.0. That's not necessarily a bad thing, except for the part where he could not actually do all the upgraded skills that he added in order to boost his difficulty score to 32.0. Just how badly did he perform these skills? See for yourself.
https://instagram.com/p/C8IuC2vvm0d
But because he fulfilled the requirement, he was put on the national team and allowed to compete at the Olympic trials where he placed 14th in all around (out of 15 gymnasts), 15th (out of 16) on floor, 18th (out of 18) on pommel horse, 15th (out of 16) on rings, 16th (out of 17) on parallel bars, and hey! 7th (out of 17) on high bar. Technically he did nothing wrong. He played by USAG's rules (which are supposed to motivate the men to increase their difficulty and give them the opportunity to compete) to get a spot on the national team.
the hot goss (well, it was hot a few weeks ago but let's talk about it anyway)
Part 1: The gymnastics community cannot let these comments to be swept under the rug. I will be as respectful as possible to @mykaylaskinner but instead of engaging in meaningful conversation she blocks anyone who holds her accountable for her words. pic.twitter.com/Y69pwCxnUG
- Riley W (@gymguyri) July 3, 2024
After the women's Olympic team was announced, 2020 Olympian MyKayla Skinner posted a since-deleted YouTube video where she criticized the current Olympic team selection (which is ironic because most of them were on the 2020 Tokyo team with her: Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Joscelyn Roberson all went to Tokyo and are going to Paris).
Skinner said: "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."
She also claimed that Safesport, the required abuse awareness training program SafeSport which was put into place after the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, was one of the reasons why she feels the work ethic has changed, saying, "Coaches can't get on athletes, and they have to be really careful what they say, which in some ways is really good, but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be, I feel like, a little aggressive and a little intense."
She took a dig at the defending Olympic all around champion Suni Lee, who has battled a kidney condition since Tokyo, saying, "Some of the other girls that fell twice and still ending up in second place in the all around is just kind of crazy to me." Apparently she has forgotten how the current code of points works because that's what happens when the start value of your routines is higher than the other gymnasts'.
She then pretended that she didn't know how to pronounce Hezly Rivera's first name, asking her husband off camera, "Is it Hazely or Hezly?"
Also of note: she said, "Not saying anything to the girls that got injured, but if I could come back, I think I would be able to do it. And I think I probably could've made that Olympic team."
After the video was posted, her former teammates Simone, Suni, and Jade all unfollowed MyKayla. Hezley, Jordan, and Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson (who trains with Simone and Jordan at World Champions Centre) are not following MyKayla but it's unclear if they were following her before she posted this video.
Simone posted a response on threads that simply stated, "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform."
Jordan's mom responded with "Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something....”
Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something....
- Gina Chiles (@gina_chiles) July 4, 2024
MyKayla then posted an apology video on Instagram stories claiming that people had "misinterpreted or misunderstood" what she said and what she meant. She went on to dig an even bigger hole by saying, "It was more about going back into my own gym and the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Marta era. I’m not sticking up for Marta or saying what she did was good. I’m just saying it was different."
1996 Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu responded to MyKayla's post:
As someone who was directly coached by Bela & Marta Karolyi, who began their coaching careers in the U.S. in 1981, I experienced the intensity & demands of their decades-long influence firsthand. Their methods led to successes on the competition floor but often at the cost of athletes' mental & physical health. As we transition from the Karolyi era to prioritizing well-being over medals, especially during this time of reflection on our country’s independence, we must proceed with care. This shift is essential. While it is not an exact science, it is possible to support athletes' health while nurturing their competitive spirit. We must exercise caution, constantly evaluating how to achieve the ideal balance. Let us seize this chance to create a balanced approach, where triumphs are measured by well-being as well as medals, embodying the true spirit of freedom & progress we celebrate on Independence Day.
As someone who was directly coached by Bela & Marta Karolyi, who began their coaching careers in the U.S. in 1981, I experienced the intensity & demands of their decades-long influence firsthand. Their methods led to successes on the competition floor but often at the cost of… pic.twitter.com/Z18nUbJFOJ
- Dominique Moceanu (@Dmoceanu) July 4, 2024
1996 Olympic gold medalists Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, and Shannon Miller cover Self magazine
These teenagers were part of the Magnificent 7, the first American women to win team gold at the Olympics. Dominique Moceanu (the youngest US gymnast to win Olympic gold), Dominique Dawes (the first Black woman to win an individual gymnastics Olympic medal), and Shannon Miller (long touted as the most decorated gymnast in American history before Simone Biles came along, she is currently tied with Simone as the American gymnast with the most Olympic medals).
Dominique Moceanu was only 14 years old when she competed at the Olympics with a 4" stress fracture in her tibia. After she retired, she publicly accused the Károlyis of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. As a result, she was ostracized from the gymnastics community. No one wanted to hire her and she never got another endorsement deal. But due to speaking up, other gymnasts sought her out when they had questions or needed advice about what happened to them.
Shannon Miller said that the post-Olympic national tour was a chance for the gymnasts to just be kids, goofing around, playing pranks, and having fun. When she retired from gymnastics the following year at the ripe old age of 20, she felt lost because her identity, her routine, and her support systems were all gone.
Dominique Dawes and her 1992 Olympic teammate Betty Okino were the first Black women to win Olympic medals in gymnastics. At the 1996 Olympics, Dominique became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. Despite her success, she was ambivalent about going to the 2000 Olympics and wanted to pull out of the Olympic trials. When she made the Olympic team that year, she became the third American female gymnast to compete in three Olympics as well as the second gymnast in history to be part of three Olympic-medal-winning teams.
Read the full interview here
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Click to viewThe new Netflix docuseries Simone Biles: Rising premiered last week. The first two episodes cover the Tokyo Olympics through the 2024 pre-Olympic season. Other gymnasts interviewed include 1992 Olympic medalist Betty Okino, 1992-1996-2000 Olympic medalist Dominique Dawes, and former world champion Svetlana Boginskaya. The former discuss what it was like being Black athletes in a very white sport. There is also behind the scenes footage of Simone with her family, her 2023 comeback, and spending time with her husband. She talks a lot about her mental health. There are some very sweet moments with her mom. They show footage of her mom getting a phone call from Simone immediately after she withdrew from the Olympics and we later get to see her mom doing Simone's hair before the 2023 World Championships. The final two episodes will be released in the fall (presumably so they can use footage from Paris).
Jordan Chiles covers Teen Vogue
Jordan talks about being criticized for her weight and how it affected her relationship with food:
"Early on in my gymnastics career, I was shamed into thinking I wasn't fit enough and that I should just consume clear-based soups. At that time, I had no body fat and abs for days." This, she said, resulted in “a very unhealthy relationship with food... But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized we’re human. Our bodies go through different changes. I’m a woman, so obviously, when it comes to hormonal situations or my cycle, I can’t control that.”
She also discusses being a Black gymnast, from the microagressions about her hair and body to the flat out racism she received to her face beginning at childhood competitions. As a collegiate gymnast, she used songs like “Let Me Clear My Throat” by DJ Kool and “Push It” and “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa for her floor music. When she returned to elite gymnastics, she was asked to change her floor music (she didn't specify who said this, but she later clarified that it was not someone from USA Gymnastics).
Read the full interview and see more photos here
qualifying shenanigans
There is a very specific rule for USA Gymnastics which says that 18-20 year old male gymnasts who have a cumulative minimum difficulty score of 32.0 at the national championships automatically get a spot on the national team and get to compete at Olympic trials, so Tate Costa did exactly that, upgrading his routines so that his total difficulty score would be exactly 32.0. That's not necessarily a bad thing, except for the part where he could not actually do all the upgraded skills that he added in order to boost his difficulty score to 32.0. Just how badly did he perform these skills? See for yourself.
https://instagram.com/p/C8IuC2vvm0d
But because he fulfilled the requirement, he was put on the national team and allowed to compete at the Olympic trials where he placed 14th in all around (out of 15 gymnasts), 15th (out of 16) on floor, 18th (out of 18) on pommel horse, 15th (out of 16) on rings, 16th (out of 17) on parallel bars, and hey! 7th (out of 17) on high bar. Technically he did nothing wrong. He played by USAG's rules (which are supposed to motivate the men to increase their difficulty and give them the opportunity to compete) to get a spot on the national team.
the hot goss (well, it was hot a few weeks ago but let's talk about it anyway)
Part 1: The gymnastics community cannot let these comments to be swept under the rug. I will be as respectful as possible to @mykaylaskinner but instead of engaging in meaningful conversation she blocks anyone who holds her accountable for her words. pic.twitter.com/Y69pwCxnUG
- Riley W (@gymguyri) July 3, 2024
After the women's Olympic team was announced, 2020 Olympian MyKayla Skinner posted a since-deleted YouTube video where she criticized the current Olympic team selection (which is ironic because most of them were on the 2020 Tokyo team with her: Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Joscelyn Roberson all went to Tokyo and are going to Paris).
Skinner said: "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don't work as hard. The girls just don't have the work ethic."
She also claimed that Safesport, the required abuse awareness training program SafeSport which was put into place after the Larry Nassar abuse scandal, was one of the reasons why she feels the work ethic has changed, saying, "Coaches can't get on athletes, and they have to be really careful what they say, which in some ways is really good, but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be, I feel like, a little aggressive and a little intense."
She took a dig at the defending Olympic all around champion Suni Lee, who has battled a kidney condition since Tokyo, saying, "Some of the other girls that fell twice and still ending up in second place in the all around is just kind of crazy to me." Apparently she has forgotten how the current code of points works because that's what happens when the start value of your routines is higher than the other gymnasts'.
She then pretended that she didn't know how to pronounce Hezly Rivera's first name, asking her husband off camera, "Is it Hazely or Hezly?"
Also of note: she said, "Not saying anything to the girls that got injured, but if I could come back, I think I would be able to do it. And I think I probably could've made that Olympic team."
After the video was posted, her former teammates Simone, Suni, and Jade all unfollowed MyKayla. Hezley, Jordan, and Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson (who trains with Simone and Jordan at World Champions Centre) are not following MyKayla but it's unclear if they were following her before she posted this video.
Simone posted a response on threads that simply stated, "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform."
Jordan's mom responded with "Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something....”
Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That's something....
- Gina Chiles (@gina_chiles) July 4, 2024
MyKayla then posted an apology video on Instagram stories claiming that people had "misinterpreted or misunderstood" what she said and what she meant. She went on to dig an even bigger hole by saying, "It was more about going back into my own gym and the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Marta era. I’m not sticking up for Marta or saying what she did was good. I’m just saying it was different."
1996 Olympic gold medalist Dominique Moceanu responded to MyKayla's post:
As someone who was directly coached by Bela & Marta Karolyi, who began their coaching careers in the U.S. in 1981, I experienced the intensity & demands of their decades-long influence firsthand. Their methods led to successes on the competition floor but often at the cost of athletes' mental & physical health. As we transition from the Karolyi era to prioritizing well-being over medals, especially during this time of reflection on our country’s independence, we must proceed with care. This shift is essential. While it is not an exact science, it is possible to support athletes' health while nurturing their competitive spirit. We must exercise caution, constantly evaluating how to achieve the ideal balance. Let us seize this chance to create a balanced approach, where triumphs are measured by well-being as well as medals, embodying the true spirit of freedom & progress we celebrate on Independence Day.
As someone who was directly coached by Bela & Marta Karolyi, who began their coaching careers in the U.S. in 1981, I experienced the intensity & demands of their decades-long influence firsthand. Their methods led to successes on the competition floor but often at the cost of… pic.twitter.com/Z18nUbJFOJ
- Dominique Moceanu (@Dmoceanu) July 4, 2024
1996 Olympic gold medalists Dominique Dawes, Dominique Moceanu, and Shannon Miller cover Self magazine
These teenagers were part of the Magnificent 7, the first American women to win team gold at the Olympics. Dominique Moceanu (the youngest US gymnast to win Olympic gold), Dominique Dawes (the first Black woman to win an individual gymnastics Olympic medal), and Shannon Miller (long touted as the most decorated gymnast in American history before Simone Biles came along, she is currently tied with Simone as the American gymnast with the most Olympic medals).
Dominique Moceanu was only 14 years old when she competed at the Olympics with a 4" stress fracture in her tibia. After she retired, she publicly accused the Károlyis of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse. As a result, she was ostracized from the gymnastics community. No one wanted to hire her and she never got another endorsement deal. But due to speaking up, other gymnasts sought her out when they had questions or needed advice about what happened to them.
Shannon Miller said that the post-Olympic national tour was a chance for the gymnasts to just be kids, goofing around, playing pranks, and having fun. When she retired from gymnastics the following year at the ripe old age of 20, she felt lost because her identity, her routine, and her support systems were all gone.
Dominique Dawes and her 1992 Olympic teammate Betty Okino were the first Black women to win Olympic medals in gymnastics. At the 1996 Olympics, Dominique became the first Black woman to win an individual Olympic medal in gymnastics. Despite her success, she was ambivalent about going to the 2000 Olympics and wanted to pull out of the Olympic trials. When she made the Olympic team that year, she became the third American female gymnast to compete in three Olympics as well as the second gymnast in history to be part of three Olympic-medal-winning teams.
Read the full interview here
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