It’s time for the 43rd 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.

Has Nia Dennis left Buckeye to train at Legacy Elite?

According to someone I spoke to earlier today, Nia left for Chicago on Saturday, reportedly choosing Legacy Elite because she is able to stay with a family friend in the area (in addition to it being a great gym for bar workers). Some people have asked if she left “because of Gabby,” but as the two are good friends and based on what I heard, I believe it was more to do with her frustrations with how she felt she was being coached, with not making the Pan Ams team being the final straw. We wish her the best of luck and hope the change of scenery is a positive one for her!

Weird question…every year, the Chinese gymnasts throw some kind of talent show, and videos emerge of all the gymnasts doing choreographed dances together. It seems…odd. Can anyone shed some light on that?

I wasn’t sure, so I went to trusty Tumblr and they had some information for us! The performances are done for the Chinese New Year, aka the Spring Festival. The gymnasts do dances, songs, and skits to celebrate. The first day of the New Year falls between January 21 and February 20 and traditionally involves a few weeks of celebration, concluding with the Lantern Festival. This year the New Year began on February 19 so it’s possible this is when videos started popping up.

Why didn’t judges at the 2014 Worlds notice Yao Jinnan was not wear her number during the bar finals?

It’s not that they didn’t notice it was missing, it’s that they worked it out so that it was okay that she wasn’t wearing it. Her number fell off right as she was getting onto the podium, and she didn’t have time before starting the routine to get it pinned on again. So her coach picked it up and showed it to the judges, who nodded and said it was okay, and didn’t deduct the 0.3 because it wasn’t Yao’s or her coach’s fault that it was missing (like, they didn’t leave it in the bathroom or something) and they worked out beforehand how to settle things, so all was kosher.

If Kyla Ross sees tremendous success at these next Olympics, do you think it’s possible that she gives up her college eligibility for endorsements? And is it possible for some of the gymnasts who have been committing recently (Bailie Key, Ashton Locklear, Mykayla Skinner) to forfeit their eligibility after the olympics if they make it?

It’s always a possibility to forfeit eligibility after verballing (or even signing) with a school. I don’t think this will be the case with Kyla Ross, as she was offered numerous chances to go pro in 2011-2012 and chose not to. When I talked to her, she said it’s because she’s more introverted and didn’t enjoy all of the press events and things her teammates were doing, and was happier planning for college than doing ads and commercials. So it was a personal preference, and I think had she really cared about picking up earnings, it would have happened already, especially with her success in the current quad. I doubt her mind will change if she makes it to Rio and has more success there. With the others, who knows? I could see some of them going pro if they end up doing really well and making it to the Olympics, but they could also be more like Kyla and simply not want to be in the spotlight.

Do you think Ohashi could have taken Kyla’s spot in London had she been eligible? I keep thinking that she had potential for much higher scores, but then again, Marta has always liked Kyla (though she loves Valeri too) and she was more consistent of the two.

It’s hard to say for sure, because she wasn’t competing in 2012 to peak in that year. 2012 ended up being a pretty rough year for Katelyn’s gymnastics, so if that’s how she competed and was a senior, then no, I really don’t think she would have replaced Kyla. But had Katelyn been training to peak for 2012, it may have been a different story. She certainly had an immense beam routine, and could have done very well there, but her bars were never really strong enough to put her as a leading contender for that event in a team final so I’m not sure if she could have fully replaced Kyla, but you never know…again, had she been training for that specialist role and to peak for the Olympics in 2012, it could have been a possibility.

What’s your opinion on Brenna Dowell trying to make an elite comeback?

I’m obsessed and so happy because this was my goal for her. Whether she makes it or not, she believes she has ‘unfinished business’ in elite – ahem, two World Championships in a row she could have (should have in 2013) competed at but due to unfortunate circumstances both years ended up missing out. She clearly wants this more than anything so while we don’t know what kind of elite shape she’ll be in or whether she can challenge, I’m really proud of her for giving it a shot. It’s kind of a badass move to go to college and keep up your elite routines, so whether she makes it to Glasgow/Rio or not, I think she’s an incredible gymnast just for trying.

Do you think any other countries have closed the gap with the U.S. in the team competition? I love to see the U.S. win but if this year’s Worlds is like last year’s it almost wasn’t fun because the U.S. didn’t have any real competition for the top spot.

Based on what I’ve seen so far this year, none have really closed the gap enough to challenge them for gold, though China and Russia both have shown some great improvement (they’re apparently training really big skills in China, though whether they can hit them in routines is still a mystery, and now that some Russians are a bit healthier and looked good at Euros – namely Paseka and Afanasyeva – they definitely have added a bit more depth). However, even though these teams have gotten stronger, you have to consider the fact that the U.S. has also gotten stronger! They were down a ton of gymnasts last year due to injury, and now also have a couple of new seniors and returning Olympians who could be thrown into the mix. So if anything, the gap could potentially even be widening. I agree that it’s a bit boring when you know a team is going to win without much of a struggle, but I still find it fun to watch the race for silver and bronze. I think the real battle last year was between Russia and Romania for third and that got really exciting toward the end!

Is Sabrina Vega still trying for elite? I didn’t see her mentioned in the last few camp listings.

As far as I know, elite is still a goal of hers, but once again I don’t know if it’ll work out for her this year. I believe she just had shoulder surgery this spring, which could potentially take her out for this summer because even if she’s better by late July/early August, she still missed the entire qualification process for the domestic meets. Unless of course she got a verification score at the ranch, but I think she was already out with an injury by the time they were doing full verification.

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Article by Lauren Hopkins