Triple Bronze Paris Olympics

Jordan Chiles (USA), Ana Barbosu (ROM) and Sabrina Maneca-Voinea (ROM)

Cartoon Credit:  https://www.behance.net/david_brouitt

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Diff'rent Strokes Full Episodes S07E14 The Gymnasts

Description:

Diff'rent Strokes is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985 and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, respectively, two African-American boys from Harlem taken in by a rich white Park Avenue.

Chainey's first appearance on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

Blurb:

Chainey Umphrey on Mister Rogers' NeighborhoodEpisode 1566 Albert Chainey Umphrey (born August 2, 1970) is a retired American gymnast. He competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, helping the U.S. team to a 5th-place finish in the team all-around. Umphrey was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 2, 1970, and took up gymnastics at age 7. He attended Albuquerque Academy and graduated in 1988. While in Albuquerque, he trained at Gold Cup Gymnastics along with future Olympians Lance Ringnald and Trent Dimas. Umphrey competed in college gymnastics at UCLA, where he was an All-American and two-time team captain. He was a member of the U.S. national team from 1989 to 1997, competing at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in 1991, 1994, and 1996. His best result was a 4th-place finish on the horizontal bar in 1994. He also won a gold medal for the team all-around at the 1995 Pan American Games. Away from competition, Umphrey also worked to promote the sport of gymnastics and appeared at clinics around the United States. He was a guest on the children's program Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1986 and again in 1995, demonstrating gymnastics skills and training methods.

Kurt Thomas

I had a late start in gymnastics. 16 yrs old. Somehow ended up a walk-on at UCLA (took a yr off after I graduated high school).

One of the driving inspirations for me was Kurt Thomas. He had me living and breathing gymnastics. Back then, there was no YouTube videos. No instagram. No internet. The only way I could see good gymnastics was when one of the 3 networks on television would televise a competition, with the color-commentators dramatizing what you were watching and providing backstory for the athletes.

When I was 16, I lived in Austin, Texas. One of the books I checked out from my high school library was "Kurt Thomas on Gymnastics". I ate it up, page after page. From beginning to end It wasn't dry reading but colorful. And after every 2 weeks, I'd check the book out again. (I wonder if anyone else ever got to read it?).

I spent my last 2 years of high school in California (military brat). Instead of attending my high school graduation, I went to International Gymnastics Camp in Pennsylvania. There, from the cantine store, I found the book, "Kurt Thomas on Gymnastics", which I think may have been out of print (I certainly couldn't find it in any bookstore; and there were no online Barnes and Noble, Borders, or Amazon to check and order from). I bought 2 copies.

And I still have them.

Kurt Thomas made it cool to be a male gymnast back when most other boys were doing traditional American sports.

Wayback Wednesday: Tracee Talavera on The Tonight Show August 10, 1979- 40 years ago!

I've long seen Johnny Carson footage of Tracee Talavera doing gymnastics on The Tonight Show; but I've never seen the entire interview before.




I believe Kurt Thomas made a couple of Tonight Show appearance; but I wonder if any film footage has survived the passage of time because I've never seen any of it.  Maybe someone out there has a VHS tape of Kurt's guest appearance and will one day see the light of day on YouTube.

Video blurb:

Tracee Ann Talavera (born September 1, 1966) is an American retired artistic gymnast of Mexican-American descent who competed for the United States at the. Tracee Talavera performs the 1980 compulsory UB routine and her optional UB routine. Johnny Yune was born 1936 in Eumseong County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, South Korea. His Korean first name is Jong-seung and got an American. Brief report on a few US female gymnasts' performances in 1979. Schwandt, Talavera, Frederick, Johnson, McNamara. Video starts with bloopers at a women's NCAA meet. Poor quality.

Gymnastics Flip Book!

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Hungry, Hungry Gymnasts

And in the gym:

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I am Second

When second place feels like failing....and then no longer does:

The Affection of Confection

Chocolate!  Yes!  Snack food of champions!  Association to feel good moment of tender affection, too.

If Simone is endorsing it, I'm certainly game for some chocolate.  Who am I to question the future Olympic champion?

I remember when it used to be McDonald's making these heart-string tugging causal associations between their fast food and feel good.

This one could have been a Father's Day post.

Five Questions with Amelia Hundley

Mary Lee Tracy had high praise for Amelia Hundley in her National Congress presentations.  Neither of them went away from Olympic Trials feeling anything other than winners, exemplifying how if you did everything you could do every step of the way, there are no regrets; that hard work pays off. 

WSJ Profile on Aly Raisman's Tumbling Pass

Mitch Gaylord: American Ninja Warrior?

Apparently according to his wife Valentina, at age 55, Mitch Gaylord is training for American Ninja Warrior:

TLS Co-Owner and my loving Husband, Olympic Gold Medalist, Mitch Gaylord is set to compete in Oklahoma City, OK on May 13th in one of the final regional qualifiers for Las Vegas. There were 50,000 applicants in total and only 500 applicants were chosen to compete - 100 applicants in each region. 

Mitch has been working incredibly hard to prepare for this competition in hopes to represent the love of sports, health and fitness of our hometown Austin, Texas! He looks and feels absolutely AMAZING at 55! We are truly so grateful to have found Lagree Fitness back in 2009 and to have it back in our lives now...it is truly the ABSOLUTE BEST full body workout out there! Thank you Sebastien Lagree for creating Lagree Fitness & The Megaformer!

You can see Mitch training and be coached by him at The Lagree Studios in Bee Cave & Downtown Austin!

1977-1980, 1981 1984 MAG WAG Compulsories USSR Film

A Life in Motion Stopped Cold

For an athlete from a sultry tropical country who had spent her career following the summer around the world, aerial skiing had presented Souza with an extraordinary new challenge, accordioned into an extraordinarily brief period of time. She had never skied. She had never seen anyone doing aerials. She had barely even seen snow.

To combat the cold weather, she had taken to piling on so many layers that she seemed to double in size. But two decades as a competitor had given Souza a sharp sense of what she wanted and the will and single-mindedness to pursue it, and she had thrown herself into aerials with the same fervor she had once reserved for gymnastics.

Check out and listen to the NYTimes piece on Laís Souza

Also blogging:
GymnasticsCoaching.com

TBT: Ma Yanhong