It’s time for the 50th 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 (unless they are super relevant and need to be answered in a timely manner). Something you want to know? Ask us anonymously by going through the contact form at the bottom of the page.

I am wondering why Bailey Ferrer is not competing at the Secret Classic. She seems to not be injured based on her Instagram.

Bailey broke her big toe this summer which limited her training time. She said her routines were nowhere near ready for the elite stage so she decided to sit out despite qualifying and feeling better just because she doesn’t want to show up unprepared.

I’ve been wondering what happened to Julie Croket from Belgium. I know she injured her knee and missed the Olympics in 2012, but then she missed 2013 with an elbow injury. Has she retired or is she still rehabbing or has she picked up more injuries?

She hasn’t officially retired…just has a lot of bad luck with injuries though reportedly wants to stay in the sport so she can have another attempt at the Olympic Games next year after sadly missing out at the last minute due to injury after being named their sole competitor in 2012. She did a nice job at World Championships last year, especially on floor. In 2014, she waited until September to compete, perhaps to save herself for Worlds, so my hope is that she’s taking a similar path this year.

I was looking through elites’ Instagrams and noticed a LOT of bios that said ‘Future Florida Gator.’ That got me thinking. Could you make some sort of list showing which current elites have signed or verbally committed to their respective colleges?

We could, but for the time being, CollegeGymFans.com does a great job of keeping everyone updated on who has committed and where they’re going. They list recruits by their graduating class and then list each school and everyone who has committed to each one, or you can search for a recruit’s name to see a mini profile and where she’s ending up.

How do you see the non-U.S. big 4 nations faring this year at Worlds? Can Romania medal even with their recent low scores without Larisa Iordache?

Romania definitely could not medal without Larisa. In fact, I don’t think they could really medal with her, but it will just depend on how well Russia and China perform. I think Russia right now has the potential to earn the silver medal if their top girls stay healthy. They actually have a good amount of depth this year and there are definitely going to be a few left at home who have potential to contribute heavily…unlike last year where they were scrounging for a team at the last minute and dealing with a million injuries and other setbacks.

China without Yao Jinnan could be in a tricky spot, and I think Russia could beat them somewhat easily, but I don’t think Romania could top China unless they have Larisa and Catalina Ponor (assuming she comes back like she usually does) doing their best work on all of their events. I do think Romania can stay in the top four…they’re pretty safe in a three-up format, even if they come in ranked lower in qualifications where they’re forced to count four on each event. They could see some competition from countries like Japan, Great Britain, and Italy but I still think with Larisa and Catalina they have a major edge in a team final situation. It’s just that third gymnast on each event that could keep them off the podium.

I’ve read that gymnasts on the national team can get a stipend from USA Gymnastics to help cover training costs. Do you know how much this stipend is? Also, can a gymnast accept the stipend and still compete in NCAA?

I believe the last I heard, the stipend is $2000 a month and the stipend does not affect their NCAA eligibility since it is not prize or endorsement money and therefore doesn’t change their status from amateur to professional.

Do you think that Brenna Dowell’s comeback is realistic? Do you think she’ll be able to compete elite successfully again?

We at the Gymternet are big Brenna fans, and we all feel that her comeback is absolutely realistic. Being at Oklahoma has done wonders for her gymnastics, even though she was competing ‘easier’ routines. She seemed happier, more relaxed, and more confident, and her gymnastics was clean and technically precise, earning multiple 9.95s and even a perfect 10. Her artistry especially improved a ton under coach KJ Kindler. We’ve always known she had potential, but she just seemed to fall short with each attempt. Now we believe that even with just one year at Oklahoma under her belt, it will help her a lot in the elite world.

Looking at Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman in their comebacks at Jesolo, do you think in the next 17 months they could be powerful enough to beat Simone? I know they didn’t throw their hardest stuff quite yet and weren’t at 100% so could we be in for a Simone shutout come Rio?

I’m not sure Gabby could, because I think Simone’s vault and floor (and even beam at this point) are far superior. Aly could probably match her on floor and beat her on beam, but I think Simone is a much stronger vaulter. Maybe Aly could beat Simone in the all-around if Simone has an off day with big enough errors, but on a day that Simone is decidedly on, no, I don’t think Aly – or anyone – could beat her. It’s hard to say what will happen next year, but as of right now this is the case and just as Gabby and Aly will be adding upgrades in the next year, Simone will be as well, so their challenge is to both catch up to her and then keep up with her, which is not easy! Right now she has about a full three point barrier between her and them, so while I think they can definitely close that gap, if Simone continues on her trajectory, it will be very difficulty for anyone to match her.

Were there any international meets besides Jesolo that the U.S. juniors went to this year?

No, the U.S. juniors only attended the Jesolo meet. As of right now there are no future meets on the calendar for the rest of 2015, though it’s possible Martha Karolyi will decide to send a couple of the top juniors to a smaller competition in the fall…perhaps some of the 2000 babies so they can get a tiny bit more experience before they have to contend for the Olympic team next year!

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Article by Sarah Chrane and Lauren Hopkins