This weekend is the US Olympic Trials and in the last 2 weeks since Nationals, I’ve been playing catch up. *I’m been scouring some of my favorite blogs and sites and trying to get answers to my questions, figure out all that has been going on during the past four years, and gear up for [...] This weekend is the US Olympic Trials and in the last 2 weeks since Nationals, I’ve been playing catch up. *I’m been scouring some of my favorite blogs and sites and trying to get answers to my questions, figure out all that has been going on during the past four years, and gear up for the Olympics. *I have barely made it out of USA gymnastics to look at the international scene. *I have SO many questions. *And I’ve found SO many things that surprised me. *Here are just a few of them off the top of my head, in no particular order…

• Oksana Chusovitina is STILL competing. *This is truly mind-boggling to me. *How old is she now? *Like 50? *One of the very first competitions I remember watching was the 1991 World Championships and she was in it and blew my socks off with her tumbling. *Incredible. *What an inspiration for the sport. *She’s a mother and she used to be on the same team with Nastia Liukin’s*dad. *I hope more and more women follow in her footsteps. Oksana & her son, Alisher, back in ’08
• What is the “scandal” that folks keep mentioning about Gabby Douglas’ old gym? *People keep referring to it but I can’t find any information about it.
• Jonathan Horton is still competing? *Cool. *I’ve always liked him. *He’s gutsy and emotional and energetic. *I thought he was done.
• Chellsie Memmel not allowed to petition into Nationals? *For reals? *I know that this is completely old news by now but seriously? * Lame. * A former World All Around Champion and US Olympian. *Even if she didn’t have a shot in the world and fell slightly short of 14 on the one event she competed at Classics… still seems wrong. *After all this time, *USAG should have done her a solid and let her through to compete in what would likely have been her swan song. * * From what I was able to ascertain, Memmel did not attend the National Team Camps the past couple years. *Is USAG so insecure that they need to punish someone who doesn’t follow the typical protocol? *What is this really all about?Memmel back in the day. *Remember her signature scale?
• I’ve been able to figure out the top athletes gunning for the women’s all around but who are the top teams?
• And what’s a realistic expectation for the US Men’s Team? *How have they done this quad?
• Rick McCharles and Blythe Lawrence are still my go-to blogs for information.
• Alicia Sacramone. *First, she’s still in the game. *Second, if I didn’t know better, I would think I was watching re-runs of 2008. *Her vault and beam look almost exactly the same as four years ago. *Except her ankles aren’t so heavily taped.

I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to catch up in time! *We’ll see. *I’m out of town this weekend and the internet connection is slow so I won’t be able to watch the Olympic Trials until Monday. *I did read Blythe’s play by play of night 1 for the women, though, and I’m excited to see the action for myself. More...