MCSMaria's Artistic Gymnastics Blog

I love a glorious beam worker. Mostly, I like seeing what gymnasts can do on a four inch (ten centimeter) wide piece of wood. This is Icelandic born Dutch gymnast, Eythora Thorsdottir on the beam at a meet in Hamburg, Germany.

Recently, young upstart vault and floor worker MyKayla Skinner has taken the USA Gymnastics scene by force. She's gained much attention this year for her powerful floor routine and her extremely powerful left arm. She's being compared to 2008 Olympic Silver Medalist and former World Champion, Alicia Sacramone. Like her counterpart, Alicia is a strong vaulter and a powerful floor worker and has contributed greatly to team USA on those events. Their similarities do not end there. Here are some comparisons of these two dynamic athletes:

Who knew Katie Holmes was a gym fan? The former Mrs. Tom Cruise paid a visit to the glorious Nadia Comaneci at her and husband Bart Conner's gym in Norman, Oklahoma.  Nadia shared the photos on her Facebook page (below the cut).

Two of the Fierce Five Members are returning to the USA Gymnastics scene. On Thursday, Fierce Five member and Olympic Floor Champion, Aly Raisman posted a text message exchange on her Twitter  account between her and fellow fierce five member and Olympic All-Around Champ, Gabby Douglas.

Two things to remember about the uneven bars. 1. The distance between the bars has gotten wider as the sport has changed. 2. The current distance between the bars with the current FIG (International Gymnastics Federation; Federation Internationale Gymnastique) standard measurements is between 130 cm to 180 cm (4'3"  to 5'10"). Per Wikipedia.

NCAA season cannot get here soon enough. A video surfaced today of UCLA Bruin and former Olympian, Samantha Peszek training a new combination on beam.

After her whirlwind tour de force in Nanning, China at the World Championships, US gymnast and two time world all-around champion, Simone Biles made an appearance on the Today Show.