It’s time for the 66th 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.

How is it that China received no coaching deductions on bars at worlds? They were all up in those routines and audibly speaking to the gymnasts. I even heard it on video.

It’s easy to pick up sound on video because there are microphones on the podium picking up sounds that judges just aren’t going to hear…and if they’re busy watching the skills in each routine, they’re likely not watching the coaches’ mouths to see if they’re talking. Unless a coach is audibly yelling from the side of the podium, it’s likely just difficult for the judges to hear coaching comments, especially considering the judging tables were somewhat awkwardly set up compared to previous years.

Why do some gymnasts compete so often? Larisa Iordache seems to be at every competition possible! Is it for prize money? If so, how much do they get?

Some competitions do come with prize money, like various FIG events and the Swiss Cup. Most do not. Iordache likely attends the World Cup events for prize money, but when she was at friendly meets earlier this fall it was probably more to get experience on the competition floor, considering she missed the majority of the 2015 season due to injury. The Italians compete more than anyone, basically, with all of their Serie A meets on top of a ton of international friendly meets…and for them it pretty much all has to do with experience and time on the competition floor, as well as helping the national director see who makes the most sense for various teams. The same goes for most countries that have gymnasts competing as much as possible! Money really only comes into play for a select few.

From what I understand, Pauline Schäfer has qualified to Rio and Germany can’t give this spot to someone else unless they qualify a full team at the test event. But if another German gymnast qualifies at the test event as an all-arounder, does that mean they both go? And can those spots be given to someone else on the German team if those two are injured?

If Germany doesn’t qualify a full team to Rio at the test event, they will likely qualify an all-arounder, in which case both Pauline and the all-arounder will get to compete at the Olympic Games. Looking back to 2012, Phan Thi Ha Thanh of Vietnam qualified to the Games thanks to her medal on vault, and then her teammate Do Thi Ngan Thuong qualified at the test event, so both were allowed to compete in London.

If Schäfer is injured, her spot – because it’s nominative – can’t go to another gymnast on the German team. Instead, it would open up another all-around spot which would go to the first reserve from the test event. Because Germany has a full team at the test event, their all-around spot is not nominative and can go to any gymnast on the German team (similar to the Netherlands in 2012 when Wyomi Masela technically ‘earned’ the spot but the federation was able to send Celine van Gerner because their spot belonged to the federation, not the gymnast).

What do you think Kyla Ross’ chances are in terms of going to Rio? Last time around she didn’t go to the worlds before the Olympic Games either but with such a stacked team in 2015, how likely is it for her to pull it off again?

I actually think even with her issues this year, if she can get her bars under control she still has a lot to offer the team next year, and that’s mainly thanks to her beam. She needs some work there, but when she hits, she has a gorgeous and clean set that judges find difficult to deduct from. Based on how beam looked at worlds this year, I’d say this is where the U.S. needs the most help.

Alyssa Baumann is a very nice beam worker but she lacks competitive routines elsewhere, and then you have Madison Kocian who is beautiful on bars but can’t hit a high-quality beam set to save her life. If Kyla is at her best, she is a combination of these two…maybe not quite as talented as Madison on bars but close enough where she could offer a 15+ for a hit routine. I could see Kyla once again filling the role she filled in 2012 if that’s how the team ends up working out.

But at the same time, I could see Martha Karolyi going beyond a traditional bars/beam specialist. I could see Madison staying in her bars spot as a specialist (or someone with equal or better ability going solely for this apparatus) and then an all-arounder with especially strong talents for beam and floor filling another role. I think there are more who count beam and floor as their combined specialist strengths than bars and beam (different from 2012 where you had a ton of bars/beam specialists) so I could see the team consisting of three top all-arounders, a bars specialist, and then a beam/floor specialist, in which case Kyla wouldn’t really fit the bill.

Of course, it’ll all depend on where Kyla is competitively next year as well as the needs of the team. It’s impossible to say right now how this will work out. A few months ago I would’ve pinned Aly Raisman in that beam/floor specialist spot, but after her issues with beam at worlds, I’m not so sure if calling her a ‘beam specialist’ is accurate until she fixes some of her issues with connections.

The puzzle next year is going to be much more complicated than anything we’ve ever seen thanks to this country’s incredible depth, and I do think there are ways for Kyla to fit into that puzzle but it’s not going to be easy!

I recently purchased tickets to the Pacific Rim competition for 2016! In 2012, Marta sent Gabby, Jordyn, Kyla, and the top three juniors at the time. Do you have any idea who she will send this time around? Will it be people who need more experience or who need to prove themselves, or will it be another stacked team?

I think Martha prefers to send stacked teams to Pac Rims, though in 2012 it seemed like with the seniors, she went with a mix, obviously still choosing gymnasts who had a strong chance at making the Olympic team but opting to send one of the top all-arounders (Aly Raisman) to Jesolo instead. I would say there will definitely be two different teams for Jesolo and Pac Rims, and I think the stronger of the teams will go to Pac Rims, since that’s the meet aired on NBC and getting more press. My guess right now would be Simone Biles, a new senior like Laurie Hernandez, and then for the third senior spot, probably someone like Gabby Douglas, Maggie Nichols, or Aly Raisman.

Will it be possible that Chow will have another Olympian in 2016? He has Nica Hults, Norah Flatley, and Rachel Gowey who are all contenders but as of right now none really has a huge shot. Could one break out onto the scene?

Nica Hults actually trains at Texas Dreams, not with Chow. I do think Rachel is past her prime and believe 2014 would’ve been her best shot at a major international team had she not been injured, but alas. She made some nice strides this year on bars but it’s going to be very difficult for her to get into the top three on that – or any – event given the depth and how prone she is to injury. She’s already a bit behind some of the top bars gymnasts in the country right now, and isn’t as strong on beam as she once was, so as she gets older and you have the younger kids coming up, it’ll be harder for her to prove herself over others.

As far as Norah goes, I think she definitely has a shot, because she is still so young and Chow has definitely been keeping the bulk of her ability under wraps. I think she has the makings of a very strong bar worker in addition to her fantastic ability on beam, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see some big upgrades from her in the new year, similar to what we saw with Gabby Douglas in 2012. We definitely haven’t seen Norah even close to her peak, and my expectations are very high for her at the senior level.

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Article by Lauren Hopkins