Anyone else bummed Gabby decided to withdraw after bars? She was in good company with bars falls and mistakes. I wish she’d continued on.
Does she still have a path to Paris, or is she out now?
Plus, her comeback doesn’t need to end this year for any reason! If she’s still enjoying it and her body isn’t falling apart, there’s no reason the Olympics has to be the be all end all
Yeah, I'm really hoping she tries for worlds next year. Seems like a better timeline for her.
I don't understand though why she started her comeback a few months before the Olympics. It's not like Suni who had health issues or the NCAA ladies who had to balance elite and college. She could have started a year earlier, then she would have more time to have comp experience as well as make tweaks based on those experiences.
Her timeline was just really cutting it close.
The “sources” say she’s been in the gym since late 2022. Maybe she was not up to level enough to compete last summer? Or maybe there’s another reason.
She's not competition ready in 2024. By what measure do we expect that she was in 2023?
I have a cynical take here that as a former Olympic champion she can make some money with a comeback leading up to an Olympics. My possibly even more cynical take is it may be her mother pushing for this and not Gabby. I do worry that her earning haven’t and won’t hold up over her whole life and that was very possibly her and her family’s plan. 😞
I was under the same impression, exactly like Memmel and Hernandez did in 2021. Specially if she doesn't continue competing next year. If they were real for it, they would've returned a year early, even without the 4 apparatus ready, just to be on the field, and gradually improving, like she did in early 2015 or Shawn did in 2011. Instead they went for a great comeback near the Olympics, with a lot of social media posting, interviews and a huge hype. Realistically they knew they didn't had a shot returning so late, they just needed to sell it. And I think that will be a trend now, curious to see who will be the olympic medallist who will announce a big comeback in 2028 right close to Los Angeles.
I wouldn’t say money/sponsorships are why Memmel and Hernandez competed in 2021 but that’s me.
Agree! Chellsie came back for fun from Covid boredom and was like hey let’s see what happens
Laurie just didn’t seem like she could regain her skills. It’s really not fair to assume she was in it for the money. Sometimes people aren’t able to achieve their goals.
None of these girls aside from Simone are making any remotely decent money by merely existing as an active gymnast in an Olympic year. Gymnastics is a minority sport. The money comes for the few who actually make it to the Olympics, perform in front of tens of millions of people and make a name for themselves. Even if this comeback was motivated by money (and I don’t see the issue) I’m sure gabby knows more than anyone that people only care about you when you’re relevant and she had to make the team in order to earn good money.
Gabby is a household name and one of the rare celebrities - like Simone - who can capitalize on her career via social media and other opportunities and make a decent sum.
Which is why I have the theory about her mother. Gabby’s heart doesn’t seem in it.
What health issues did Suni have?
Before the end of the 2023 NCAA season, she developed a chronic kidney issue (never specified) that caused her to frequently swell and retain water. Some days her hands were so swollen she could not put her grips on. Then the medication she was put on has vertigo as a side effect.
She is saying it is under control now, but for a long time it was good days and bad days, really restricting her training consistency.
Kidney problems. On the broadcast today they said it’s actually 2 issues, one of which is resolved and another which is ongoing. It’s the first time I’ve heard this.
It sounds like she might have to do dialysis based on their description of the treatments that she’s doing. Which if that’s the case I’m shocked she’d be able to go to the Olympics at all, that’s usually a at least twice a week thing and it lasts 3-4 hours each time. And if you skip it could lead to bigger problems. But it might not be that, that’s just what I was concluding based on what the announcers said.
When they talked about her treatment, they said she's going in every three months now, down from every month. Nothing they said seemed to indicate dialysis (to me at least)
Sounds like maybe a biologic infusion of some kind, fits the stated schedule.
Team USA can support dialysis in Paris. USOPC's resources for the Olympics aren't limitless but this is well within the limits.
Source? There’s a big difference between kidney disease and dialysis and this seems like baseless speculation.
I didn’t get any indication she was on dialysis. She visited the hospital once a month before and now once every three months. That doesn’t sound like dialysis.
When did they say one was on going?
I think it was when she was on beam but don’t quote me.
Kidney issues
2 different kidney diseases that have not been named/disclosed. I believe she is in remission from one of them and the other is ongoing
Look at Chusovatina…maybe it will be Gabby 2028!
She did have a path, but she would have had to nail her other three routines. 14.3 vault + 13.5 beam + 13.1 floor would have gotten her there, and based on American Classic performance, this would be possible for her--but very, very unlikely. I'm assuming she scratched because she felt really off, and didn't want to get injured.
I’m super scared she’s thinking Olympics or bust ala Nastia because she CAN do it she just needs time
Can’t they pick whoever they want for trials? I thought it was like top 12 plus whoever the committee wants, or something along those lines. If she shows up to championships and puts up huge scores on her three events then they can send her to trials, no?
They usually mostly pick all arounders and then of the specialists, it will be people who have top couple event scores - she’s not there yet on any event. If she has three scores in the thirteens and no fourth score, that won’t be enough to get an invite to trials. They tend to favor all arounders who have less of a shot of making the team, maybe in part to give them some experience for the next quad. If she can meet the all around bar they set, she will easily buy herself more time to improve at trials. But now she can’t do that unless she finds some way to petition and that seems unlikely since she already has an all around score and the rules prohibit someone with an all around score from petitioning all around to nationals.
This seems like such a flaw in the rules. A former Olympic AA champion who could potentially have gotten the 3 event score on two different combinations of three events should be able to do AA at nationals.
Idk if this is a popular opinion but I think the US needs to overhaul the way people qualify to Olympic Trials. We essentially already know who should be at trials, so I’m not sure why it needs to come down to performances here and at nationals when they’re just going to tell us basically what we already know. If you’re a serious contender for the team, not attempting to compete an event at all leaves you better off to make nationals/trials than making a subpar attempt and I think that’s bizarre to incentivise.
Agree.
I think USAG would be well advised to make sure all their procedures essentially allow Simone to turn up to any competition she feels like, for the next decade or so. Not just 2025-28, when she will presumably be a reigning Olympic champion. But after that too.
There should be a clause that if you are an Olympic All Around champion, you should be able to try to compete in ANY US competition that you should want to strive for. Come on, show some respect USAG! And I think that should go for any All Around World Champion as well. It’s not like there are so many of them running around that it would really cost you any more money or time (Simone alone owns most of them for the past decade). But it does show the fans that you respect that these ladies brought back that prestigious gold for the US.
Really bummed. At this point, I just really want her to have one good meet for the comeback era. She’s already in the history books, you can’t take that away from her! Rooting for her for the championships.
Super hard to watch that in real time.
I don't agree with people calling withdrawing as bad sportsmanship but the meet just really proved what I've been thinking from the beginning - Gabby is nowhere ready for the Olympics. Not physically and not mentally.
She either should have come back much earlier or just come back and work her way through the elite cycle without hyping up a Olympics comeback (which the media and fans did too but she herself made serveral bold statements too) so much as that added much more pressure.
She is a lovely gymnast though and I really wish her the best. Worlds 2025 might be a better goal if she wants to stick around.
I’m bummed. Maybe worried she’d have in injury after being shaken? Maybe not taking a chance so she’s prepared for next comp. I’m so bummed for her..she’s been a punching bag for a long time and went through so much, I really wanted to see her do amazing today even if she wasn’t top 5
I’m so sad. I want to see her happy! And selfishly I love to watch her gymnastics so I wish she’d continued. I’m assuming she felt too shaken up to continue. I really hope she goes to nationals!
Me too, I’m a big fan (but not super into the gymnastics world, outside of watching the bigger competitions). Was really looking forward to seeing her compete. I hope she keeps her head up and can still have some fun with the sport.
I love her. But I just didn’t think she would have had enough competition time after being away so long. The nerves have to be bad. But she’s still a star and a multiple Olympic gold medal winner. She has zero to be ashamed of.
Disappointment yes, but not shame. Gabby has proven she's an Olympic champion thrice over (1 AA, 2 team). She had nothing to lose with this comeback attempt, and she can move on with her head held high. This does mean she'll need to do some reassessing re: her future and what she'll do outside of gymnastics. After she retired years ago she hasn't really tacked on to a career (that i've heard of). All i know is she lives on a farm here in TX. Anybody else have any idea what else she's been doing since before returning to gymnastics this year?
I’m sure she’s disappointed but literally no shame. It took a lot of guts to even try.
I think it was important for her to compete this meet. I think she needed the experience and to get through the whole thing just to shake off some of the pressure.
I believe that if she decided to withdraw it’s because she believes it’s the best decision for her. She doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. She is already a Champion. I just hope she is ok.
I don’t believe she’ll throw away all the hard work she has put in on this comeback. You can see it. The skills are there. They don’t just magically happen. She’s been training hard. I hope she can regroup and compete.
I am a big Gabby fan since 2012. Her chances to make the Olympic team are slim. But she is doing this for herself. Not for us. I hope she accomplished what she really needs for herself.
Go Gabby! We support you no matter what.
I wish she would have gone through the whole meet to get the nerves out.
I was a bit worried when I saw how much she was being spotted in the UB training clip posted by IG. (At least I think I saw it on IG) But I still did not expect that kind of showing on bars. A full routine with a fall, maybe, but not what we saw.
I said that on Twitter earlier this week when I saw how much she was being spotted. I was worried it didn’t bode well for her.
I noticed the all the spotting but it didn’t click for me that she might have issues
She is far from being ready to seriously compete for a spot on the Olympic team. Everyone knows it including her. If she keeps training she may be ready for worlds.
After listening to gymcastic, I learned that valeri was actually pushing her in times not just spotting so without him that would make it really hard :/
I'm so sad she didn't have the comeback meet she wanted. I think it's important to remember all the abuse that US gymnasts in her era experienced, and how traumatic it might be to come back to competing and have things go wrong. We can't know why she withdrew and what her safety concerns were for continuing to compete, but in a sport where one wrong move can lead to a life altering or life threatening injury, I'm never going to judge an athlete for withdrawing.
I do think that unfortunately her path back confirmed that most athletes really do need to be competing full routines in competition settings well out from a major meet. I was hopeful that she could prove the exception to the rule. I wish she had taken a more conventional path back into things with some competition and camp attendance in 2023
Yeah I do think people need to be competing a year before the Olympics. This comeback was questionable once she missed that milestone. But also, no one has ever been away from gymnastics for this long. She was trying to do something nearly impossible, so she needed even more time. The other comebacks happened when gymnasts took only 1 or so years off.
Thank you for this reminder as well. I just posted an article yesterday where Simone talks about walking into Worlds last year and having a "PTSD" moment. The stuff these women have gone through is traumatic and hard and people either forget that or don't care to consider anything other than "oh it's a bad look".
Gabby has been through it with USAG and fans and I just want the best for her. If withdrawing was best, then I'm glad that's what she chose to do.
This conversation is why I LOVE THIS SUB. So wonderful to see a community of thoughtful fans/enthusiasts who support these amazing women as both athletes and people!
This reminds me of the fact that Gabby is the only gymnast I have ever seen have such a horrible year previous to the Olympics (her first year senior 2011), be written off, and within less than a year excel all the way up to an Olympic All Around gold medal. That’s quite a feat. I haven’t seen such a contrast before or since. (I’ve been an avid follower since 1991)
Simone 2013 had a meteoric rise after a bad classic, but it wasn’t the Olympic year.
I watch the international feed so - no commentary. Was there a reason given for the withdrawal?
No, no reason was given. She did look disappointed when talking to her coaches, like she was being very hard on herself.
She’s always so hard on herself 😪
It was a shame she started on bars. Warmups looked really good on the other 3 events, and then she struggled a lot on bars. It may not have made her bar routine any better to have it later in the evening, but at least it wouldn't have felt like such a devastating start.
I'm sad she didn't come back out for at least an event or two - the arena was SO supportive of her (literally chanting "Gabby" after her second fall), and I wish she could have gotten that with a better event. I hope she'll still head to nationals (and maybe events after), but mostly, I hope she's just happy.
I actually think her starting on bars was the only way she was going to potentially hit the routine given her endurance issues. I noticed she was getting spotted on a lot of elements by Valeri in every bars run through.
It was crazy to me people kept saying she looked good on bars when she was being heavily spotted.
One full routine heavily spotted in podium training after a 2h-sleep isn't necessarily worrying. If she needs to be spotted that much every times to get through a full routine in training, than yes, that’s not competition ready.
I've seen parts of her UB where she hit without spotting, and I didn't see the full podium training or her regular training, so I stayed neutral and waited to see how she would do for her 2nd competition. Unfortunately it didn't happen...
That’s the thing tho is for a full routine I have always seen Valeri there bumping her. Jessica’s guest on Gymcastic (Nicole Langevin) mentioned this too. I think it’s just too hard for her as a routine endurance wise at this point.
It's just people were just being over dramatic after podium training like "Valeri stay away from her ", and to me it didn't make sense because either :
- she can usually do the whole routine on her own, but she's tired (the flight problem..), and it's podium training, it isn't necessary to go full-out. So having your coach spotting you while you're getting a feel of the equipment is fine. Gymnasts have another gym to practise beside podium training.
- she can't do the whole routine on her own even in training. In this case I'd rather have the coach spot her than see a gymnast get injured.
My motto was just "wait and see in competition", and well, we saw... And the problem wasn't just stamina, she fell on the 1st seq in both competitions.
At least her UB was well constructed, scoring wise, unlike her BB/Floor.
I don’t have any issue with him spotting her. He should obviously do whatever it takes to keep her safe. What people were questioning is if she is able to do her bar routine without spotting yet. Not whether her coach should help keep her safe.
Exactly. I get that her fans were excited to see her back, but there was such a state of delusion regarding what shape she is in. So many people put her on their teams when she announced her comeback and showed some impressive biceps…even when there was no footage of full routines whatsoever. I have no problem with people hyping up their favorites, but I always advocate to wait and see. I think everyone now could see that she needs a lot more time before she’s ready for international competition again
The “Gabby” chants warmed my heart. I don’t know if she was really able to take them in in the moment, but I hope she knows she’s got a ton of people rooting for her.
I don’t understand why she didn’t finish the meet to get a floor qual score so she could compete all around at Nationals. Can anyone explain this?
She couldn't have just got the floor score, you can't piece the 51 together. She got the 3 event score and needed the full AA score of 51 to qualify
I don’t think you can piecemeal qualifying scores from different events to qualify them all into nationals. If I’m remembering correctly if she did get a qualifying floor score today she’s have to choose which meet she wanted to use as her qualifying meeting
She would need to qualify for AA at one meet, she cannot combine scores from different meets
Ok. So she needed the AA score today to be able to compete AA for nationals.
I feel sad for her but I don't feel sad for us as spectators, no.
Sports like gymnastics need the athletes to be there mentally as well as physically, because the risk for physical injury is greater and with serious risks if they're not in the right headspace.
It's not "being a poor sport" to remove yourself from a potentially dangerous situation. It doesn't mean she put in 18 months (or more?) of work "for the sponsors". Or any of the other things people are suggesting.
It's as if Simone pulling out of the team final in Tokyo and the conversations since - as well as the general conversations around me tal wellbeing in general - haven't meant anything to some people.
As for Paris, I have said it all along that I don't think it was realistically a chance and that Gabby likely knew that. Simply because there hasn't been enough shown to put her on a team over other athletes. However, I do think that if Gabby wants to continue, then she should and could do well still. She just needs more time. If she doesn't want to, that's fine as well. It's her body, her career, her life and her choice.
(I'd like to see her with a better gym/coaching set up but that's her choice as well.)
Gonna be honest, her MO was “this time it’s about joy…” and truthfully, she has not looked joyful in gymnastics since 2012. She looked miserable and anxious last night, at American classic, and in 2016. I am a huge fan of Gabby’s gymnastics but I’m starting to think that it might be better and healthier for her to put it behind her.
That’s why I refuse to get fired up over all the IG/FB reels. I need to see someone compete before I make an opinion.
My heart broke when Gabby was fighting the bars. That was flat out nerves, unless something comes out about a stealth injury.
She just started too late for the comeback, and the hype doubled down on the pressure.
It’s one thing in the practice gym. A whole other beast in a packed area with a zillion screaming fans and the media watching every movement.
Selfishly I’m bummed. I wanted to see her do well here and have a shot for the Olympics. I love her work.
Agreed - the whole narrative about Gabby finally finding happiness seemed too glossy and almost too good to be true, sadly. As someone who has also had it rough and had a lot of mental struggles, I empathize with her and hope she knows it’s ok to not find happiness in gymnastics. She’s already achieved so much, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Edit: I also imagine that once you get to her level, it’s nearly impossible to take the elite competitive drive out of your psyche. Unfortunately for her that might be what’s making her miserable.
I think joy is often incompatible with setting certain goals. This doesn’t apply to just Gabby or Olympic gymnastics…the joy usually comes from doing something you love, for the love of it, free from expectations. People who love something as a hobby will often think they’d be overjoyed to do it professionally, but then lose the joy once their beloved pastime becomes their livelihood. I could totally see someone stepping away from the sport, being suddenly free of the pressure and having a lot of fun going back to the gym. Once things start going well, it’s easy to reintroduce the goals and swear that it’ll be different this time, but with setbacks and outside expectations, the pressure comes back and the joy dissipates… I‘m not gonna claim to know what’s good for her either way, though. Only she can decide if she‘d be happier with a longer comeback timeline and less pressure or if, at the end of the day, she found that she still likes gymnastics but not competing
Sadly, I think this is it.
She waited too long to come back. Simone has done this the right way twice now. Aly, once. Everyone else who seems to come back last minute in the Olympic year are really a race against time. Nastia comeback, underwhelming to say the least. Laurie’s you could almost sense it wasn’t going to go how she portrayed it might happen. Shawn strung us along for how long? Even had people thinking she was going to do some new training technique of somehow not being in the gym but being at a fitness boot camp to complete her comeback. Hell even in 2000 the Mag 7 athletes rushing to try and get back into the mix last minute.
We tend to get over excited and set these expectations based on how they used to compete based on short training clips. But until they’re out there competing we need to start having measured responses and excitement because this is something we’ve seen time and time again ever Olympic year.
Shawn came back in 2011, made the 2011 Pan Am Games team, medaled there, then got injured after 2011 nationals. I think she was on the right timeline for a shot at 2012, it just didn't work out. Also Gabby herself had a successful 2015/2016 comeback
Yes, I don't think Shawn's timeline was the problem.
Shawn got very injured while skiing, so I don’t think it’s fair to include her in this list. Other than that, I agree. I have been rolling my eyes at some of the posts in this sub regarding Gabby‘s comeback for months. There is a difference between being excitedly cheering for your old favorite and making outrageous claims about her chances of making the Olympics and how other people’s stock was down etc. when there was absolutely nothing to justify the hype in terms of her actually showing routines
Olympic chances aside, I’m heartbroken for her. That bar routine was devastating and she’s already been through so much with people making her feel that she didn’t deserve things. I have a huge soft spot for her and the whole Fierce Five because I was also 16 during the 2012 games. I hope that she can shake this off and hopefully go into other competitions feeling less pressure because there’s really nowhere for her to go but up from here.
With beam next and how disastrous that routine already was I think she made the right move. I would have loved to seen her compete and even remarked how nice physically she looked at American Classic. However, with what we saw here I would say it might be best to rest this summer or retire if Paris was her only goal. It will only sour her reputation to keep competing further and her chances of making the team are non-existent. If Valeri would have been realistic with Nastia in 2012 she wouldn’t have petitioned to trials. We will see what he does with Gabby now.
I hope she doesn't have to make decisions just on her reputation though. If it would be meaningful to her to compete at Nationals, she should do that!
Well absolutely! But part of this journey being meaningful is being proud of what you are putting out. She is capable of great gymnastics and it has to be devastating for her to not get through a competition because of a poor performance. It is 100% on her my opinion means nothing really. She put a lot of effort into her comeback to be in this shape so I wouldn’t want to see her stop here either. I don’t think this should be the last routine we see from her. I just think if Paris was her goal it can be quite devastating to go through that process knowing you have no chance. I want to see her compete beyond that. In a year that routine would score in the mid 14s. Her block and tumbling already looked more powerful than anything I’ve seen from her in her entire career. She could be scoring very well in the AA next year.
I personally see it that way, too, but Nastia keeps bringing up the fact that she got a standing ovation at those trials and how much it meant to her, so I guess, she doesn’t regret the petition. She said she didn’t want to wonder „what if“…well I will always wonder what if she had started the comeback sooner and gotten back into better physical shape but oh well. It was her career and she ended it how she saw fit. Considering that Gabby didn’t want to finish the rest of the meet, though, after one rough event, I have a feeling it‘d be better for her to skip trials and perhaps work on stamina etc. to make a run for worlds, when she’s really ready. A lot of people are retiring after Paris, so it might be the perfect time to relaunch the comeback
I agree!! I also think that the major push for AA has been part of the problem. It’s necessary at this point, but if it’s not ready it’s just not ready. Perhaps doing 2-3 events at Nationals will go better getting to rest a rotation in training and competition. Since the Olympics are out of the picture, she really can do whatever she wants with the three events she has left. If she wants to go and it means a lot to her she should 100% go for it! I also agree that she could really factor in next year!
I think she realized without qualifying bars to nationals, her chances were very slim on making the team. I’m so sad tho
She is qualified on bars. Floor is what she's missing. But with that bars routine she was not going to be able to hit the 51 mark.
She’s not going to make the team. There is zero chance the selection committee will bypass other athletes for her.
She was already qualified on bars! But yes she really needed the AA score and it was going to be very difficult to reach with that routine.
Im not American can you explain me how does it work? Like every competition is a qualifier for the next one, and every event is a qualifier for itself (like if you don’t make top scores on a certain event you can’t compete said event in the next competition)? Seems unfair to me, they should count the average score, if someone fall on Vault they should still be allowed to try it the next competition
It's not quite how you're thinking it is. There were multiple competitions in which a gymnast can get a qualifying score to Nationals - the next competition and the only one that is gatekept like this. I think a minimum of three competitions: this one, the confusingly named Classics (with an s), and Winter Cup. At any of those meets if a gymnast gets an all around score of 51 or higher, they are qualified to compete at Nationals.
However, gymnasts can also take the path of qualifying only on certain apparatus. This is *their* choice, and there are different cutoffs depending on how many apparatus they compete on. However, if they go that road and they never achieve the necessary all-around score at a single meet, they can only compete on the apparatus they qualified on at Nationals.
Complicating factor that applies to Gabby, if you compete all around, fail to make 51 point, but some subset of your individual apparatus scores qualify you for a subset of apparatus, you are qualified for those apparatus. So Gabby competed all-around at Classics, but failed to make 51 points, floor was the event she didn't qualify for. But that meant she absolutely had to compete all four events today and get 51 points. After two falls on bars, her chances of achieving that were next to nothing. It's not just because she fell - many people fell today and still made the 51 point cutoff.
There is also an option to petition to compete all-around at Nationals but it requires specific circumstances be met, and Gabby does not fall within those.
She needed to get an all around score of 51 or more to qualify all around to nationals. Right now she is qualified in 3 events because of her performance on the previous classic, but not all around since she didn't reach 51. Because she has competed all around and failed to reach 51, she can't petition to do all around at Nationals.
To compete at the national championships, athletes need to have achieved a minimum qualifying score. There are a number of opportunities during the year to achieve that score including training camps, meets held in conjunction with developmental program meets that are called elite qualifiers, and three early season elite-only meets. Yesterday's meet was the last of those opportunities.
Athletes who meet the qualifications to compete at the qualifying meets can compete AA at every one. If they reach the qualifying score on two events or three events, they can compete those two or those three events at Championships. In addition, if an athlete hasn't competed AA at one of those meets, they can petition to be allowed to compete AA at Championships. If they competed AA and didn't get the required score, they can't petition.
Oh okay, now I get why Gabby kinda withdrew since she cannot petition, even tho I don’t get why she wouldn’t even try for a spot in those three events. So for example, an athlete who reached the score during camp or winter cup could’ve not participated yesterday or last month and still been qualified for Nationals through her score at camp or winter cup? Btw I also don’t get why these competitions have ALL basically identical names, I can’t really distinguish one from another please make it easier cuz Classic and ClassicS? Really? lol
Yeah we all are with you on the Classic v Classic thing. And it doesn't help that it's always American Classic but the other Classic has a different name every year based on who is sponsoring it - thus the "Core Hydration Classic" this year, but who knows, next year it could be Nike Classic or Leanne Wong's Hairbows Classic.
Petition to have it be the Leanne Wong’s Hairbow Classic please.
"Classic" refers to the format. A "Classic" meet is one day, all four events, AA score is four events totaled. "Championships" is two days, four events on each day, AA score is eight events totaled. (Developmental meets are a third format; they're all four events on one day with a different warmup structure than a "classic" meet.)
You're correct. An athlete who reached the Championships qualifying score during a camp or at Winter Cup who didn't reach the score at American Classic or U.S. Classic is still qualified for Championships. There's one more option: an athlete who reached the qualifying score at 2023 Championships can use that score to qualify for 2024 Championships.
Here's the qualification chart. It's confusing. Please ask more questions if you have them!
I’m devastated honestly, it made the rest of the meet hard to watch for me, I was just dying for an epic comeback for her… 😭
Same 😔
I'd just like to remind everyone that she (and others) had a really difficult time even getting to the meet yesterday. She's running on little sleep, and I was personally worried about how today was going to go. All of that stress of getting a private plane and going on two hours of terrible sleep must have been really, really hard.
Yes, and it certainly would have added to the huge nerves one can expect after such a long time away from the sport. However, I highly doubt that her performance would have been good enough to put her in the mix for Paris if only her plane hadn’t been delayed and she’d had a good night’s sleep. There is not one shred of evidence to suggest she actually is in a good enough shape to contend - she neither has other competition results nor any training videos without extensive spotting. She doesn’t (yet) have the stamina and that’s okay. She probably came back too late…acknowledging that doesn’t mean one is hating on her…her past results speak for themselves. She could still continue for another worlds, but Paris was always a very long shot
I think the flight snafu (not to mention Covid disrupting winter cup) just shows how difficult it is to come back within a year of the Olympics. There was zero room for error and due to things outside of Gabby’s control she faced multiple “errors.”
I don’t remember but were there opportunities to qualify for championships via team training camps? Do the gymnasts already on national team automatically get invites to do AA at championships? If so then that further supports how much of a gamble coming back less than one year out is. Because if Gabby (nor Nastia or Laurie in previous years-this is not a dig at Gabby) had been able to already qualified for championships these meets would have been a frustrating blip vs an end to a 2024 Olympic dream.
Sad for her but not entirely surprised. Hope she is able to find what she is looking for.
This! I’m sad for all the hate she’s going to get for this.
Yes exactly and idk about everyone else but personally if I miss out on the majority of a night's sleep it's not the next day I feel it, but the one after that. I just know if it were me I'd have felt ok for podium training but entirely wiped for the actual competition.
Agreed! I’m sure she wasn’t feeling her best given the hectic, last-minute traveling and lack of sleep. These routines are hard even when well rested and at peak form!
I might be in the minority but I think Gabby can physically do her routines. I think her issue is more mental. Perhaps she did not think the crowds, etc, would rattle her,hopefully, she got out of this attempt what she wanted.
Yes it’s a bummer, since she probably wanted to perform. But even if she doesn’t make it to Paris, hopefully everyone can be nice and supportive of her comeback anyway because it’s so impressive in and of itself.
I almost feel nervous posting this, because this sub seems so full of Gabby-fans…Please don’t kill me, but it just didn’t sit right with me, how much people were hyping her and her supposed Olympic-Level bars up, based mostly on pictures of her muscular arms and some back tucks, when there were absolutely no routine clips to go on. Personally, I did have a feeling that it would play out this way, because she came back very late and decided not to post any routines. It also doesn’t quite sit right with me that she said, she could still do an Amanar, but just didn’t feel like it was worth it and then didn’t even show a vault today. Especially after getting a private jet to the meet etc. … I do feel like walking out after one bad routine is not a good look. I still hope that she really did attempt this comeback for herself (rather than sponsors) and that she might give another Worlds a go, however. It‘d be interesting to see what she could do with more time
It's OK to post an opinion here, and it's OK to feel that way.
First, can we stop with the "she only came back for the sponsors" narrative? How many sponsors does she have from doing this? I can think of one? Are there more? Maybe she truly wanted to come back and do the sport that she been training for most of life. It's such a time, financial, physical and emotional commitment that doing it just for the sponsors doesn't fully add up to me.
Second, the "isn't a good look" is silly. She was shaken and emotional after that bars set. Maybe she felt that she couldn't get in the right headspace to compete or to compete safely. It's her choice to be there and it's her choice to scratch. Other gymnasts have scratched (albeit, more strategically) from a rotation or two and no one says, "it's not a good look".
Third, maybe she can do an Amanar. Maybe she can do a Cheng too which many people found ludicrous that she would even mention that she was training one without a video.
Realize that fans are going to be fanning and have the highest expectations and predictions of her abilities and then say/write the most wishful-thinking of things. That's not her fault.
I wish her the best and hope she continues training for future competitions.
Totally agree with most of your post, especially the 'isn't a good look' bit. But also I don't see why it would be such a bad thing if she had come back for the sponsorship opportunities? Gymnastics is increasingly a career now for many athletes. The realistic competitive lifespan is starting to resemble those of other sports. Most of the time there's not that much money in it, but there are going to be occasions where it's someone's best financial opportunity.
In Gabby's particular case, because she seems to have done alright financially already, like you I suspect that probably wouldn't be enough motivation by itself. You'd just stay chilling on your farm, not being bothered and not worrying about bills. But if it was cold hard cash... so what? Sometimes people do things for money!
As they should! It's called supporting yourself.
Why would anyone begrudge athletes getting sponsorships and being paid? As jobs go, it's a very respectable one?
Yes! Also, training is expensive and why shouldn’t these elite athletes get paid to train— it’s a full time job.
Yeah if it she scratched the rest of the meet "just" because she was mentally shaken, that actually seems like a positive, refreshing thing in that gymnasts now feel they can do that... Gymnastics is dangerous. Not worth risking serious injury if you aren't in the right headspace. I wish the olympics didn't have to be seen as the be all, end all for comebacks. Maybe she'll just keep competing and see where it gets her.
Luckily, her deciding to scratch the rest of the meet was her choice and not yours. Her getting a private jet just to make it on time shows how dedicated she is to this process. This comeback was for her, and I am proud of what she’s done. She didn’t need to subject herself to this process again.
She is out and I am bummed.
Sidebar - omg people on Facebook have awful takes, calling her immature, that she has poor sportsmanship. Why do people hate her so much???
She has ALOT of baggage. The people around her burned many bridges and left many with sour tastes in their mouths. Not Gabby herself, but her family and managers.
Il not American, can you elaborate this take and tell me some things that they did? Of course if you feel like it :) but I’ve always heard her mom wanted to be a Kris Jenner momager since the Olympics
I’m sorry but this is very silly. The issues between her mother/team and former coaches were private issues between a very small amount of people that have never been publicly addressed by any party. People have been looking for reasons to hate her since she started, whether it’s her hair, her revealing racist comments from former teammates, not putting her hand on her heart during the anthem or not grinning while watching teammates in the AA final.
I do think leaving the competition completely was a bit poor. Even Konnor came back to cheer for the other girls.
I don't think whatever she chose to do she would be in the "right". Being visibly devastated on tv would be seen as bad sportsmanship, likewise leaving and not supporting others could also be seen as bad sportsmanship.
People can have different reactions to major disappointment. Getting injured is also different than coming up short of your goals.
She was there as a competitor. She was not rude to any of the other athletes. She simply removed herself when she was no longer a competitor.
It’s ok to be an introvert. She might have needed to not be there for her own reasons.
We don’t know what was going on with her. Maybe she wasn’t feeling well. Maybe it was mentally too hard to stay. Good for her for prioritizing herself.
A lot of them are just misogynist and racist, albeit in a less open way. They’d be ok with her succeeding if she “had a good attitude” (aka was smiley and bubbly and pleasing) but because she’s more of an introvert, they think she has a “bad attitude”. If she were white and/or a man, she’d be thought of as intense or a perfectionist, but since she’s a black woman, they really wish she would smile more or some bullshit.
Yes like, Aliya Msustafina comes to my mind, very serious and rarely smiled on a competition field, and for that she was a champion, she was fierce, she was proud, none suggested her to smile more
I mean Aliya was constantly labeled a diva and a brat. As a young American fan at the time, the media told me to despise her, and for a while I did.
Sadly we know the answer to this question 💔
Gabby has shown she has very conservative problematic views and had issues with nearly all her former teammates. I’m sure there’s also people (like MyKayla skinner) who don’t like her because they’re racist (I think that’s what you’re referring to), but I don’t think those are the same people who love Jordan and Simone and Shilese, while not loving gabby. Gabby was absolutely the victim of horrible racism and it was inexcusable. Separately, it’s also weird how much this sub glorifies her as if she didn’t blame victims of sexual assault (her own teammates) very publicly because of their clothing choices.
I think the reason she’s sort of forgiven for her victim blaming comments is because she was also a victim, and I think people have a lot of grace for how survivors process and internalize what happened to them at different rates and in different ways, and even though projecting that process is wrong and hurtful, I’m not sure it’s something that needs to be held against her for all of time.
Based on Simone’s response to Gabby’s comment (Simone said that she wasn’t surprised), I think reasonable minds can disagree as to whether the victim blaming was processing trauma, or her just making a philosophical statement based on her conservative beliefs (in response to Aly raisman’s tweet saying women don’t deserve to be sexually assaulted because of the way they dress, gabby RTd Aly’s post and said: “However it is our responsibility as women to dress modestly and be classy. Dressing in a provocative/sexual way entices the wrong crowd.” — which is a common viewpoint associated with a very specific conservative and sexist ideology). I think many current gymnastics fans also may not even know it happened. I agree it shouldn’t be held against her forever, but I also think it’s wrong to suggest that anyone with a bad taste in their mouth about gabby must have it for nefarious reasons.
I can guarantee you her views came from growing up in a religious household. There are many African American families, particularly in the south, that are very religious and vote democratic. I wouldn't go categorizing her whole ideology based on one comment anyways.
Yes, democrats can be conservative too. Having backwards views because of religion isn’t an excuse.
I was trying to give context of where she may have been coming from. I know this sub doesn't do nuance well. One mistake or disagreement with what you all believe, and you are done with them. But stop assuming you know what she believes based on one tweet. People can realize they erred and grow from their mistakes.
The point of my original comment was to explain that there are multiple reasons people don’t love gabby, and some are not nefarious.
I don’t think I ever suggested that people who still find it hard to forgive are nefarious, I only meant to explain why those who have forgiven her have done so.
And I also don’t think overall moral attitudes are easily separable from trauma, which is why I fall into the more forgiving side here.
Oh I don’t mean you, i mean the first person I replied to
It’s almost like that whole thing happened 7 years ago, they’re all completely different people now and she immediately apologised anyway. If Aly was willing to publicly support her comeback numerous times, who knows why you’re holding onto something from 7 years ago. And I’m fairly certain she didn’t have issues with “nearly all” her teammates.
I agree and it pisses me off. She has gone through so much - as have so many of these young women. She can do no right.
I know it’s so frustrating especially because I find her courage so admirable!!! Not to mention that she’s just so talented!!
I don’t see why she did it if she knew she couldn’t petition
I’m ok with her doing what she did. I was on Facebook and so many ppl were spamming her for not pushing through. Have we learnt nothing from Simone? This isn’t a sport where when your head isn’t totally in the game you can just “push through”. If she was feeling rattle or unprepared and didn’t feel wise to continue, let her step back. Especially in an era where it’s more acceptable. Also she hasn’t competed in 8 years and wasn’t doing gymnastics for a big chunk of that.
I literally saw one person say they would have more respect for her if she had been injured. So a severe in jury would have been respectable? Honestly ppl still would have poo pood on her if she competed and flopped. I think some ppl had unrealistic expectations of her and expected a 2016 version of her and nothing less.
Also idk exactly what happened but at day 2 of the 2012 trials, after falling I think 3 times on bars Valeri got Rebecca Bross to stop her routine. It’s possible this was a choice made by Gabby and Valeri.
I’ll say this, sad to not see her not compete all the events, but I hope she continues if that makes her happy.
I agree. I think in the old days we had so many young girls being pushed to continue no matter what by their coaches… and we all know the stories and injuries (and even deaths) from the incidents that ensued.
Now we have grown women making their own choices about when and how they compete.
This is the way.
I don’t think it’s completely a foregone conclusion…but it’s getting harder and harder. Hypothetically, if she made the Olympic team she was never going to be competitive on floor to make lineups so UB/BB was her largest potential contribution. At this point, if she showed up to nationals and nailed UB/BB and landed a Cheng then I bet she could get an invite to trials…but that’s an extremely tall and unlikely order.
I think Cheng is definitely out of the question.
Realistically, if she hit bars and beam and does her vault like she did at the prior meet, then maybe there is a shot.
Honestly wonder if she injured herself a bit on one of the falls. I think she's out.
Yeah those pirouettes were looking a bit wonky, she could have strained her shoulder?
Yeah, I know something like that happened to Ashton back in 2017 on a pirouette. Plus, I heard that Gabby was being spotted quite a bit when she was practicing so she might not have been totally ready
Sad that it didn’t work out for her. I don’t think we will see her at the next meet unfortunately. Seems like her issue is metal rather than physical.
Nah, it's physical too. I don't know why most think they can come in during an Olympic year and make an attempt. Even Simone gave herself two years to get back in shape in both of her returns.
As a person that's very pro clean sport, I'd also prefer the girls that decide to return be required to be in the testing pool for at least two seasons.
One of the biggest signs Simone likely wasn't retiring after Rio was the fact that she never even took herself out of the RTP, which I respect greatly.
And for those wondering about NCAA: the testing pools are separate, though obviously if you piss hot for one, you're gonna get "randomly" tested by the other in a hurry.
Has she specifically said she’s aiming for the Olympics and I missed it? I totally may have missed it but — am I the only one who thinks maybe that isn’t her main goal and she’s just looking to get competitive again?
She said it in one of the first interviews she did about the comeback.
Why would a former Olympian do all that training and not aim for the Olympics as her main goal? If she is just aiming to be competitive, I think she would have continue on and not do abrupt withdrawal after just one bars routine.
This is the right take. Everyone says they hope she continues for Worlds next year. Worlds is not the goal if you’re a former Olympian. She did this to come back and make the team and unfortunately it looks like she doesn’t have a chance at doing so.
It’s okay to be disappointed, sometimes things just don’t work out.
Chelsie Memmel Looked way better on her 8 year comeback at classics than gabby. Poor thing. Maybe she can come back for a worlds or two. She has it in her.
No, she doesn’t have a path toward to Paris unfortunately IMO. I’m surprised some are saying there is still a chance, even slim. I don’t see any chance when there are many other prepared and dependable gymnasts. If you were on the selection committee, would you want to take a chance with Gabby? It certainly seemed like a mental issue with her and it’s really understandable after that long away from the sport that nerves came into play. It’s much worse at the Olympics as far as pressure. I wish Gabby all the best and it took a ton of courage for her to come out and try. She could continue on past the Olympics but I honestly don’t see it at this point as it seemed like she was really set on Paris being her goal. Time will tell.
I didn’t think she had a path anyway. She started the process way too late to have a solid chance at it. I’m wondering if she shows up for Championships in 2 weeks or hangs it up now. Not a good look at all.
What do you mean, not a good look? It's entirely her business what she wants to do next, and I don't think any of us are in a position to criticize her choices, let alone pre-criticize choices she hasn't even made.
I don't understand. Why is it not a good look?
If I understand it properly she is still qualified for one more road to Paris comp but after dropping out of this last comp… I admire Gabby so much but I have to admit with her age and inconsistency when it comes to training and continuing her career her chances at making the team are shrinking fast. Honestly I was disappointed she withdrew after bars. I feel like she should have still tried. I understand it’s probably so much more complex but at this point it feels like her not competing every event she can is going to make the trials so much harder for her. Before the withdrawal I would’ve said she’s a wildcard in terms of qualifying but now I’m leaning much more towards she’s not making it. Also just so everyone understands that really upsets me. Gabby got me interested in gymnastics which got me to start cheerleading which was how I started theatre. Theatre was where I found my first bf, my first close friends, my love of music, and the first place I felt safe. Even though gymnastics isn’t my interest anymore I have still been rooting for Gabby.
Not surprised. I think she’s done. I think she was done when she conveniently had the covid excuse in Feb but just couldn’t admit it to herself. Not everyone can do what Simone does, but she has her whole life ahead of her to do other things.
Idk why ppl keep comparing every comeback to Simone’s. She started her elite career in 2013 and was active all the way through 2016, then she came back in Doha 2018, which is TWO entire years before Tokyo (it then became three because of Covid), and was back in the gym in 2017, a year after the Olympics. She then was active in 2023, and I don’t remember whether or not she said when she was back in the gym after Tokyo, but to be on the competition field in 2023 (and winning), it was supposedly not after summer 2022 I guess, which again was just a year after Tokyo. Idk why ppl keep acting like she always comes back last minute stronger than ever, cuz it’s simply not true, she always made reasonable timed comebacks, and never stopped training (as far as we know) for more than 1.5 years (and I think she always kinda kept her active at the gym meanwhile)
I've got some downvotes to spare, so I'm gonna bluntly share my thoughts on Gabby.
• Gabby didn't compete in 2023 because she wasn't competition ready.
• She delayed her return to competition because she wasn't ready, and to add to the drama of her big comeback.
• Gabby didn't compete in February 2024 because she wasn't competition ready.
• I suspected at the time that Gabby didn't have Covid right before Winter Cup, but now I'm convinced. She needed a way to withdraw and save face.
• Gabby is still not competition ready, and she clearly knows it.
• Withdrawing today made her look like a poor sport, which has long been her reputation. I gave her every benefit of the doubt myself in 2016, but I'm over it.
• In an interview this week, Gabby said that she wants to end on a positive note, rather than hating something she used to love. I don't see how quitting mid-competition aligns with that goal.
• In my opinion (& I'm not the only one), Gabby has a sour attitude, which everyone tried to overlook because she was great at gymnastics. But now she's not even very good at gymnastics, and age doesn't seem to have brought her maturity.
• I don't understand why people are holding out hope that she's going to make a miraculous improvement in the next six weeks. She got a 10 and then quit today. That's not who we want on our team.
• I'm not "gutted" for Gabby. I think this comeback (whether it's premature or years too late) is an embarrassment to what was a successful career. She absolutely should continue gymnastics for the personal joy of it, but her elite competition days are behind her.
I agree with the first five of your points. I suspected straight away the covid thing was a way to get out of the Winter Cup because she wasn't ready. Also the lack of good training videos. When she posted her very dodgy front full to double full on floor, I knew that she probably had nothing better.
However, being "not ready" in gymnastics is physically dangerous. Don't forget performing this sport risks death and life-changing injuries. Anyone who doesn't feel up to it should feel free to pull out, and shouldn't be judged for it. Not forgetting she was running on a substantial sleep deficit, having only had 2 hours sleep two nights before.
We also don't personally know Gabby or her personality. I don't think it's fair to judge her as having an attitude. Especially not as at 28 she is a lot more mature than her heyday in the spotlight as a teen, that you're basing your opinion of her on.
I think that pride comes before a fall, and Gabby has contributed to the unreasonable expectations around her comeback. She has allowed speculation to go unchecked, and has hyped people up by hinting about having a Cheng etc. She should have just enjoyed the journey rather than going for Olympic glory, which after 8 years away is just not realistic. She also could have quenched the hype by pointing out that she's been away a long time and just wants to enjoy herself.
Pressurizing yourself like she has with her PR tactics would have put her in a worse headspace and made her even less ready.
I don't think her comeback should be considered an embarrassment. Returning to such a difficult sport, after 8 years away and at the advanced age of 28 is absolutely remarkable.
I hope that she continues, and can enjoy an elite career that doesn't necessarily involve the Olympics. World Cups and continentals exist.
[2/2]
I think that pride comes before a fall, and Gabby has contributed to the unreasonable expectations around her comeback.
Yes. I think that Gabby's "comeback" has been handled disastrously from a PR perspective.
Pressurizing yourself like she has with her PR tactics would have put her in a worse headspace and made her even less ready.
I agree with your assessment. Where we disagree (maybe?) is on how much sympathy she should be given because of that. In my opinion, Gabby's tactic amounted to "all sizzle, no steak", and that falls squarely on her. There have been a couple of comments that I'm "mean" for saying that, and I'm comfortable with that. Both can be true at once.
I don't think her comeback should be considered an embarrassment.
What I meant to convey, and maybe I phrased it weirdly, is that she shouldn't have competed at this level yet because she isn't ready. I think that *Gabby* was embarrassed by her performance, and that's why she chose to withdraw from the rest of the events.
I hope that she continues, and can enjoy an elite career that doesn't necessarily involve the Olympics. World Cups and continentals exist.
Agreed. Like I said, she absolutely should continue gymnastics for the personal joy of it. That's admirable.
I'm disappointed *for* Gabby. I was right there with everyone else, hoping that she could be a major contender still. I bought tickets to Winter Cup in the hopes of seeing her compete - I was fully onboard. I'm not anymore, partially because I feel a bit deceived by Gabby. (I don't believe she had Covid, and her "comeback" feels more and more like a PR stunt, or at the *very* least a delusion that she caught onto but kept promoting anyways because she likes our attention.)
I don't know why it frustrates me so much to keep seeing/hearing people ask if Gabby could still be a factor at trials, but it does. Maybe it's because I wish the answer was 'yes' and I dislike being reminded that it's not. It does feel like willful ignorance at this point to still be asking that question despite what we've seen. Maybe that's why I felt compelled to speak up? Not sure. BUT,
- I stand by what I said.
- It's okay if people think I shouldn't have said it. I lead with that. I expected push back. Although, there's actually been a lot more agreement than I expected, and not many counterarguments put forth aside from "you're mean". To me, that says a lot.
- Thanks for disagreeing with my opinions by explaining your own perspective. I appreciate that you took the time. I think it's been interesting, and your reasoning has shifted my opinion in some ways.
[1/2] I agree with you, too, for the most part. I respect the thoughtfulness you've put into your reply, and I have some thoughts on it if you're open to it.
Anyone who doesn't feel up to it should feel free to pull out, and shouldn't be judged for it.
That's a valid point, and a perspective that I hadn't considered.
I think the difficulty in not judging her for it was the way that she was reacting to the "pep talk" (or whatever it was, can't say for sure, but the coach's body language didn't seem tense). Gabby's face (followed by quitting mid-competition) suggests that the reason that she "didn't feel up to it" wasn't for any physical reason, it was because her first routine went terribly. To me, that comes across as being immature and a poor sport.
It's fair enough to say that if her head isn't in the right space, then she shouldn't get on a balance beam, for safety reasons. I'll concede that point, because I agree with the principle.
Especially not as at 28 she is a lot more mature than her heyday in the spotlight as a teen, that you're basing your opinion of her on.
This one, I struggle with, and I'm not sure exactly how to phrase it. But, to say that someone has matured *only* because they've aged 8 years is a presumption, too. I would argue that you're not basing that on anything more than I am. I think it's giving her the benefit of the doubt, yet again. I expected that as well, but part of my frustration with Gabby is that I haven't seen evidence of that growth.
I don't think it's fair to judge her as having an attitude.
As far as it being unfair to say Gabby has an attitude, that's certainly her reputation- and has been for as long as she's been an elite gymnast. I do personally know people who have worked with her long-term, as she trained in my local gymnastics community right up to the Rio Olympics. And I've heard more recent examples from the training camp she attended prior to Winter Cup this year.
To be aware of that background, coupled with her quitting mid-competition, I do think it's fair to say that her decision to quit is an example of displaying a sour attitude.
But, I also know that characterizing someone else's "attitude" is subjective. We could have the exact same set of information and come to different conclusions as to what it means. I understand where you're coming from in terms of fairness, and I respect that take. Ultimately, I don't think it matters that much because that's not the whole picture.
Thanks for your thorough replies (I'll reply under this one!), and thanks for clarifying further. I appreciate the civil discussion!
Her comeback has certainly made everybody very emotionally invested. I think some people are very, very protective over Gabby because of the ostracism she faced in 2016 and unfair scapegoating for for the team selection process. And she got a lot of flack for ridiculous things like not smiling enough, so it's a sensitive point to judge her apparent attitude. There is also a culture on this sub of being extremely sensitive to criticism of athletes, in a way that is not seen in any other sport.
Almost everybody matures between 20 and late 20's which is why I made that assumption. I wasn't actually a proper gymnastics fan until 2021 so it's fair to say I'm not familiar with Gabby's reputation, and I take your point it's a possibility her reputation is earned. From what I've seen, the gymnastics fan community is very intolerant of certain personality traits, which I think may be affecting perception of Gabby (and her coach Valeri).
I am also bad at reading people; the only thing I picked up was that Gabby looked exhausted and fed up during bars podium training. I figured her sleep deficit and her bars just being so bad meant that it was probably a really bad idea for her to continue in any way. She just couldn't get momentum at all.
But yes I think we're mostly agreed on a lot of things. I always feel sorry for gymnasts who do badly, but on the scale of things Gabby is already a veteran who has had more than her fair share of glory. It's not a disaster at all, Olympic chances aside.
I’ve been suspicious about Covid but mostly because she posted IG stories back at the gym only 2 days after withdrawing. Covid but back in the gym that fast? Not even a full 5 days of self-quarantine? Ok
I never gave a second thought to the Covid withdrawal but you bring up a good point. Dang…
I disagree with most of what you said except the covid part- I admit I also thought that was just a little too conveniently timed….
The way she handled this comeback was less than ideal. Lots of press, lots of talk, very little follow-through in terms of competing. Even this week she was claiming that she could do an Amanar if she wanted, but it wasn't worth it. Teasing a Cheng but only showing a DTY. I hate to say that her ego seems to get in her way, because I was hoping she had grown some in the last eight years.
The phrase "all sizzle, no steak" comes to mind...
Yikes. If she didn’t have talent and medals, nobody would even care enough to give her a hard time like this. I’m convinced it’s nerves and sky-high expectations, not talent.
I keep hearing her warmups looked great for both this meet and the last one. Her bar warmup from today is on YouTube, and it looked solid to me! The commentators said her bar routine looked excellent and were so shocked that she fell. We haven’t seen what she can do yet in competition. That’s the bummer.
Also - Athletes like Gabby are what make following the sport fun. She’s an Olympian! That’s as elite as it gets, and she has zero to prove. I think it’s so badass that she’s even on the floor.
She looked better in warm up except she was heavily spotted, so that was a big part of the difference there. It all points to her needing more time to get back to the level she’s capable of.
Agreed. The talent is clearly there, she just put a lot of pressure on herself.
A lot of people were saying Valeri was spotting too much during podium but I remember him doing the same for Nastia. If you looked at her pre-competition warmups she was making full sets of routines.
The thing is GD is always going to have people root against her and wish her to fail, and believe her to be an unlikeable person with shady intentions no matter how mature and happy, and ready she appears to be. She could’ve beat Simone and they still would be set in their thoughts. I wish she knew they were in the minority though and that a lot of us genuinely still wish for her success even if it just means “get through a routine with no frustration on how it went”. Too much talk on Paris and I hate her fans/she may have set too many expectations on herself
Valeri spotted Hezly and Madray the same way he did Gabby. Marchenko heavily spots his gymnasts as well.
Valero was spotting Gabby but not helping her with her skills
Yikes, hard disagree with all of this.
So she’s not US Olympic team ready….so what? She’s done something remarkable even getting into elite shape after so many years of retirement.
People are forgetting that Classics is a pretty low stakes meet. I was shocked how many people did AA here. Usually it’s a few bars and beams, a couple of all arounders, and a bunch of scratches. Gabby scratching the remaining meet was a bummer, but certainly not unprecedented. The meet was slightly higher stakes for Gabby because she’s not qualified for AA for nationals, but she’s still qualified for 3 events if she chooses to compete.
Also, why is gabby being treated so differently than Chellsie Memmel? People were so excited for her to even be able to put together a few routines. Why is Gabby’s return an “embarrassment to her career”?
Is gabby going to make the Olympics this year…no she probably won’t. Is her legacy tarnished from trying to make a comeback? Absolutely not.
Chellsie did a couple of skills on YouTube for fun. People told her to return to competition. She did that but also communicated that it's just for fun..... She didn't want to go to the Olympics again
So ambition is somehow a bad thing? I have trouble imagining a male athlete being criticized for something like this.
Yup, she managed people’s expectations upfront so people just ended up cheering her on. And she took people along for the journey, so no one was fantasizing she was going to come back at her prior level and knock out a current star. People got too carried away with gabby before getting a chance to see her compete and the build up was long, so they are disappointed.
To be honest physically/skill wise Gabby had chances making the team. But mentally not/not competing anywhere earlier was not smart
Girl can’t catch a break geez. This entire comment is just not it. It’s actually quite hateful for no reason.
I don’t think Gabby had any intention of actually believing she was a front runner for Paris, she just wants to compete. And do gymnastics for the joy of doing it. Period. I think yall gabby haters are projecting your thoughts on how people who believe in her potential believe her to be a serious contender. But not once, has gabby said “I’m making that team and I believe I can”.
In order to pull out for Covid you had to have documentation of a result, and elite competitions require a PCR test. I’m sure that’s not something you could easily forge. I feel like lying about something like that would also have some sort of consequence, like not being able to compete at all in the future.
You can take one look at her DTY and see she has enough height/power for an amanar..why risk injury even trying. There are others that stated they’ve seen her train it in the gym.
As someone that can relate, a “sour attitude” can be misconstrued for someone going through serious bouts of depression, which with what she was going through at the time no doubt she was. She looks so much happier now.
In fact I’m glad she pulled out cause why risk further injury if your head is not in the right place..something Simone taught us years ago. I’m glad trinity did the same.
It’s exciting to have an Olympic AA champion come back and compete!! I was never a believer that she had any serious chances to make the team, and with chellsie I was the same, but you can’t deny that with what’s seen on training if gabby had a little bit more time and experience she would be a strong elite gymnast. I’m more rooting for her to compete and just enjoy competing for once, and get through routines safely.
The irony of you saying someone else has a sour attitude overpowers the rest of this comment.
Im literally heartbroken. So sad. No viable path since she cant petition to AA. She clearly put a lot of work in, even when ppl said she was just coming back for sponsorships and drama.
Can you explain further? She is qualified on beam/floor/vault for championships? Couldn’t she just do a decent job on those three events at Championships and get an invite to Trials and then compete all around at Trials?
She's qualified on beam, vault, BARS for Championships. Her floor was worse than her bars at American Classics. She can compete bars at Championships.
Okay - if she can compete bars at Champs.. why wouldn’t she give it another shot? That’s an event she’d actually be used for in a team final if she can get her routine under control.. not floor?
Confused why everyone says she’s likely done?
I don’t see why she needs to be doing all around at Champs or bust?
Because she probably won’t get invited to trials if she does just three events. Especially with her bars looking so rough. And she has no top 3 event scores, so she can’t really make a case as a specialist. She makes her case as an all arounder and she’s unlikely to have a successful all around petition to nationals. For trials they will mostly invite a bunch of all arounders and then specialists who are among the best at their events.
Yeah but the chances (in my view soz) of her getting that invite is low. They didn’t even invite her to selection camp. Bars is her strongest event and was her biggest argument for putting her on the team. But actually you’re right…she could do that.
Got it - makes sense. Unlikely to invite her to Trials without competing bars because that’s where she would potentially contribute.
I’m really curious if she will bow out. I’m wondering if she would compete at Champs and show she’s stable on the other three events and potentially get an invite. I feel like her vault score could be top 5 and that would be a roundabout way to get an invite.
She did not have a chance on making that team..she started the comeback way too late and imo shouldn't of even been on the Rio team. sue me. 🤷🏼♀️ I absolutely loved her in London and I was a huge fan, I wanted her to be ready so bad but anyone that told her she had a chance this time around failed her.
Realistically, she didn't have a path to a 51+ to qualify for all-around at championships. I think now she can do three events at championships, but if the end goal is olympics or bust I suppose there isn't really a point. I hope she shows up and has a great time and realizes getting to championships at all is a huge accomplishment.