USA Gymnastics and it's community support Chicago's Bid for the 2016 Olympic Games

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 28, 2009 – On Oct. 2, the International Olympic Committee will determine the site of the 2016 Olympic Games as part of its meetings in Copenhagen, Denmark. The City of Chicago has put together an incredible bid for the Olympics, complete with a compact plan of impressive venues, solid corporate support and an involved local government. Along with the city’s endeavors, World Sports Chicago has already begun creating a lasting legacy through its grassroots efforts with the various national governing bodies by hosting numerous events for a variety of Olympic sports.

“USA Gymnastics completely supports Chicago, and we believe the city will be an excellent host for the 2016 Olympic Games,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “We also applaud the efforts of World Sports Chicago in supporting Olympic efforts throughout the community, including the Tyson American Cup and the Tyson Fitness Challenge. Enthusiasm for hosting the Olympic Games is evident in Chicago.

“Hosting the Olympic Games in the United States intensifies the spotlight on sports in our country,” said Penny. “Chicago has demonstrated that it is an Olympic city by supporting the grassroots sports movement and by including USA Gymnastics in the planning and presentation of the bid and its benefits.”

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama lead the U.S. delegation going to Copenhagen for the final Chicago 2016 presentation and the IOC’s vote. 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin and Olympic gold-medalists Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci are included in the delegation, along with 23 other Olympic and Paralympic athletes and Oprah Winfrey.

“President Obama's presence in Copenhagen cannot be understated and gives Chicago its strongest chance possible,” said Penny. “This is quite possibly the best bid ever put forward by the United States, and the President's participation demonstrates that no stone is being left unturned. USA Gymnastics is proud of Chicago 2016 and we remain hopeful that the IOC will recognize the quality of the bid by awarding the 2016 Olympic Games to this great city.”
Fans can still show their support for Chicago’s bid by registering as a supporter on the Chicago 2016 Web site.

A variety of activities are planned to follow the final IOC selection process on Oct. 2, including options for fans who live in and outside of the Chicago area.
Chicagoans can go to Daley Plaza to watch the announcement and other activities live on Oct. 2, beginning at 9 a.m. CT. Shawn Johnson is expected to be on hand in Chicago for the festivities. Fans can also follow the action in Copenhagen, from the city presentations to the announcement, on the Web or TV. Coverage is available through several different outlets Friday morning, including the Chicago 2016 Web site (www.chicago2016.org/watch-live.aspx) for rebroadcasts of the final presentation, and live coverage of the city announcement and press conference; the IOC Web site (http://www.olympic.org/) for live streaming of the candidate city presentations; Universal Sports, both its Web Site (http://www.universalsports.com/) and cable network; and NBC.

Chicago faces competition from Madrid, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Tokyo, Japan. Each city will make a presentation to the IOC and hold a press conference following its presentation.

The announcement of the host city is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. ET. For a complete presentation and announcement schedule for Oct. 2, please go to http://www.olympic.org/.

To learn more about Chicago’s plans and recent news about 2016, go to http://www.chicago2016.org/.

Copyright©USA Gymnastics.

USA GYMNASTICS: Behind The Team Presented by AT&T

As USA Gymnastics Men's and Women's teams prepared for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing fans were able to get a look behind the scenes with USA Gymnastics: Behind The Team presented by AT&T. Now, Behind The Team is back with some new faces and a few you'll be certain to recognize. We hope you enjoy the latest videos.

About The Current Episode
This Time Around: In the second episode of 2009's "USA Gymnastics: Behind the Team presented by AT&T," fans get a glimpse of the country's top gymnasts' experiences at the 2009 Visa Championships.

Fans can follow the athletes through the event, pre-event training and media activities through their performances and into the post-competition mixed zone. This episode shines a spotlight on the athletes as they competed for a national title at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Olympic medalists and newly crowned U.S. all-around champions Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and Jonathan Horton of Houston are among the competitors who provide insight and perspective on their performances and the honor of being named to the national team.

Upcoming episodes of "Behind the Team" will focus on the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships this October in London, site of the 2012 Olympic Games. The Web series is found exclusively on att.net/teamusa. "USA Gymnastics: Behind the Team" is a joint initiative of USA Gymnastics and AT&T.

Click here to access the site and watch the episodes in full!
http://fanzone.att.net/s/s.dll?ep=25092&only=y&ch=tu&s1=gym&s2=vid&artist=FZ_Event_USAGymnastics&geo=1&isFanzone=1

Copyright © USA Gymnastics.

Mixed-Gender Gymnastics?! Or is it better off the traditional way?!

Too funny not to share! Perfect for a laugh late in the week- enjoy!

10 Women Invited to the final World Championships Team Selection Camp

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 14, 2009 – 2009 U.S. all-around champion Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., and her 2008 Olympic team silver-medal teammates Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind., are among the 10 women invited to the final selection camp for the 2009 World Championships, Oct. 13-18, in London, England. The camp is scheduled for Sept. 30- Oct. 4 at the U.S. Women’s National Training Center in Huntsville, Texas.

Four gymnasts will be named to the U.S. Women’s Team for the 2009 World Championships, which features competition in the all-around and individual events, along with two or three non-traveling alternates. The 10 were invited back following the first selection camp, which concluded this past weekend.

The gymnasts returning to the second and final selection camp are listed below.

* Jana Bieger, Coconut Creek, Fla., Bieger International Gymnastics
* Rebecca Bross, Plano, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics
* Mackenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., Naperville Gymnastics Club
* Ivana Hong, Lovejoy, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics
* Kytra Hunter, Frederick, Md., Hill's Gymnastics
* Chellsie Memmel, West Allis, Wis., M&M Gymnastics
* Samantha Peszek, Indianapolis, Ind., Sharp's Gymnastics
* Bridget Sloan, Pittsboro, Ind., Sharp's Gymnastics
* Cassandra Whitcomb, Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Gymnastics
* Kayla Williams, Nitro, W.V., Gym Nest Inc.

Copyright © USA Gymnastics.

Here's a laugh to get the week started!

Nastia's Last Routine...for now!

Nastia Liukin Pulls out of World Championships

Olympic champion Nastia Liukin ran out of time.

Liukin withdrew her name from consideration for the world gymnastics championships Monday, saying she hasn't had enough time to train. Liukin, only the third U.S. woman to win the Olympic title, has been in high demand for appearances, photo shoots and commercial opportunities since she left Beijing, but the schedule wreaked havoc on her training.

The first of two training camps that will be used to choose the U.S. women's team is next week, and worlds are Oct. 13-18 in London. There is no team competition at this year's worlds, only the all-around and individual events.

"I didn't want to go out there and compete and represent Team USA if I wasn't at my best," Liukin said. "Physically, I'm not capable of doing it because I didn't have enough time to prepare."

While Liukin said she is going to take a break from the sport -- "I hope to go on vacation, hopefully on an island somewhere" -- she insists she is not retiring.

She plans to return to the gym, and still hopes to compete at the London Olympics in 2012. She'd also like to compete at another world championships. Liukin has won nine medals at worlds, tying her with Shannon Miller for most by a U.S. gymnast.

"This decision has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of my career. It's based on just this year, the world championships," Liukin said. "I really feel like it was necessary just because I haven't really had much time off. I wasn't always in the gym, but I was always on the go.

"I'm going to take some time off, regroup, get ready for the next few years and decide what the plan is from here on out."

Making this decision was stressful, Liukin said, because she didn't want to let anyone down. Though there's no team competition at worlds, these championships set the tone for the leadup to the next Olympics and give an early indication of who are the teams and gymnasts to watch.

The Americans served notice they had rebounded from their disappointing showing in Sydney by winning two of the four event titles at the 2002 world championships. Chellsie Memmel and Liukin were 1-2 in the all-around in 2005, and the Americans went on to collect seven more medals in the event finals. Liukin took gold on beam and bars.

Liukin said she talked with her parents -- father Valeri is her coach -- over the weekend, and spent two days trying to track down women's national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, who is in Romania on vacation. When she finally got ahold of Karolyi on Monday morning, Liukin said it was one of the hardest conversations she's ever had.

"She definitely tried to convince me to come to camp and give it one more shot," Liukin said. "I could tell it was a little hard for her to take, but it hasn't been easy. At same time, this is the right decision for me at this time."

Liukin's decision will give Karolyi some flexibility in selecting a team for worlds. Countries can send only four gymnasts, and are limited to two gymnasts per event. Liukin would have done, at most, balance beam and uneven bars.

"We appreciate her making a decision that is right for her, as well as putting the goals of her teammates ahead of her own," Karolyi said. "We look forward to working with Nastia as she returns to competitive gymnastics when she is ready."

Liukin's announcement wasn't a complete surprise.

She's crisscrossed the country since winning gold in Beijing, doing everything from appearing at Fashion Week to picking up the female athlete of the year award at the ESPYs. She's loved all the experiences, but gymnastics is not a sport that can be done on a part-time basis.

It takes hundreds of repetitions to perfect a routine -- even routines she was doing with ease just last summer. Liukin would feel as if she was making progress after a few days at home, only to leave for a few days and then feel as if she had to start the whole process over again when she returned.

"It was very frustrating," she said.

Liukin curtailed her schedule a few months ago so she could compete at the U.S. championships, which were in her hometown of Dallas. She did one event, finishing fourth on beam, but the solid yet imperfect performance showed she wasn't back to top level yet.

And that's not good enough.

As the Olympic champion, the expectations are higher for Liukin. She not only accepts that, she expects even more of herself. If she's not ready to contend for a gold medal, then she's not ready to compete.

"I've set my standards too high," she said. "I don't want to just go out there and compete."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press