Gymcastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Jiani Wu What was it like growing up in China before they were a gymnastics super power? Jiani tells us all about it. A native of Shanghai back when China was a closed society, Jiani was one of the first allowed to compete outside of the country. Wu helped the Chinese women win their first World Championships team medal, a silver at the 1981 Worlds in Moscow and a bronze for the team at the 1984 Olympics.We discuss: Adjusting to coaching in the United States and working with parents. The Yurchenko loop and Teza skills that she was doing back in the 70's. Her coaching philosophy and how it ties into her experience as an accidental champion. Secret romances and how she met her husband in the training halls of the national training center. The training schedule and beam complex seriousness of the Chinese training regime. Gymnastics urban legend busting about China's conditioning, pizza and hamburgers. What China was like in the 1970's before their athletes were allowed to compete outside of the country. Coach

Graphic Design by MegTwelve. Visit her store at http://twelvestore.bigcartel.com Our coverage of the 2014 Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning, China continues with a full recap of the women's and men's all-around final.  Uncle Tim, Lauren and Jessica chat about: Every single event final, even rings and pommel horse! The judging of the balance beam final Mustafina's score vs. Terramoto's score. Which side of the gymnastics debate won Execution or Difficulty. We have the statistical proof in this week's edition of Sexy Data. Which gymnastics need to sit in over splits until next year's worlds or stop complaining about their E scores. Bruno Grandi's latest call for change. Why doesn't he understand that EXECUTION IS NOT ARTISTRY! All the ways in which the Italian Gymnastics Federation is like the Perez Hilton of gymnastics federations. Would reducing the number of skills with a simultaneous minimum time limit on floor (for men and women) and beam, help address the lack of artistry in the current system.

Graphic Design by MegTwelve. Visit her store at http://twelvestore.bigcartel.com   Our coverage of the 2014 Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning, China continues with a full recap of the women's and men's all-around final.  Uncle Tim, Lauren and Jessica chat about: The podium and the BEE! All of the new members of the Hot Pink Nation. Gutsuism, fair or unfair. Larissa Iordache -- She finally did it and had higher start value than Simone. Sexy Data --Who performed the highest difficulty and scored best in execution  for the men and women? SamGate -- What happened with Sam Mikulak's parallel bar routine? Yao Jinnan's bonus wipeout moment at the end of her floor routine. The Longines Prize for Elegance -- Should the same gymnast be able to win more than once? Vanessa Ferrari -- Her gymnastics prowess and the leaps that drive us nuts. Contest Alert! Why:  We want to create a playlist of songs that should be used for floor routines. What:  Send us the song title and artist name for a song that’s never been

Our full recap of the 2014 Gymnastics World Championship men's and women's team finals from Nanning, China. Graphic Design by MegTwelve. Visit her store at http://twelvestore.bigcartel.com                                         Our coverage of the 2014 Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning, China continues. Jessica, Uncle Tim and Lauren Hopkins cover the men's and women's team finals: Gabby Jupp redeems herself and Jessica apologizes for confusing Hannah Whelan and Ruby Harold! Sexy Data about the men's start values and execution. The Japan vs. China team men's team final controversy-- is it worth discussing and is it different from any other sport? Olivia Vivian and her beer cozy wrist band to honor her father. The best routines of team finals. The fluidity and O'Beirne Code approved brilliance of Japan's beam routine composition. The reason the Chinese women lost the world championship -- they didn't use Bai Yawen in finals! The leadership and patience with which Aliya Mustafina and Larissa lordache

Bai Yawen (China) kicks major booty on beam at Worlds in her hometown!   Coverage of the World Championships with a recap of the men's and women's qualifying rounds from Nanning, China. Jessica, Coach Rick, Lauren Hopkins and Spanny Tampson chat about: Mr. Miguel Zapata of Spain, winning fans worldwide. New Zealand's Anna Tempero. Whittenburg didn't make vault finals, but Re Se Gwang did it with no legs. Aimee Boorman calls out International Gymnast magazine. Romania's deep troubles. Diego Hypolito, the veteran cannot be denied! Skinner, so so so consistant Simone has cast a happy spell on everyone at the World Championships. Newcomers everyone is talking about: Nile Wilson and Bai Yawen's bow. The status of the Azerbaijan experiment. Oleg Vernaiev! Finally! Or Uncle Tim may have had a stroke. Score changes made overnight on the FIG website. Celebrity couple nicknames we need for skills competed by two gymnasts at the same Worlds Watch the Universal Sports broadcast for free on http://www.usagymworlds.co

Larisa Iordache, Simone Biles, Kyla Ross and Aliya Mustafina battle it out in Nanning, China! Illustration curtesy of The Magnificent "USA, Russia & Romania"   CODE FOR LIBSYNC HERE  It's our annual World Championships preview show! Jessica, Uncle Tim and Evan chat about: What these championships mean for the Olympic Games in Rio. Our picks for top contenders and dark horses for every event final and medal (except rings and pommel horse because those events are only exciting in finals). Who will the US put up in beam finals?! How will Sosnitskay's Cheng help the Russian team. Will Tatiana Nabieva and Biles burn the floor down with their collective sass at the post-meet banquet? Will Chusovitina win another vault medal at age 39? If this US men don't win a medal, will there be a shakeup at USAG? Can Japan upset the Chinese men at home!? The fan favorites you need to watch; the one's who will win the crowd, even if they don't win medals. How to watch podium training and the qualifying rounds (select teams

Our recap of the Tumble Finale This week Scott Bregman, Director of Content and Communications for USA Gymnastics joins us to talk about live coverage direct from the 2014 World Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China. Then in the official unofficial podcast of BBC One's Tumble recap, Emma and Jessica chat about: Which celebrities and gymnasts we'd like to see on the next season of Tumble. The alleged sex tape of Louis Smith that doesn’t exist. Nadia performing for the first time in 20 years! Host Alex cutting off a judge AGAIN! Our favorite moments from the show. The Bobby and Kristin romance that we haven't recovered from. Here is the full schedule of the the live (if all goes well) broadcast from Nanning.   Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) like TunnelBear to watch podium training and the qualification rounds being broadcast by USA Gymnastics at USAGymWorlds.com  Find an adult gymnastics program in the US on Jessica’s website masters-gymnastics.com. Or discover the gymnastics program tha

This week on GymCastic, it's raining men. In the news, Uncle Tim, Evan, Cordelia Price, and Jessica chat about: The triumphant return of CUBA (WAG 4th place team) and how much we want Yesenia Ferrera and Manrique Larduet to defect too! Marvin "The Hot Mess of Unlimited Potential" Kimble Comparing the US men's scores at the national championships to the rest of the world (see chart below) How we felt about the US men's team selection process Pan American Championships: the good, the bad and the injuries (Maggie Nichols, noooo!!!) Yamilet Peña and the tale of the sliding sting mat Marta gives advice to parents and Arthur Zanetti loves to take pictures with Cordelia Sexy Data: How did Pan Am Championship scores compare to P&G Championships for the US women How the performance of the US women at Pan Am's effected their positions for the world team We lament the loss of thrown back artistry from our beloved, Tomás "Porn Stach" González How Donell Whittenburg stole the show at P&G Championships How comp

The Youth Olympic Games artistic gymnastics champions. This week Bea, Blythe, Emma and Jessica chat about: Romanian Nationals Could Larisa Iordache have a higher difficulty value at Worlds than Simone Biles? Jessica picks her new junior superstar: Andreea Iridon. The state of the Romanian World Team and the dreaded (for the seniors) bars. The Swiss, Romanian, Germany Friendly meet An update on Swiss stalwart, Gulia Steinbruger. Germany's steller bar workers are getting it done! Youth Olympic Games The most overwhelming display of affection and sportsmanship we've ever seen in the history of gymnastics. The educational component of the YOG that none of us knew about! Becky Downie pushing her coach away from the camera to stop from dying of teenage embarrassment. Vault final was won by a Chinese gymnast, Wang Yan with a big 14.783 Giarnni Regini-Moran, another sign of the next super power is British Gymnastics. Novara Cup The fan insanity/zero security for athletes at Italian gymnastics meets. The

This week's interviews are with: Amelle Berrabah, shown here with her pro partner, sports acro world champion, Doug Fordyce; Louis Smith who gives us the deets on his Euros disappointment; and Amelle's coach David-Roy Wood who talks about what he learned from, no biggie, Nadia.   It's interview-o-rama today on the show! Louis Smith is here to answer your Book Club questions. Amelle Berrabah, the British singer and finalist on BBC One's gymnastics tv show, Tumble, is here with her coach David-Roy Wood (who also coaches Princess Catherine). And by the way, Amelle is going to continue with adult gymnastics when the show is over because she loves the fitness results she's achieved during training! To conclude, Jessica and Emma recap Tumble episode 5 before the big finale on Saturday where NADIA WILL BE PERFORMING! Louis Smith tells us: If he was every suspicious of his dad's motives when he came back into his life. Exactly why he was so upset about not being named to the GB squad for Europeans and how he think

2013 Floor World Champ, Kenzo Shirai of Japan Kenzo "The Prodigy" "Quad King" Shirai of Japan is here! The 2013 World Champion on floor, who did the quad as his last pass (because he's that good), chats with Jessica about: Upgrades on high bar How he learned the quad His challenge for the US team at Worlds His favorite American gymnast. His advice for Aly Raisman on how to master the quad twist. Special thanks to our interpreter, Sho Nakamori! Follow Kenzo on Twitter here. 77: Aly Raisman Catching up with John Orozco at the 2014 Winter Cup Challenge Episode 55: Worlds Wrap Up & Ferlito-Gate Episode 54: Event Finals Recap from 2013 World Championships Episode 53: All Around Finals Recap from Antwerp World Championships Episode 52: Triumph & Heartbreak Prelims Recap from Antwerp Worlds Episode 51: Podium Training Report From Antwerp Episode 50: 2013 Antwerp World Championship Preview   Kenzo Shirai showing his absolutely perfect twisting form. In case you missed it, click on the photo below to

  This week, Jessica, Olympian Jenni Pinches, and Emma Bailey chat about the latest gymternet controversy and BBC One's Tumble episodes three and four: News broke over Labor Day weekend that a hack took place that exposed racy photos of several celebrities and athletes, including McKayla Maroney. We discuss how the gymternet has responded--specifically how Gymnastike and parent company Flocast, handled the news--and the backlash they have received. How much Jessica loves coach, Katie Richards from Heathrow who presents stickers for goals met and gives exactly zero craps about the feelings of wimps. Was it fair that this week the celebrities didn't have to use real rhythmic equipment? All trampolines should be covered with rose petals from now on. The awkward sexual innuendo moment between Louis Smith and host, Alex. The magic Dave-Roy Wood must be working on Amelle because she hasn't developed any mental blocks after a terrifying crash! How to avoid accidental choking when attempting rhythmic gymnastics. Be

Repeat senior champion, Simone Biles hugs new junior champ, Jazmyn Foberg by Christy Linder. Today, straight from the P&G Championships in Pittsburgh, Jessica, Lauren, Dvora, Cordelia and Lindsey recap the event and: Kim Zmeskal tells us about the Hunger Games-themed leotards and the core values of her coaching (interview beigns at the 1:45:35) The rise of MG Elite, is quite possibly the top junior gymnastics program in the country. Laurent Landi, coach of Alyssa Baumann and Madison Kocian at WOGA, stopped by the GymCastic studios to give us an injury and goal update on his seniors. The wise, reliable, Kyla Ross. Breakout fan favorites, Jordan Chiles, Morgan Hurd, Macy Toronjo, Emily Gaskins, Marissa Oakley, Maile O'Keefe, Jazmyn Foberg, Deane Soza and Alexis Vasquez. The Uneven Bars Situation: Ashton Locklear, Madison Kocian, Kyla Ross and seemingly fantasy, gym nerd created bar routine of Brenna Dowell. Would it make any difference to our World and Olympic results if the US ladies went to more World C

Jazmyn Foberg of MG Elite took the lead in the junior competition.   A full recap of day one of the women's competition. We discuss: Swaggie Maggie Nichols rise in the ranks The ranging case of nerves that swept the juniors. Trends in routine construction for the top teams How awesome Evan Heiter and Sam Peszek were at commentating LIVE. Favorites for World and Pan American Games. Adeline Kenlin and the coolest vault of the competition and Lexy Ramler getting the biggest cheers for her bar routine. Watch live here. The 2014 WAG Rankings from The All Around here. 106: Biles and Ross Dominate the 2014 US Secret Classic 2014 Senior Secret Classic Competition Photo Gallery 2014 Junior Secret Classic Competition Photo Gallery Photo Gallery of Podium Training at the 2014 Secret Classic Episode 45: The 2013 P&G Championships Post-Meet Report P&G Championships by the Numbers: The Senior Women - Night 1 Spanny Tampson Reports on Day One of the 2013 P&G Gymnastics Championships from the Hotel Bar Episo

 This week Jessica and Emma Bailey recap episode two of the BBC’s new show Tumble. We consider these important topics: What time to arrive at the BBC One studio if you want to be in the live studio audience for Tumble. Would the American post-Olympic tour benefit from hiring the Tumble creators? The tear-jerking, beauty of the “Butterfly” performance by Beth Tweddle featuring some of our favorite junior elite gymnasts from the British squad. Which gymnasts (hint, Simone Biles) should wear Lucy Mecklenburgh’s green leotard from this week’s show? We speculate on the veracity of the incompetence demonstrated by the celebrities during their practices. Does Sarah Harding have poor cardio or is she just unaware that her mouth is hanging open throughout her performance? Claudia Fragapane gave great advice and the English champions from the commonwealth games Was the romance storyline between Kristin Allen and Bobby Lockwood, just a ruse to throw us off of the H Watkins and John Partridge, romance? Natalia Ilienko

  This week Jessica, Uncle Tim and Evan preview the 2014 P&G Championships: Since Evan will be doing commentary for the junior women and junior men's broadcasts, we try to come up with new descriptions for commonly used commentary-isms! We predict the winners, dark horses on each event and the all-around for the women's junior and senior field. Jessica and Evan argue about who will steal the junior show: Deanne Soza, Jordan Chiles, Nia Dennis or Norah "Lord of the Beam" Flatley. A listener implores us to examine the rare and uncommon bar routine of Miss Lexy Ramler. Why Rachel Baumann's tumbling is comparable to Beyonce, and Rachel Gowey is the Laurie Hernandez of this year's floor joy. Our sentimental favorites, the kids who may not medal but we can't wait to watch: Morgan Hurd, Lauren Navarro, Emily Gaskins, Amelia Hundley. The infamous ants-in-your-pants choreography for Gabi Gheorghiu that Marta Karolyi did.  We give advice about managing body image when starting adult gymnastics, celebrate our list

The official unofficial podcast of BBC One's new show, Tumble.  This week Jessica and Emma chat about BBC One's brand new show, Tumble: The alleged romance between world champion, Kristin Allen and the Teen Wolf,  Bobby Lockwood. Emma watched the show live and gives us all the details from inside the studio. Craig Heap dissing Louis Smith! Lucy Mecklenburgh vs. John Patridge -- ummm, yeah. Hater reviews and if they are valid or not. Background on the gymnastics and acrobatic stars featured on the show. The 60 and 50 year-old celebrities who are learning adult gymnastics. How to find an adult gymnastics program near you! Natalia Ilienko, the 1981 Floor Exercise World Champion, coaching Sarah Harding. If this is the best thing that ever happened to gymnastics or not. Hint, it is!     Louis Smith will be our very first GymCastic Book Club guest in August. What: Read the book and submit questions about it for Louis. How: Buy the book here, send your questions to us at  gymcastic @ gmail.com or leave a voicema