It’s been awhile, but we’re back! It’s time for the 34th edition of You Asked, The Gymternet Answered! We apologize if we haven’t gotten to your question yet, but we try to answer in the order in which they were received. Something you want to know? Ask us anonymously by going through the contact form at the bottom of the page.

Last week at the meet between University of Florida and University of Kentucky a senior gymnast from Kentucky named Shelby Hilton opened up on her first pass of double pike and landed on her head/neck.  Do you know if she is ok or what happened to her? It was very scary and I was just hoping she was ok.

You may have heard by now, but Shelby went to the doctor just to make sure everything was okay physically, but in doing scans they found out she had a medulloblastoma, which is one of the most common brain tumors in children. She finished proton radiation therapy on April 27 and will begin chemotherapy on June 8, according to her GoFundMe account.

Do you know what Hannah Whelan is up to?  Is she still training?

Hannah announced her retirement in February.

With Simone’s dual US/Belize nationality, would it be possible to compete for Belize if the US didn’t select her during Olympic Trials? Or would she have to decide before trials? I imagine with the short time between trials and Rio she wouldn’t be able to petition to compete as a Belizean, but I don’t know how that works.

She would have to decide beforehand. There’s a rule stating that you can’t compete at a national competition for two different countries in the same year, and you also have to go through a change of nationality with the FIG. They have to approve it, and it takes some time for it to go through. With Olympic Trials held only a month before the Games, that definitely wouldn’t be enough time to change nationalities with the governing body.

What do you think of Afan’s new floor?

I think it’s a really strong routine for her, and was glad to see it resulted in the gold medal at European Championships!

I saw Macko’s recent training video. Any chance she is training for another shot at elite?

Not that I know of! It seemed she was just messing around in the gym. It’d be cool to see her come back, but I don’t think that’s one of her plans at the moment.

After reading Winning Balance, Letters to a Young Gymnast, Off Balance, and Grace Gold and Glory, I was wondering if there are more books I can read?

Well, Shannon Miller just released a new book called It’s Not About Perfect. There’s also this Goodreads list of popular gymnastics books, mostly for younger audiences but it’s a pretty complete list. I also really liked Jennifer Sey’s Chalked Up.

What’s the gossip with Sabrina Schwab’s college commitment? She was committed to UCLA but then they withdrew the offer? Why? And now she’s committed to Utah according to a picture on Instagram. So what’s the deal?

No drama that I’ve heard of. Sometimes these things just happen. Could be that she was given a verbal offer by UCLA but then not officially signed by them, and because a spot opened up at Utah with Mykayla Skinner’s deferral until after the Olympics, it made sense for her to find another option.

What do you think of Norah Flatley?

I think she’s fantastic and that even if you find yourself “let down” by her all-around scores if they seem a bit low, just wait until next year. I think Chow is fantastic at getting his gymnasts where they need to be when they need to be there, and I think that’s exactly how we’ll see her next year even if she doesn’t ever win any junior titles or anything.

Do you think that it is weird for Chow and the girls from Chows at the national team training camp because of Gabby Douglas?

There are sometimes these awkward moments when girls leave their gyms and still have to see their old coach at training camps and competitions (like both Katelyn Ohashi and Ivana Hong after leaving GAGE but continuing to see Al Fong everywhere). It happens and everyone is usually mature enough to just deal with it. It’s all business. There didn’t seem to be any animosity between Gabby or anyone else at Jesolo, so I would imagine they’re just keeping that under wraps as to not affect the atmosphere at a meet.

Is Rachel Gowey not on the senior national team anymore?

She wasn’t originally on the 2014-2015 national team because she didn’t compete at Championships last year due to her injury. But when she returned to camp, she was reinstated onto the team and is now a member once again.

Article by Lauren Hopkins