So, here it is, my first post! Let's get right down to it, shall we?
In Toyota City on December 12th, some lovely gymnastics went on. Among them was US lady Mackenzie Caquatto, who took silver on the Uneven Bars. Any medal for the USA is a plus in my book, but bars especially, as it is my favorite apparatus.
I received my first impression of Miss Caquatto at the Covergirl Classic, where she could only compete on bars because of a fractured knee, which happened six weeks before the competition. The commentators were annoying, saying that six weeks is "plenty of time." Maybe for normal people, but not for an elite gymnast who sustained a career-threatening injury. Her routine features a Tkatchev, a Jaeger, and a Ray with plenty of lovely height. Not as impressed by her Stalder uplift to high bar, however, and her Pak was rather close to the low bar for comfort. Also a diluted dismount to protect her knee. I'm sure to deserve that Silver in Tokyo she performed much better.
Koko Tusurmi got the gold! Yay! This has just been her annus miribilis, hasn't it? Japan's first women's World all-around title, now this! She and Bridget Sloan are both pleasing me very, very much.
Another one of my favorites, Kytra (KEE-truh) Hunter received bronze on floor. Another well-deserved win. If you haven't seen her floor routine, there is ample video coverage of her performing it, again at the Covergirl Classic. Her opening pose is pretty awesome, as is the music and choreography. While not the balletic grace many older fans tend to value, it's dynamic and fun to watch. And her tumbling! Simply explosive. In order, she performs:
-Double Layout
-Dos Santos 1 (Piked Double Arabian)
-Round-off 1.5 twist/forward full twist combination (sorry if I got that wrong. I'm terrible at counting twists!)
-Double Arabian
All this talk of upcoming American gymnasts! I'm going to go re-watch the coverage of the Covergirl Classic (where Nastia also put in an exhibition on beam) now.
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