206: The Russian Situation

 IN THE NEWS This week, Uncle Tim, Spencer and Jessica chat about: Gabby's secret knee injury (3:30): "Broken knee" and absentee father storylines continue to muddle Gabby Inc. waters  - NY Times and Mercury News McKayla Maroney wasn't randomly Periscoping, she was on her way to surprise some little gym nerds at a Trials watch party!  Skinner Gate 2.0 (17:47): Miss Skinner (and now her coach) continue to get in trouble on Twitter.  British Olympic teams strategy (28:00) The decades of black gymnasts who paved the way for Simone Biles Could we have had an African-American Olympic champion in 1984? Tutya Yilmaz (TUR) and Jossimar Calvo were the highlights of the ill attended/post-terrorist attack World Cup in Turkey. Russian Cup: the provisional Olympic team and the potential impact of the McLaren report (48:00) Mustafina had a weird thing on bars, here's the video Romanian Nationals: was it smart to choose Catalina Ponor as the sole Olympic competitor over Larisa Ilordache?  Anda Butuc’s onodi mount on beam is everything On the men’s side, Marian Dragulescu hurt his ankle, but should be okay Chusovitina won a vault World Cup with her Produnova Emma Larrsson from Sweden had  big band version of Sex & the City floor music Why were so many people confused and outraged after the US Team was announced? NBC's coverage of the Olympic Trials is at least partially to blame. (1:29:00) Read Cordelia's full analysis and math proof about the US Olympic team decision.  Here is a little piece of her work: “To take the top 3 on every apparatus, a 7 person team would be needed. The selection committee has to optimize the team score within a 5 person team, while ensuring there are at least 4 solid or better scores on each apparatus. The only combination of these top 7 gymnasts plus Ashton Locklear that meets the criteria is the team the selection committee chose. 1. Biles 248.25  2. Hernandez 241.65 3. Raisman 240.85 4. Douglas 235.25 5. Kocain 233.5 6. Smith 232.55 7. Skinner 232.1. As it turns out, the Olympic team that was chosen is composed of the top 5 AAers over the two competitions with the next two AAers as alternates (which includes #2 on VT) and the #2 on UB as an alternate. They could stop there, but they need to ensure that the team of 5 gymnasts has the highest scoring potential." CONTEST Win:  The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics’ Top Score – from Nadia to Now by Dvora Meyers What: Write a new rule for the next quad How: #Endofthe10Book @GymCastic on Instagram or Twitter Deadline: Sunday, July 31st at midnight. RELATED LINKS 2016 OLYMPIC TRIALS PART 1: THE NIGHT OF UBER IMPORTANT WATER CUPS by Spencer SUPPORT THE SHOW Join Club Gym Nerd here. Buy one of our awesome shirts here. RELATED EPISODES 2016 Olympic Team and Coaches Episode 33: Simone Biles & Her Coaches 161: Women’s Finals Recap with Aimee Boorman and Christian Gallardo Episode 77: Aly Raisman Episode 41: Laurie Hernandez & Coach Maggie Haney 151: Danell Leyva Episode 32: Sam Mikulak & 2013 Men's NCAA Championships 2014 Winter Cup: Chris Brooks on Broken Bones, Blaniks, and Rio Episode 35: Jake Dalton 72: John Orozco 187: McKayla Maroney Getting to the Games: A Checklist 201: Men’s Olympic Trials and P&G Champs Preview Gymbuster: Domestic vs. International Scoring 200: Alicia Sacramone 162: Wrap Up of the 2015 P&G Championships 160: PG Championships Women’s Prelims Recap Episode 48: Kyla Ross Episode 58: Charlotte Drury, Fall Euro Series & NCAA De-commits Episode 31: Elise Ray 148: Shannon Miller Episode 28: Kristen Maloney Episode 55: Worlds Wrap Up & Ferlito-Gate Episode 54: Event Finals Recap from 2013 World Championships Episode 53: All Around Finals Recap from Antwerp World Championships Episode 52: Triumph & Heartbreak Prelims Recap from Antwerp Worlds 114: Fallout From Gymnastike’s Handling of Maroney Hack & Tumble Episodes 3 and 4 with special guest Jenni Pinches! Episode 16: Elizabeth Price 146: Taylor Rice and The 2015 NCAA Championships Episode 9: Chellsie Memmel, Swiss Cup & FIG Presidential Proposals Episode 37: Julie Zetlin 81: Jenny Hansen Episode 15: Joan Ryan Author of Little Girls in Pretty Boxes Douglas Family Gold on Oxygen Podcast Recaps Douglas Family Gold: Finale DFG: World Selection Camp DFG PODCAST: Last Days of Summer Douglas Family Gold: A Companion for Gabby Douglas Family Gold S1E2: Graduation Day Douglas Family Gold: The First Hurdle Douglas Family Gold Preview Show