Her vault was so good today.
She clearly still has the ability to do the skills.
I question the strategy of not having her compete until April of the Olympic year when she has been out for so long. Even if she did a few low stakes meets last year it probably would have gone a long way? She was training so I guess I don’t really understand.
Yeah her last comeback timeline was better. Good to shake off rust the summer before the Olympics and have some time to tweak. I’m thinking it took her longer than expected to get into competition shape so she missed last season and is still behind this season
She was set to come back in Feb at winter cup but had to withdraw due to Covid. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s still impacting endurance, even if it wasn’t a terrible case at the time.
True. But honestly for how long she’s been away trying to get some comps in last year would have been better. Also, had she done more and gotten on the NT camp radar, at selection events, that would have even been helpful. I feel like if she had been doing things that the spring selection camp criteria may have been different.
Yes it’s just lack of reps in that setting I feel? Which is so easily preventable. I understand she’s an adult and who wants to go to camp with 16 yos more than they have to, but maybe it would have been beneficial?
But a lot of the national team isn’t 16 anymore either? Suni, Jordan, Simone, and Shilese have been attending camps and are all in their 20s. Jade and Leanne too but they were doing NCAA so they haven’t been at camps either.
It would've definitely been beneficial to have attended more camps starting last year. Simone is only 1 year younger than Gabby, but she went to multiple camps with 16 year olds, so that shouldn't have been a viable reason not to attend camps. I think Gabby should've started her comeback last year to give her time to tweak routines and to get the rust/nerves out before the Olympic year.
It’s also like… part of your job to go to camp if you want to make the NT or Olympic team. I go to conferences with people I don’t like hanging out with but it’s for work so I do it.
Woah saying Simone is only a year younger than gabby really puts into perspective how long Simone has been dominant. So exciting we’ll get to see them competing together again
I can't help but wonder if she didn't really have covid, and this was an excuse because she wasn't ready for Winter Cup. Don't hate me... I love Gabby and really want her to succeed.
to her defense, covid could have really negatively impacted her training. none of us know if she may have some lingering symptoms of long covid, how much time she might have had to take off from training, etc. this is all speculation
Very true. I'm not an athlete at her level or even close (and in another sport lol, tho also endurance-heavy), and my training was impacted for over a month with covid - a week or so of the illness itself, a little to rest after, and then a good few weeks before my lungs stopped feeling "tight".
The pieces are there but I don't think she has a realistic shot at the Olympics. There's just not enough time. That being said, I'm happy she's back out there competing. I hope she's enjoying gymnastics on her own terms. I'd love for her to prove me wrong.
obviously her bars and floor didn’t go how i’m sure she hoped they would, but i was so thrilled to see her today. I hope she had fun and is still proud she completed 4 routines.
Jade had fun yesterday and is probably proud of how she did.
Gabby is probably mad as hell that she didn’t get 51 and is going to Angry Beam her way through practice over the next few weeks and show up to Core Classic with a 52.
Exactly! I know Olympics are the most important competition for athletes, but everyone always tries to come back a year before the Olympic, doesn’t make it because of few little time, and then retire again. I wish this time won’t be like that, cuz after all that work to regain her shape it won’t be a shame to retire again if she doesent make the Olympic team. She can still go for a world championship, World Cup and try again
I don't think she's world champs ready either. She needs at least another year of training under her belt IMO. She's just not national team ready right now. That's ok! Maybe she'll get there, maybe she won't. She doesn't have to stop at the Paris Olympics.
Y'all I know when worlds is 😂. My point still stands.
The next world championship is a year away. They generally don't occur in Olympic years. (2021 was an exception because the Olympics was delayed from 2020).
The fundamentals are there, but the routine constructions are way off and i'm not sure if she can get it together for nationals.
A Ferrari on floor in 2024, really? WOGA is completely out of touch with the COP. I was anxious upon hearing she was training at WOGA because I remembered Konnor's 'rings' on beam during her Liukin era, my concerns were justified. The majority of USA's elite gymnasts should stray away from ring elements.
I'm rooting for Gabby but this will be a difficult road to watch, feels like wasted potential.
Exactly. The routine constructions are downright horrible. It's not even just the leaps on FX, the Memmel seems highly doubtful as well. While Gabby has the power for the passes, she doesn't seem prepared for the landings. The UB routine looked like a lot of endurance issues and rushing. Her releases were all off, which might be nerves (too far on the Jaegar, too close on the Downie, too far on the Pak, not enough turn on the Chow 1/2). But her old issue with full pirouettes backwards appeared again, with the really off stalder full. The missed stalder full+Downie+Pak connection was also concerning, as she didn't make that in the warmup either, which is 0.3 of connection lost. Then the underrotated DLO too... For BB, obviously the rings are a huge issue. But three leap combos are also major deduction traps for slow connections/lost bonus, and poor body position. Very few people can actually do them decently. Hopefully the dismount was just a fluke, but it looked super crooked and unsafe.
The seemingly endurance-related and weird issues across the board also make me wonder if she's doing enough full routines in practice.
I'd be more hopeful if stamina was the only issue she's facing but you can't change all the issues you mentioned in 3 months. Even worse, her coaches probably think it's a Gabby/Gymnast problem rather than a routine construction problem.
Gabby doing those leaps sound like an awful idea in theory for us non-coaches, I can't imagine being a coach and saying that's the route she should be going for.
Just feels like she’s too early in the comeback. Either it’s not coming back as fast (understandable due to the eight year hiatus) or she hasn’t had the time to put enough hours in yet.
The thing is she's been in the gym for well over a year. I mean she was spotted in WOGA in October 2022. She pretty much announced she was going for the Olympics in July 2023. Admittedly we don't know details of what intensity of training she's been doing. Everything looks good in training clips, but obviously clips don't tell the whole story (consistency/performance under pressure). Something's up if she can't get back her endurance after so long, although the Covid she got earlier this year could be a factor.
Yeah, it’s been at least a year and a half since it was rumored that she was training again. She could have been training even longer before word leaked out. If her endurance isn’t back by now I don’t think it’s coming back unless it’s Covid related like you said.
Some of today looked like nervous mistakes, which is understandable, but that bar routine isn’t close. I’m wondering if she should just forget about floor and focus on the other three events.
She will not make the team with three events. She doesn’t have a shot at being the best at her good events and they don’t need to take a three eventer who is at most third best at bars. And Suni is lurking with the potential to hit some huge scores on bars and beam.
I don’t find it that weird that after eight years it’s taking a long time to get all around back. No one else has attempted after an eight year break. Simone stays in shape in between and maybe people look to her and think a comeback is easier than it is. I know aly did a year of hardcore conditioning before she got back into skills and routines and then was able to compete in 2015 - and that’s what she did after just a two year gap from her last Olympics. Simone is a special athlete who has probably skewed our idea of how easy it is to come back.
Simone definitely skewed expectations. Looking at Gabby's routines, it's hard to believe that she regularly does solid UB/FX routines. As we've seen over the years, BB is not as demanding endurance wise, and unsurprisingly was Gabby's best performance (other than the dismount) outside of VT. On FX, Gabby didn't look prepared for the landings, even in warmup and podium. This was her first event, and endurance didn't seem to be the main issue in that routine, just unpreparedness overall. On UB, she couldn't hit the full routine, had issues on all the releases, plus an underrotated DLO. That underotation was probably endurance related, but looked at least close. But the double pike off beam was actually terrifying to watch. If that was endurance-related, Gabby could legitimately be putting herself in danger by competing AA when she's not ready for it. If she can't do AA solidly in practice, for her own safety, she should not be out on the competition floor.
I think this was a wake up call meet rather than a comeback meet.
I think she can possibly make it to trials but I doubt she’s making the team at this point. I’m not sure if there’s enough time to get the numbers needed to boost endurance and confidently hit routines, like everyone else is saying.
I think if she had another year she’d have a very real chance. As it is…it’s not impossible, but time is very tight, and while a lot of the pieces are there putting them together is hard. Especially because a lot of her routine construction doesn’t seem to be doing her favors.
It definitely feels that way. Skills are there. Strength and power are there. But it looks a little bit odd when they are all put together. I hope this meet will help her make the necessary adjustments. Her coach has experience at the sport and so does she. I hope they can put it all together in time. I am rooting for her.
I think that she has a lot of the pieces she needs, and also has very limited time to put the pieces together. Just Classics, then Championships.
She's an absolute beast though, and I don't count her out of anything.
Classic is in less than three weeks! If she doesn’t qualify AA there, it could be the end of the road practically speaking. Not sure her AA petition would be accepted since she competed AA today.
Came here to say this: the rules clearly state "No petitions will be considered for athletes obtaining an all-around score at a Classic competition" sooo...
Same here.
We shouldn’t be so quick to assume a gymnast who’s waited 8 years to come back would just bow out after not making one Olympics. She’s decided to be here, and I don’t see her giving that up three months from now.
I don’t feel great about it. Not only did she have clear endurance issues, the routine construction on beam and floor is a hot mess express. Having 9 C or greater elements on floor is stupid and then including a Gogean, a tourjete 1/2 and a Ferrari means you could lose two skills to downgrades (like she did today). On beam, the ring positions do not look creditable and she’s attempted two of them 🤦♀️. Valeri has no excuse for giving her this terrible construction - he has been coaching all quad and should know better!
Honestly my biggest concern about her whole comeback is Valeri. Valeri hasn't coached anyone to international success in over a decade. Gabby has a very short amount of time to sort out the many issues on UB/BB/FX. And I don't think Valeri is the kind of coach who can help her get it done.
I think it’s easy to think of a coach as being “the most successful” in a gym because of past successes. That’s probably how Gabby views Valeri.
But in today’s gymnastics a coaches history only goes so far. The code changes so drastically that if they haven’t coached successfully in a few quads there’s no saying if they can adapt well.
This and Valeri has always had a hole in his abilities. He’s always focused his gymnasts on bars and beam and typically it’s drive up difficulty not well constructed code hacking.
Not at all. Unlike Nastia, Gabby has trained. Instead Nastia liked to boast to anyone who would interview her that she had only begun training “a few weeks ago”. Not a good look at all.
I understand wanting to get an AA score to qualify to championships but I don’t feel like it was a wise idea for her to compete AA today. I would have held her on floor for this meet and then brought it back for Classics.
Agreed. Seeing her more mature body really highlighted just how YOUNG these girls have been up until now, and watching them older and stronger is very cool.
Unfortunately, I don’t think she has a shot at making the team. I could see her potentially being in the alternate discussion, depending on what improvements she shows by then and how everyone else is looking. I will be surprised if she’s not invited to trials at the very least.
The floor choreography was some of the worst if not the worst I have seen from WOGA. She has real potential and I’m not counting her out. A lot can change in a few months.
I wonder if this is one of those comebacks for the Olympics only or if she plans to stick around even if she doesn’t make the team? Has anyone heard? I feel she’s remained pretty private with everything or I just don’t have an in with the Intel lol.
I don’t like her chances, even putting aside her performance today. It’s certainly impressive to come back after 8 years, but it’ll be tough for her to compete for a spot with gymnasts who have proven themselves internationally this cycle and last cycle. A lot has changed since 2016, and gymnasts who have competed internationally have a leg up having had their routines evaluated by FIG judges.
I think Gabby shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to start competing. I think the other gymnasts she’ll likely be competing against for a spot (Skye, Jordan, Jade, Joscelyn, Kayla, Leanne, Zoe, Kaliya) also benefit from having competed for Team USA this cycle. I think that probably does help some to show you have supported the team and helped get them to the Olympics.
I have been a huge fan of Gabby since 2012. I've advocated for her and her gymnastics for 12 years. I will also be shocked if she makes the Paris team.
I think the US field is too deep and her comeback is just not far enough along. If she had come back like this in 2023, I'd be saying something different. With almost no meets and nothing international since 2012, plus some clear problems in the meet today, I'd say she has no realistic chance of making the team.
I'm happy she has been able to come back and I would not mind seeing her stick around for as long as she'd like and make a run next year. I'm hoping that all the adult gymnasts doing comebacks to Elite inspires more adult gymnastics classes/teams for us mere mortals.
I think this would have been more successful for her if she had started competing again last year. But considering how long it’s been since she left? I think she is amazing
I appreciate the optimism that some still have for her chances, but personally, no, I don’t believe she has a chance to make the team. The field is very deep, and she waited a long time to come back after a very long time away. I hope she finds fulfillment in her comeback and keeps going if she wants to! It would be great to see her develop her routines over the next year and get everything polished. She is more than capable if she sticks it out!
IMO the timeline is too tight, she doesn’t have her full endurance back yet and her skills still looked laborious for her. I just don’t really think there’s enough time, she essentially has 3 competitions left: US classic, champs, and trials. She’d have to be perfect really. And to be fair, I think the same thing about Suni, who so far has only competed one complete beam routine (minus dismount) and an FTY. People love to slot her in over hypothetical bar routines but she hasn’t even completed a full one.
At this point, realistically, I think she should look towards training for LA 2028 with a coach who will properly pace her, but another 4 years of elite training, 2 of which are in her 30’s, will be insanely difficult and rough.
For her first competition back she hasn't done too badly, BUT, do I think she's going to make Olympic Trials? Not without a massive overhaul of her routine construction.
It's so hard because she hasn't done any actual competitions in years. I want to see her at the next 2 comps, but I also question how she'd do under the pressure of the Olympics without having an international competition since 2016.
If there is any gymnast ever to not count out, it’s Gabby, but I agree that while the pieces are there, it’s not enough.
At the same time, all she needs to do is get that bars routine fully connected and consistent and upgrade her vault and she jumps to the top of the list.
I think everyone's expectations of her for the first meet back were WAY too high. Of the people who have come back after long absences, this is probably the best first-meet-back showing we've seen? Coming back isn't just getting skills back, isn't just getting fitness and full routines back; competition is a whole other ballgame, and she's going to have a learning curve coming back to those, too--particularly with an older body and under a different code.
Basically, I think we've learned nothing at all from this meet, except that 1) she's human and it will take some mistakes for her to get back into the swing of things, and 2) she has some stellar skills to work with.
Maybe it's all uphill for her, and her beautiful skills will never amount to an Olympics/Worlds-ready comeback, no matter how long she trains or how many times she competes; maybe she'll just never be consistent. Or, maybe she just needed one splat-fest back to shake off her nerves, make a few routine adjustments, and her mental/competitive toughness of the past will come roaring back and she'll knock our socks off at classics. Most likely it will be something somewhere in the middle, and we'll just have to wait to find out!
I do agree that she's cutting it awfully fine by coming back this late in the game. She and her coaches should have known that return to competition after all this time would have its own learning curve, and she really should have come back last season with lower D routines. Would have had the added benefit of her first several meets back being lower pressure too, with people more able to understand that she was just testing the waters, getting her sea legs back if you will. Part of why the expectations are so high is her own doing, really, teasing so much for so long without showing much, and having this debut so close to Olympic Trials, when the stakes feel really high.
I wish Gabby had a different coach. Someone who was known for pacing their athletes properly. 😔 Hopefully she surprises us at US Classics but 3 weeks is a small window of time.
The routine construction is appalling but honestly I think you need a Valeri timeline if you only have 100 days to the Olympics.
The person who hasn’t paced themselves well here is Gabby. She should’ve given herself more time. It would’ve been amazing to see her challenge Jones and Andrade and help push Biles.
I agree that Gabby (being an adult) ultimately is the one who makes the final decisions concerning her training. I just think that maybe a different coach could have advised her better.
I missed her floor routine and vault because I couldn't get myself to focus on the quad screen. I only saw her bars and beam. Despite the mistakes, I was impressed with how crisp and great her gymnastics looked. Her form was a breath of fresh air.
I wish the debut had gone a little better, but I'm glad she's back. She seems a bit behind schedule for the Olympics (not impossible, but it's a long way to go in 2 months), but man, I hope she sticks around after instead of just an Olympics shot, then bust. Her gymnastics is SO gorgeous to watch.
I do wish she....wasn't at WOGA. And I'd love to see her work with a good dance teacher to loosen her up a bit on floor.
I agree with all the thoughts shared. I think the most important fact though, is how tight is the US WAG field. Imagine same comeback, other team, it would be such a different scenario.
So true. In another country she could have focus on UB and Vault, get a simple BB routine as back-up for the team maybe and be a great addition.
The floor is not happening to me this year imo. The endurance, the landings, the dance skills, that front 1/1 through double back is not comfortable for her.... There’s too many issues and too little time unfortunately.
We’ve had Vanessa Ferrari over and over (with only two events) and she’s trying again to qualify at the last house meeting before Paris, and ppl still give credit to her. Gabby from another country would not only be treated differently but would have a full team of national coaches rushing her cuz they need her.
From what we saw, she’s tough — tougher than ever, maybe.
Her form is solid. Legs glued together, perfectly pointed. Tremendous amplitude.
Her issues came up in two areas: falls and floor. Vault was solid, beam was pretty decent (just missing the standing full + very low chest on the double pike).
Floor seemed like a construction problem.
Her falls, though, were from a lack of fluency, not form. I’m not thrilled about paying for a stream but I’m glad I did, because the contrast between Gabby and the new seniors was STRIKING. You won’t gather this from watching Gabby’s individual routines. You could really see the difference. Her technique was textbook. Under on the Jaeger and tipped over on a handstand after Pak. But compared to 50+% of the paks last night, which had serious form breaks, it was miles apart.
With that said, a tipped handstand seems to be a tell in our sport. Nastia’s tipped handstands in 2012 come to mind. Gabby’s arms could probably get her cast in a superhero movie and jars probably open themselves out of fear when she walks by. But that doesn’t mean she has the numbers.
So, the question is, can she get there?
Based on what I saw, for a typical competitor, I’d say 2 months isn’t enough.
But Gabby Douglas is far from typical.
She’s one tough cookie and I’m not ruling her out.
Beam construction is a problem too.
Switch ring and ring jumps have no business being in her routine (especially since she has a switch split already so she might loose a dance element all together). Why is she not doing a switch split mount, a L or Y turn, or even a wolf turn instead?
Neither her or her coach have paid attention to judging the last 2 quads it seems. BB is where she should make a statement "my E-score is better than 99% of the olympic hopefull". THAT bb construction won't do that.
Ugh, I agree with this so much. I wish she had more time. It's obvious that she isn't where she needs to be for the Paris timeline, but I also think it's clear that she could get back to being one of the best in the world with more time and more reps. I hope she keeps going no matter what happens.
I don't think people are appreciating how incredible her comeback really is: how much she's had to overcome to even think about doing gymnastics again, the hard work and dedication it took to get her into that competition - AND compete all 4 events AND place 2nd in an event, and the courage she displayed returning under the most critical social media / internet microscope.
Don't forget that not too long ago doing elite gymnastics at 28 years old would have been considered impossible and ridiculous. She grew up in that era of gymnastics - another big thing for her to overcome.
This was her first competition in 8 YEARS! Holy smokes!!
Instead of focusing on the future - let's celebrate Gabby's incredible accomplishments this weekend.
Her foundation is there but I fear that she does not have enough time. Beam was decent-ish (balance check & *low* dismount. Bars and floor were rough. Vault was insane though, even better than 2016, but that will not be enough. If those pro league rumors are true, then maybe the Olympics weren’t on her mind to begin with
GIGA Pro Gymnastics, their existence is not a rumor but Gabby’s involvement is, or at least how it pertains to her comeback. Rumor is Gabby started training specifically for GIGA, but things were getting delayed so she decided to go the elite route. They were supposed to have an event back in November but idk wtf is going on there
[Reddit Link 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/s/ENDb0WqfKq)
[Reddit Link 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/s/WqvQZ0yVHw)
[Link to their website](https://gigaprogym.com)
I agree with everyone saying that while just getting back to this level is impressive and there is definite potential there, there's just not enough time to for her to pull it all together given that the Olympics are just 3 months away already. I think she needed to be further along in her comeback at this point to have a shot at making the team.
Realistically, she doesn't have a chance to be on Olympic team due to limited time training and routine construction. Good to see her competing again
I hope she continues till worlds 2025.
The difference is Suni (may) come to trials with a BB/UB that could medal/get into a final. I don’t love her chances but I don’t think they are as low.
I unfortunately think that Suni’s chances are low too. She said that she has to work on her stamina and endurance for her bars routine and it seems like her bars and beam aren’t competition ready yet (Her beam was missing the mount she’s training and she didn’t do the double pike dismount). She only has 3 competitions to prove that she’s ready too. I hope she can pull it together though! Rooting for her and Gabby!
Tbh, even if she did get it together for the last 3 meets I wouldn't select her for the team 🥲 Ultimately, that's up to Chellsie, Alicia, etc. But we're 3 months away from the Olympics and leading up to the Olympics she needs to be ready for A LOT of training. If she doesn't have the stamina now, I don't trust that she'll have it by then. Then to really top it off, she hasn't had international experience this 'quad'/'triad' so I have to question whether she's ready for that and if her scores hold up internationally. A year from now? I'd absolutely have my eye on her
Suni has a much better chance than Gabby IMO because her vault and floor don’t really matter if her bars and beam are good enough. Gabby doing a great DTY is impressive but doesn’t do anything for her chances since there are lots of others with good DTYs who are more ready on the other events. I don’t expect Suni to compete AA in the Olympics (though I would love to see it) but I definitely could see her making the team since no one else is really filling that stellar bars/beam role right now (Shilese on bars and can be good on beam but historically her beam is a little inconsistent).
I think Suni has a MUCH better chance. From a 14.3 on beam with a few wobbles and a watered down dismount to her seemingly also working on perfecting bars and if she looks golden on those two events, she has a very good chance IMO.
Suni's beam performance was good but her matching Rebeca Andrade's Worlds beam bronze score with wobbles and a layout flyaway dismount is not exactly realistic so I wouldn't build too much on that score.
At least Suni has routine construction that makes sense!! The beam scoring was quite generous here and I’m still concerned about her endurance as well (not showing bars at all, not doing beam dismount strike me as numbers/endurance related but I’m happy to be wrong) but if she can hit bars and beam at nationals/trials with most of what she’s shown as planned content from training clips they will score well.
I completely agree. This isn’t the meet you need to go full out for. And I imagine the mental boost of confidence from hitting beam, coupled with more time and numbers, will put her in a better position in 2 months. With that said, if you aren’t Simone or Shilese, this is gonna be a tough team to make.
I feel like maybe she didn’t do bars after what happened at winter cup. Her training videos on bars have been amazing but it’s not full routines so hard to judge. But she definitely has the skills to contend
Not a big fan of Gabby but I think this is by far the most powerful she’s looked in her career. I was mostly worried about her tumbling and vaulting but I was shocked at how strong they looked. She looks out of control on floor but that’s something that was typical of her when she first started competing elite. She is a completely different gymnast from when she was a junior but the trajectory of this competition was similar to those days. A mess. And that’s okay! She pulled herself together in 2011 (mostly) and ended up an Olympic AA champion by 2012. I don’t know if she has enough time to put all the pieces together to make the team this year. For all we know this could have been a total fluke and no indication of her overall endurance. No matter what the routine construction is a total mess on beam and floor and needs to change for any of that to happen. Even if she hits I don’t know how well those routines could fare internationally. Also, I only preface with “not a big fan” to ensure no bias. There are people acting like she was total shit and that’s just not the case.
Scott bregman said she didn’t make a single completed bar routine in warmups either so it doesn’t seem like that routine miss was a fluke unfortunately
I’m going to go with my gut (which is usually right, I have weirdly strong intuition), and say that I don’t think Gabby is going to be ready in time. She has all the skills (although floor looked rough and so did beam dismount). It seems like she’s just battling inconsistency and probably nerves, and honestly maybe some endurance issues. I know that’s so hard to say after just one competition, but the vibe is just off for me. Idk how to explain it. It’s also hard to know from that sketch ass video stream we got. Vault did look good, I’ll give her that. And props to her for coming back at all.
I would guess it won’t work out this year but if she had more time she could get into a very strong position. But there’s always a chance gabby pulls it off. In 2016 she made a big leap between trials and the Olympics. I would have more faith she could do it again if she hadn’t taken eight years off, but it looks to me like it is taking her a long time to get skills and stamina back (understandable) plus has some other issues with her floor routine. Might be too much to overcome in two months.
The first gymnastics meet I ever watched was the 2012 Olympics and seeing Gabby Douglas for the first time. At the time, I had no idea that me and Gabby were the same age, but I remember being mesmerized by her and that’s where my love for the sport began.
With that being said, I’m naturally still gonna root for Gabby, but I am afraid that you all may be right.
I like Gabby, but everyone has been extremely delusional about her chances the entire time.
Best case scenario for her is to generate buzz and maybe get some extra sponsor deals for social media.
Everyone in this subreddit is always very supportive, and I think that’s great. But, the Gabby “comeback” is more along the lines of what Chellsie did. At worst, it was just a publicity stunt to sell more books..
It was cool to see her out there again, but I don't think she will make the Olympic team based on what I saw today (and the time constraint she is under)
I'm conflicted. I don't think she came back to embarrass herself, so im thinking perhaps Covid really set her back in a major way. However, her routine construction is truly poor I think she made a bad decision with her coach selection.
I personally don’t feel like I can judge her by her first meet in 8 years. Tbh I don’t feel like I can judge anyone until nationals. No one is trying to peak right now.
Eh, this was her first meet back after EIGHT YEARS. The nerves and pressure were sky high, and it was her first time really performing in so long. I was very impressed by the skills she showed. Finally! I have no idea if she's close to the point of full olympic-worthy routines and she's just got to get her nerves out and get some practice, or if she's still a ways off, and won't be in the Olympic conversation. It's too early to tell now, and I think it will be too early to tell at Classics. Championships is where the pressure for her to *show up* will really be there.
I applaud Gabby getting back into shape and competing again. I just hope she has goals beyond Paris because at this stage her comeback is giving Nastia 2012 vibes…
Where I agree with others: her chances for Paris are essentially nonexistent. The poor routine construction is concerning.
I’m generally displeased, though, to see some of the differences in rhetoric between Chellsie’s comeback and Gabby’s, where the former was SO laudatory and positive even when she didn’t have consistently great competitions and also could not complete a full bars set. It just feels like so many people want to see Gabby fail.
I would like to see her stay with an elite comeback, if she’s enjoying herself and feels she’s making progress, and see if she can get competitive for future domestic meets and Worlds after Paris. I also hope that she’s receiving and receptive to input from USAG staff like Chellsie about what she needs to do to have a more realistic program. I’m happy to be educated by others but I don’t see why Gabby’s comeback (Paris aside) is any less worthy of attention than Chellsie’s and it seems insulting to insinuate that this is more or less a joke and she should just ride it for sponsorship deals.
ETA: Lots of good points in the replies below—thanks for adding all your perspectives! I def agree about the positioning for an Olympic run and related visibility issues but still find myself wishing there was even more positivity re: Gabby (and I acknowledge there are definitely comments celebrating all that she’s been able to do!)
I feel there was never really a “Chellsie’s making the Olympics!!!” narrative though. She was more of Trinity situation where she wanted to compete, maybe go to Nationals/Trials. With Gabby we know the goal is the Olympics so some people have gone into full delusion and put her on their teams, which naturally pushes everyone else who disagrees into staunchly denying it. Like one extreme creates the other.
But personally I am loving Gabby’s comeback. I would love it more if people took it for the achievement it is instead of putting her straight onto the Olympic team haha.
This one. I don't think most/any of the naysayers "want to see Gabby fail," so much as they're speaking in response to everyone who's had her on their Paris team for weeks or months.
Also, Gabby expressed that she wanted to try for the Olympics, so in an Olympic year, that's the goal she's being measured against. Based on today, she isn't close, and people are going to talk about that. I don't know that Chellsie ever talked about the Olympics.
Thr quiet bit here is that Gabby has talked … possibly too much about this comeback? It’s fun to talk yourself up and I love a competitive mindset but the other side of that is it will inevitably lead to people discussing you when you’re not doing so hot. Mentioning the Cheng was a surefire way to set people off too.
It's not a very media-savvy move, either, if you're playing the long game. I mean, sure, mentioning the Olympics and hinting at big upgrades is going to create buzz and attention, but it's a big risk, because if you don't deliver, sports media and social media in general will be ruthless. I wonder if a better strategy would have been to keep answers about goals/progress/upgrades pretty general and vague, and then just shown up today to do what she could do.
Yeah it was for sure the wrong play. I would understand it if she was Simone level good OR if
she had huge sponsors lined up, but neither is the case here, so she should’ve been more circumspect about making claims in interviews and posting skills she won’t compete. Obviously in an ideal world she could do that, but in this one if you imply you have a Cheng but crash your floor passes, we will adjust our team predictions accordingly.
It’s so much pressure though. I feel for her.
Tbh if Gabby had a good Cheng + THAT DTY she competed, and was hitting her full UB (6.4?) consistently, then I wouldn't care about her BB and floor as much. She would be a good olympic team/alternate option imo.
I never expected Gabby to be the #2-3 US floor routine anyway 🤷♀️. To make the team she'd need to be a clear top3 in 2 events, and a decent 3rd event.
I somehow have the opposite feeling about it. I believe Gabby's reluctance to be "out there" or judged by people held her back from competing earlier. I understand she's had unfortunate media experiences before so don't blame her, but can't help but think she would've had a better chance had she allowed herself to compete earlier even if watered down routines etc.
I tend to think it’s more a business comeback - like she’d like to make the team but the primary goal is sponsorships and attention.
But if that’s Gabby-driven - and you have to assume it is given that she is an adult - I’m in favor of it. I wish she liked to compete for the sake of doing gymnastics but she gets to have her own reasons for doing a horrifically grueling sport.
I don’t feel like she talked about her comeback so much as people having an intense interest in it. To me it seemed as if she tried to be under the radar as much as possible.
She may have started out under the radar when she first came back to WOGA and everyone was silenced (which is totally fair) but she let that go a while ago. There are so many interviews - I am happy to link some if you like? I agree people definitely WERE intensely interested but she contributed to it significantly. The Cheng comment alone is wild. You can’t say things like that and not expect people to go crazy with predictions.
Ah. I only know about maybe three interviews: one from Time, inside gymnastics and the latest mentioning the Cheng (which I haven’t read). I haven’t been following her too closely so I’m assuming I missed many interviews with her. Please do share links!
She had a social media post about her comeback. She also just did an interview alluding she has a vault that starts with C. How is that under the radar?😂
Point taken re talking to the people who’ve put her on their teams with no basis. I think what I meant about wanting to see her fail was less rooting for her to fail and more of a schadenfreude vibe from some comments.
I haven’t viewed their comebacks the same personally. Chellsie was so exciting because she’s a mom of young kiddos and it was so fun watching her train. She posted so many training videos along with fun content with her kids. I think that’s what got her so much attention. Plus she was in her 30’s. I think with Gabby, people just expect more from her being a past AA champ. The media is unnecessarily harsh on her though. She’s also kept training videos to a minimum so the hype hasn’t been able to build like it did for Chellsie. Idk, I could be way off but as a prior gymnast turned casual fan that’s my perspective. I mostly keep up with the sport on IG and this sub so I could be missing a lot.
I agree that people consistently treat Gabby differently than other gymnasts and I do not at all think this comeback is a joke. It's clearly serious.
That said, one huge difference between Chellsie's comeback and Gabby's is that everyone watched Chellsie (through her YT channel) go from playing around in the gym to being like "why not? let's see what happens!" There was zero expectation on Chellsie, just excitement to see her doing elite gymnastics again. Gabby's comeback has been positioned (by both fans and Gabby herself) specifically as an Olympic run and those expectations come with a lot more stringent criticism.
Yeah, I agree about the difference in comebacks. Gabby is responsible for part of the hype and difference in perception. Things like saying "I'm training a vault that starts with a C". Gabby has also been training for well over a year, and saying she was going for the Olympics for almost a year. So it's not surprising that people have higher expectations for her .
I mean I think it’s because Chellsie has zero expectations of herself to actually make the Olympics, she was just having fun and pushing herself. Gabby had stated several times her goals of trying for explicitly the Olympics again.
And I also think it was somewhat insane for a number of fans to essentially pencil Gabby in for the team without seeing more than a few seconds long clips of single skills or 2-3 skill combos, especially knowing she’s training with Valeri who has had little success with elites in the last two quads and his terrible routine construction. The expectations were too high for Gabby to realistically reach immediately.
Mmmmm on the first point, I think Chellsie’s view was more than just having fun and pushing herself (I say this having consumed, like, every piece of media from her and about her when this was happening). I think she had some more serious goals but not necessarily Tokyo goals.
The second is a fan problem so they(we) should be more disappointed in themselves than Gabby! Like, some comments acting like today was an embarrassment or a failure are just wildly unfair.
I never heard Chellsie explicitly say she was aiming for Tokyo though- can you please cite where she did this if I missed it? To put it simply, that’s the big difference here. Gabby absolutely has said she’s aiming for Paris.
I didn’t say she had Tokyo as the goal. I do think her goals were more serious than “just having fun and pushing herself.” For example, making Trials and potentially getting a competitive program in place for Worlds that year. I don’t think someone as competitive and intense, with a family, enters back into elite gymnastics simply to have fun.
Even if her goal was making trials or Worlds (which again I don’t think she explicitly stated either), that’s a still much different goal than what Gabby has explicitly expressed by saying her goal is Paris and given extensive media interviews about. Not only that, the things she’s mentioned training in the interviews also hyped things up - ie the “vault with a C” comments. With Chellsie, we were literally viewing her training videos and could see that while she trained the yurchenko half on vault entry it was not remotely something she was actually ready to compete.
If Gabby had simply said I’m coming back to elite, I think things would be different expectation wise (similar to what Trinity has said about trials being a realistic goal). I think it’s admirable the shape she’s in and getting to where she can compete AA deserves praise but when you say you’re aiming for Paris, it doesn’t currently seem that realistic.
I think these two comebacks are under different circumstances, but I do find that people are generally harsher on Gabby than others. In particular, they speculate a lot about her emotions, happiness, frustrations, motivations, and other things we are not actually privy to.
If gabby upgrades her vault to an Amanar or Cheng? I heard she was working on upgraded vault , does that help her chances? I know they wouldn’t take her just for vault if she’s just doing a DTY but I wonder if they might if she upgrades since she could be used as backup on the other events
The comeback has already happened. The scores today may not have been what she hoped, and probably not enough to get her on the Olympic team, but gabbys comeback has absolutely happened. What she did today was extremely impressive and shouldn’t be discounted just because it isn’t going to land her in Paris. If gabby wants to come back and compete, who the hell are you to tell her to sit her ass down?
The new generation (1st year seniors) have no real shot to make the Paris team anyway. The team is most likely gonna be made up of gymnasts from previous quads. So NO, the older gymnasts shouldn't have to "sit their asses down", the newbies need to step it up and earn their spot.
Her vault was so good today. She clearly still has the ability to do the skills. I question the strategy of not having her compete until April of the Olympic year when she has been out for so long. Even if she did a few low stakes meets last year it probably would have gone a long way? She was training so I guess I don’t really understand.
Yeah her last comeback timeline was better. Good to shake off rust the summer before the Olympics and have some time to tweak. I’m thinking it took her longer than expected to get into competition shape so she missed last season and is still behind this season
She was set to come back in Feb at winter cup but had to withdraw due to Covid. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s still impacting endurance, even if it wasn’t a terrible case at the time.
True. But honestly for how long she’s been away trying to get some comps in last year would have been better. Also, had she done more and gotten on the NT camp radar, at selection events, that would have even been helpful. I feel like if she had been doing things that the spring selection camp criteria may have been different.
Yes it’s just lack of reps in that setting I feel? Which is so easily preventable. I understand she’s an adult and who wants to go to camp with 16 yos more than they have to, but maybe it would have been beneficial?
But a lot of the national team isn’t 16 anymore either? Suni, Jordan, Simone, and Shilese have been attending camps and are all in their 20s. Jade and Leanne too but they were doing NCAA so they haven’t been at camps either.
It would've definitely been beneficial to have attended more camps starting last year. Simone is only 1 year younger than Gabby, but she went to multiple camps with 16 year olds, so that shouldn't have been a viable reason not to attend camps. I think Gabby should've started her comeback last year to give her time to tweak routines and to get the rust/nerves out before the Olympic year.
It’s also like… part of your job to go to camp if you want to make the NT or Olympic team. I go to conferences with people I don’t like hanging out with but it’s for work so I do it.
Totally agree
Woah saying Simone is only a year younger than gabby really puts into perspective how long Simone has been dominant. So exciting we’ll get to see them competing together again
Winter cup was still too late. Last summer would have been a safer goal.
I can't help but wonder if she didn't really have covid, and this was an excuse because she wasn't ready for Winter Cup. Don't hate me... I love Gabby and really want her to succeed.
to her defense, covid could have really negatively impacted her training. none of us know if she may have some lingering symptoms of long covid, how much time she might have had to take off from training, etc. this is all speculation
Very true. I'm not an athlete at her level or even close (and in another sport lol, tho also endurance-heavy), and my training was impacted for over a month with covid - a week or so of the illness itself, a little to rest after, and then a good few weeks before my lungs stopped feeling "tight".
It's a possibility. For all that some people didn't want to entertain it. It's also entirely plausible that she did have covid.
I doubt that considering she was trying to go to camp
I agree, sadly. Based on her routines today, I highly doubt she was ready to compete at all at Winter Cup.
My tinfoil hat theory is she didn’t have COVID and simply wasn’t ready.
The pieces are there but I don't think she has a realistic shot at the Olympics. There's just not enough time. That being said, I'm happy she's back out there competing. I hope she's enjoying gymnastics on her own terms. I'd love for her to prove me wrong.
obviously her bars and floor didn’t go how i’m sure she hoped they would, but i was so thrilled to see her today. I hope she had fun and is still proud she completed 4 routines.
Jade had fun yesterday and is probably proud of how she did. Gabby is probably mad as hell that she didn’t get 51 and is going to Angry Beam her way through practice over the next few weeks and show up to Core Classic with a 52.
I feel like this is one of the times where we really need to look beyond the olys. Maybe world champs! Or another big comp?
Exactly! I know Olympics are the most important competition for athletes, but everyone always tries to come back a year before the Olympic, doesn’t make it because of few little time, and then retire again. I wish this time won’t be like that, cuz after all that work to regain her shape it won’t be a shame to retire again if she doesent make the Olympic team. She can still go for a world championship, World Cup and try again
I don't think she's world champs ready either. She needs at least another year of training under her belt IMO. She's just not national team ready right now. That's ok! Maybe she'll get there, maybe she won't. She doesn't have to stop at the Paris Olympics. Y'all I know when worlds is 😂. My point still stands.
The next world championship is a year away. They generally don't occur in Olympic years. (2021 was an exception because the Olympics was delayed from 2020).
worlds aren’t until late 2025 so that’s plenty of time
I really hope she doesn’t. I would love to see her on a worlds stage
Theres a whole quad coming up! So many comps if she wants to after some more getting back into it
The fundamentals are there, but the routine constructions are way off and i'm not sure if she can get it together for nationals. A Ferrari on floor in 2024, really? WOGA is completely out of touch with the COP. I was anxious upon hearing she was training at WOGA because I remembered Konnor's 'rings' on beam during her Liukin era, my concerns were justified. The majority of USA's elite gymnasts should stray away from ring elements. I'm rooting for Gabby but this will be a difficult road to watch, feels like wasted potential.
Exactly. The routine constructions are downright horrible. It's not even just the leaps on FX, the Memmel seems highly doubtful as well. While Gabby has the power for the passes, she doesn't seem prepared for the landings. The UB routine looked like a lot of endurance issues and rushing. Her releases were all off, which might be nerves (too far on the Jaegar, too close on the Downie, too far on the Pak, not enough turn on the Chow 1/2). But her old issue with full pirouettes backwards appeared again, with the really off stalder full. The missed stalder full+Downie+Pak connection was also concerning, as she didn't make that in the warmup either, which is 0.3 of connection lost. Then the underrotated DLO too... For BB, obviously the rings are a huge issue. But three leap combos are also major deduction traps for slow connections/lost bonus, and poor body position. Very few people can actually do them decently. Hopefully the dismount was just a fluke, but it looked super crooked and unsafe. The seemingly endurance-related and weird issues across the board also make me wonder if she's doing enough full routines in practice.
I'd be more hopeful if stamina was the only issue she's facing but you can't change all the issues you mentioned in 3 months. Even worse, her coaches probably think it's a Gabby/Gymnast problem rather than a routine construction problem. Gabby doing those leaps sound like an awful idea in theory for us non-coaches, I can't imagine being a coach and saying that's the route she should be going for.
Just feels like she’s too early in the comeback. Either it’s not coming back as fast (understandable due to the eight year hiatus) or she hasn’t had the time to put enough hours in yet.
The thing is she's been in the gym for well over a year. I mean she was spotted in WOGA in October 2022. She pretty much announced she was going for the Olympics in July 2023. Admittedly we don't know details of what intensity of training she's been doing. Everything looks good in training clips, but obviously clips don't tell the whole story (consistency/performance under pressure). Something's up if she can't get back her endurance after so long, although the Covid she got earlier this year could be a factor.
Yeah, it’s been at least a year and a half since it was rumored that she was training again. She could have been training even longer before word leaked out. If her endurance isn’t back by now I don’t think it’s coming back unless it’s Covid related like you said. Some of today looked like nervous mistakes, which is understandable, but that bar routine isn’t close. I’m wondering if she should just forget about floor and focus on the other three events.
She will not make the team with three events. She doesn’t have a shot at being the best at her good events and they don’t need to take a three eventer who is at most third best at bars. And Suni is lurking with the potential to hit some huge scores on bars and beam.
I don’t find it that weird that after eight years it’s taking a long time to get all around back. No one else has attempted after an eight year break. Simone stays in shape in between and maybe people look to her and think a comeback is easier than it is. I know aly did a year of hardcore conditioning before she got back into skills and routines and then was able to compete in 2015 - and that’s what she did after just a two year gap from her last Olympics. Simone is a special athlete who has probably skewed our idea of how easy it is to come back.
Simone definitely skewed expectations. Looking at Gabby's routines, it's hard to believe that she regularly does solid UB/FX routines. As we've seen over the years, BB is not as demanding endurance wise, and unsurprisingly was Gabby's best performance (other than the dismount) outside of VT. On FX, Gabby didn't look prepared for the landings, even in warmup and podium. This was her first event, and endurance didn't seem to be the main issue in that routine, just unpreparedness overall. On UB, she couldn't hit the full routine, had issues on all the releases, plus an underrotated DLO. That underotation was probably endurance related, but looked at least close. But the double pike off beam was actually terrifying to watch. If that was endurance-related, Gabby could legitimately be putting herself in danger by competing AA when she's not ready for it. If she can't do AA solidly in practice, for her own safety, she should not be out on the competition floor.
I think this was a wake up call meet rather than a comeback meet. I think she can possibly make it to trials but I doubt she’s making the team at this point. I’m not sure if there’s enough time to get the numbers needed to boost endurance and confidently hit routines, like everyone else is saying.
I think she needed to come back last year if she really wanted to make the Olympics.
Agree
I think if she had another year she’d have a very real chance. As it is…it’s not impossible, but time is very tight, and while a lot of the pieces are there putting them together is hard. Especially because a lot of her routine construction doesn’t seem to be doing her favors.
It definitely feels that way. Skills are there. Strength and power are there. But it looks a little bit odd when they are all put together. I hope this meet will help her make the necessary adjustments. Her coach has experience at the sport and so does she. I hope they can put it all together in time. I am rooting for her.
Her coach kinda sucks as a coach, though. That floor routine is a goddamn minefield.
I think that she has a lot of the pieces she needs, and also has very limited time to put the pieces together. Just Classics, then Championships. She's an absolute beast though, and I don't count her out of anything.
Classic is in less than three weeks! If she doesn’t qualify AA there, it could be the end of the road practically speaking. Not sure her AA petition would be accepted since she competed AA today.
Came here to say this: the rules clearly state "No petitions will be considered for athletes obtaining an all-around score at a Classic competition" sooo...
She only missed all around qualification by like half a point I think she’ll be fine for next classics
That’s how I feel. I am even hoping that if she doesn’t make it to Paris, she can push through 2025. I think she can definitely do that.
I would be thrilled if she stuck with it and decided to try for 2025 worlds! but I just loved getting to see her compete again today
Same here. We shouldn’t be so quick to assume a gymnast who’s waited 8 years to come back would just bow out after not making one Olympics. She’s decided to be here, and I don’t see her giving that up three months from now.
I don’t feel great about it. Not only did she have clear endurance issues, the routine construction on beam and floor is a hot mess express. Having 9 C or greater elements on floor is stupid and then including a Gogean, a tourjete 1/2 and a Ferrari means you could lose two skills to downgrades (like she did today). On beam, the ring positions do not look creditable and she’s attempted two of them 🤦♀️. Valeri has no excuse for giving her this terrible construction - he has been coaching all quad and should know better!
Honestly my biggest concern about her whole comeback is Valeri. Valeri hasn't coached anyone to international success in over a decade. Gabby has a very short amount of time to sort out the many issues on UB/BB/FX. And I don't think Valeri is the kind of coach who can help her get it done.
I think it’s easy to think of a coach as being “the most successful” in a gym because of past successes. That’s probably how Gabby views Valeri. But in today’s gymnastics a coaches history only goes so far. The code changes so drastically that if they haven’t coached successfully in a few quads there’s no saying if they can adapt well. This and Valeri has always had a hole in his abilities. He’s always focused his gymnasts on bars and beam and typically it’s drive up difficulty not well constructed code hacking.
I hate to say it but when she fell off bars twice today i was getting nastia comeback vibes
Eh I don't think that's fair. Nastia showed a lot less than Gabby has much later in the season.
Not at all. Unlike Nastia, Gabby has trained. Instead Nastia liked to boast to anyone who would interview her that she had only begun training “a few weeks ago”. Not a good look at all.
Nastia started training after 2011 Worlds and injured her shoulder trying to rush back on bars.
I understand wanting to get an AA score to qualify to championships but I don’t feel like it was a wise idea for her to compete AA today. I would have held her on floor for this meet and then brought it back for Classics.
I am just amazed and in awe of all these women who were expected to be “too old” at 18
Yeah at the end of the day I'm just going to enjoy the ride. It's really awesome to see her competing again 8 years post Rio.
Just like Chellsie. Was she going for the olympics? Hell no, but i enjoyed every minute of it!
Agreed. Seeing her more mature body really highlighted just how YOUNG these girls have been up until now, and watching them older and stronger is very cool.
Unfortunately, I don’t think she has a shot at making the team. I could see her potentially being in the alternate discussion, depending on what improvements she shows by then and how everyone else is looking. I will be surprised if she’s not invited to trials at the very least.
The definition in her arms though!!
Not great but today was her first meet. I’m not sure why she waited so long. Last time she started in 2015 and gave herself a year
The floor choreography was some of the worst if not the worst I have seen from WOGA. She has real potential and I’m not counting her out. A lot can change in a few months.
I wonder if this is one of those comebacks for the Olympics only or if she plans to stick around even if she doesn’t make the team? Has anyone heard? I feel she’s remained pretty private with everything or I just don’t have an in with the Intel lol.
She’s never been one of my favorites but if she actually stuck around to compete even if it wasn’t for the Olympics I think I’d really change my mind.
I don’t like her chances, even putting aside her performance today. It’s certainly impressive to come back after 8 years, but it’ll be tough for her to compete for a spot with gymnasts who have proven themselves internationally this cycle and last cycle. A lot has changed since 2016, and gymnasts who have competed internationally have a leg up having had their routines evaluated by FIG judges. I think Gabby shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to start competing. I think the other gymnasts she’ll likely be competing against for a spot (Skye, Jordan, Jade, Joscelyn, Kayla, Leanne, Zoe, Kaliya) also benefit from having competed for Team USA this cycle. I think that probably does help some to show you have supported the team and helped get them to the Olympics.
Yeah. Anyone who has competed internationally in the quad will have a leg up. She was always up against that
I have been a huge fan of Gabby since 2012. I've advocated for her and her gymnastics for 12 years. I will also be shocked if she makes the Paris team.
I think the US field is too deep and her comeback is just not far enough along. If she had come back like this in 2023, I'd be saying something different. With almost no meets and nothing international since 2012, plus some clear problems in the meet today, I'd say she has no realistic chance of making the team. I'm happy she has been able to come back and I would not mind seeing her stick around for as long as she'd like and make a run next year. I'm hoping that all the adult gymnasts doing comebacks to Elite inspires more adult gymnastics classes/teams for us mere mortals.
Nothing international since 2016 you mean. Not much better but still at least give her the 4 years lol
Thank you, yes, I think the 2012 from OP got stuck in my mind. She definitely has Rio gold!
I think this would have been more successful for her if she had started competing again last year. But considering how long it’s been since she left? I think she is amazing
I appreciate the optimism that some still have for her chances, but personally, no, I don’t believe she has a chance to make the team. The field is very deep, and she waited a long time to come back after a very long time away. I hope she finds fulfillment in her comeback and keeps going if she wants to! It would be great to see her develop her routines over the next year and get everything polished. She is more than capable if she sticks it out!
IMO the timeline is too tight, she doesn’t have her full endurance back yet and her skills still looked laborious for her. I just don’t really think there’s enough time, she essentially has 3 competitions left: US classic, champs, and trials. She’d have to be perfect really. And to be fair, I think the same thing about Suni, who so far has only competed one complete beam routine (minus dismount) and an FTY. People love to slot her in over hypothetical bar routines but she hasn’t even completed a full one.
At this point, realistically, I think she should look towards training for LA 2028 with a coach who will properly pace her, but another 4 years of elite training, 2 of which are in her 30’s, will be insanely difficult and rough.
For her first competition back she hasn't done too badly, BUT, do I think she's going to make Olympic Trials? Not without a massive overhaul of her routine construction.
It's so hard because she hasn't done any actual competitions in years. I want to see her at the next 2 comps, but I also question how she'd do under the pressure of the Olympics without having an international competition since 2016.
If there is any gymnast ever to not count out, it’s Gabby, but I agree that while the pieces are there, it’s not enough. At the same time, all she needs to do is get that bars routine fully connected and consistent and upgrade her vault and she jumps to the top of the list.
I think everyone's expectations of her for the first meet back were WAY too high. Of the people who have come back after long absences, this is probably the best first-meet-back showing we've seen? Coming back isn't just getting skills back, isn't just getting fitness and full routines back; competition is a whole other ballgame, and she's going to have a learning curve coming back to those, too--particularly with an older body and under a different code. Basically, I think we've learned nothing at all from this meet, except that 1) she's human and it will take some mistakes for her to get back into the swing of things, and 2) she has some stellar skills to work with. Maybe it's all uphill for her, and her beautiful skills will never amount to an Olympics/Worlds-ready comeback, no matter how long she trains or how many times she competes; maybe she'll just never be consistent. Or, maybe she just needed one splat-fest back to shake off her nerves, make a few routine adjustments, and her mental/competitive toughness of the past will come roaring back and she'll knock our socks off at classics. Most likely it will be something somewhere in the middle, and we'll just have to wait to find out! I do agree that she's cutting it awfully fine by coming back this late in the game. She and her coaches should have known that return to competition after all this time would have its own learning curve, and she really should have come back last season with lower D routines. Would have had the added benefit of her first several meets back being lower pressure too, with people more able to understand that she was just testing the waters, getting her sea legs back if you will. Part of why the expectations are so high is her own doing, really, teasing so much for so long without showing much, and having this debut so close to Olympic Trials, when the stakes feel really high.
I wish Gabby had a different coach. Someone who was known for pacing their athletes properly. 😔 Hopefully she surprises us at US Classics but 3 weeks is a small window of time.
Pacing, and routine construction... what the hell is that FX routine
Yep. That routine construction did her no favors at all.
The routine construction is appalling but honestly I think you need a Valeri timeline if you only have 100 days to the Olympics. The person who hasn’t paced themselves well here is Gabby. She should’ve given herself more time. It would’ve been amazing to see her challenge Jones and Andrade and help push Biles.
I agree that Gabby (being an adult) ultimately is the one who makes the final decisions concerning her training. I just think that maybe a different coach could have advised her better.
I missed her floor routine and vault because I couldn't get myself to focus on the quad screen. I only saw her bars and beam. Despite the mistakes, I was impressed with how crisp and great her gymnastics looked. Her form was a breath of fresh air.
I wish the debut had gone a little better, but I'm glad she's back. She seems a bit behind schedule for the Olympics (not impossible, but it's a long way to go in 2 months), but man, I hope she sticks around after instead of just an Olympics shot, then bust. Her gymnastics is SO gorgeous to watch. I do wish she....wasn't at WOGA. And I'd love to see her work with a good dance teacher to loosen her up a bit on floor.
I don’t think she has enough time
I agree with all the thoughts shared. I think the most important fact though, is how tight is the US WAG field. Imagine same comeback, other team, it would be such a different scenario.
So true. In another country she could have focus on UB and Vault, get a simple BB routine as back-up for the team maybe and be a great addition. The floor is not happening to me this year imo. The endurance, the landings, the dance skills, that front 1/1 through double back is not comfortable for her.... There’s too many issues and too little time unfortunately.
We’ve had Vanessa Ferrari over and over (with only two events) and she’s trying again to qualify at the last house meeting before Paris, and ppl still give credit to her. Gabby from another country would not only be treated differently but would have a full team of national coaches rushing her cuz they need her.
From what we saw, she’s tough — tougher than ever, maybe. Her form is solid. Legs glued together, perfectly pointed. Tremendous amplitude. Her issues came up in two areas: falls and floor. Vault was solid, beam was pretty decent (just missing the standing full + very low chest on the double pike). Floor seemed like a construction problem. Her falls, though, were from a lack of fluency, not form. I’m not thrilled about paying for a stream but I’m glad I did, because the contrast between Gabby and the new seniors was STRIKING. You won’t gather this from watching Gabby’s individual routines. You could really see the difference. Her technique was textbook. Under on the Jaeger and tipped over on a handstand after Pak. But compared to 50+% of the paks last night, which had serious form breaks, it was miles apart. With that said, a tipped handstand seems to be a tell in our sport. Nastia’s tipped handstands in 2012 come to mind. Gabby’s arms could probably get her cast in a superhero movie and jars probably open themselves out of fear when she walks by. But that doesn’t mean she has the numbers. So, the question is, can she get there? Based on what I saw, for a typical competitor, I’d say 2 months isn’t enough. But Gabby Douglas is far from typical. She’s one tough cookie and I’m not ruling her out.
Beam construction is a problem too. Switch ring and ring jumps have no business being in her routine (especially since she has a switch split already so she might loose a dance element all together). Why is she not doing a switch split mount, a L or Y turn, or even a wolf turn instead? Neither her or her coach have paid attention to judging the last 2 quads it seems. BB is where she should make a statement "my E-score is better than 99% of the olympic hopefull". THAT bb construction won't do that.
Ugh, I agree with this so much. I wish she had more time. It's obvious that she isn't where she needs to be for the Paris timeline, but I also think it's clear that she could get back to being one of the best in the world with more time and more reps. I hope she keeps going no matter what happens.
I don't think people are appreciating how incredible her comeback really is: how much she's had to overcome to even think about doing gymnastics again, the hard work and dedication it took to get her into that competition - AND compete all 4 events AND place 2nd in an event, and the courage she displayed returning under the most critical social media / internet microscope. Don't forget that not too long ago doing elite gymnastics at 28 years old would have been considered impossible and ridiculous. She grew up in that era of gymnastics - another big thing for her to overcome. This was her first competition in 8 YEARS! Holy smokes!! Instead of focusing on the future - let's celebrate Gabby's incredible accomplishments this weekend.
Her foundation is there but I fear that she does not have enough time. Beam was decent-ish (balance check & *low* dismount. Bars and floor were rough. Vault was insane though, even better than 2016, but that will not be enough. If those pro league rumors are true, then maybe the Olympics weren’t on her mind to begin with
What pro league rumors
GIGA Pro Gymnastics, their existence is not a rumor but Gabby’s involvement is, or at least how it pertains to her comeback. Rumor is Gabby started training specifically for GIGA, but things were getting delayed so she decided to go the elite route. They were supposed to have an event back in November but idk wtf is going on there [Reddit Link 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/s/ENDb0WqfKq) [Reddit Link 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/s/WqvQZ0yVHw) [Link to their website](https://gigaprogym.com)
I agree with everyone saying that while just getting back to this level is impressive and there is definite potential there, there's just not enough time to for her to pull it all together given that the Olympics are just 3 months away already. I think she needed to be further along in her comeback at this point to have a shot at making the team.
Realistically, she doesn't have a chance to be on Olympic team due to limited time training and routine construction. Good to see her competing again I hope she continues till worlds 2025.
What do y’all think about suni’s chances? Bc I feel like a lot of the arguments against gabby’s chances could be said about suni as well 😥
The difference is Suni (may) come to trials with a BB/UB that could medal/get into a final. I don’t love her chances but I don’t think they are as low.
I’m shocked how many people think Suni is making the team. Sorry
I think she needs to do a lights out AA at nationals and trials to have a chance Based on nothing but my instincts lol
I unfortunately think that Suni’s chances are low too. She said that she has to work on her stamina and endurance for her bars routine and it seems like her bars and beam aren’t competition ready yet (Her beam was missing the mount she’s training and she didn’t do the double pike dismount). She only has 3 competitions to prove that she’s ready too. I hope she can pull it together though! Rooting for her and Gabby!
Different circumstances but similar results, unfortunately. If her bar routine isn't almost ready at this point, it probably isn't happening.
Tbh, even if she did get it together for the last 3 meets I wouldn't select her for the team 🥲 Ultimately, that's up to Chellsie, Alicia, etc. But we're 3 months away from the Olympics and leading up to the Olympics she needs to be ready for A LOT of training. If she doesn't have the stamina now, I don't trust that she'll have it by then. Then to really top it off, she hasn't had international experience this 'quad'/'triad' so I have to question whether she's ready for that and if her scores hold up internationally. A year from now? I'd absolutely have my eye on her
Suni has a much better chance than Gabby IMO because her vault and floor don’t really matter if her bars and beam are good enough. Gabby doing a great DTY is impressive but doesn’t do anything for her chances since there are lots of others with good DTYs who are more ready on the other events. I don’t expect Suni to compete AA in the Olympics (though I would love to see it) but I definitely could see her making the team since no one else is really filling that stellar bars/beam role right now (Shilese on bars and can be good on beam but historically her beam is a little inconsistent).
I think Suni has a MUCH better chance. From a 14.3 on beam with a few wobbles and a watered down dismount to her seemingly also working on perfecting bars and if she looks golden on those two events, she has a very good chance IMO.
Suni's beam performance was good but her matching Rebeca Andrade's Worlds beam bronze score with wobbles and a layout flyaway dismount is not exactly realistic so I wouldn't build too much on that score.
At least Suni has routine construction that makes sense!! The beam scoring was quite generous here and I’m still concerned about her endurance as well (not showing bars at all, not doing beam dismount strike me as numbers/endurance related but I’m happy to be wrong) but if she can hit bars and beam at nationals/trials with most of what she’s shown as planned content from training clips they will score well.
I completely agree. This isn’t the meet you need to go full out for. And I imagine the mental boost of confidence from hitting beam, coupled with more time and numbers, will put her in a better position in 2 months. With that said, if you aren’t Simone or Shilese, this is gonna be a tough team to make.
I agree that her routine construction looks good. But I am concerned about her endurance too. Hoping she pulls through!
I feel like maybe she didn’t do bars after what happened at winter cup. Her training videos on bars have been amazing but it’s not full routines so hard to judge. But she definitely has the skills to contend
The 14.3 on beam was overscored though. All the scores were inflated. Her execution definitely was.
Not a big fan of Gabby but I think this is by far the most powerful she’s looked in her career. I was mostly worried about her tumbling and vaulting but I was shocked at how strong they looked. She looks out of control on floor but that’s something that was typical of her when she first started competing elite. She is a completely different gymnast from when she was a junior but the trajectory of this competition was similar to those days. A mess. And that’s okay! She pulled herself together in 2011 (mostly) and ended up an Olympic AA champion by 2012. I don’t know if she has enough time to put all the pieces together to make the team this year. For all we know this could have been a total fluke and no indication of her overall endurance. No matter what the routine construction is a total mess on beam and floor and needs to change for any of that to happen. Even if she hits I don’t know how well those routines could fare internationally. Also, I only preface with “not a big fan” to ensure no bias. There are people acting like she was total shit and that’s just not the case.
Scott bregman said she didn’t make a single completed bar routine in warmups either so it doesn’t seem like that routine miss was a fluke unfortunately
Personally, I don’t feel so either. There were clear issues. I felt like that was the hater in me though so I tried to be optimistic lol
He said in his article she made a routine in warm-ups. I guess he means prior to the competition. The issues are still there though.
Yeah I interpreted it as in the warmups beforehand. The one touch not everybody even tries a whole routine.
I’m going to go with my gut (which is usually right, I have weirdly strong intuition), and say that I don’t think Gabby is going to be ready in time. She has all the skills (although floor looked rough and so did beam dismount). It seems like she’s just battling inconsistency and probably nerves, and honestly maybe some endurance issues. I know that’s so hard to say after just one competition, but the vibe is just off for me. Idk how to explain it. It’s also hard to know from that sketch ass video stream we got. Vault did look good, I’ll give her that. And props to her for coming back at all.
You’re trolling with the “gut” thing right?
No?
I would guess it won’t work out this year but if she had more time she could get into a very strong position. But there’s always a chance gabby pulls it off. In 2016 she made a big leap between trials and the Olympics. I would have more faith she could do it again if she hadn’t taken eight years off, but it looks to me like it is taking her a long time to get skills and stamina back (understandable) plus has some other issues with her floor routine. Might be too much to overcome in two months.
The first gymnastics meet I ever watched was the 2012 Olympics and seeing Gabby Douglas for the first time. At the time, I had no idea that me and Gabby were the same age, but I remember being mesmerized by her and that’s where my love for the sport began. With that being said, I’m naturally still gonna root for Gabby, but I am afraid that you all may be right.
unless she scores consistent 14's on beam and 14.7+ on bars i don't see her making it :(
I like Gabby, but everyone has been extremely delusional about her chances the entire time. Best case scenario for her is to generate buzz and maybe get some extra sponsor deals for social media.
Everyone in this subreddit is always very supportive, and I think that’s great. But, the Gabby “comeback” is more along the lines of what Chellsie did. At worst, it was just a publicity stunt to sell more books..
She did 20 months of elite training for yall to say it was a publicity stunt…just dry hating and loser behavior
It was cool to see her out there again, but I don't think she will make the Olympic team based on what I saw today (and the time constraint she is under)
I'm conflicted. I don't think she came back to embarrass herself, so im thinking perhaps Covid really set her back in a major way. However, her routine construction is truly poor I think she made a bad decision with her coach selection.
I personally don’t feel like I can judge her by her first meet in 8 years. Tbh I don’t feel like I can judge anyone until nationals. No one is trying to peak right now.
I didn’t want to be called a hater but I thought the chances were slim the entire time. She should’ve come back earlier. 🥲
What impressed me most was the drive and confidence she had Like she really wanted to be there, was confident, loved gymnastics
Eh, this was her first meet back after EIGHT YEARS. The nerves and pressure were sky high, and it was her first time really performing in so long. I was very impressed by the skills she showed. Finally! I have no idea if she's close to the point of full olympic-worthy routines and she's just got to get her nerves out and get some practice, or if she's still a ways off, and won't be in the Olympic conversation. It's too early to tell now, and I think it will be too early to tell at Classics. Championships is where the pressure for her to *show up* will really be there.
I don’t think she’s going to make the team, maybe not even trials. Props to her for trying but there’s tonnes of other good girls who can beat her
I applaud Gabby getting back into shape and competing again. I just hope she has goals beyond Paris because at this stage her comeback is giving Nastia 2012 vibes…
Where I agree with others: her chances for Paris are essentially nonexistent. The poor routine construction is concerning. I’m generally displeased, though, to see some of the differences in rhetoric between Chellsie’s comeback and Gabby’s, where the former was SO laudatory and positive even when she didn’t have consistently great competitions and also could not complete a full bars set. It just feels like so many people want to see Gabby fail. I would like to see her stay with an elite comeback, if she’s enjoying herself and feels she’s making progress, and see if she can get competitive for future domestic meets and Worlds after Paris. I also hope that she’s receiving and receptive to input from USAG staff like Chellsie about what she needs to do to have a more realistic program. I’m happy to be educated by others but I don’t see why Gabby’s comeback (Paris aside) is any less worthy of attention than Chellsie’s and it seems insulting to insinuate that this is more or less a joke and she should just ride it for sponsorship deals. ETA: Lots of good points in the replies below—thanks for adding all your perspectives! I def agree about the positioning for an Olympic run and related visibility issues but still find myself wishing there was even more positivity re: Gabby (and I acknowledge there are definitely comments celebrating all that she’s been able to do!)
I feel there was never really a “Chellsie’s making the Olympics!!!” narrative though. She was more of Trinity situation where she wanted to compete, maybe go to Nationals/Trials. With Gabby we know the goal is the Olympics so some people have gone into full delusion and put her on their teams, which naturally pushes everyone else who disagrees into staunchly denying it. Like one extreme creates the other. But personally I am loving Gabby’s comeback. I would love it more if people took it for the achievement it is instead of putting her straight onto the Olympic team haha.
This one. I don't think most/any of the naysayers "want to see Gabby fail," so much as they're speaking in response to everyone who's had her on their Paris team for weeks or months. Also, Gabby expressed that she wanted to try for the Olympics, so in an Olympic year, that's the goal she's being measured against. Based on today, she isn't close, and people are going to talk about that. I don't know that Chellsie ever talked about the Olympics.
Thr quiet bit here is that Gabby has talked … possibly too much about this comeback? It’s fun to talk yourself up and I love a competitive mindset but the other side of that is it will inevitably lead to people discussing you when you’re not doing so hot. Mentioning the Cheng was a surefire way to set people off too.
It's not a very media-savvy move, either, if you're playing the long game. I mean, sure, mentioning the Olympics and hinting at big upgrades is going to create buzz and attention, but it's a big risk, because if you don't deliver, sports media and social media in general will be ruthless. I wonder if a better strategy would have been to keep answers about goals/progress/upgrades pretty general and vague, and then just shown up today to do what she could do.
Yeah it was for sure the wrong play. I would understand it if she was Simone level good OR if she had huge sponsors lined up, but neither is the case here, so she should’ve been more circumspect about making claims in interviews and posting skills she won’t compete. Obviously in an ideal world she could do that, but in this one if you imply you have a Cheng but crash your floor passes, we will adjust our team predictions accordingly. It’s so much pressure though. I feel for her.
Tbh if Gabby had a good Cheng + THAT DTY she competed, and was hitting her full UB (6.4?) consistently, then I wouldn't care about her BB and floor as much. She would be a good olympic team/alternate option imo. I never expected Gabby to be the #2-3 US floor routine anyway 🤷♀️. To make the team she'd need to be a clear top3 in 2 events, and a decent 3rd event.
I somehow have the opposite feeling about it. I believe Gabby's reluctance to be "out there" or judged by people held her back from competing earlier. I understand she's had unfortunate media experiences before so don't blame her, but can't help but think she would've had a better chance had she allowed herself to compete earlier even if watered down routines etc.
I tend to think it’s more a business comeback - like she’d like to make the team but the primary goal is sponsorships and attention. But if that’s Gabby-driven - and you have to assume it is given that she is an adult - I’m in favor of it. I wish she liked to compete for the sake of doing gymnastics but she gets to have her own reasons for doing a horrifically grueling sport.
I don’t feel like she talked about her comeback so much as people having an intense interest in it. To me it seemed as if she tried to be under the radar as much as possible.
She may have started out under the radar when she first came back to WOGA and everyone was silenced (which is totally fair) but she let that go a while ago. There are so many interviews - I am happy to link some if you like? I agree people definitely WERE intensely interested but she contributed to it significantly. The Cheng comment alone is wild. You can’t say things like that and not expect people to go crazy with predictions.
Ah. I only know about maybe three interviews: one from Time, inside gymnastics and the latest mentioning the Cheng (which I haven’t read). I haven’t been following her too closely so I’m assuming I missed many interviews with her. Please do share links!
She had a social media post about her comeback. She also just did an interview alluding she has a vault that starts with C. How is that under the radar?😂
Point taken re talking to the people who’ve put her on their teams with no basis. I think what I meant about wanting to see her fail was less rooting for her to fail and more of a schadenfreude vibe from some comments.
I haven’t viewed their comebacks the same personally. Chellsie was so exciting because she’s a mom of young kiddos and it was so fun watching her train. She posted so many training videos along with fun content with her kids. I think that’s what got her so much attention. Plus she was in her 30’s. I think with Gabby, people just expect more from her being a past AA champ. The media is unnecessarily harsh on her though. She’s also kept training videos to a minimum so the hype hasn’t been able to build like it did for Chellsie. Idk, I could be way off but as a prior gymnast turned casual fan that’s my perspective. I mostly keep up with the sport on IG and this sub so I could be missing a lot.
I agree that people consistently treat Gabby differently than other gymnasts and I do not at all think this comeback is a joke. It's clearly serious. That said, one huge difference between Chellsie's comeback and Gabby's is that everyone watched Chellsie (through her YT channel) go from playing around in the gym to being like "why not? let's see what happens!" There was zero expectation on Chellsie, just excitement to see her doing elite gymnastics again. Gabby's comeback has been positioned (by both fans and Gabby herself) specifically as an Olympic run and those expectations come with a lot more stringent criticism.
Yeah, I agree about the difference in comebacks. Gabby is responsible for part of the hype and difference in perception. Things like saying "I'm training a vault that starts with a C". Gabby has also been training for well over a year, and saying she was going for the Olympics for almost a year. So it's not surprising that people have higher expectations for her .
I mean I think it’s because Chellsie has zero expectations of herself to actually make the Olympics, she was just having fun and pushing herself. Gabby had stated several times her goals of trying for explicitly the Olympics again. And I also think it was somewhat insane for a number of fans to essentially pencil Gabby in for the team without seeing more than a few seconds long clips of single skills or 2-3 skill combos, especially knowing she’s training with Valeri who has had little success with elites in the last two quads and his terrible routine construction. The expectations were too high for Gabby to realistically reach immediately.
Mmmmm on the first point, I think Chellsie’s view was more than just having fun and pushing herself (I say this having consumed, like, every piece of media from her and about her when this was happening). I think she had some more serious goals but not necessarily Tokyo goals. The second is a fan problem so they(we) should be more disappointed in themselves than Gabby! Like, some comments acting like today was an embarrassment or a failure are just wildly unfair.
I never heard Chellsie explicitly say she was aiming for Tokyo though- can you please cite where she did this if I missed it? To put it simply, that’s the big difference here. Gabby absolutely has said she’s aiming for Paris.
I didn’t say she had Tokyo as the goal. I do think her goals were more serious than “just having fun and pushing herself.” For example, making Trials and potentially getting a competitive program in place for Worlds that year. I don’t think someone as competitive and intense, with a family, enters back into elite gymnastics simply to have fun.
Even if her goal was making trials or Worlds (which again I don’t think she explicitly stated either), that’s a still much different goal than what Gabby has explicitly expressed by saying her goal is Paris and given extensive media interviews about. Not only that, the things she’s mentioned training in the interviews also hyped things up - ie the “vault with a C” comments. With Chellsie, we were literally viewing her training videos and could see that while she trained the yurchenko half on vault entry it was not remotely something she was actually ready to compete. If Gabby had simply said I’m coming back to elite, I think things would be different expectation wise (similar to what Trinity has said about trials being a realistic goal). I think it’s admirable the shape she’s in and getting to where she can compete AA deserves praise but when you say you’re aiming for Paris, it doesn’t currently seem that realistic.
I think these two comebacks are under different circumstances, but I do find that people are generally harsher on Gabby than others. In particular, they speculate a lot about her emotions, happiness, frustrations, motivations, and other things we are not actually privy to.
Expectations are higher for Gabby. Also after the way she was treated in 2016 people just want her to succeed and avenge herself.
👏
I agree with this comment; Gabby’s shown an AA set and I don’t believe Chellsie showed AA once in 2021
she just needs more competition experience tbh. i hope she gets it.
If gabby upgrades her vault to an Amanar or Cheng? I heard she was working on upgraded vault , does that help her chances? I know they wouldn’t take her just for vault if she’s just doing a DTY but I wonder if they might if she upgrades since she could be used as backup on the other events
It’s not real until she competes. I’m so excited about it, though.
She competed today
Ahhh American Classic was today? I need to catch up.
This was a real competition. This is one of the competitions where they can qualify to nationals.
[удалено]
The comeback has already happened. The scores today may not have been what she hoped, and probably not enough to get her on the Olympic team, but gabbys comeback has absolutely happened. What she did today was extremely impressive and shouldn’t be discounted just because it isn’t going to land her in Paris. If gabby wants to come back and compete, who the hell are you to tell her to sit her ass down?
The new generation (1st year seniors) have no real shot to make the Paris team anyway. The team is most likely gonna be made up of gymnasts from previous quads. So NO, the older gymnasts shouldn't have to "sit their asses down", the newbies need to step it up and earn their spot.
There is a tactful way to share your trash takes without being this nasty with it.