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6
February 2006
New Code and New Senior
Gymnasts Eager to Make an Impact
in the International Scene
As every year, in a sport as age-restricted
as gymnastics is, new gymnasts turn senior after New Year's Eve,
and in 2006, gymnasts born in 1990 will be age-elegible for their
respective countries. The passage from junior to senior ranks has
often been controversial and interesting for gym fans, since facts
and history demonstrate that the best juniors rareley turn into
great seniors. This week, The All Around takes a look at many of
the new seniors from the top nations to share with fans about the
new ones to watch in future competitions.
You can also tell us about your favourite juniors in our new feature,
Your Take. Your responses
will be posted in March.
Hollie Dykes
Club: AIS
Coach: Valery Kaladzinski
Dykes presents an imperssive double layout in a floor routine
with nice body language and expression that it is also witnessed on
beam (free aerial – flic – layout, beautiful sheep jump, double tuck
dismount). Dykes can be described as technically precise and
her beautiful leg line can be apreciated on bars (sky-high Tkatchev,
Jäger, Pak, full-in dismount). With an already good international
reputation she is a potentially good all arounder.
Chloe Sims
Birthday: 25 August 1990
Club: Moreton Bay College
Coach: Olga and Sasha Beloousoov
A very talented gymnast, Sims has difficult
skills throughout all the apparatus. On beam she does a standing arabian,
Onodi, side somi, and double front dismount. She opens floor with
a running front layout – double front in a floor routine that suits
her. Her floor repertoire includes a piked Tsukahara and a 2 ½. On
bars she includes inside-Stalder work and a Jäger.
Others turning senior: Daria Joura,
Melody Hernández, Alyce Arrowsmith
Viktoriya Makshtarova
Birthday: 17 August 1990
Once a great gymnastics nation, Belarus is struggling latley to produce
high level gymnasts, but Viktoriya could be the answer to this situation.
A balletic and elegant gymnast, Makshtarova has competed at 2004 Juniors
Europeans and 2005 EYOF with good results. Beam (flic – back tuck,
free walkover, double back dismount) and floor (triple twist, double
pike) are her strong events. A beautiful gymnast that also needs upgrades
on bars (Tkatchev) and vault (handspring piked front).
Others turning senior: Nastassia Marachkouskaya
Aisha Gerber
Birthday: 21 June 1990
Club: Cambridge Kips
Coach: Elvira Saadi
Aisha Gerber is the latest promise from Elvira Saadi, the legendary
Soviet gymnast of the 1970s, wit Saadi's influence once again coming
through in her floor choreography. Gerber has strong skills on three
events - including a Pak-Stalder combination and full=in dismount
on bars, three layouts (last one to two feet) on beam, and an arabian
double front and triple twist on floor, and overall good form With
some attention to smaller details, Gerber could be making her mark
in the senior ranks.
Others turning Senior: Jordan Harvie, Cynthia
Lemieux
Han Bing
Birthday: 2 March 1990
Club/Province: Hunan
Coach: Lu Shanzhen and Liu Qunlin
One of the very few young Chinese gymnasts with a truly international
experience, Han Bing has produced excellent international results
this past year. With all around first places at the Junior Asian Championships
and Friendship Classic, she is knocking on the door for an all around
spot in the Senior team. More stable than spectacular, Han Bing's
best apparatus is beam where she does a layout to two feet and Rulfova.
With the right upgrades on vault (full twisting yurchenko) and floor
(triple full, double pike) she could be the all around front runner
for China at Worlds.
Xiao Ting Ting
Birthday: 7 December 1990
Club/Province: Shangai
Coach: Liu Guicheng and He Hua
A beam/bars specialist, Xiao Ting Ting is best known for her
incredible difficulty on these apparatus. Not the typical Chinese
on bars, she does five releases: Comaneci, Tkatchev – Genger connection,
Jäger, and Hindorff, as well as a Pak and a double layout dismount,
but she needs to polish her form. On beam, her most amazing skill
is a back handspring – arabian; she also does a roundoff – layout
to two feet. Without international experience, she was added to the
national team after the 2005 National Games.
Others turning
senior: Hu
Xiao, He Ning
- A. M.
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Tomorrow: France, Germany, Great Britain |
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