It’s time for the 57th 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. But if we get one more “where’s McKayla Maroney” question we’re going to burn this website to the ground. WE DON’T KNOW.

What happened to Felicia Hano and Marissa Oakley?

Both unfortunately were injured just shortly before they were set to compete at the U.S. Classic. Felicia was attempting a new second vault, a tsuk layout full, when she landed badly and injured her leg. Marissa was performing her awesome double double bars dismount but stepped back wrong on the landing and also injured her leg. Sadly, both will be out this season, a huge bummer considering how hard they both worked to make it this far.

I’ve watched Simone’s 2014 Worlds qualification and event final beam routine a couple of times, and I can’t figure out which connection she’s not getting valued with. I count 0.1 for the front aerial + leap, 0.2 for the triple flight series, 0.2 for the two split leaps to back pike, and then 0.1 for her dismount series for a total of 0.6 in connections. Added to her top eight elements her start value should be 6.5, but the most Simone got at Worlds was 6.4.  Where did she lose the tenth?

Honestly, any of the connections within the routine could have been considered missed because judges sometimes make mistakes…I think she made all of her connections but it’s possible the judges in the moment thought something was a little slow both times and didn’t give it to her. I know sometimes when I watch beam live in an arena I think “oooh very quick connections!” or “omg that’s totally not going to be credited” and then when I watch on video later I have the exact opposite reaction…so even though watching on video, we see that she’s doing everything well, it’s just possible the judges watching live weren’t impressed with the speed of something? My guess would be the switch + switch half + back pike because she had minor pauses there…I could see them not crediting the two leaps since she definitely hesitated there.

At this point in the quad, who do you think will be the “surprise” member of the U.S. Olympic team – perhaps a dark horse that no one is really considering right now? Just for fun, of course!

I’m actually excited to see what Christina Desiderio can do. Yes, she has some areas to clean up, but for a junior, she shows incredible work on beam and floor when she hits. I’m also wondering if Parkettes can work their dark horse magic twice. Christina right now is actually in a MUCH stronger position than Elizabeth Price was in 2011, and then bam, Ebee came out on FIRE in 2012, putting herself steps ahead other first-year seniors people were giving way more credit to, so while I’d say she’s not exactly a front runner right now, she’s someone I’d keep an eye on. Of course, her best events happen to be shared by many, so she’d really need a way to stand out, but she’s made so much progress already since last year. I’d love to see her really stand out and surprise people next year, even if she doesn’t end up making the team.

What is this skill called?  

This is a piked Jaeger.

What do you think about Becky Downie’s chances going into 2016 and making the Rio bar final? I didn’t really have an opinion after 2012 but now I think she’s contributing great things to the sport of gymnastics!

I think she has really stepped up in Beth Tweddle’s absence and I’m really excited to see what she can do in the coming year. There’s definitely a spot for her on the team, and if they’re going to take a specialist, it might as well be one who can contribute on an event they really need, since all of their top new seniors are superb on other events but not really bars. She’s just miles ahead of everyone there right now and could also contribute on beam in addition to acting as a great leader to what will be an otherwise pretty young team. Assuming she makes it to Rio, she absolutely has a shot at the bar final! Not sure if she’d be capable of medaling, but she should be in the mix of finalists without a doubt.

Is it true that Gabby Douglas has verified an Amanar at camp? She was said to be working on a new vault. What do you think it is? Do you see her doing a Chow half in connection with a pak?

I believe she had been training the Amanar but then with dealing with a minor foot injury, backed off for the time being so the majority of her work in the past few months was done on bars and beam, and I believe she has upgrades coming on both. I’d love to see her do a Chow half to pak but not sure if it’s in her plans? I’ll ask her at nationals if it’s something she’s considered.

Do you see Simone Biles doing a TTY in the near future?

I know she has trained them but I don’t think there’s any push to compete one. It’s a huge risk and might not be worth it at this point in her career when she is dominating everything…she and Aimee Boorman are super smart about her upgrades and only put them in if she can hit them incredibly well, and I know Martha Karolyi has always told gymnasts not to bother with the TTY until their Amanars are perfect, so it’s likely they’d rather just focus on her Amanar while focusing on the bigger priority of upgrading her second vault to a Cheng. I do think Biles is the gymnast most likely to do a TTY (and the gymnast most capable of doing one successfully) but I kind of want her to come back and do it in the next quad early on when there’s really nothing to lose.

What do you think of Andreea Iridon? Is she eligible for Rio? If so, do you think she has a chance of representing Romania? How does she measure up to the American juniors?

Andreea Iridon is a new senior this year, so yes, she is eligible for Rio. As a junior, she was definitely hyped as the future of bars for Romania, because she’s very pretty to watch on that event and has a lovely style, but she hasn’t really lived up to expectations there, hitting only one of five routines thus far as a senior. I could see them taking her to Worlds this year, but I think she’d need quite a bit of work between now and the Olympic Games to be part of that picture, especially because her other strong event is beam, but with Larisa Iordache and Catalina Ponor back in the picture alongside Andreea Munteanu, there’s really no place for her beam in a team final. We’ll see how it all ends up working out, but honestly, if she were a U.S. junior right now based on her performances so far this year she wouldn’t even make the national team. Last year, when she was a junior, she was much stronger across the board so I’m not sure what has happened but she was definitely “one to watch” and she just seems to have regressed, sadly.

The U.S. is looking so strong this quad. I think when the time comes for picking the squad for Rio next year they will be leaving not just a handful but realistically a whole other group of 5-8 gymnasts who are prominent contenders for titles on apparatuses. Do you think Martha will go with more all-around gymnasts considering the fact that only two will make it to the final? Or do you think she will stick to 1-3 all-around gymnasts and bring two specialists?

I think for Rio, she will likely take all-arounders, especially because there are definitely five all-arounders who have standout events and they all kind of complement each other well. Like, looking at the top five all-arounders now, they manage to place in the top 3 on pretty much every event but bars, but is it worth it to take a bars specialist to add maybe five tenths max over someone who is maybe getting a 14.9 instead of a 15.4 but who can also contribute elsewhere? That’s what the puzzle is, and I think Martha said repeatedly in 2012 that she’d rather have gymnasts who can not only contribute on multiple events in a team final, but who can also act as backup on any event if needed.

Look at 2012 as an example…someone like Anna Li had a bars set capable of huge scores and yet I think even had she been super consistent on the event, Kyla Ross with her lower potential (let’s face it, she was VASTLY overscored on bars domestically) still would’ve been the better option because Anna wouldn’t have been able to step in anywhere else…which ended up being necessary when McKayla Maroney got injured and could only perform on vault. Had this happened and Anna Li been on the team instead of Kyla, they would’ve put up a scary beam routine and only three floor routines in qualifications. Not a dire situation if everyone else hits, but still a bit scary and not something they’d want to risk.

Who do you think has the best shot at making it to Worlds for the U.S. at this point? Any speculative team guesses or lineups?

My speculative Worlds team right now is Gabby Douglas, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, Bailie Key, and Kyla Ross. There are two I’d consider swapping out and I have replacements in mind for various reasons but I think this is the most realistic bet…talk to me next week after nationals and I guarantee I’ll have some changes!

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Article by Sarah Chrane and Lauren Hopkins