USA Gymnastics has posted loads of video from today's podium training for US Nationals here, if you're looking for something/someone in particular. I'm going to hit a few highlights, but it will by no means be exhaustive.
The biggest buzz was of course Nastia back on bars, albeit heavily spotted by Valeri through her Pak and releases, but still knocking out a great stuck dismount towards the end of the session. Of course, whether or not she can hit it in competition and without spotting is an entirely other matter.
If she can, I'd be very nervous if my name was Kyla Ross or McKayla Maroney.
Kyla should be nervous because in a team final, she would be a bars and beam gymnast, just like Nastia. Her floor is not nearly difficult enough (why she hasn't upgraded it is SUCH a mistake, if you ask me), and according to reports from The Couch Gymnast and Blythe, she is continuing to have problems with the Amanar, like what we saw at Classics and Pac Rims.
Frankly, after all the vaulting injuries that have happened to top athletes recently, including Peng Peng Lee just days ago, I'm concerned that Kyla is on the road to injury woes herself if she continues to have these kinds of form errors. It really is a very risky and dangerous vault, something that can be forgotten since everyone and their cousin seems to be training it or talking about training it these days. Kyla should heed the example of Rebecca Bross from last year's Nationals vis a vis vaulting- however, if she's feeling like the return of Nastia in good shape threatens her potential spot on the team, she may go ahead with the Amanar regardless.
McKayla should be nervous about an in-form Nastia because, unless some dramatic transformation has occurred since Jesolo, she would be a 1 event gymnast in a TF. Her vaulting is amazing beyond belief, but she has been prone to inconsistency in her other events, not to mention lower D scores than someone like Sarah Finnegan, Bridget Sloan, or even Rebecca Bross. Putting Nastia and McKayla on the same team means that you have to have three all-arounders covering 2 spots on bars and vaulting, and possibly all spots on floor and beam (if Nastia can't get some better connections on that routine of hers).
That is a considerable risk, should someone get injured, and if those 3 all-arounders are Jordyn, Aly and Gabby, as most people believe they will be, that will mean Gabby has to perform on floor and possibly beam as well, which I'm just not 100% on board with at all. In my opinion, she is still too unpredictable- I hope she has a great Nationals and erases all my doubts, but from where I stand right now it's iffy to say the least. This would also mean that Jordyn would have to be the third bar worker (unless, of course, McKayla's been putting in some serious and unmentioned time on bars). This is another risk, as Jordyn's swing has been more labored and muscled than ever before lately, and she has missed this event more in big-time competitions than any other.
Finally, Bridget Sloan was training bars, beam, and floor today, and looking in better shape than she has any right to be. It will be interesting to see how she mentally copes during competition, but her reemergence as a potential solid 3-event gymnast is yet another intriguing twist to the selection process.
The biggest buzz was of course Nastia back on bars, albeit heavily spotted by Valeri through her Pak and releases, but still knocking out a great stuck dismount towards the end of the session. Of course, whether or not she can hit it in competition and without spotting is an entirely other matter.
If she can, I'd be very nervous if my name was Kyla Ross or McKayla Maroney.
Kyla should be nervous because in a team final, she would be a bars and beam gymnast, just like Nastia. Her floor is not nearly difficult enough (why she hasn't upgraded it is SUCH a mistake, if you ask me), and according to reports from The Couch Gymnast and Blythe, she is continuing to have problems with the Amanar, like what we saw at Classics and Pac Rims.
Frankly, after all the vaulting injuries that have happened to top athletes recently, including Peng Peng Lee just days ago, I'm concerned that Kyla is on the road to injury woes herself if she continues to have these kinds of form errors. It really is a very risky and dangerous vault, something that can be forgotten since everyone and their cousin seems to be training it or talking about training it these days. Kyla should heed the example of Rebecca Bross from last year's Nationals vis a vis vaulting- however, if she's feeling like the return of Nastia in good shape threatens her potential spot on the team, she may go ahead with the Amanar regardless.
McKayla should be nervous about an in-form Nastia because, unless some dramatic transformation has occurred since Jesolo, she would be a 1 event gymnast in a TF. Her vaulting is amazing beyond belief, but she has been prone to inconsistency in her other events, not to mention lower D scores than someone like Sarah Finnegan, Bridget Sloan, or even Rebecca Bross. Putting Nastia and McKayla on the same team means that you have to have three all-arounders covering 2 spots on bars and vaulting, and possibly all spots on floor and beam (if Nastia can't get some better connections on that routine of hers).
That is a considerable risk, should someone get injured, and if those 3 all-arounders are Jordyn, Aly and Gabby, as most people believe they will be, that will mean Gabby has to perform on floor and possibly beam as well, which I'm just not 100% on board with at all. In my opinion, she is still too unpredictable- I hope she has a great Nationals and erases all my doubts, but from where I stand right now it's iffy to say the least. This would also mean that Jordyn would have to be the third bar worker (unless, of course, McKayla's been putting in some serious and unmentioned time on bars). This is another risk, as Jordyn's swing has been more labored and muscled than ever before lately, and she has missed this event more in big-time competitions than any other.
Finally, Bridget Sloan was training bars, beam, and floor today, and looking in better shape than she has any right to be. It will be interesting to see how she mentally copes during competition, but her reemergence as a potential solid 3-event gymnast is yet another intriguing twist to the selection process.
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