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QuadGymnastPeakRationale
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2000Vanessa Atler98 Nationals, 99 American Cup I mean, let's be real. Even the "I effing hate gymnastics" version of Atler that showed up to the 2000 Olympic Trials SHOULD have been on this team, but a 98 Day 2 Nationals Atler (with a 9.8 UB!!) or a 1999 American Cup, where she went 9.8 on 3 events (who needs bars), including her introduction of the Rudi...
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2000Dominique Moceanu98 Goodwill Games/Nationals- Remember when Moceanu beat Khorkina (although to be fair, Khorkina had a meltdown in the '98 Goodwill Games AA final)?!?
- And that beautiful laid out barani vault
- And a floor routine where she wasn't pounding on the floor like a toddler (although I do love Devil Went Down to Georgia)
- And amazing BB connections, a la 98 Nationals Day 1?
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2000Elise Ray2000 Nationals Day 2, Olympic Trials- Elise Ray peaked at US Nationals and Olympic Trials before the Karolyi system beat her body (and particularly her shoulder into oblivion)
- Remember the connected Ray to Tkatchev on bars
- The always stuck completely perfect layout full outs off bars?
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2000Jamie Dantzscher2000 Nationals Day 2, Olympic Trials- 2000 Jamie Dantzscher was ON (pre-Karolyi pulverizing her ankle and trying to play mind games by keeping her out of UB in Olympic prelims)
- That double lay punch front though…was a close second to Atler in terms of the best to ever perform it
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2000Amy ChowOlympic Trials- You guys. Amy Chow won the 2000 Olympic Trials. WHY DOES NO ONE TALK ABOUT THAT?! She was technically second when you take into account US Nationals scores, but for that weekend itself - SHE. WON.
- The most underrated Mag 7 gymnast. I still sometimes take her '96 or '00 bar routine and put it in different codes to see her D score. It would still be competitive.
- And the standing pike full on BB? Has anyone else EVER done it standing?!
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2000Kristin MaloneyAny time she had part of her tibia in tact- The fact that Maloney could do all of the vault and floor that she could on one leg is unbelievable
- And that tumbling would still hold up today - Double lay full out, whip-double lay (we never see that anymore, except the Brazilians), front through to triple full
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2000Dominique Dawes2000 Olympic Trials- Despite Dawes being somewhat unreliable in the previous quad (AA heartbreaks in '93 Worlds, '94 Worlds and '96 Olympics), she was probably the most consistent non-Amy Chow performer in the 2000 Olympic Trials
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2000Tasha Schwikert2000 Olympics- Let's talk about Tasha. This girl barely made Olympic Trials, kinda stumbled through Olympic Trials anonymously placing 9th, got secretly added as the 2nd alternate and then all of the sudden was the best US performer at the Sydney Olympics, despite being the lowest qualifier and having literally no experience. And this was before she debuted the stripper floor routine! Star. 2000 Tasha was a star. Also, didn't she compete in the Olympics with a Bela-forced torn hamstring in one of her legs? Unreal.
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2000Jennie Thompson1999 American Cup- Remember when Jennie Thompson beat Atler, PRODUNOVA and Karpenko?!?!
- She then busted out a great '99 US Nationals performance and then disappeared forever
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2000Morgan White2000 Olympic Trials- Morgan White was almost as impressive at US Olympic Trials as Amy Chow (esp. Day 2) and was really solid on UB, BB and FX
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2000Jeanette Antolin1999 World Team Trials- Remember how great Jeanette Antolin was at 99 World Team Trials? Double lay punch front on floor, Kotchetkova on BB, Khorkina I on vault
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2000Alyssa Beckerman 2000 Olympic Trials Day 2- Beautiful form when she was consistent - great UB, BB and FX
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2000Shannon MillerShe's just…Shannon- Getting Shannon on this team was always like trying to make fetch happen however…a boy can dream. What if she got her full difficulty on BB, added the punch front to her whip-2.5 on floor and didn't hyper-extend her knees on vault? What if?!?!?!
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2004Carly Patterson2004 OlympicsI mean…she's the Olympic AA champ. It's usually pretty nice to have one of those on your team
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2004Courtney Kupets2003 Nationals pre-Achilles tearProbably the only human who could survive (and maybe even thrive) the mental games that were Martha Karolyi and Suzanned Yoculan, Kupets gymnastics and routine composition were insane. Minus vault. Seriously though - what WAS that gallopping run? If she wasn't so close in timeline to Laura Martinez's crazy vault run, we would talk about it much more frequently
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2004Courtney McCool2004 Olympic TrialsI'm going to say it. I don't think there's a gymnast that has ever had better form; including Podkopayeva and <insert any Soviet gymnast ever>.
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2004Mohini Bhardwaj2004 OlympicsHow could you leave off that Yurchenko double full? And that double lay punch front. I swear she could have done a punch double front out of that. AND she was a GROWN ASS WOMAN who can handle any competition scenario because she peaked <gasp> AFTER NCAA. We also don't talk about Mohini enough. What a legendary career.
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2004Annia Hatch2003 Nationals pre-ACL tearSpeaking of double twisting yurchenkos…That 2004 Nationals Day 1 vault from Annia is forever etched in my head. She also had amazing floor and beam
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2004Terin Humphrey2004 OlympicsTerin. You have to give her props. You can tell that she's an athlete that had to work really really REALLY hard to get good; and then her training partner had to be McCool - the most perfect gymnast ever. She peaked at Olympic Trials and the Olympics though - she was probably the non-Carly Patterson team member who competed to her potential most. But also - should Terin be disqualified because she kinda invented the wolf turn on beam?
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2004Chellsie Memmel2003 WorldsMemmel. Remember when she was the 17th alternate on the 2003 Worlds team and then came in and got second AA in prelims and won bars? If she hadn't injured that ankle in mid 2004, things sure would have been different…
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2004Hollie Vise2003 WorldsThe beauty that was Hollie Vise on bars and beam. And also that 2003 floor routine. Sure, the triple full wasn't even close (it made Moceanu's seem like a quad full), but the dance was beautiful. Also, I feel like the world owes her something after the extreme closeup of her on live television when they announced that she didn't make the team and wasn't even an alternate
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2004Tasha Schwikert2002 American Cup (obvi - I am the "I love you Tasha guy" after allFor the first half of the quad Tasha was THE gymnast from the US - she really started the domination that is so standard for USA Gymnastics today. She was also the first one who figured out how to code hack. Unfortunately she was probably at her weakest in the quad in 2004, but if she was at her peak...would she have been more than alternate?
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2004Tabitha Yim2004 Olympic TrialsTabby got 4th at Olympic Trials behind the Courtneys and Carly Patterson. Her beam and floor were beautiful (loved the 2004 choreo) AND she actually got pretty decent on bars during her injury. Spectacular nowhere, solid everywhere. Would she have replaced a Terin Humphrey spot if she hadn't been injured?
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2004Ashley Postell2002 Worlds / 2003 Nationals2002 World BB champion. 2003 looked like it was going to be her year until an illness took her out of the 2003 Worlds and then she fell off the elite map. Was she a victim of Martha's mind games? What would a 2003-level Ashley Postell have contributed to a potential 2004 Olympic Team??
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2004Kristal Uzelac20023 time junior national champion, Kristal was a dare devil of a gymnast in terms of skills. In early 2002 she was the first US gymnast to have at or near 10.0 start values on every event, including a Khorkina vault, a competitive UB set (remember Day 2 from US Nationals in 2002?), a pike full on beam and lots of different tumbling combinations on floor. If Parkettes hadn't completely torn her up, she would have been a force. But would she have been in Athens?
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2004Alysse Ishino2004 Pacific Rim ChampionshipsRemember when Alysse Ishino beat Carly Patterson in early 2004 at Pac Rim? Sure, Carly flubbed a toe shoot to high bar, but still…beating the eventual Olympic AA champ in that same year definitely gives you street cred
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2004Liz Tricase2002 Nationals pre-ACL tear2012 may have been the United States of Amanar, but this 2004 group had the BIGGEST DTYs, Liz's being one of them. And that time she was connecting tkatchevs on bars? Plus a whip half double front on floor that looked like it was cake for her
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2004Alicia Sacramone2004 Pacific Rim ChampionshipsAlicia was a definite wildcard at this point in her career in terms of confidence and consistency, and this was pre-Rudi, but that DTY was amazing, as was her tumbling. Could a 2004 Pac Rim Championships performance have put her in the mix for 2004?
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2008Nastia Liukin2008 OlympicsNothing really to say her. 2008 quad Nastia was a force to be reckoned with. Even with a bum ankle for half the quad that really hampered her 2006 and 2007 Worlds performances, she's still casually tied for second place with Shannon Miller in World Championship medal count. And Mary Lou in Olympic medal count. NBD
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2008Shawn Johnson2008 Olympic TrialsIn the non-Simone category, has there ever been a gymnast more consistent and reliable than 2007 and 2008 Shawn Johnson? To my understanding (although please correct me), she was also the first US gymnast to compete an Amanar and a double double on floor (which is now compulsory if you are a US gymnast)
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2008Chellsie Memmel2005 Worlds, 2008 Olympic TrialsChellsie and Larissa Iordache might be tied for the category of most unfortunately timed injuries that prevented them from reaching their true potential. Chellsie also likely would have more world medals than Shannon and Nastia if her shoulder cooperated. And that 2008 Olympic Trials Day 2 performance might have given Nastia and Shawn a scare in the 2-per-country category in Beijing prelims for the AA
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2008Alicia Sacramone2005 Worlds, 2007 WorldsI mean…that rudi is going to be on this team. Along with her floor, beam and leadership. There's not much to be said here. There was never a chance she wouldn't be on a team
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2008Sam Peszek2008 Nationals/ Olympic TrialsSam came back from 2007 Worlds with an attitude of "I belong bitches. Told you to put me on that team". Her performance all year was remarkably solid and consistent. Too bad her truly last minute ankle injury kept her from having the Olympics that she could have. Sam Peszek the UB specialist - who would have seen that one coming
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2008Bridget Sloan2008 OlympicsThe only US gymnast to perform an in-bar stalder like a Ukrainian, Bridget's UB snuck her onto the 2008 team, along with her consistency on the other three events
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2008Shayla Worley2007 Nationals/WorldsThe queen of every form of Tkatchev and Onodi ever invented (didn’t she do a regular Onodi, an Onodi to two feet and an onodi to arabesque in the same routine)!? Untimely injuries kept her from reaching her potential, but would a healthy Shayla Worley have snagged the Bridget Sloan spot on the team? Unrelated to this quad, but remember that time that Shayla jumped onto the spring board and missed catching the high bar to start her UB routine and used laser beams in her eyes to destroy Jay Clark? How do you think Martha would have reacted if that happened?
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2008Jana Bieger2006 WorldsYou guys. Jana Bieger was the second best gymnast IN THE WORLD in 2006 and then Martha just decided that she did not exist.
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2008Ivana Hong2007 NationalsThat form. Not quite McCool level perfect, but honestly not that far off. If Al Fong didn't completely break her and steal her soul, would Ivana Hong have been able to make the team?
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2008Mattie Larson2008 Olympic TrialsNot quite fully formed in this quad, but that 2008 Floor routine was something special
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2008Natasha Kelley2006 NationalsRemember when Natasha Kelley almost beat Nastia at 2006 Nationals, but then completely disappeared after the 2007 American Cup? (Also, wasn't she in KJ's first class at Oklahoma, back when OU wasn't a real gymnastics program). REMEMBER WHEN NUNNO COACHED AT OU!?
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2008Ashley Priess2006 Nationals/WorldsSimilar to Natasha Kelley, Ashley had a great 2006 (remember when she almost medaled at worlds in the AA until that errant floor pass) but then went MIA until she resurfaced at Bama a few years later and helped them when 10 trillion titles. Would a healthy 2006-level Priess bars/beam combo have challenged Bridget Sloan for that last spot?
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2012Jordyn Wieber2011 Worlds/2012 Olympic Trials (minus the weird beam connection of front handspring, back full, back handspring - worst composition ever)Beyond just wanting those biceps on the team, Jordyn was a ROCK. It's too bad that her body was broken in London. Oh, and the fact that she had an extreme egotistical asshole of a coach.
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2012Aly Raisman2012 OlympicsIt's Aly Fucking Raisman. There is no further rationale needed.
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2012McKayla Maroney2011 Worlds/2012 OlympicsBest. Amanar. Ever. The only person on planet earth who can claim to be better at a vault or floor skill than Simone Biles
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2012Gabby Douglas2012 OlympicsAnother (casual) Olympic AA champ. Let's also think back to this. When Gabby fell 462 times (including balking on her dismount) on BB at 2011 Nationals, would ANYONE have seen this coming?! That 2012 secret American Cup win was one of the most surprising results of a gymnastics competition ever
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2012Kyla Ross2012 Nationals/Olympic Trials/OlympicsBeautiful gymnastics. Insanely (almost robotically) mentally composed. Kyla Ross was the most dependable person on the eventual Olympic Team. Her routines looked the same every. Single. Time.
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2012Rebecca Bross2010 Nationals/American Cup/WorldsFor the first half of the quad, Rebecca Bross was THE ONE. She collected a casual 6 World medals in her first two years as a senior. If her body hadn't exploded and she didn't mentally self-destruct in pressure situations, would an early quad Rebecca Bross have made the team??
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2012Elizabeth Price2012 Olympic TrialsProbably THE SURPRISE of the 2012 Olympic Trials. You guys - she beat Kyla Ross. And also had an incredible Amanar (but then again, if you were a US gymnast in this quad and didn't have an Amanar, why would you even bother showing up to compete)?
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2012Sarah Finnegan2012 Olympic TrialsAnother GAGE beauty in terms of form, Sarah Finnegan probably would have been the STAR performer on any other team in London (well, not Russia - with Mustafina and Komova). Should she have made 2012?
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2012Anna LiAny time she did that bar routine in 2012That bars routine with the Rybalko. FUCK THOSE JUDGES for not giving her the scores that she deserved on this insanely composed routine. We don't talk about this routine enough. It really is one of the best/most innovative ever.
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2012Bridget Sloan2009 WorldsBridget's body just completely broke after she won the 2009 World AA. Would Sloan in her world AA champ form have made 2012?
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2012Alicia Sacramone2010 Worlds/2011 NationalsThe vaulting this quad was insane. In what world is Sacramone's rudi (arguably the best over performed) not even a top 8 vault on a team?? Apparently the United States of Amanar era that was the 2012 quad. Her 2011 floor was also impressive before her Achilles exploded. And YOU GUYS - Sacramone made the beam final in 2010 and got 5th. The 5th best beam performer IN. THE. WORLD.
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2012Nastia LiukinI mean, neverSo this one is completely theoretical because she never completed a UB routine this quad, but IF Nastia was able to have done a full routine with an actual dismount…would she have made the team in the Kyla Ross UB/BB position??
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2012Sabrina Vega2011 WorldsAnother World Champion the Martha completely wrote off for some reason, but Sabrina was another beautiful gymnast whose gymnastics got lost amongst all of the other stars in this era
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2012Mattie Larson2010 NationalsHow would a 2010 Nationals era Mattie Larson have fared for an Olympic Team? You know, before Martha, Valeri and Arthur Akopian completely mentally destroyed her. Her form and floor presentation were beautiful
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2016Simone BilesThe entire quad; it's Simone BilesRemember when we impressed that Simone had 14 World medals heading into Rio? That's less than half of what she ended up with.
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2016Aly Raisman2016 OlympicsAgain. It's Aly fucking Raisman. She doesn't even have ligaments, so you might as well put that Amanar on any team. Plus one of the most insane floor passes ever done
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2016Laurie Hernandez2016 Olympic Trials/OlympicsI think we sometimes forget that Laurie was actually kinda close to Simone at Trials (granted Simone did fall on BB on Day 2).
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2016Gabby Douglas2016 Olympics2nd best gymnast in the world in 2015, 3rd best gymnast in the world in 2016. Hard to leave this one home, even with a few falls at Nationals/Trials. And oh yea. She's the reigning Olympic AA champ at this point
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2016Ashton Locklear2016 - any time she did that bar routineAshton's bar routine is one of the most precisely done routines ever. But is a one-event wonder enough??
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2016McKayla Skinner2016 Olympic TrialsMcKayla got 4th at Olympic Trials. I think this was the era where she may have started putting that second hand on the table for the Cheng, had an Amanar and also a Moors on floor. Would her 'chuck everything on beam and hope to get credit for half of it' strategy get her on a Spencer/Jessica-picked team?
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2016Ragan Smith2016 Olympic TrialsWho wouldn't want that beam on an Olympic team? Plus her solid contributions elsewhere
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2016Maggie Nichols2015 Nationals/ WorldsLet's put any Steve Penny Athlete A retaliation aside. Would a 2015 level Maggie Nichols (you know, the one with the Amanar, who got 2nd to Simone at US Nationals and who competed in all 4 events in Team Finals at Worlds) have made the Rio team? If so, who would she have replaced??
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2016Kyla Ross2013/2014 WorldsRemember when Kyla was the 2nd best gymnast in the world in 2013 and the third best gymnast in the world in 2014 before growing 7 feet and needing to rejig her gymnastics? Would an early era Kyla ross fit into a Rio team?
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2016McKayla Maroney2013 WorldsWe only saw McKayla for 12 seconds in this quad, but still. The best Amanar of all time. Would you take her just for that?
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2016Alyssa Baumann2014 Worlds/2016 pre-injuryThat beam. I'd also say that Alyssa Baumann's eyes could shoot laser beams even more than Nastia's. That has to be worth something
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2016Brenna Dowell2015 Nationals/ WorldsShe does a frickin double front pike on floor. ON FLOOR! And also tried a bunch of wild bars routines - that, rarely connected - but had a high scoring potential
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2020Simone Biles2018/2019 any time she competed; 2021 Olympic Trials Day 1Simone came back from Rio and said, oh that ol' quad? That was cute. I'm going to invite 4 new skills this quad and casually win 6 medals at 2018 worlds and 5 gold medals at 2019 worlds
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2020Suni Lee2020 OlympicsOlympic AA champ. Oh yea, and that bar routine. And EVERYTHING SHE DOES, SHE'S SUNI EFFING LEE.
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2020Jordan Chiles2021 - all yearBased on Jordan's performance in 2021 from Winter Cup through Olympic Trials, she was a shoo in. But what if there was an early era Morgan Hurd, a fully functioning Riley McCusker or a consistent Leanne Wong??
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2020Grace McCallumGrace was always the sameGrace is gonna Grace. You know what you're going to get. Nothing great, nothing weak. Enough difficulty. Form that was questionable but never really got deducted too strictly. Team USA loves a steady eddy - especially in a 4-3-3 situation
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2020Kara EakerAny time she did beamOkay, hang with me. WHAT IF - Kara Eaker could do a ring jump that would get credit. Combined with the rest of that beam. What would you do???
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2020Morgan Hurd2017 Worlds/2018 WorldsYou know - a casual World All Around champion (and bronze medalist), along with 3 other World medals. Insanely beautiful form, expressive floor choreo and an occasional Moors. Glasses + a social justice warrior. I dare you to leave her off the team
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2020Ragan Smith2017 Nationals/ American CupRagan spent 15 seconds of this quad healthy, but if Montreal hadn't destroyed her ankle and career…it might have been compelling. An uninjured Ragan Smith could have very easily won AA, BB and FX at 2017 Worlds. And then with potential upgrades into the rest of the quad, rather than fading into oblivion because that ankle never healed...what could have been?
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2020Jade Carey2020 OlympicsIt's unfortunate that Jade had to coexist in the same time as Simone because otherwise we'd be talking about Jades' floor and vault as if it was in another galaxy (because it was; it's just that Simone's was in an even further away galaxy). The casual Olympic FX champ, and definitely could have been Olympic Vault champ too (or at least top three) amongst Simone and Andrade. How do you leave that home??
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2020Riley McCusker2018 Nationals/ Worlds; 2021 YouTube clips pre-seasonTHE BEAUTY. DAMN YOU MAGGIE HANEY!! Her Bars and Beam were unbelievable. And remember when Brian Carey taught her how to tumble and vault? That combination could have been lethal!
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2020Leanne Wong2019 American CupOh Leanne. Always such exquisite form; 2024 quad Leanne got her consistency came together, but 2020 quad Leanne was a bit of a wild card. That said - beautiful on every event. Would you take her?
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2020Kayla DiCello2020 American CupA similar profile to McCallum - slightly sketchy form but solid everywhere, although spectacular nowhere. Her consistency was randomly off through the 2021 Nationals/Trials process, but if she went 8-for-8 during both…would that have taken a McCallum or even a Chiles spot on the Tokyo team?
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2020Shilese Jones2021 Nationals until Day 2 BBSimilar story to Leanne - Tokyo quad Shilese was a wildcard in terms of consistency, but when she hit, she was certainly in the conversation. Coming out of the 7th rotation of Nationals, she was in FOURTH place. If she hit to her potential all at once...would you take her?
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2020Emma Malabuyo2021 NationalsGranted, Emma was injured for 97% of this quad, but then she showed up to 2021 Nationals with a big ol' REMEMBER ME by getting in 4th, including a 14.6 on beam. If she hit at Trials as well…would you take her?
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2020MyKayla Skinner2021 Olympic TrialsMyKalya had the meet of her life at Trials (for the second quad in a row). You'd never describe her gymnastics as pretty, but…she went for it. We actually don't talk enough about how insane her difficulty was across all four events (not just vault and floor). It was second only to Simone. She had more difficulty than both Suni and Andrade in this quad. Plus, that Cheng and Amanar got pretty consistent. Do you leave those at home?
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2020Skye Blakely2021 NationalsSkye really hit her stride in the Paris quad, but was still a contender for Tokyo once they moved the date back a year. If she wasn't cursed at Olympic Trials, and hit beam over and over again - could she have snuck into Tokyo?
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2020Konnor McClain2021 American ClassicSimilar story to Skye - Konnor accidentally snuck into the mix with the year pushback of Tokyo. She probably wasn't quite ready, but that BEAM though. If she hit it - would you take it? And what would you do if Skye and Konnor both hit beam through the process?
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2020Trinity Thomas2019 Nationals Day 1Do you remember when Trinity was 5th after Day 1 of 2019 Nationals, and hit a Biles on FX?? Never the highest D, but usually a high E, how could you possibly say no to the arguably best double layout of all time on floor
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2024Simone BilesAny time she competed that quadNone needed. It's Simone. And she had the revenge tour attitude post Tokyo. Plus an even better YDP. Insanity.
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2024Suni Lee2024 OlympicsReigning Olympic AA Champ with beautiful form and still highly competitive particularly on UB and BB. The interesting question is - there was SO MUCH DEPTH in this quad. If everyone competed to their potential, would Suni have still stacked up?
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2024Jordan Chiles2024 OlympicsRemember when Jordan was less than a tenth away from beating the reigning Olympic AA champ in prelims at Paris? She was always 2 per country'ed out of AA finals in major meets, but when she was on, she was a solid threat on all 4, particularly FX
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2024Jade Carey2024 Olympic TrialsJade's vault and floor are hard to ignore. While the Amanar was always a bit sketchy this quad, her Cheng was reliable and she was the 2022 World Champ on vault and reigning Olympic champ on Floor. The real question is - when you have Simone, Jordan, Jade, Josc and Kaliya Lincoln all hitting on Vault/FX...who do you take?
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2024Hezly Rivera2024 Olympic TrialsNo disrespect to Hezly, but no one benefitted more from the 2024 injury apocalpyse (Gabby, Konnor, Kayla, Skye, Shilese) than Hezly. Absolutely beautiful gymnastics, the real question is - if everyone had hit, where does she fit in?
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2024Shilese JonesAny time in 2022/2023The clear #2 to Simone in the US this quad, Shilese was stunning any time her stupid shoulder or knee would let her; particularly on bars, but honestly - everywhere. She found her consistency and confidence. I dare you to name a team without her
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2024Skye Blakely2024 NationalsSkye has always had the potential, it's really been her consistency that's done her in. But with BB hits, a really solid UB and a great Cheng, Skye seemed like a shoo-in coming out of Nationals. If her Achilles allowed her to survive Trials - where would she have ended up?
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2024Kayla DiCello2024 Winter Cup, NationalsKayla came out in 2024 and said "WHAT UP BITCHES" and hit all of her routines. No disrespect to Kayla, but her E scores were always a bit surprising to me, but if she consistently hit through the whole process and her Achilles cooperated - where does she land?
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2024Gabby DouglasYouTube clips - the potential…Alright listen. I know this might be a stretch but Gabby was competitive. Her brain did not cooperate in competition (and also…can you blame her), but those videos online were stunning across UB and BB in particular; and honestly her vault and floor was very usable as well. Controversial statement (and also a big IF) - Gabby and Suni had pretty similar profiles in terms of strengths/weaknesses. If both hit going through Nationals and Trials - which one do you pick?
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2024Konnor McClain2022 Nationals2022 US National Champion, and among the top 2 US gymnast back layouts on beam (along with Shawn Johnson), if Konnor had found coaches that allowed her to be mentally comfortable and her body made it through 2024, where does she land? In a Konnor vs. Skye scenario, who do you pick?
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2024Trinity Thomas2024 Winter CupOur beloved Trinity. Her comeback was legit, but her body did not cooperate. If it had though…would she have factored in?
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2024Leanne Wong2023 NationalsLeanne really found her stride this quad and conquered her consistency and confidence issues from the Tokyo era. Her routines were gorgeous. The problem - alas, an at best mediocre-sized D. Even with beauty, it's hard to compete in an era with the D queens of Simone, Josc, Jade, Suni and others. But it's Leanne. What do you do??
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2024Tiana Sumanasekara2024 - all year longI'll say it. I think Tiana had the most consistent season of any gymnast (Simone included) in 2024. She. Was. On. Similar to Leanne, her D was her biggest competitor, although she was typically amongst the highest scoring on BB and FX, along with a perfectly usable DTY.
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2024Joscelyn Roberson2023 - all year, 2024 Olympic TrialsJosc was the Paris version of MyKayla Skinner, but without being a shitty person. She's like the inverse of Leanne. Her E peaked at mediocre, but she benefitted from the power of a mighty D, along with being consistent. Her Trials performance almost snuck her on; if she was at her 2023 peak - would it have been enough?