“I’m so excited to not be able to walk by the time I’m 30 years old.” -Heath Thorpe’s feeling the force of gravity. Thirty is the new 90, yo.
OK took it away. Oklahoma won their fourth national championship on Saturday, mostly hitting to win by over half a point in a leotard specially designed to mimic a skin condition. LSU surprised for the bridesmaid finish with a great day, and you’ll pry their billboard from their cold, dead and horribly calloused fingers. UCLA succumbed to errors to finish in third. Denver took fourth in their first-ever finals, by far the best finish in their program’s history.
Other things. There were sad senior moments. Brenna Dowell ended her career with the stuck vault heard around the world for a 9.9875. Katelyn Ohashi did her thing for the last time. Miss Val said goodbye. OK did it for Dave. DD’s dress didn’t disappoint.
Nichols kept her crown. Maggie Nichols won the all-around at Friday’s semifinals in her first all-around appearance since January, becoming the first to repeat the title since Courtney Kupets. Kyla Ross took second, tying with Lexy Ramler; Ross ended her 10 streak but shared national titles on vault and floor, and has now won all four events. Sarah Finnegan (your new AAI Award winner) took fourth and the bars title.
As is customary with event titles, there were plenty of ties (because since when has sport been about finding out who’s the best? Oh wait, that’s the actual point? Oh). Alicia Boren shared the four-way floor title, and Natalie Wojcik stood alone atop the beam podium.
Semifinals were tense. Semifinal 1 was close. UCLA edged out LSU by just over a tenth; they once again had a leotard disaster on day one and then leotard redemption on day two. Michigan had a good day despite a last-minute injury for third, and the Utes didn’t make it, coming in fourth. MyKayla Skinner scored a 39.550 for fourth, and says she’ll announce her future plans soon. And speaking of Utah, head coach Megan Marsden has announced her retirement after 35 years.
Oklahoma was on fire in semifinal two, winning by over eight tenths. Denver barely edged out Oregon State by just over a tenth to make the final (even though fun fact Michigan outscored them), and Georgia had some errors to finish fourth.
The dudes. The men had their day, except they didn’t because they competed on the same day as the women. Right. Stanford upset 12-time champion Oklahoma. Brody Malone won the all-around, upsetting Yul Moldauer, who had a less-than-stellar day but also just won the Nissen-Emery Award, so. He’ll be fine.
DII. Lindenwood took the USAG National Championship, with UIC taking second in what was sadly their last-ever competition.
Trouble in Michigan. Former MSU president Lou Anna Simon’s preliminary hearing continued last week. She stands accused of lying to prosecutors about how much she knew about Larry Nassar’s abuse. Meanwhile, there’s significant pressure on former interim president John Engler to finally meet with Michigan’s Attorney General.
- The deadline to file a sexual abuse claim against USA Gymnastics is April 29.
- Central Michigan University coach Jerry Reighard was fired in part for telling an athlete to lie about concussion symptoms.
- The trailer for HBO’s new documentary, “At the heart of gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics scandal” is here.
- Wutever this is.
- The most hated gymnast in the NCAA (Slate)
- Miss Val’s storied career comes to an end (ESPNW)
- UCLA’s Katelyn Ohashi looks to make final statement on floor (The Associated Press), Katelyn Ohashi takes a bow (Marie Claire), Going out with no regrets (Washington Post)
- From gospel music to hip-hop, women’s gymnastics is anything but routine (The Undefeated)
- Texas is a US hotbed for gymnastics but doesn’t offer the D-I sport in college. Experts predict championships if that changes (SportsDay)
- What ESPN’s Kathy Johnson Clarke said about gymnastics future, NCAA championship in town (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
- NCAA gymnastics changed its postseason, hoping for its own March Madness moments (Washington Post)
- Back from surgery, gymnast Morgan Hurd has Tokyo 2020 within her bespectacled sight (Team USA)
Injuries. Dominick Cunningham posted an update on his injury, grade-2 LCL damage. Vanessa Ferrari had surgery on both legs, and turns out Great Britain’s Maisie Methuen missed out on Brit Champs because of a neck fracture. Great sport, you guys.
Lineup news. Italy is skipping the European Games to prep for worlds, and I’m skipping everything to go back to bed.
Mark your turtle shells
The Tokyo schedule is here.
Because you asked…
Lauren is here with her predictions for Olympic qualifications, and your other burning concerns.
If everyone’s a goat, then no one is.
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