Olympic champion and legendary gymnast Elena Shushunova died last night at the age of 49. Russian Gymnastics Federation said in a press release that the Soviet gymnast died of complications from pneumonia last night after being rushed to the hospital. Shushunova was one of the most successful gymnasts having won the grand slam of All-Around titles: Olympics (1988), World Championships (1985), European Championships (1985). She was renowned for pioneering complex skills as well as for her explosive and dynamic tumbling and high consistency.
She had two skills named after her, on the uneven bars and on balance beam. Her bars skill, swing forward with half turn – further half turn to counter straddle in flight over high bar, was previously rated a G and has been downgraded to an E. Written by Gigi Farid
The list of gymnasts accusing former team doctor Larry Nassar of sexual assault continues to grow.
America's most successful Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has joined the MeToo movement revealing that she was molested by Nassar.
"I am not afraid to tell my story anymore. I too am one of the many survivors that was sexually abused by Larry Nassar," wrote the four time Olympic champion on Twitter. "Please believe me when I say it was a lot harder to first speak those words out loud than it is now to put them on paper. There are many reasons that I have been reluctant to share my story, but I know now it is not my fault."
According to the lengthy post, Biles wondered if her assault was her fault or the result of being too naive.
"No. No, it was not my fault. No, I will not and should not carry the guilt that belongs to Larry Nassar, USAG, and others."
She expressed heartbreak over having to return to the same facility training where she was abused as she works towards her dream of competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The 20 year old gymnast vowed to never give up to compete with all of her heart and soul every time she steps into the gym.
"I won't let one man and the others that enabled him to steal my love and joy."
Biles asks her fans to respect her privacy as she works through the pain.
She is the highest-profile athlete to lodge accusations against Nassar.
Prior to Simone coming forward publicly, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas were among the high-profile gymnasts to say they were also sexually abused by disgraced doctor.
Rebeca Andrade at the Varna World Cup. Photograph: YouTube
As part of our 2017 recap, here is our ten favourite vaults of the year.
1. Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) –
September, Varna World Cup
One
of the best vaults of the year was Rebeca Andrade’s fantastically high Amanar
last September. She is possibly the only gymnast who has ever competed an
Amanar after tearing her ACL. Impressive!
2. Jordan Chiles (USA) – August,
P&G Championships
Jordan
Chiles’ Amanar is also very impressive, high and with a very solid landing.
Hopefully, she will be able to compete it at Worlds next year.
3. Maria Paseka (Russia) – October,
World Championships
The
2015 and 2017 vault World champion had an up and down season, but things came
together at Worlds, where Maria Paseka managed to pull out one of her best
Amanars to defend her title. Congratulations!
4. Jade Carey (USA) – October, World
Championships
A
Level 10 gymnast only one year ago, Jade Carey came out of nowhere in 2017 and
competed a huge Amanar. She has so much power that her landings are still a
little out of control, but her height and poise are impressive.
5. Alex McMurtry (Florida) – March,
LSU v. Florida
NCAA
national champion Alex McMurtry performs arguably the best double-twisting
Yurchenko in the world. Her height, distance and control on landing are
unparalleled.
6. Leanne Wong (USA, junior) –
August, P&G Championships
One
of the best vaults in the junior rankings is performed by Leanne Wong, who
impressed with her height, precision and beautiful landings. Her form and lines
are gorgeous to watch!
7. Ellie Downie (Great Britain) –
April, European Championships
The
European all around champion performs a very clean and powerful DTY, she is
beautifully consistent!
8. Giulia Steingruber (Switzerland) –
October, World Championships
Giulia
Steingruber’s Rudi has become more and more consistent over the years, and last
October it won her a bronze medal at the World Championships. Hard work pays
off, congratulations!
9. Kennedi Edney (LSU) – April, NCAA
Championships
Kennedi
Edney began her college career in January 2017 with a stuck one-and-a-half
twisting Yurchenko, worth of a 9.950. At the NCAA Championships, she stuck the
same vault again and was crowned vault national champion. The future looks
bright!
10. Ashleigh Gnat (LSU) – May,
training
Senior
Ashleigh Gnat was known for her beautiful DTY, one of the few in the NCAA. But
before saying goodbye to gymnastics in May, she performed her first and only
Amanar vault…and she landed it on her feet. A sweet goodbye at the end of a
wonderful career, she will be missed!
Nina Derwael is the 2017 European champion. Photograph: YouTube
As part of our 2017 recap, here are our ten favourite uneven bars routines of the year.
1. Nina Derwael (Belgium) – October,
World Championships
I
am so proud of all that Nina Derwael achieved this year. European champion, World
medallist, two historic records for Belgium, an incredibly intricate routine,
an Ezhova… Wow, the future can but be bright!
2. Elena Eremina (Russia) – October,
World Championships
The
next Russian star shines particularly on the uneven bars. Elena Eremina,
European and World silver medallist, brought back to life the Nabieva release
move, which she connects to a Pak salto and a Yao transition. Incredible!
3. Fan Yilin (China) – October,
World Championships
The
2017 World champion on bars retained the title she had shared in 2015 with
three other gymnasts – on her own this time. Fan Yilin’s gorgeous bar work,
especially her pirouettes, are a joy to watch, and, if she stays healthy, they
will bring her many more medals!
4. Luo Huan (China) – September,
Chinese National Games
Luo
Huan’s gorgeous bar routine is a treat no bars lover can miss. She links a
Maloney to Pak to Maloney half, a somewhat unusual combination for a Chinese
gymnast, but then she goes full Chinese with some incredible full pirouettes on
one arm. Fantastic work!
5. Anastasia Ilyankova (Russia) –
October, World Championships
Another
fantastic bars worker, Anastasia Iliankova has a unique routine, which shines
for difficulty, execution and diversity. She was fourth at Worlds, but can
achieve (and deserves) much more.
6. Gabby Perea (USA) – August,
P&G Championships
Gabby
Perea is still a junior, but her bar routine is worthy of an Olympic gold
medal. She still needs some polishing work, but she has plenty of time, and
then she is off to Worlds and Olympics with a bang.
7. Georgia-Mae Fenton (Great Britain)
– October, World Championships
Georgia-Mae
Fenton was the World Championships revelation on bars. She was unfairly left
out of the bars final, but her routine has plenty of difficulty, great
execution, and will bring her much success in the future.
Riley
McCusker had an unfortunate season, marred by a lot of injuries. Her bar work,
however, is exquisite, and won her the U.S. national title on the uneven bars.
If she gets back to full form, we shall see marvels.
9. Ashton Locklear (USA) – October,
World Championships
Ashton
Locklear did not show her full difficulty on bars in 2017, leaving out her
uniquely beautiful in-bar work. Her exquisite execution, however, gained her a
spot in the bars final at the World Championships. Whatever the future has in
store for her, her routine is one of the most beautiful to watch in the world.
10. Christine Peng-Peng Lee (UCLA) –
February, UCLA v. Stanford
Uneven
bars routines in the NCAA are beautiful to watch for their precision and stuck
landings, but they are hardly gutsy and you rarely see huge moves. This,
however, does not apply to senior Peng-Peng Lee, who performs a Ray, a
Bhardwaj, a Maloney half and a double layout all in the same routine. She was
rewarded with two well-deserved perfect 10.0s!
Kara Eaker is the 2017 U.S. junior national champion on beam. Photograph: YouTube
As part of our recap of 2017, here are our ten favourite beam routines of the year.
1. Kara Eaker (USA, junior) – August,
P&G Championships
The
gym gods fulfilled every beam fan’s prayers, and blessed us with Kara Eaker.
Her routine is incredibly difficult, her execution flawless, her poise
astonishing. She could easily be the next balance beam Olympic champion!
2. Li Qi (China, junior) – September, Chinese
Championships
Speaking
of junior beam queens, Li Qi also has incredible difficulty and execution. She
is a teeny tiny gymnast with incredible focus and poise. She also could be the
next Olympic champion on beam.
Oh
dear, there is also a third junior gymnast who could be the next Olympic
champion on beam. Maile O’Keefe has potential to win medals on virtually all
apparatuses, but she shines particularly on beam. She already has difficulty,
execution and maturity to compete with senior gymnasts. Watch out in 2018!
4. Larisa Iordache (Romania) – September,
Romanian Championships
Larisa
Iordache is possibly the unluckiest gymnast ever, and she did not have the
chance to compete her full difficulty on beam at the World Championships. But
in the routine below, performed at the Romanian Championships, she hit both her
full twists and her very difficult triple twisting dismount in combination.
Sigh… I hope we shall have the chance to see her back to full strength again!
5. Ragan Smith (USA) – August, P&G
Championships
U.S.
national champion Ragan Smith was also very unlucky at the World Championships,
getting injured in warmups just before the all around final. In qualifications,
she also had a fall on beam, which left her out of the final. However, it is
doubtless that Ragan is one of the best and most consistent beam workers in the
USA and in the world. She will be back!
6. Pauline Schäfer (Germany) – October,
World Championships
A
gymnast who instead achieved what she deserved this year was Pauline Schäfer,
the 2017 World champion on balance beam. Pauline had the best routine of the
World Championships to win the title, which included the cleanest execution and
the most solid nerves. Hard work pays off, well deserved!
7. Varvara Zubova (Russia, junior) –
December, Voronin Cup
Varvara
Zubova is another junior gymnast who has incredible difficulty on beam. She was
not included in the potential Olympic medallists group simply because Russia,
beam and the Olympics have a very complicated relationship. But other than
that, she has all the potential to medal on the big stage.
8. Tabea Alt (Germany) – October, World
Championships
Tabea
Alt made a name for herself winning two World Cup all around titles in the
spring of 2017. On beam, her best apparatus, she has plenty of difficulty, but
what won her a bronze medal at Worlds was her ability to keep her nerves at bay
and hit a clean routine. Well-deserved medal!
9. Katelyn Ohashi (UCLA) – March, UCLA v. UNC
The
NCAA is not renowned for its difficult routines, but Katelyn Ohashi is
fierceless (and an incredible gymnast). Her routine includes a triple series
(BHSO + BH + back layout) and from time to time she also competes a layout with
full twist. Impressive!
10. Sarah Finnegan (LSU) – April, NCAA
Championships
Sarah
Finnegan’s
routine is not the most difficult you will see around (though sometimes she
includes a triple wolf turn), but her form is exquisite, her toes perfectly
pointed and her flexibility enviable. This is as beam should be competed.
Hopefully next season Sarah will be awarded with a long overdue perfect 10.0!
Brooklyn Moors on floor at the World Championships. Photograph: YouTube
As
part of our recap of 2017, here are our ten favourite routines of this year.
1. Mai Murakami (Japan) – October,
World Championships
The
winner can but be our new floor exercise world champion, Mai Murakami, who
finally achieved a long overdue world medal. Her routine is a combination of difficult
yet flawless tumbling passes and engaging choreography. Impressive and deserved
champ!
2. Leanne Wong (USA, junior) –
August, P&G Championships
I
defined Leanne Wong the Queen of Elegance last September, when I was reviewing
my ten favourite routines of the P&G Championships. Leanne is the perfect
combination of difficult tumbling and picture-perfect choreography. Perfection
is an underappreciated quality in elite gymnastics these days.
3. Brooklyn Moors (Canada) –
October, World Championships
Speaking
of elegance, the most elegant gymnast at the 2017 World Championships was
without any doubt Brooklyn Moors, who indeed won the Longines Prize for
Elegance at those Championships. Her balletic style is poetry in motion, her
floor routine is the real embodiment of artistic
gymnastics.
4. Kara Eaker (USA, junior) –
August, P&G Championships
Kara
Eaker, who is turning senior in 2018, cannot be left out of the ‘Queen of
Elegance’ series. Leanne Wong’s club mate at GAGE, Kara’s lyrical beauty on
floor and her rhythmic gymnastics style may bring tears to your eyes.
5. Eythora Thorsdottir (Netherlands)
– April, European Championships
There
are so many Elegance Queens this year that the epitome of elegance on floor,
Eythora Thorsdottir, has been relegated to fifth place! Eythora brings to the
table new routines every year, and yet her beauty, flare and intensity never
change. Respect!
6. Angelina Melnikova (Russia) – April,
European Championships
Speaking
of intensity, Angelina Melnikova may not have had the year she had hoped for (and
deserved), but during the floor event final at the European Championships in
April, she found the focus and determination that had eluded her until then (and
unfortunately later in the season). She performed a steady, beautifully and
originally choreographed routine, which won her her first individual medal at
Euros.
7. Claudia Fragapane (Great Britain)
– October, World Championships
Another
well-deserved and overdue medal was the one won by Claudia Fragapane on floor
at Worlds. Claudia’s dancing skills have improved dramatically since her
appearance on Strictly Come Dancing, and her choreography, together with some
steady tumbling passes, was a joy to watch.
8. Natalie Brown (Oklahoma) – April,
NCAA Championships
In
a troubled year, nothing was more beautiful and refreshing than a floor routine
that carried a strong message. Natalie Brown’s routine represented the tragic
story of Syrian refugees. A humble gesture that reminds us how lucky we are.
9. Morgan Hurd (USA) – October,
World Championships
The
all around world champion sealed her crown with this routine. Harry Potter fan
Morgan Hurd gave this routine a touch of magic, with gravity-defying tumbling
passes and graceful choreography. A real hero with glasses!
This
year Olympic alternate MyKayla Skinner became the first NCAA gymnast to compete
a double double on floor exercise. This sassy routine shows the new MyKayla,
who, unshaken by the many disappointments of her elite career, can finally
enjoy herself, her gymnastics and some well-deserved glory in college.
Catalina Ponor at the European Championships in April. Photograph: Silvia Vatteroni
2017
was a sad year for gymnastics.
It
will be remembered as the year of the sexual
abuse scandal that involved USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, and of the
unacceptable attempts by USA Gymnastics to cover up Nassar’s crimes, its own ineptitude
to protect athletes and its dirty conscience. We pay respect and we support all
victims, more and less famous, among which are Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher, Mattie Larson, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Gabby
Douglas and rhythmic gymnast Jessica
Howard.
We
hope that the scandal and the suffering of all the victims will lead to a new
culture in the sport of gymnastics, in which the health, well-being and
happiness of the gymnasts will come before any results and personal gains.
The
other sad aspect of 2017 was that it was a year marred by an incredible number
of injuries, which prevented many
talented gymnasts from achieving deserved results. Romania’s Larisa Iordache, U.S. Ragan Smith and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade got injured just before
or during the World Championships in October. Great Britain’s Ellie Downie underwent surgery in
summer and could not compete at Worlds. Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva got injured before Worlds. And Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari tore her Achilles
during the floor final at Worlds.
2017
also saw some heartbreaking retirements.
Olympic champion Cătălina Ponor bid
farewell to gymnastics after a disappointing World Championships, extinguishing
the last flame of the golden age of Romanian gymnastics. China’s Shang Chunsong retired after not being
named to the World Championships team. She left gymnastics with much fewer
medals than she deserved. NCAA super talented juniors Madison Preston of UCLA and Sabrina
Schwab of Utah both put an early end to their college careers due to
recurrent injuries. U.S. talents Jazmyn
Foberg and Christina Desiderio
also both announced that their bodies could not handle elite gymnastics any
longer, and went to college one year early, Jazmyn to Florida and Christina to
LSU.
So
what was left in 2017?
What
was left was a lot of surprises, some new faces and some long-overdue
victories.
At
the European Championships in April
Great Britain’s Ellie Downie became
the first British gymnast to win the all around title, ahead of Hungary’s Zsófia Kovács and France’s Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos. History
was also made by Nina Derwael, who
became the first Belgian woman to win an uneven bars gold medal at the European
championships. Long overdue medals were achieved by the Netherlands’ Eythora Thorsdottir, who won a silver
on beam and a bronze on floor, and by Russia’s Angelina Melnikova, who pulled out her best ever floor routine to
win the floor title. On beam, Romania movingly raised its head to win the title
with CătălinaPonor (at its fifth European victory on this apparatus) and a bronze
medal with Larisa Iordache. France’s
Coline Devillard won a surprising
title on vault.
2017
saw the senior international debut of some very talented gymnasts. Elena Eremina was Russia’s best gymnast
in 2017. She won a silver medal on bars at the European championships, and a
silver medal on bars and a bronze medal in the all around at the World
Championships. Another impressive debut was U.S. Jade Carey’s, who won two silver medals, on vault and floor, at the
World championships, her first ever international competition. Impressive on
bars was also Russia’s Anastasia
Iliankova, who battled through injuries to finish fourth at Worlds on that
apparatus.
Another
sensational international debut was that of 2017 World all around champion Morgan Hurd of the United States.
Morgan came into the World championships as the underdog of Team USA, which
included two Olympic alternates, but due to some luck and lots of nerves, she
managed to win the title. She was also later congratulated by her favourite
author J.K. Rowling!
The
World championships in October was a disappointment on many levels. There was no
sensational debut as Simone Biles’ in 2013, the level of gymnastics was good
but not exceptional, old champions seemed out of shape and injuries were
rampant. That said, however, a few gymnasts managed to finally get the medals
they deserved, and overall, it was an exciting and unpredictable competition.
Canada’s Ellie Black and Belgium’s Nina Derwael made history for their
respective countries, Ellie by becoming the first Canadian gymnast to win an
all around medal (a silver), and Nina by becoming the first Belgian gymnast to
win a medal at the World championships (a bronze on bars). Three gymnasts
managed to snitch a long overdue medal. Japan’s Mai Murakami, after disappointing fourth-place finishes on beam and
in the all around, finally won a gold medal on floor (Mai Murakami is a World
champion, woohoo!); Switzerland’s Giulia
Steingruber won a bronze medal on vault to add to her bronze Olympic medal
from 2016 (and she and Maria Paseka became BFF!); and Great Britain’s Claudia Fragapane managed to win a
bronze medal on floor. Two gymnasts impressively retained their titles against
all odds: Russia’s Maria Paseka on
vault and China’s Fan Yilin on bars
(this time on her own!). Germany impressed on beam, where it won two medals. Pauline Schäfer, the 2015 bronze
medallist, won gold with the best routine of the championships, and Tabea Alt won bronze.
Among
the surprises of 2017 was the immense depth
and talent of the U.S. junior squad. The depth of Team USA is no surprise,
but the United States is building a group of athletes who are both powerful and
elegant, good tumblers and impressive dancers. Credit goes to the coaching
staff, as well as the incredible commitment of the young athletes. Hopefully
they will be raised in a safe and healthy environment, and will achieve their
dreams at an acceptable cost. Among the talented group of gymnasts are U.S. all
around champion Maile O’Keefe, U.S.
floor champion Emma Malabuyo, U.S.
beam champion Kara Eaker, U.S. vault
champion Leanne Wong, as well as Gabby Perea, Adeline Kenlin, Sunisa Lee,
Audrey Davis, Olivia Dunne and others.
Another
pleasant surprise was the comeback of Russia’s stars Aliya Mustafina, who had a baby girl earlier this year, and Viktoria Komova, who is coming back
from injury. They both seem very motivated and excited to be back.
The
NCAA saw two Olympic champions
compete in college for the first time. These were Kyla Ross and Madison Kocian,
both for UCLA. Kyla Ross went on to be named Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year and to
win two NCAA National titles, on bars and beam. A huge number of talented elite
gymnasts also joined college gymnastics in 2017. These included Olympic
alternate MyKayla Skinner for Utah,
who tied for the NCAA floor title in April and became the first college gymnast
to compete a double double on floor, fan favourite Maggie Nichols for Oklahoma, who led the all around ranking all
season, Olympian Ruby Harrold for
LSU, Olympic Trials participants Amelia
Hundley and Rachel Gowey for
Florida, and U.S. national team members Maddie
Desch for Alabama and Sabrina Vega
for Georgia.
Oklahoma won its third national title in April,
ahead of LSU (I’m still heartbroken,
2017 was their year!) and Florida.
Oklahoma may not have a lot of internationally renowned names, but they are
incredibly consistent, they stick landings and they hit beam – always. Credit
and respect goes to head coach K.J.
Kindler for building such an incredible programme. LSU’s freshman Kennedi Edney had an impressive season
and was crowned NCAA champion on vault. UCLA’s freshman Kyla Ross won beam, and the floor title was shared by Utah’s
freshman MyKayla Skinner and LSU’s
senior Ashleigh Gnat. The bars title
was shared among six gymnasts for the first time: Maggie Nichols and Nicole
Lehrmann (Oklahoma), Kyla Ross (UCLA),
Alex McMurtry (Florida), Sarah Finnegan (LSU) and Katie Bailey (Alabama). The all around
crown was won by Florida’s Alex McMurtry,
who inherited the title from her teammate Bridget Sloan, ahead of MyKayla Skinner and Alabama’s Kiana Winston. Alex McMurtry was also
the winner of the prestigious Honda
Award, while LSU’s Ashleigh Gnat was the recipient of the AAI Award, awarded to the best senior
gymnast in the country.
Among
post-season and pre-season surprises, the main one is the replacement of
Georgia head coach Danna Durante with former Georgia superstar Courtney Kupets-Carter, who was
accompanied back to Georgia with former legendary head coach Suzanne Yoculan. We shall see what the
dream duo can do! Another surprise is the immense talent Florida is bringing in
for the 2018 season: Alyssa Bauman,
Jazmyn Foberg and Megan Skaggs
are all on the Gators’ roster for next year. Wow! In another surprising move,
Stanford fired head coach Kristen Smyth, and replaced her with former Cardinal standout
Tabitha Yim. The Cardinals have also
welcomed a ton of new freshmen, to start the new season from scratch and forget
last year’s disastrous finish. Final significant surprise, check out Kyla Ross’s new dismount on bars – a full-twisting
double layout!
In
other gymnastics related news, congratulations to Russian stars Aliya Mustafina, Ksenia Afanasyeva and Ksenia Semenova, who all became
mothers for the first time this year. Congratulations also to 2004 Olympic
champion Carly Patterson and 2004
Olympic medallist Courtney Kupets-Carter,
who gave birth to two healthy baby boys this year. And congratulations to Utah’s
Makenna Merrell (now Merrell-Giles) and
West Virginia alumna Brooklyn Doggette
who got married in the summer.
Finally,
if you are up to procrastination and you have already watched all of the NCAA
pre-season meets, you can have a look at Simone
Biles’ appearances in Dancing with
the Stars from earlier this year.
Simone
Biles is also officially back in the gym, so who is excited for 2018?!
