Madison was part of a historic four-way tie at the 2015 World Championships in the uneven bars final, making her co-world champion on the event. “That’s all I can really say”, Hernandez said of the news. “I don’t want to go that far, I just want to make sure that she is putting in a good effort to have a contribution to the team effort, which is always number one, and certainly hopefully that will be enough good that she is possibly able to come in all-around”.
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But here’s what those fans don’t get: In gymnastics, it’s different.
The outcome revealed Sunday night was bittersweet for Ashton Locklear.
“Thank you for not giving up on me and I’m just going to really prove to her and everyone that I deserve to be on this team”. This includes how athletes have performed over the past several months in training camp, when no television cameras are watching.
Fellow Fierce Fiver Aly Raisman won gold on floor in London. However, when the announcement was finally made, it became clear that she will be going into another Olympics as the leader of the team.
“Having these extra events is probably helping my case to make that Olympic team”, Kocian said in an interview on Friday per Yahoo!
Now retired and serving as a volunteer assistant at UCLA (where she’s also a student), Wieber doesn’t believe she was overworked, calling her injury “inevitable” after thousands of hours in the gym.
“Everybody was banged up at the Olympics”, she said. She has an eye for everything. “She’s trusting her strengths and not trying to do anything earthshaking, just do the routines she’s prepared for, and I am very pleased with how she looks through the training session”, Karolyi stated. “I cried right after the meet and then when my name was announced”, Raisman said. “But I’d know I gave it my all”.
It’s a mindset that can place Karolyi and her staff in a hard position, particularly when it comes to teenagers who likely will have just one shot at their sport’s biggest stage. “That’s why she’s been successful for so many years”. But mostly just riveting. The final decision was made on Sunday evening by the national team coordinator, Marta Karoyli. Douglas in the uneven bars was unflappable.
The next two choices were Madison Kocian, who was eighth in the all-around but first on the uneven bars, and Douglas. She’s been dominating on the beams ever since.
Hawkins said her daughter was devastated by the ordeal and it took time to “bring her back from that”. In Rio, she will be targetting five gold medals – team, all-around, balance beam, floor and vault.
“Maybe that would be a stretch”, Karolyi said. The panel met for almost half an hour after the trials were completed at the SAP Center to name the remainder of the team.
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A few feet away, Raisman was continuing to explain why the process was fair. Everyone in attendance stood by helplessly as they waited to find out the eight American female gymnasts who would compete with the world’s best at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
