Inside Gymnastics has a little blurb on what Ivana Hong is up to in the off-season. As I've previously posted, she's become a favorite with fans not because she a little powerhouse trickster, but has grace, beautiful lines, flexibility that many a gymnast would envy, and doesn't forget those little details that make the tricks look good. But as I've previously posted, she does have plenty of in-built deductions, notably her lack of amplitude on her UB set. From the sounds of this article and the one from the recent free online version of International Gymnast, the Fongs are addressing those problems.
I'm intrigued by the double front on FX. Ivana doesn't seem like a gymnast who would have enough power to do such a skill, but then again, how many of us thought that she didn't seem like she would have enough power to do a DTY the way she does? I definitely think she can do the double front full, though.
Some have wondered if she'll be among the many upgrading to an Amanar. I would love for this to happen, just for her to boost her chances of making the Olympic team. She has a great DTY due to amazing technique and could possibly squeeze in another half twist in there. BUT, Ivana does not have a good track record with being healthy. Word has it that she spent the last camp in a boot and couldn't run. She tries an Amanar, she's likely blow out a knee.
Whatever. Her gymnastics is pretty.
Oh, God, that would be awesome.
Word on the street is that Dasha is planning some new tricks, including a double layout on FX:
Anyway.
Dasha has shown she's capable of breaking 15 on FX in Aarhus. She came close in Stuttgart (14.875 in the AA), but low landings and a few other mistakes cost her, but I think she can clean up some. She's quite nice to watch on FX, isn't she? She's one of the few who actually puts forth a genuine effort to keep in the artistry.
A recent rumor has started floating around and that's Dasha is training an Amanar. Now I don't know how much stock to put into this because this time we're not hearing it from Dasha's mouth herself like in the video above and frankly, everybody and their mom is training an Amanar (and why not? There's a .7 A score difference between that and a DTY. It could get somebody on the medal podium who otherwise wouldn't be). But out of all the rumored Amanars, Dasha is one I can believe. Her DTY is quite nice:
Of course, all that is assuming that Dasha performs the extra half twist as well as she does the DTY. But it's probably a worthy risk, given that two of the four main AA front runners have an Amanar (Johnson & Barbosa) and another is supposedly training one (Ferrari) and another WAG that isn't currently a main AA contender but is trying to be is also rumored to be training one (Jiang).
Dasha seems to be learning to hold her own in an AA competition. She did win silver in the Good Luck Beijing Olympic Test Event. I dunno about gold or silver, but I'm holding out hope that she'll get the bronze in the Olympic AA. It goes along with my hope that the Australia team gets the bronze in the team final. An AA podium of Nastia-Jiang-Dasha in some sort of order sounds nice to me.
These are some of my favorite montages. Originally I wasn't a fan (why bother with montages, I just want to see the routines!), but I've changed my tune. Especially since some of these montages have introduced me to some excellent music.
The number one montage has to be this one about the 2007 World Championships by Giudy1990. It's a masterpiece. The music is a strange, haunting mix of melancholy and inspiration (and caused me to become an immediate fan of Ludovico Einaudi). The choice of video clips sum up the worlds quite nicely: Team USA's sweep, the Russian TF tragedy, Cheng Fei's vault triumph, Alicia Sacramone's FX upset, the tears, the joy, everything. It is so incredibly awesome, I can't even explain properly. You just have to watch for yourself:
Next is a sweep of montages by NewNewNastiaFan101. He is quite good at what he does. He has a great sense of timing and has a vast array of videos at his disposal (seriously, I don't think there's anything he doesn't have). My favorite is his final Explosive montage (called so because that's the title of the Bond song used) currently down:
Another is his Strict Machine montage (love Goldfrapp):
And his 1-2-3-4:
Another great one is Aleksas' Toy Soldier montage. It wins for showing the funner, sassier side of gymnastics. Minus a point for making me kind of like a Britney Spears' song, though:
On a completely different note, here's Nade00's Not Always Happy Endings montage. Some complained about the choice of music, but I think it's perfect. Had he/she chosen a more downtrodden piece of music, it would have been overkill. The stories are sad enough without having an emotionally manipulative violin or piano in the background. That's the kind of stunt Hollywood people with little to no creativity pull.
This one makes me like the Eminem song again. I will never agree to it winning an Oscar, but I still enjoy it in this montage:
I love this Alegria montage. Alegria is one of my favorite Cirque Du Soleil songs and it seems so fitting for a gymnastics montage. And I love the inclusion of Dasha's wink. I love that girl:
While there are plenty of other montages out there that I enjoy, I'm just going to include one more and it's because I laugh so heartily at it. It's a Shawn Johnson montage to the theme music of The Muppet Show. It so takes me back to being a kid and watching this show on TV all the time. I loved that show! I want it on DVD like now:
