Gymnasts from USA

The oh-so-wonderful "Mag 7"
***Please read with an open mind****

Isn't it nice to fially encounter a gymnstics page that isn't plastered with huge pictures of them? I just don't think they're as great as everyone seems to think they are. It's not like they're the best team of gymnasts ever assembled. I'm not saying that they didn't deserve to win. They did. But if Russia or Romania or any of the other teams won they would have deserved it too. I just think that all the hype they got was silly. I mean, they aren't far and away the best team in the world like everybody seems to think (don't get me wrong here, I don't think any team is far and away the best in the world in this day and age). Sure, the margin of victory was rather large, but look at the hardships that the other teams had to endure. Okay, so they were the first non-Soviet team to win the Olympic gold n a non-boycotted Games. Well when the Soviet Union breaks up, of course the other teams are going to have a much better chance. When the next two teams competed without one of their better gymnasts (Fabrishnova for Russia and Bican for Romania) and the crowd bsically ignored them; the US team's chances got even better.

And now, the individuals .....

Vanessa Atler

I don't really have all that much to say about her as yet. A lot of people seem to think that she's the next big star but at the same time don't want to put her through the "New Mary-Lou" episode like Philips, Zmeskal and Moceanu. I just noticed the bent knees and bad feet in the photo above. She's got a lot to work on but I think she's got the potential to be really good. As of right now, she's one of my favourites.  I'm sure that will change once the media takes over.

The photo above was provided by Debbie Poe at the Gymn Forum.

To find out more about Vanessa, visit the Official Vanessa Atler Homepage, which includes her diary!!

Amanda Borden

Amanda has been one of my favourite American gymnasts for a long time. Actually, for many years she was one of the only ones I didn't hate. Anyway, she's got a good personality, which overshadows the quality of her routines. I'm not saying she sucks here, I'm just saying that her skills aren't as difficult in many cases as those of her peers.

Amy Chow

Okay, this is a gymnast that I still really don't like. I think it's because she's just not graceful. Everything looks jerky and forced, not like a routine but a set of skills performed one after another. Okay, so she won the silver on bars in Atlanta. I'm glad this repetition rule is coming into effect - if you took the Stalders out of Amy's routine all you'd have is a couple of release moves and a dismount. The one thing I like about her is that her routines, to me, look different than the American norm. This especially comes across on beam and bars (all the rest of their routines look the same to me).

Dominique Dawes

Well, this is another gymnast that I still don't like. My main problem is with her body.  I mean, she can't help it but her bowed legs and bad feet really annoy me. They make everything look bad to me. I do think that she's got very powerful tumbling and good floor presence. I also think that she often (not always) cracks under pressure in major international competition. I mean, she's been one of the top gymnasts in the world in the last quaddrennium but never managed to medal in the all-around and earned only a few in event finals.

Shannon Miller

I used to really hate her. I was actually cheering for Dawes (and you know that I don't like her either) at the 94 US Nationals just because Shannon didn't win. Fortunately, I've grown up since then. I think that Shannon was one of the very best gymnasts over the past four or five years. I also think that she has slowed down a lot since her World Championship win in 1994. It was totally unreasonable for anyone to expect her to medal in the All-around in Atlanta. I also think that she got lucky in beam finals in that none of the others had completely clean routines (from what I hear the new code will allow more difficult routines to score better than less difficult but cleaner routines - I like it).

Dominique Moceanu

Well, most people either love her or hate her. Personally, I don't think she's that bad. People need to accept all different kinds of gymnasts - not just the European style. I think that Dominique's cute choreography suits her well and is a form of artistery. I don't unerstand all they hype about her though. I don't understand how the media can plaster her face everywhere before she's proven anything. Haven't they learned from the Phillips/Zmeskal incidents?  I guess not.

To me, Dominique's routines are very average. I guess I've watched too many Karolyi gymansts over the years - they all have/had very similar routines. They're not bad, but they're not great either. My biggest bone to pick is in her bar routine. I hate the first part when she does a Shrapnikova (transition to high bar) to an immediate Pak salto (back down to low bar) - it's like she moved up to the high bar for absolutely no reason. It's stupid.

A Yahoo search brings up 34 Dominique Moceanu home pages, pick one.

Jaycie Phelps

Well, I don't have much to say about this gymnast. I think she's very avarage. Her handspring double front on floor is great though. Ummmm..... that's about it.

Kerri Strug

Until the big vault saga Kerri was one of my favourite American gymnasts. Why, I don't know. Probably because she's been around so long and, basically, I hated everybody else. I'm really glad that she learned to land properly - she used to always lock her knees, forcing a hop. Like Moceanu, she's got boring Karolyi routines, but she does them well. She's very powerful, which makes that kind of routines look exciting.

About the vault incident, I think the media kind of went overboard with it. I mean, there's probably not an athlete in the world who wouldn't do that to get their team a gold medal. I mean, I know of hockey players who have played with all kind of injuries, from separated shoulders to broken ankles, to help their team win the Stanley Cup. Of course, now she's the big name in American gymnastics. I wonder if she's thought of making a comeback to elite competition. I think she'd do well. She was 5th in the all-around at worlds in 1995. She probably would have done well if she had been able to compete in Atlanta. I don't think she's all that old either. I don't even think she's turned 19 yet.