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The Ma dismount on bars. Both Tezas on beam. The Podkopayeva on floor. Do you ever think we’ll see these rare skills again?

I mean, anything’s possible. It would be cool to see the Ma again on bars though it’s not in the code anymore, and gymnasts tend to shy away from clear hip skills for some reason and there are easier dismounts rated the same, though it’s an awesome dismount. I’ve discussed the Teza before and love the skill but with the time constraints on beam and the large potential for a fall or deductions, it doesn’t seem worth it for most gymnasts? The Teza II (which is a Yang Bo leap done sideways) is similar…too much prep goes into it and the risks outweigh the benefits. As far as the Podkopayeva (double front half-out), I think it’s the most realistic. I’d actually love to see Brenna Dowell attempt it if she continues elite, as she’s a tremendous front tumbler. Katherine Grable, who competed for Arkansas and has discussed potentially attempting elite now that she’s done with her NCAA career, competed an awesome double Arabian half-out which is similar.

How do teams (or individuals who come from countries who didn’t send a full team to Worlds) who didn’t qualify for the previous Worlds qualify for next year’s?

The only teams who qualified to next year’s Worlds are those that placed top 24 this year, so if your team didn’t compete this year, you have to wait until the next quad to compete as a team again. As far as individuals, each federation is allowed to send a certain number of individuals to next year’s World Championships…I believe three are allowed, though I don’t remember the specific rule as I haven’t really thought about it since 2010 or 2011. How quickly information leaves us! But I do remember many countries sent three in 2011, so I’m assuming that has stayed the same. In terms of which three get to go for each country, that’s up to the federation itself.

I’m wondering…if Price, Priessman, Maroney, Ernst, Gowey, Dowell, and Nichols had all been healthy and competing as usual this summer, what would your team for Worlds have been?

Hmm…it’s hard to say for sure about Priessman because we haven’t seen her really compete at full strength in about two years. I’d say I would have kept Biles, Ross, and Locklear on the team, and then probably would have added Gowey and Dowell, and then would have played around with adding either Price or Skinner depending on who looked better (and taking the fact that Skinner had two vaults and could be a second potential individual medalist). I know – no Maroney. But she would have been harder to justify if she was still only strong with one event. Martha may have taken her for the vault medal alone, but I personally can’t justify it because she’d likely go in place of Gowey or Price/Skinner and I think both provided more needed routines (Gowey for beam and possibly floor, Price/Skinner for floor) than Maroney. I’d have Dowell, Price/Skinner, and Biles on vault, Ross, Dowell, and Locklear on bars, Ross, Gowey, and Biles on beam, and then probably Gowey or Ross, Price/Skinner and Biles on floor. I mean, with the seven girls above in addition to the seven who went, there could be any number of possibilities but this team makes the most sense to me and fills pretty much all of the biggest holes.

Is there anyone (no matter active or retired) who can challenge Biles’ floor routine?

In terms of performance level, I might say no because I think Biles is a truly special gymnast who has a little something most gymnasts don’t (aside from Laurie Hernandez, who is also incredibly gifted as a performer). Tumbling-wise, there are definitely a lot…I can think of at least five who have competed in the past three or so years. But Biles definitely has the unique combination of tumbling and performance that I don’t think any gymnast has ever matched. There were definitely more ‘performers’ in the good old days, but tumbling wasn’t as advanced then, so it’s hard to compare…for their time, they were brilliant tumblers, but for the current era, Biles is it.

Both Ohashi and Vega recently hinted at comebacks. What are their chances and where would they fit in on the national team?

I always say it, but anything’s possible, so their chances are about as good as anyone’s. I think Vega has been training steadily over the past couple of years, first working through injury and then beginning to build on her skills and routines, and she also moved halfway across the country to GAGE after 2012, so clearly she has something in mind and didn’t just move to Missouri for the fun of it. Ohashi, on the other hand, took an incredibly extended absence from the sport. She was really excited about getting her aerials back on a low beam, which tells me she still has miles to go. From what I understood, her comeback was more along the lines of trying to be recruited for an NCAA program and less about attempting elite again.

What is your opinion of Chow’s? How do you think the girls will do overall?

I think very highly of Chow, his gym, and the girls he coaches. I think he has three Olympic hopefuls for 2016 between Norah Flatley, Rachel Gowey, and Alexis Vasquez, and I think Victoria Nguyen is the most talented U.S. junior beam worker I’ve seen since Katelyn Ohashi in her prime…which is hard to say because her own teammates are also phenomenal on the event. All of his elites have incredible potential and huge futures in the sport, even if they don’t end up making it in 2016.

Come 2016, how much stronger of a team do you believe the U.S. will have?

Take the strength of this year’s Worlds team – an incredibly strong team as they were – and multiply it by like, a billion. If everyone stays healthy and if comebacks go well and if promising juniors work out as seniors and if happy little surprises pop up unexpectedly, this U.S. team has the potential to be one of the best ever.

With all of the talk about Biles possibly being The One, The Female Uchimura, and The Absolute Ruler of the Quad, I was wondering if there’s a growth spurt in store for her and if it could be a gamechanger regarding her expected domination. Is she supposed to stay at 4 foot 9 forever?

Most young women stop growing by the age of 17, so yes, she probably will be that small! She’s also not a tiny prepubescent “little girl.” She just happens to be short! But I think even if she added a couple of inches, she wouldn’t be in a bind. You can tell some girls are able to adjust to changes like that, like Kyla Ross did when she grew a hundred feet…sure, others struggle when they grow but I don’t think “Simone” and “struggle” can be legally used in the same sentence.

What do you think about the WOGA girls who competed at Worlds? How do they compare to past WOGA girls like Nastia, Rebecca, and Katelyn?

I think they’re both lovely gymnasts with insane potential even if they’re not “the best of the best” just yet. Like, when Nastia competed you knew she was going to be huge, and Rebecca and Katelyn were absolutely world class when they were in their prime (even if they did have unfortunate ends). I don’t think either are on the same level as all-arounders, but that’s not to say they won’t be…especially Alyssa Baumann. I think her AA potential is insane and can see her making lots of upgrades that could make her a big threat. The difference between Alyssa at 12 and Alyssa at 16 is mind-blowing. Madison Kocian is gorgeous to watch but I can see her taking more of a specialist road, especially if she can up her beam even more. Madison started out strong as a wee one, and she’s gotten marginally better with age, so I think she and Alyssa are on the same page but Alyssa showed greater progress to get where she is whereas Madison has always been strong. So I think based on that, Alyssa has bigger potential for the future, but you never know. I don’t think either will reach where Nastia was, or where Becca and Katelyn were aiming, but again…you never know!

Why is Romania’s Stefania Stanila sometimes referred to as Alina Stanila?

Her first name is Alina but she typically goes by Stefania. I think for FIG competitions she has to go by Alina since it is her given name and how she’s registered under the FIG, but I believe she prefers to go by Stefania.

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Article by Lauren Hopkins