Things are getting exciting with the 2016 Olympic Games just around the corner! Most countries are in the process of selecting their representatives. The Japanese men always seem to be the first squad announced, and their team is stacked: Kohei Uchimura, Ryohei Kato, Yusuke Tanaka, Koji Yamamuro and Kenzo Shirai. Wow. I would love to see this team stand atop the team medal podium as they did 12 years ago.

Five gymnasts on a team is certainly not enough, especially for the men who have 6 events to cover. It will be interesting to see if there is room on teams for specialists such as Louis Smith (GBR) and Ashton Locklear (USA). Both gymnasts could win medals on their respective events, pommel horse and uneven bars, but if they are to be selected then only 4 spots remain to cover the rest of the events. Some teams, such as the U.S. men, stack their weakest event (pommel horse) the best they can. On the other hand, the Belgians chose a women’s team which bolsters their strength: the uneven bars.

Louis Smith (GBR), 2016 British Championships, PH AA

Ashton Locklear (USA), 2016 Pacific Rim Championships, UB TF/AA

I was happy to see Chris Brooks (USA) named to the Olympic team. Going 24-for-24 across nationals and trials is no mean feat, and his consistency deserved to be rewarded. I feel bad for Danell Leyva and Donnell Whittenburg, who didn’t quite show the best versions of themselves. It’s interesting that the selection committee chose to leave behind the only two guys who won medals at last year’s Worlds!

Chris Brooks (USA), 2016 P&G Championships, HB Day 2

The FIG really dropped the ball (…or should I say missed their hands on the vault?!) by not giving a nominative spot to Larisa Iordache when she won bronze AA at the 2015 Worlds. Why should apparatus medalists receive a spot but not AA medalists? Even if you don’t expect such a scenario to play out where an AA medalist comes from a team that is not in the top 12, couldn’t that provision still be part of the rules? And it wasn’t totally far-fetched anyway. It could have happened to Guilia Steingruber (SUI) and very nearly did happen to Manrique Larduet (CUB)….

Iordache and Catalina Ponor (ROM) both deserve to be in Rio and it’s heartbreaking that there is only room for one. My sentimental favourite is Iordache. She carried a declining team the entire quad, and did so with awesome gymnastics and a delightful personality. Ill-timed injuries have forced her into this predicament. I do think that at this very moment, though, Ponor is the most deserving of this spot and the most likely to win a beam and/or floor medal. And we all know how rock-solid she is in competition!

Catalina Ponor (ROU), 2016 European Championships, BB TF

I was thrilled when the Canadian ladies exceeded expectations and finished in 5th place at the London Olympics. I think they can do it again! Ellie Black and Brittany Rogers are on the team again, and they will be joined by Isabela Onyshko, Shallon Olsen and Rose-Kaying Woo this time around. Scott Morgan will represent Canada on the men’s side.

I love the way Belgium announced its Olympic team!

I haven’t posted lately because I’ve been busy with my little daughter who was born last summer. I’ve still kept up with the world of gymnastics, though, and while there are some exciting things that have happened during the past months, artistic gymnastics seems to be going through a bit of a dry patch, particularly on the women’s side. Gone are the days when 10 or 15 gymnasts were legitimate contenders for all around medals. Simone Biles and Kohei Uchimura are dominating right now, as they deserve to, and they appear set to continue their trends of defending their crowns in upcoming competitions. The men’s side is a lot more exciting with all the apparatus specialists, but if the FIG reduces teams to 4 members then we can say goodbye to a lot of that excitement too.

Here are some bright patches I’ve come across lately:

The mother-daughter duo of Natalia Laschenova and Sasha Tsikhanovich performed floor routines with matching choreography 26 years apart. I love it! That 1989 Soviet team is one of my all-time faves, and it’s wonderful to see Tsikhanovich’s tribute to her mother.

Natalia Laschenova (URS), 1989 World Championships, Floor Exercise, All Around

Sasha Tsikhanovich, University of Bridgeport, 2015 Floor Exercise

Kenzo Shirai, Japan’s twisting machine, was criticized in the past for winning floor titles without showing any double saltos. Well, he has been working on several new tumbling passes, including a triple twisting double layout and a whip immediate triple-double. Wow! Oh, and he also throws a front full punch front 3.5 and a whip immediate quadruple twist….

Kenzo Shirai (JPN), training

Romania looks to be back in the running for Rio with the comeback announcements of Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa, and with Larisa Iordache looking great on all events. This team is more and more stylish all the time. Never count Romania out!

Larisa Iordache (ROU), 2014 Glasgow World Cup, Uneven Bars

Catalina Ponor (ROU), 2012 European Championships, Balance Beam, Qualifications

Sandra Izbasa (ROU), 2012 Olympic Games, Floor Exercise, Team Final

Diana Bulimar (ROU), 2012 Olympic Games, Floor Exercise, Team Final

Andreas Bretschneider (GER) has mastered the double twisting Kovacs on high bar! Here he is performing it in his home country. The sky’s the limit!

Andreas Bretschneider (GER), 2014 DTB Cup, High Bar

And finally, a shout out to one of the most underrated gymnasts of this era: Jessica Lopez (VEN)!

Jessica Lopez (VEN), 2014 World Championships, Uneven Bars

Jessica Lopez (VEN), 2014 Glasgow World Cup, Floor Exercise

Did anyone else think the “Aging Beauty” headline on her International GYMNAST cover was a tad bizarre? I mean, she hardly looks like she’s “aging.” She may be 29, but you’d never guess it looking at her gymnastics, and she appears more physically fit than some gymnasts half her age! Oh well…at least the cover also said she “has never looked better.”

What other cool stuff has caught your eye lately?