The More Things Change, the More they Stay the Same.

Today is the day! Where dreams are made and hearts are broken. I woke up so excited and so nervous. I cannot even begin to imagine how the gymnasts feel! On Friday the crowd in the arena was electric. But you could feel the tension emanating from the floor. I am sure today will be intense.

As we have moved toward this day, many things have changed over the past few months. Some of the major players who we continued to wonder how they would factor in are no longer a factor. Shawn Johnson didn’t make it back to the competition floor. Chellsie Memmel didn’t qualify for nationals. Mackenzie and Bridgette Caquatto both did not contend for a spot on the team. Recently added to the list are Bridget Sloan, who was forced to retire her elite career when she injured her elbow Friday night, and most likely Nastia Liukin, who was unable to do a full bars routine. In addition, Alicia Sacramone stopped training floor and Rebecca Bross stopped training floor and vault.

Many things have stayed the same. Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman continue prove just how much they deserve a spot not only on the team, but on the podium in the all around and/or event finals at the Olympics. Kyla Ross has continued to show a clean, dependable high scoring bar routine and a solid beam routine. McKayla Maroney continues to show that she is a lock to win a gold medal on vault if she makes the team.

Other things stay the same too. Rebecca Bross continues to deliver wonderful bar routines but continues to fall on beam. Sarah Finnegan continues to delight with her beautiful gymnastics, but is not taking advantage of her high difficulty scores to produce “you can’t afford not to put me on this team” scores. Alicia Sacramone continues to bring fierce vaults and rock steady beam routines. But she isn’t a bars specialist, and her vaults don’t score higher than Maroney or Elizabeth Price. Speaking of Price, she brought her very best to the Trials and looked great on vault and floor. However, once again, Maroney stands in her way with a higher vault and floor combo than Price. And so, though there are many incredible gymnasts, who in most any other country would be gymnastic stars, my team continues to stay the same.