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:
4. They're both Sagittarius's.
Alicia was born December 3, 1987. The newly-wed Mrs. Brady Quinn will turn twenty-seven this year.
MyKayla was born six days after Alicia turned nine on December 9, 1996. MyKayla will celebrate her eighteenth birthday this year.
3. Neither made the Olympic team their first go-round.
In 2004, Alicia was in her second year on the national team who was a powerful floor worker and vaulter, but was skittish on the bars. She'd said she hated the bars and was actually scared of them. Earlier in the year, Alicia helped team USA to a team gold medal at the Pacific Alliance Championships and helped herself to a vault gold medal. However, she did not have her best showing at Nationals that year and was not selected for the Olympic trials.
In 2012, MyKayla made the senior national team at fifteen going on sixteen and competed for team USA at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She placed third on vault at the VISA championships but was not selected for the Olympic Trials.
2. NCAA
Alicia attended Brown University from 2006- 2009 and competed for their gymnastics team in 2006-2007. She was only other athlete in American history besides Kelly Garrison to juggle a full time elite career and an NCAA career.
McKayla has committed to the University of Utah for the 2015-2016. Utah has a legacy, being one of only six NCAA women's teams to win the NCAA National Championship title (other schools including, UCLA, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma). The Utes are a team that are known for impeccable form. MyKayla has been criticized highly for her form, although she has made great strides in improving her form. Whether or not she'll continue her elite career through college or forgo college all together and go pro. (Personally, I hope she sticks with NCAA at least to pay for school. The cost college in the US has continued to rise.)
1. Two of their best events are floor and vault... and they're world champions.
Alicia has been a World Champion on floor in Melbourne, 2005 and she was a vault world champion in Rotterdam, 2010. She helped team USA to two team golds in 2007 and 2011.
In Nanning, MyKayla won the bronze medal on vault but just placed out of the medals on floor.
The difference between MyKayla and Alicia (for now) is MyKayla is still an all-around gymnast. While she struggles on beam and bars, she's made great strides to improve her scores on these events. MyKayla won the all-around competition at the Pan American Championships in Canada with a 56.850 and had it not been for the two per country rule, she would have qualified to the all-around final in 6th place behind Kyla Ross. She also improved her all around score by nearly a full point.
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:4. They're both Sagittarius's.
Alicia was born December 3, 1987. The newly-wed Mrs. Brady Quinn will turn twenty-seven this year.
MyKayla was born six days after Alicia turned nine on December 9, 1996. MyKayla will celebrate her eighteenth birthday this year.
3. Neither made the Olympic team their first go-round.
In 2004, Alicia was in her second year on the national team who was a powerful floor worker and vaulter, but was skittish on the bars. She'd said she hated the bars and was actually scared of them. Earlier in the year, Alicia helped team USA to a team gold medal at the Pacific Alliance Championships and helped herself to a vault gold medal. However, she did not have her best showing at Nationals that year and was not selected for the Olympic trials.
In 2012, MyKayla made the senior national team at fifteen going on sixteen and competed for team USA at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She placed third on vault at the VISA championships but was not selected for the Olympic Trials.
2. NCAA
Alicia attended Brown University from 2006- 2009 and competed for their gymnastics team in 2006-2007. She was only other athlete in American history besides Kelly Garrison to juggle a full time elite career and an NCAA career.
McKayla has committed to the University of Utah for the 2015-2016. Utah has a legacy, being one of only six NCAA women's teams to win the NCAA National Championship title (other schools including, UCLA, Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Oklahoma). The Utes are a team that are known for impeccable form. MyKayla has been criticized highly for her form, although she has made great strides in improving her form. Whether or not she'll continue her elite career through college or forgo college all together and go pro. (Personally, I hope she sticks with NCAA at least to pay for school. The cost college in the US has continued to rise.)
1. Two of their best events are floor and vault... and they're world champions.
Alicia has been a World Champion on floor in Melbourne, 2005 and she was a vault world champion in Rotterdam, 2010. She helped team USA to two team golds in 2007 and 2011.
In Nanning, MyKayla won the bronze medal on vault but just placed out of the medals on floor.
The difference between MyKayla and Alicia (for now) is MyKayla is still an all-around gymnast. While she struggles on beam and bars, she's made great strides to improve her scores on these events. MyKayla won the all-around competition at the Pan American Championships in Canada with a 56.850 and had it not been for the two per country rule, she would have qualified to the all-around final in 6th place behind Kyla Ross. She also improved her all around score by nearly a full point.
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