It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve written one of these news posts. It didn’t really make sense to me to write about gymnastics news when no competitions were happening and the only news was about cancellations. To be honest, it was all just a little depressing. But this week I realized that things are still happening, even if no one is allowed to train or compete right now. So, here’s a recap of what’s been going on in the gymnastics world over the past couple of weeks.
NCAA Gymnastics News:
All NCAA championship meets have been canceled for 2020 because of COVID-19.
Maggie Nichols showed, once again, her incredible positivity and class as she talked about moving on after her gymnastics career was suddenly cut short.
MyKayla Skinner was interviewed for an ESPN article about her future in gymnastics, and whether that would include NCAA competition, elite competition, or both.
Check out the CollegeGymFans site for news on gymnasts who have joined various NCAA rosters, and awards that have been given out.
Elite Gymnastics News:
The big news is that the Olympics, and all events that go along with it, have been postponed.
What we know:
- The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to 2021, with the date of the Opening Ceremonies set for July 23, 2021.
- The U.S. Championships and Olympic Trials are postponed, with dates to be set later. USA Gymnastics is looking to see if St. Louis can still hold the Olympic Trials in 2021.
- The FIG is planning to reschedule the World Cup events, but no dates will be set until there is more certainty about when it will be safe to reschedule.
- Oksana Chusovitina, the Energizer bunny of gymnastics, has already committed to training one more year for the Tokyo Olympics.
What we don’t know:
- What will happen with Olympic qualification? The World Cup circuit was cut short before it was complete, so we don’t know all of the individuals who will qualify to the Olympics.
- Will athletes who turn age-eligible in 2021 be eligible to compete in the 2021 Olympics? This is a BIG question as it relates to women’s gymnastics, and we don’t have the answer for this question yet.
- Will all of the gymnasts who were training for Tokyo 2020 keep training, now that they have an entire extra year to wait? You can read some remarks from Simone Biles and MyKayla Skinner in this New York Times article.
Educational links of the week:
USA Gymnastics has a number of links, including an upcoming webinar for gym owners, on their Coronavirus page.
Gymnastics podcasts this week:
GymCastic Episode 418: American Anthem
The Routine: Gymnastics Conversations: Gymnastics Moving Forward
I Have Cool Friends (Samantha Peszek’s podcast): How Did Danusia Francis Overcome Obstacles to Make the Olympics + Dealing With the Impact of Coronavirus
