More Nationals!

Yay! I'm home finally. I didn't get to stay very long in San Diego during Nationals because we planned it as a "Family trip" and not a "gymnastics" trip, so we left for Orange County right after I competed. I was so disappointed that I didn't get to stay for the 8's final or the Championship final, but I did at least get to watch the level 6's compete. It was great fun getting to go out and support Grace, no matter what level :). The final results for the 8's and 9/10's have not been posted on the website yet but via Facebook I found out the level 8's took home the championship title and the 9/10's placed 3rd. 3rd was a pretty great finish though, considering they lost some of the 3 most talented girls on our team right before. Still, it's sad knowing they could've defended the title, had the whole coaching dilemma not come up. But that's life for you. Click here for the full meet results.

Also, here are some fun pics of the level 7's at the meet :)














































~Got Grace?

Quick Update

This is short because Im still in California and dont have a real computer at the moment, but when I get back I will post more about Nationals. But overall I had an AMAZING time :) Unfortunately though, there was no giant flyaway for me. I wasn't ready in time. It's hard not reaching goals you seriously set your mind to. It really is. But after a lot of thought Ive come to realize this was God's plan that I didn't get them. There is a reason. And besides, I gave them the hardest fight I had in me because it's all I promised and all I could do.

On a high note, the meet went really well! My vault that randomly got way better scored a 9.125 - personal best lvl 7- which is an improvement from my typical 8.75's, but we are confused about what I placed (around 4th, 5th or 6th). I competed a double clear hip on bars and scored an 8.80 - personal best as a lvl 7 - and placed 3rd. I got an 8.7 on beam with a 9.5 start value because of a bad connection of my BHS-BWO... blaaaah. But I competed my "Nastia Liukin" mount (which I was qutie nervous about) and it was perfect! I took 3rd on that event. On floor I scored a 9.375 - personal best lvl 7- and took 1st! My AA was a flat out 36.0 - personal best lvl 7- and tied for 2nd :) More results and picture shall be coming later!

~ Got Grace?

Crunch Time!

How much easier it is to make progress in the gym when you put you mind to it... I just found out! As you've seen from previous blogs, my goal for the past two months has been to get my giant flyaway on the unevens to compete for Y Nationals. This week it just clicked to me that Nationals are in TWO WEEKS! ITS CRUNCH TIME! But anyways, I've only really been swinging giants by myself on pit for a week now, and flyaways from them with a spot. So I went into gym Monday expecting to do some more into the pit, but it turned out Coach Kevin wasn't with us on bars that day- so that eliminated my option to do them- while the whole weekend I had been thinking about how little time I still have to get these. Dang... But then something knocked at the stubborn little head of mine and told me "Wait, why don't you just chuck some giants on unevens for the first time? Time is running out, even though you've only had them for a week." And so I asked Coach Krista if I could skip routines to try them. She looked at me like I was crazy, because I would be the last one who would ask to try something new, but she was excited to let me. (She was even more suprised that I didn't even want a mat or a spot) And so I did. No mats on the low bar. No spot. I just chucked them! I hadn't even thought about moving them to the unevens until 20 minutes before. Afterward, I kinda looked at myself and said "Your crazy... but I like it"! Such an exhilarating feeling - I hope it stays ;).

This past month I've really been pushing myself change. To lose the person that had once been holding me back with fear and doubt. And to become someone who can "accept the challenge" with confidence so I can chase the dream I've had for so long. And I now feel, with this new leap of faith, that I am one step closer and that there is still something truly lit inside. Now for one last step...

“Wake up every day knowing that today is a new day and only you can determine the outcome of that day. So dream big, accept the challenge, and never look back.” – Alicia Sacramone

~Got Grace?

2000 Olympic Games

Since I had neither homework nor gym Wednesday, I pretty much wasted my entire evening on the Internet (as you would probably guess) Youtubing gymnastics videos. Well... only my family would call it "wasting", hahaha. But as I was curious about the 2000 Olympic Games with all the news about China being stripped of their bronze medal, I decided to watch the women's team finals. What a disappointment for the Russians. They didn't show great sportsmanship either for taking home the silver, with Svetlana Khorkina taking off her medal and crumpling it in her hands as they were walking out.

After watching the team finals, I gave up the computer for a while and then came back a little bit later to find my self once again on Youtube, but this time: the All Around Finals. To my surprise, I was watching one of the most craziest Olympic finals I have ever seen. Kinda hard to believe with so many upsets and weird issues all at the same time. First Elise Ray missed both her hands on the vault her first run and neither of the two following had good landings. Then Svetlana Khorkina, pretty much the predetermined AA champion, lands on her knees twice on her vault, costing her any shot at the medals. It wasn't until half way through the competition that someone spoke up about the vault not feeling right. 5cm too short. Way to go, Australia. It may seem like a small margin but with the vaults these athletes were pulling, 5cm is the difference between landing on you feet or landing on your face. The girls that had already gone were offered a re-vault where they would have to erase their old score and compete again. Unfortunately for both Elise and Svetlana, a redo wouldn't have done them any good as they both fell on another event following vault. Elise slipped her foot on a layout series on beam and Svetlana missed a release move on bars. I can bet though, that both those routines were definitely influenced by the disaster on vault. As for the new gymnasts who rose to the top of the leader board after Svetlana was knocked off, they found themselves wound up in the crazy night too. It was almost like if you got anywhere near the top of the board, it was your turn to trip, crash or fall. In the end it came down to who would make the least amount of mistakes, where Romanian consistency ruled. The other two Americans, Kristin Maloney and Amy Chow, didn't perform spectacularly either, not that they were contenders to begin with. A few stumbles from Kristin on her passes on floor and a huge wobble from Amy knocked both of them out off the board. When the competition came to a close, Simona Amanar of Romania ended up with the gold, her teammate Maria Olaru took the silver and Xuan Liu of China followed with the bronze - not a fairytale ending for Svetlana or anyone. All in all, what a crazy night!

~Got Grace?