What if....He Kexin repeats?

As usual, the things that are on my mind are usually put there by issues debated on message boards. On the intlgym forum, there is currently a thread debating the likelihood of He Kexin going to London. I had also intended to start a new feature called “what if”, a sort of subjunctive gymnastics discussion based in either the past or the future. This seemed like a good place to start.

What if: He Kexin repeats as Olympic bars champion?

Now, I imagine most readers will be like me. Had I read this title elsewhere my initial reaction would have been a dismissive pulling of the face: “surely it would be impossible for He Kexin to manage that, she hasn’t hit a routine in major competition for two years?”.

True, it doesn’t seem like the most likely eventuality, but when considered rationally, it isn’t that ridiculous. Let’s have a look at some handy subheadings...

Inconsistency

The last major competition bars set that He Kexin hit to a good standard was in the Rotterdam team final back in 2010. It looked like this:

OK so 2 years is a long time not to hit a routine. However, to make a comparison, it is that amount of time since Rebecca Bross properly nailed something and she is still a legitimate consideration for her countries Olympic team despite far greater depth. Also, when your last hit international routine received a score that remains to be the highest recorded in the quad, it hardly does bad things to your reputation especially if you compete for a country which does not punish inconsistency to nearly the same degree as other powerhouse gymnastics nations.

Difficulty

In many ways He Kexin remains to be amongst China’s greatest hopes of Olympic gold in London. This again might sound strange when first read, but let’s consider other competitors. Sui Lu, the fantastic current beam world champion and floor silver medallist, has a very reasonable chance as well. However, as history has told us, floor and beam tend to be a lot closer and less easy to predict in most circumstances than the bars, which tends to be very difficulty led and far more specialist as an apparatus (in a similar way to the vault). Her reputation difficulty wise might be a real asset to her: she is the only gymnast to break 16 on the uneven bars at world competition this quad and she has done it on at least 2 occasions. 

As discussed heavily here and elsewhere, the 5 per team rule does not bode well for event specialists from powerhouse countries. However, with little legitimate chance of team gold, the Chinese programme may well be looking to the AA (solely with Yao Jinnan) and EFs more than other countries. 

AT the recent Cottbus cup, she qualified with a reasonably clean routine and scored a 15.225, which is likely to be close to a medal worthy score at the Olympics, and she was using a routine with a D score of 7.1. Here is her qualification routine...

Not her best, but her dead hang looks far less pronounced

Conclusion

Likelihood: Slim. The issues He Kexin faces are threefold:

1. Convincing the Chinese coaches that her bar routine is consistent enough to make her worthy of one of five team spots on the basis of a single routine

2. Hitting in qualifications

3. Hitting in finals

All three would be very difficult, but not impossible. As we have seen over the years, Chinese coaches seem to be more forgiving of errors (but it is important to note that she was pulled from the team finals last year after a disappointing prelims).

Sadly, the main issues with her routine can be boiled down to a single factor: catching her laid out jaeger. Her dead hangs are not nearly as bad as they have been in the past, and her pirouettes and opening Li Ya combination are still impressive. It is clear that the skill must stay to keep the D score in the rafters, otherwise it probably would have been bumped by now in favour or something far more consistent.

What if she managed it? She would be the first Chinese WAG gymnast ever to have two Olympic gold medals, and would add this second Olympic title to the 09 world title to establish herself as one of the modern greats on the apparatus. She would be the first since Khorkina to repeat Olympic gold on the same apparatus.

Personal Opinion: I would be shocked if He Kexin made the Olympic team based on her recent performances, and perhaps would feel like there were shades of unfairness for other possible team members given that she already has had her Olympic experience, not to mention Olympic gold. However, if she made it against all odds and hit cleanly I would be happy to see her medal. 

Although it seems crazy, and is highly unlikely, it is not beyond the realms of possibility. This would be a true Olympic shocker. In many ways, it simply comes down to the successful catching of a Jaeger at the right time.

Pictures: http://static.stuff.co.nz/1233108507/402/591402.jpg, https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0jIbJciOzQHKM3vYRtUKhydfkSricluIFGXC6UL4pDzuya84tY_HPstw3tDP3E1yaXkGZcxMc90inD0GFjsgwHF2sFB7KWMnltbHN_Y5qcA5GTjDBMTuCggi6cCKsujy77NR-lVG6IT9u/s400/925524f62a3f65eaa02343f86218de15-getty-oly-2008-gymnastics-team-final-chn.jpg

Beth Tweddle: the upgrade machine

What an insane 48 hours this has been for the sport. In the past few days excitement levels have really begun to escalate and we are getting a taste of what a ridiculously exciting Olympic year this is going to be.

In the space of a weekend we have seen that USA now have a minimum of 4 Amanar vaults. We have seen Gabrielle Douglas beat Jordyn Wieber at the American Cup, cementing her status as a serious contender for the Olympic team (and in doing so edging team-mates Sacramone and Maroney's chances ever more into the shadows - and for that matter Raisman's chances of being second in command in an All Around situation). We have seen Iordache of Romania hit a beam say way into the fifteens showing the world that the Romanians are NOT out of the picture on an individual level despite the loss of Porgras and reported re-injury of Izbasa.

This weekend has also seen the English Championships take place. This competition doesn't usually give us information impacting the world stage in the same way as the above, but it does mean we get to have a good look at British favourite Beth Tweddle.

I am going to allow myself a bit of fawning here. Beth is just great. Not only has she carried on into her THIRD Olympic title in the face of adversity. Not only did she face heartbreak at the last Olympics. Not only if she incredibly likely to go again, but she is in a better position on her signature apparatus than ever before. AND she CONTINUES to upgrade.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ogTGKIp8iU

We have seen her throw the Fabrichnova before. She has brought it out of the bag in podium training a few times, giving the impression that she might throw it in a pressured situation. I think she probably would have gone for it in 2010 if He Kexin hadn't come off the bars, so easing the pressure for Beth. But here is a video from the English champs of Beth dismounting with a double twisting double tuck. We will have to wait for higher quality videos, but it doesn't look half bad, does it?

Now noone is saying this routine isn't without its problems. She could get slammed on a few of those handstands, for instance. But it is by far the most original and difficult bars routine in the world right now, and she looks set to enter the Olympics with the hardest bars set for the second Olympics in a row: that feat alone deserves a medal. If she hits the Ono-Markelov-Gienger combination as well as the Toe on 1/1-Tweddle-Ezhova-Van Leeuwen (she doesn't compete the toe on 1/1 here, but the rest of that combination is looking great) then she could be looking at a start value approaching 7.3.

This is fantastic news. There is the possibility of course that Beth does not necessarily plan to throw this dismount regularly and that she was just giving it a go. She did say during the commentary at the test event that she had no planned upgrades to her routines in the run up to London. But then again she also said she would quit after Beijing so who knows!

Beth is such a commendable athlete and she never stops stunning her audience with her ability to  improve her routines at this stage in her career. I just PRAY that she hit in QFs (finals too, of course, but one step at a time). 

Just imagine the drama: the unlikely champion turned specialist turned home crowd favourite. I can't even bear to think what NBC will do with it. 

Pan Ams: what did they mean for the US girls?

Pan Ams were a real post-worlds treat, and somewhat eased the misery of the annual anticlimax (when worlds are over and you realise you have another YEAR to wait, although thankfully next year is an OLYMPIC one). But what did the Pan Ams show us? I thought I would give a brief breakdown of what I think it told us about each of the three main US competitors.

Shawn Johnson

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111027/SPORTS/111027036/0/JUICE05/?odyssey=nav|head

SJ is coming under a lot of fire from many fans. Not making the world team, having what is said to be an unreliable knee and not having floor back yet have provided lots of fuel for people who consider Shawn less than favourably.

Her performance here didn’t exactly do much to dispel people who already thought she was finished. She fell from her signature apparatus twice, firstly on her standing full and secondly (and surprisingly) on her switch split. Her vault was fine, but nothing to write home about.

Her bars, however, were good. In fact, she has even gone on to scoop a silver medal in the event finals. At first, I was surprised. But when I thought about this initial reaction, I began to wonder why.

Shawn has become tarred over the years as a bad bar worker. But what are the reasons for this? Sure, she didn’t have the most difficult of routines back in her heyday, but this (I think) was more of a bad coaching decision rather than anything specific to her as an athlete. I have actually always been quite fond of her bars. They are RELIABLE. She always hits and her execution is some of the very best. Perhaps always going up alongside Nastia made everyone think she wasn’t up to the job, but let’s not forget that she was in fact in the 3 up 3 count bars lineup for the US team in 2008. You don’t end up in that spot by being a bad bar worker.

AND she is upgrading. Nothing too dramatic, but she has a few weiler kips in her routine now, and word is that she might throw in a shaposhnikova some time soon. All in all, I think her bars are pretty impressive, and that some of the reasons she was viewed poorly on this apparatus is due to comparisons with Nastia and also as a victim of her own success (she was so bloody good on all the other apparatus that bars seemed comparatively bad).

Bars

Bit of an error at the top, but on the whole a good effort.

Beam

This competition showed that Shawn can still hit a good bar set under pressure.

As for her beam: who cares? Sure she has had a few falls, but she is upgrading here too. She could have done a back tuck in this routine and got through OK, but she is trying and showing a clear intention for upgrade. I think the switch split fall should be totally discounted because it is so uncharacteristic - her mind was probably somewhere else. Basically, there are plenty of positives to focus on: she has most of her 2008 skills back and she looks a lot more solid on her arial. Things are not bad here.

Vault is fine, nothing to write home about but she is still clearly powerful. Bross would have killed for that DTY 2 months ago.

To summarize, Shawn is still Shawn, she just needs time to tidy up. And she DOES have time, in my opinion. I think she is exactly the kind of athlete who you cannot count out until the very last minute (although is Nastia’s comeback works then she will be really squeezed to impress on floor and vault).

Bridget Sloan

http://www.indystar.com/article/20111025/SPORTS/110250345/pan-am-games-Bridget-Sloan?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports

I have to admit that I really didn’t like Bridget in 2008/2009. I found her really boring and I failed to have any faith in her as a world champion. I thought she epitomized “weak field” and went onto my boring world champions pile alongside Olaru and Ferrari.

But I was wrong. I grew to really like Bridget with time and as I learnt more about gymnastics I gained a lot of respect for her. I especially grew to enjoy her floor: her piked full in has to be my favourite of the decade and her 1.5 to triple was really nice too.

I also liked her bars. She changed the routine up a lot and I respect a gymnast with a good variety of skills. Some combinations, such as the full pirouette into a DLO, were great even thought they didn’t stick around for very long. I loved how she kept working to improve her routines: one thing I hate in a bar routine is stop and start bar work. I would far rather see a tkatchev connected to or from something than a series of stop and start high bar releases.

Sadly the foot injury confined her to two events, but I think a lot of what we saw was positive. One serious point though is that she looked worn out. Everything seemed a bit laboured. I hope this was due to the foot injury (which sounds mean - I of course don’t “want” her to have a painful injury but at least that would mean her fatigue would be temporary: if it is just the way she is now I can’t see her faring well given the stresses that the Olympic road would bring).

Having said that though, her bars were still good. I love that toe on forward giant on the low bar and it looks better now that when she first competed it. Her floor wasn’t half bad, either. Her double pike is still one of the best in the world and the girl can still do a front double (once would have been fine Bridget).

Bars

Floor

First pass is missing, allegedly a 1.5 to triple as in the past. The second pass should have been a 2.5. 

I think, although she didn’t make as much of a splash as she perhaps would have liked, this appearance was mainly positive. I don’t think we have seen the last of her yet, but I also think it will take something serious on bars for her to be in big time contention. Nice to have her back, though.

Bridget Caquatto

http://www.gymnastike.org/article/8875-Bridgette-Caquatto-of-USA-wins-2011-Pan-American-Games-All-Around-Title

I am super happy for her that she managed to take the all around. This title must be a real boost for her and I hope she is really pleased and proud of herself.

Everything looked pretty solid, but there are some built-in gripes. Probably just me being picky, but as mentioned about I hate a load of release-kip-release messing around on the high bar. Also, staggered toe-ons are just not nice, and she catches with SUCH bent arms on her releases (the below video shows this really well). Having said that she got EF gold so well done her.

In terms of the future, and looking to the Olympics, I doubt Caquatto will be anything of a threat. I don’t think this is a defeat though: expectation and goals are surely different for all gymnasts and I doubt that Bridget thinks she would make the team any more than I do. I think she will make a fantastic college gymnast and should take this win and move forward with that. 

Decoded?

The end of the 10 system was treated by many as the end of a golden age. And in many ways, it was. Gymnastics since 2006 has felt somewhat different, and in many ways less exciting. Gone are the days when a step on a dismount loses a medal, when an OOB knocks leaders off the podium and a wobble on beam spells a goodbye to a world title. Excitement on the level of the 1996 AA is lost: there is no longer such a thing as the underdog. In a hypothetical competition where all the competitors hit, the winner is pre decided on the basis of the much slandered open ended D-score.

But is this a bad thing? The debate about open ended scoring is too deep and complex to be considered in any single article. But broad brush statements can still be made. Although the above is true, there are definite benefits to the new system. We see far more exciting skills and a real push towards difficulty and technical ingenuity. The classic gripe of the gymnastics fan is to whether or not this comes at the expense of perfection.

Steliana Nistor being hit by a bus. Oh, wait...

I think pictures such as this represent perfectly the issues with the new code. Here we see Steliana Nistor blocking for a DTY, and resembling a mosquito squashed against a car windscreen. One would argue that the value of difficulty in the new system encourages skill chucking and discourages a fine tuning of skills. This certainly seems true in part for the past few years, but are we seeing a change in the tides?

In recent discussions of possible changes to the code, an idea that caught my attention was that of “D+2E”. Basically, that instead of a final score produced from a combination of difficulty and execution out of 10, the value of the execution score should be doubled before it is added to the difficulty so creating a system that favours the execution side of gymnastics in a throwback to years gone by. This sounds great in practice, but one has to ask the all important question: would it make any difference?

Being a big geek I decided to test this based on the scores from this weekend’s world championships women’s event finals. The following tables represent what would happen were the D+2E rule enforced with these scores.

Vault

Bars

Beam

Floor

I was shocked to find no change whatsoever to the medals. Why? Because in each discipline, the competitor with the highest execution score took the gold medal. This to me suggests that the code might be maturing into something that actually works, favouring both difficulty and execution. It seems that gymnasts and coaches have begun to see renewed value in perfection and are using it to win medals. Yes, the gold medallists also usually had the highest D scores, but the difference now is that they can complete all their skills to an impressive standard. This is, of course, a matter of opinion, but I believe much of the work we saw at this year’s world’s to be of the highest standard of its kind in years (particularly the gold medal winners on every apparatus).

Compare this to the event finals from the 2008 Olympics: with D+2E there would have been a change to every podium except bars.

Vault

YES ALICIA!

Bars

Beam

Floor

I think the times are changing. Execution is coming back.


Results all taken from www.gymnasticsresults.com. Apologies for any potential error in my calculations. Important note: I did not include penalties in the calculations which would certainly have an effect on the outcome but would surely be weighted differently in the d+2e system.

The world's greatest - looking from QF towards finals

So, qualifications are over and now the real excitement begins. There has already been plenty of drama and eventfulness in Tokyo, and who knows what more is to come. Biggest surprises and upsets for me so far were the bars qualification (quite a few spills and as a result the two latest world champions will not be competing for gold) and also the hugely sad exit of multiple time world champion Alicia Sacramone, after an Achilles injury sustained whilst performing a double Arabian in training. Alicia is a real star and will be sorely missed not only by the American team but by her huge global fan base. I wish her the speediest of recoveries.

But we must look on to the excitement that is to come in the next few days. With that in mind I am going to do a quick roundup of the qualifying lists and carry out some giddy speculation of the imminent individual finals.

All Around

As expected, the all around qualifications were topped by Wieber and Komova, both of whom were within a whisker of each other (just over a tenth) and clear of the third highest qualifier by a full point. I was a little surprised at the order of their qualifications: I thought that with Komova having been delicate recently she may have felt the pressure a bit giving Wieber the edge, but as we can see she pipped her to the post coming in at the top of the AA standings. However this is clearly going to be a tense, exciting and very closely fought battle and the smallest of errors could decide who takes home the big prize. I think this is the first time in a long time that the two front runners were so closely matched and that us fans were treated to such a tense race.

Yao Jinnan came in third, with some cracking performances including this beauty:

Shades of Mo Huilan right there.She really is a lovely gymnast and I am pleased to see her qualify so well.

Raisman took fourth place, filling the slot for the second American all arounder, as expected. Its a real shame she can’t do anything about that bars set because with a slightly beefed up score she would have such better chances of making a splash in the AA finals. I am rooting for her though, because I feel like this is probably her last chance in the second AA spot (I don’t rate her chances of having this position in London) so it would be great for her to sneak in a bronze (but I realize this would take a brilliant performance and some help from the others).

Worth mentioning (despite her not qualifying) is Gabby Douglas, who finished in 5^th place just below Raisman. This is a really impressive achievement for such an inexperienced gymnast, and one who had been labelled as something of a headcase due to her performance at this year’s VISA champs among others. Qualifying in 5^th in her first world championships should provide her with a much deserved energy and confidence boost to take on into the next stages. Well done Gabby!

So, given the 2 per country rule the top 8 qualifiers to advance to the AA finals are:

Some additional thoughts include a well done to Hannah Whelan of GBR for finishing in 13^th and advancing to the AA. I am hoping that by the time of London she might be able to top Becky Downie’s fantastic 10^th place finish from Beijing, although competition is likely to be much stiffer. Also it’s a shame that Ana Porgras and Lauren Mitchell are still struggling to get up there with the AA leaders.

Prediction to win: Komova

WANT to win: Undecided (I love them both!)

Wildcard medal hope: Raisman

Vault final

The apparatus final with a top 8 that I am least familiar with, although I am thrilled to see Maroney out there on top. It really is refreshing to see a vaulter who makes the amanar look PRETTY, someone who is clearly suited to the vault and who doesn’t make you hold your breath every time they start sprinting for the table. A real pleasure and definitely my top favourite for the win, as well as the frontrunner. It is absolutely fantastic to see a top qualifier who also has the highest E scores. A new trend? Let’s hope so.

Old favourite Chusovitina came in second. As usual it would be a great win for the sport if she could get a medal out of this final.

Tatiana Nabieva, the Russian who was part of a small scandal in last years vault finals due to vault downgrading, creeped into 7^th place with much less difficult vaults than this time last year. Perhaps she will pull out the difficulty in the finals, but I find them so frightening to watch I would really rather she didn’t.

Interesting notes: if we look at qualification based on 1 vault only we see that Maroney is still on top – she really is a winner in every sense. Chusovitina comes in third with Wieber in second (the second best, but still great, amanar). Interestingly, veteran and Romanian comeback queen Catalina Ponor had the sixth best vault of the day, on an apparatus she is not renowned for.

Prediction to win: Maroney

WANT to win: Maroney (but I am crushed that Alicia isn’t here)

Bars final

 I must initially express my utter dismay at Beth’s absolute mare in the qualifier. Seems like she just lost it a bit mentally, which is such a shame because she would have been a dead cert to qualify and probably medal, given the field.

It was also a sad sight to see He Kexin’s performance. Everything seemed laboured and clunky. I was never a big fan but back in 2008, she had this brilliant flourish and energetic presentation to everything. The amplitude on her giants made it look like she was defying gravity and her pirouettes were as light as a feather. But now everything looks so muscled and difficult. The jaeger was less laid out and the dead hang worse than ever. I feel sorry for her not being able to perform the way she used to.

But now to the list of qualifiers. Komova is way out in front. She is Usain bolt heading down the 100m stretch. With an almost 7 tenth advantage, the gold is hers is she just goes clean (and clean is exactly what she is, with the highest E score by a 5 tenth margin).

SMASHED

Really nice to see Dufournet up there with the top qualifiers. She has been trying for years to incorporate difficultly cleanly, and I think she is a great gymnast. I would love to see her medal.

 Quishang probably has a chance if she cleans up,  given that she has the same D score as the leaders. It’s nice to see two Japanese gymnasts that will get to perform in the final on home soil.

Very impressive of Gabby Douglas to make the final, due to her often feeling the pressure as I mentioned earlier. Would be great to see her come through and she is definitely a sentimental favourite of mine.

Predication to win: Komova

Want to win: Komova

Wildcard medal hope: Douglas.

Beam final

Who topped the qualifier....? You guessed it...Komova! This is getting boring. I jest. Its fantastic to see such a high calibre gymnast that can be both an all around threat AND a threat in multiple individual finals. I hate those drab years after an Olympics with half baked world champions...sorry Bridget, I think you are a nice athlete, but this is the kind of sport I enjoy. Real quality over a large range of disciplines.

Sui Lu is in second. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her beam work. That front with a half just floats through the air beautifully, and that initial front pike to korbut flip is so airy and nice to watch. She has the D score advantage, and so if she can clean up a bit she might sneak into first place in the final.

Wieber also features and is a good contender for bronze, in my opinion. Also, down in fifth, is the great Catalina Ponor. I am rooting for her to medal at next year’s Olympics and break some records. Her latest beam and floor work has blown me away. I would love for her to go through solid in the finals and come away with a medal. A repeat of this please:

Obv that isn't going to happen, but a nice solid clean set would make me very happy.

Interesting things to note here are that 4 Chinese athletes finished in the top 10, which I think is very very impressive. Also I am slightly distressed that Maria Livchikova is nowhere to be seen in this lineup.

Predication to win: Komova

Want to win: Sui Lu

Wildcard medal hope: Ponor

Floor final

Looks like Raisman has got this one, and I am actually happy about that. She is by no means my favourite gymnast, but I think her floor has got better and better over the years and I love how she has brought the double Arabian punch front tumbling pass back from the dead. When I watch it I am instantly reminded of old favourites Viktoria Karpenko and Elena Produnova. So, I love her tumbling. Her presentation isn’t great but I think there has been some improvement, and hopefully that will continue.

In the name of patriotism and old favourites, I would love for Beth Tweddle to get a medal. I am upset that she didn’t get into the bars finals for two reasons. The first being what is already clear, I love her as a British gymnast, but secondly, I think her bar work is actually world class anyway and her release combinations amaze me. Floor I feel a bit differently about. Her tumbling is great, and that double Arabian full out she was training is INSANE. But, her leaps are not the best and her dance is just awful. So basically I find it hard to get completely behind the cause on floor exercise. I want her to medal, but not win.

Prediction to win: Raisman

Want to win: Raisman

Wildcard medal hope: Tweddle

So there we have it. Most of all though, and any petty favouritism aside I would like a clean competition where everyone performs to their best. I can't wait!

All scoresheets features in this post were taken from www.gymnasticsresults.com

The (potential) return of Nastia Liukin.

So here we are then. In the middle of the qualification days at this year’s much anticipated world championships, Olympic all around champion Nastia Liukin ended years of PR, speculation and will-she-won’t-she  forum chat by announcing, finally, that she is training with the aim of the London 2012 Olympics.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IbUQyZiH-M&feature=feedu

Screengrab from above link

The sentiment is great. I love Nastia Liukin, and I thought that her win in Beijing was more than just a win for her. I thought it was a win for artistry and beautiful gymnastics. A win for the elegance and grace of the sport in the face of a new code that threatened to crown botched amanars, chucked leaps and bent knees as winners. Her gymnastics was as light as a well baked cake. The British commentators bowled over by the precision of her blind landings. All in all, it was the performance of her life (minus the ever disappointing double front half from the bars, but I guess everyone has a chink in their armour somewhere).

So, she took the AA. Good.

But then came the bars final, which was (for me) one of the most disappointing moments in recent gymnastics history. Due to my Beth Tweddle obsession? A little. But mainly because there is no question in my mind that the gold should have been Nastia’s. I accept the issue with tie breaking at the Olympics, and do agree that there should be separation somewhere. I accept the issues of shared D scores. I accept that Nastia’s routine was not perfect. But what i refuse to accept is the idea that a code which places He Kexin’s routine above Nastia’s in is any way, well, acceptable. It just isn’t. (I will take this moment to point out that this is simply one person’s opinion and wish to cause no offence to He kexin fans, nor do I mean to cast a shadow over what is clearly a great amount of talent).

So, Nastia showed up with a stunning routine, performed it near perfectly, and went home with a 1^st place silver. Scandalous.

I revisit these memories so as to wonder aloud: is it the bars final Nastia is returning for? A second stab at UB gold? A second chance to face He Kexin and win? Whatever the motivation, I can’t pretend to not be giddily excited to see how it plays out. I just pray that she is a) being truthful, and b)capable of getting back into good enough shape (although it’s clear she has been working out – she hasn’t looked as good as in this video for years).

One thing I do not enjoy, though, is the drawn out nature of the whole thing. The celebrity of it all. Nastia (or as is more likely, her publicity team) have been dangling the prospect of a return in front of fans for a long time, which I think is quite unfair, potentially dishonest, but most of all disrespectful to others forging their own career comebacks. Whilst Nastia constructed Barbie smiles at events and responded to comeback questions with retorts which were essentially “I am not sure yet if I can be bothered”, Alicia, Shawn and Chellsie were sweating it out in the gym making it happen. I didn’t appreciate the tone of these statements: the idea that a second Olympics was there for the taking should she choose to get up and grab it. It made the whole thing sound too easy: as if it was always going to happen.

And this attitude seems to continue. Nastia chose to make this revelation in the midst of the US team’s current struggles. With the loss of Alicia to the dreaded Achilles injury to add to what must have already been a fraught, nervous and inexperienced team, Nastia still stole some of the limelight with her “I’ve been popping into the gym” revelation. Might have been nice to let a few others bask in the limelight for a change. (Then again it is a bit rich of me to complain given that here I am, drafting a response piece. Nastia's PR machine clearly works, despite how Nasty it may seem).

Having said that, though, I am genuinely excited about the prospect of her return (even if it is just as a bars specialist). To see that 1.5 pirouette to Geinger layout a few more times would be brilliant (but a new dismount please). I guess time will tell.