Left out is 2007 Canadian champion Kristina Vaculik, a waif-like 16-year-old who is excellent on bars and beam but a bit weak on vault and floor.

Hopfner-Hibbs, who had been concentrating on her specialties (bars and beam) made an impressive return to the all-around to win the Canadian title over Vaculik and young Charlotte Mackie. Young Peng-Peng Lee was also impressive, winning the senior beam and floor titles.

Adam Wong won the Canadian men's title, although his victory was somewhat overshadowed by the continuing saga of Kyle Shewfelt, who made a media splash even though he didn't compete.

Most were betting that the two to go would be Hopfner-Hibbs, the only Canadian woman in about two decades to have won a World medal (bronze, balance beam, 2006), and Vaculik, who was sent to the Olympic venue for the Good Luck Beijing International Invitational in December.

Damianova has been viewed as no. 3 to Vaculik and Hopfner-Hibbs in international exposure, media coverage and probably readiness -- everything but the complicated, confusing system Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique installed to choose its Olympians. A month ago, Damianova led the qualifying, having racked up 32 points to Hopfer-Hibbs’ 30 and Vaculik’s 19.

Vaculik has become the first of what will undoubtedly be several women who are Olympic-caliber but will not be granted an berth to the Games because their countries didn’t qualify a full team or because the wildcard process screwed them over didn't work out for them.

We already know who many of these people are on the men’s side: Krisztian Berki, Vlasios Maras, Yuri van Gelder, Jeffrey Wammes, Philippe Rizzo, Yernar Yurimbetov and others (for full list, see Gymnastics Coaching.)

Damianova was impressive at the 2008 Pacific Rim Championships in April.

Nansy Damianova, 2008 Pacific Rim Championships, Floor Exercise:

In international news:

Kristina Vaculik will sadly not be going to Beijing for Canada. SOMEHOW, Nansy Damianova won the weirdo Canadian system of choosing their girls, meaning that HER coach and not Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs' coach (Carol-Angela Orchard, also coach of Peng-Peng Lee) will be going to Beijing with Nansy and Elyse. How screwy, I thought Elyse was ahead of Nansy. Oh well.

She's definitely going to Beijing; ever since she won that World Championships bronze medal in 2006, I think people were certain that she'd represent Canada barring major disaster.

Article about Oksana Chusovitina...we don't see these often, so it's a treat.

Somewhat teeny article on Canadian junior Peng-Peng Lee, who is a fan favorite because of her willingness to throw big skills, even if she falls on them. Because at least she's fearless!

Aisha Gerber

In a statement, UCLA coach Valorie Kondos-Field compared Gerber to former Bruin Yvonne Tousek, one of the most expressive and unique gymnasts of her generation.

"Aisha embodies all that we pride ourselves on at UCLA. She is a brilliant and serious student of academics as well as of gymnastics. She also exudes confidence, poise and elegance, much like her fellow Canadian and past Bruin Yvonne Tousek."

Yvonne Tousek, 2004 UCLA vs. Minnesota, Floor Exercise:

The Bruins could will no doubt welcome Gerber, fellow Canadian recruit Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs and Kaelie Baer, Tauny Frattone and Vanessa Zamarripa after a fairly disappointing season where the team underperformed at the Pac-10 Championships and failed to make the NCAA Super Six.

Gerber never quite reached Tousek's level of fame, although the 2006 American Cup was quite a highlight. She had a rough 2007, parting ways with coach Elvira Saadi and admitted to International Gymnast Magazine that she struggled with motivation to resume training. She eventually went to Oakville Gymnastics, where she trains with Kyle Shewfelt's coach Kelly Manjak and his wife Sue.

Gerber was aiming for one of the two Canadian Olympic berths as a vault and floor specialist, but given the points system Canada is using to select their gymnasts and the fact that she hasn't been in an international competition since Gymnix International, it seems doubtful.

Imagine the floor routine Kondos-Field will cook up for her, though!

Aisha Gerber, 2006 American Cup, Floor Exercise:

Aisha Gerber, 2007 Elite Canada, Floor Exercise:

My thoughts on most everything that has happened recently:

• If Sac gets injured the USA is screwed.
• COME ON CHELLSIE!! You can do it!
• About the Canadian girls: as much as I like Nansy Damianova's face (she reminds me of Milo hee hee), I think Kristina Vaculik deserves the Canadian Olympic spot over her. The Canadian process of choosing the two girls gives me a headache. My opinion is that Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs is definitely going to the Olympics, barring injury of course.
• About the Aussies: Chloe Sims retired. First Hollie, now Chloe. That doesn't bode well. Is the whole team going to rest on Dasha and Lauren's shoulders? That's not cool...not cool at all.
• DRAMA: Shayla Worley's coach Jeff Wood is NOT AMUSED that Chellsie, Ashley Priess, and Bridget Sloan are gunning for Miss Shayla's Olympic spot. Up until a few weeks ago, Shayla was the only one of the USA Olympic hopefuls who could swing bars well enough to bring in a 15.50+ score, next to Nastia. Then the others caught on, and now Chellsie, Ashley, and Bridget are catching up. O NOES!!11!
• Speaking of Shayla, she's been asking for donations to help send her entire family to Beijing. Isn't it a bit premature to be asking...?
• I think Martha K. is more aware of the Chinese advantage than she makes herself out to be. The question is, is she going to go about strategizing the right way?
• Cheng Fei won almost everything at the World Cup. Yawn. Next please.

A petition to Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique, the governing body of Canadian gymnastics, has been set up here.

The fairly complicated Canadian selection process was explained well by Hopfner-Hibbs's coach Carol-Angela Orchard in an interview with International Gymnast Online last week.

Athletes also receive points for their previous World Championships experience.

A minimum standard has been set by Gymnastics Canada for each event: 13.600 on vault (average of two vaults); 15.300 on bars; 15.100 on beam; and 14.300 on floor.

The gymnasts are given Olympic Qualifying points when they hit the minimum standards in meets they are sent to around the world, plus Elite Canada and Nationals. The higher their score, the higher number of points they receive.

Related post: Nansy Damianova, Olympic hopeful

Now I've heard that the 3 seniors and 3 juniors from the participating nations are going to be together in the team competition--so that means, for example, Liukin, Hill, Bieger, Bross, Shapiro, and Clark are all going to be Team USA, with a 6-5-4 competition format--six team members, five members up, four scores count.

Pictures from USA Gymnastics:

I do not like Jana's hair.

And Rebecca Clark totally gets brownie points from me for looking like Claudia Presacan (ROU)...hee hee hee

Looks like the juniors were hamming it up for the camera (L-R: Shapiro, Clark, Bross). They look like a movie poster.

I still do not like Jana's hair. As for Nastia, she looks like she's been getting hair tips from Sandra Izbasa, judging from the way her hair is pinned to the top of her head.

Canada has an AWESOME team lineup that includes Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Kristina Vaculik, and junior Peng-Peng Lee.
I like Peng-Peng, and have nothing but great admiration for Elyse. Seriously, I have never loved the Canadian girls this much since they had Kate Richardson.

On the other hand, the only name I recognize from the Chinese lineup is the junior standout Cui Jie.

And then of course there's Dasha, Lauren, and Ashleigh from Australia. Hurrah.

As for Russia...reader tokyochris pointed me to a Youtube video of Anna Myzdrikova, one of the Russian senior elites who will be joining Yezhova Grebenkova at the Pacific Alliance.

Anna Myzdrikova, floor exercise

FYI: On the Men's side (which frankly I don't care about), one of the USA junior men competing is Glen Ishino, younger brother of Allyse Ishino, who won the Pacific Alliance all-around in 2004. Yay.

BEAM:
Yay for Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs (CAN)! She grabbed the silver behind Jiang Yuyuan, which is by all means a respectable feat. It could very well be her and Kristina Vaculik in Beijing (from my meager knowledge of Canadian gymnastics).
And I have this soft spot for Lyudmila Yezhova Grebenkova (RUS), mostly because Yelena Produnova is her coach. Ha ha.

BARS:
He Kexin won. Yawn.
The other two medalists (Jiang and Hopfner-Hibbs) would not have medalled in Olympic or World competition with their scores (both less than 16). Jiang actually messed up her bars (she was supposed to have a 7.0+ difficulty level) hence her sub-16.0 score.

FLOOR
Jiang Yuyuan won, though I've heard that she scrapped her floor music from Stuttgart. I am very, very sad. I loved that music.

Cases in point: The dramatic Christa Tanella of World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Plano, Texas, and Aisha Gerber, formerly of Cambridge Kips and Elvira Saadi in Ontario, now with Canadian great Kyle Shewfelt's coach, Kelly Manjak, at Oakville Gymnastics.

Christa Tanella, 2007 U.S. Championships Prelims, Floor Exercise:

Aisha Gerber, 2007 Elite Canada Event Finals, Floor Exercise:

Gerber told International Gymnast Magazine in December that she would be trying for one of the two spots on Canada's Olympic team, likely as a vault and floor specialist. She's one of the few Canadians to ever throw a double-twisting Yurchenko in competition, and that expressive floor routine is likely to win fans over to her cause.

As far as the Olympics go, Gerber's got strong competition from reigning Canadian champion Kristina Vaculik and 2006 World bronze medalist Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs. In her bid to make the Canadian team, Gerber is planning to upgrade to a double layout (or maybe double Arabian) on floor.

With the help of coaches who have migrated from South America to New Zealand, Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Great Britain, etc., international gymnastics is flourishing in ways it never has before.

Some of those who will be contenders for numerous Olympic medals aren't mentioned on the following list. We know who they are. But sometimes the stories of the underdogs are equally compelling. Oksana Chusovitina's fifth Olympics? Come on. That's an achievement even those who snap up most of the gold in Beijing will never accomplish.

Shawn Johnson, USA: The 2007 World Champion will have all eyes on her this season, but she'll be dealing with maintaining her position at the top of the podium instead of simply claiming it, as she did in every contest she entered last year. Many fans may watch Johnson with apprehension. After all, Johnson's idol Kim Zmeskal, whose gymnastics greatly resembled Johnson's own, looked darn unbeatable too going into 1992.

Shawn Johnson, 2007 World Championships All-Around, Floor Exercise:

Beth Tweddle, Great Britain: The most decorated gymnast in British history (a term I never thought I'd hear again after Shannon Miller retired) Tweddle is going into 2008 with what seems like all of England marching behind. Freak injuries in podium trainings and the like have robbed Tweddle the opportunity to compete her best at so many competitions.

Beth Tweddle, 2006 World Championships Event Finals, Uneven Bars:

Jiang Yuyuan, China: She's China's rising star and a potential late-blooming all-around threat. With the Olympics being held in Beijing, it's hard to imagine that Jiang won't do well.

Jiang Yuyuan, 2007 World Championships Event Finals, Floor Exercise:

Aisha Gerber, Canada: She looked like the next Yvonne Tousek at the 2006 American Cup. After a tumultous 2007, with new coaches Kelly and Sue Manjak cheering her on, a revitalized Gerber wants to compete for Canada in Beijing. In order to do so however, she'll have to prove she's more worthy than Kristina Vaculik and Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs.

Aisha Gerber, 2006 American Cup, Floor Exercise:

Vanessa Ferrari, Italy: The competitive spirit obviously rages inside this one. The question will be if she can hit all of her events -- in the same day.

Vanessa Ferrari, 2006 World Championships All Around, Floor Exercise:

Daria Joura, Australia: She's been a spunky and well-choreographed presence on the international scene since 2006. If she does everything she's capable of in Beijing, she could be in the top five on several events.

Daria Joura, 2007 American Cup, Floor Exercise:

Hong Su Jong, Korea: Despite their particular prowess on vault and uneven bars, the Koreans have gone relatively unnoticed internationally. But at the 2007 World Championships, Hong showed the same vaults as Cheng Fei -- an Amanar and Cheng's own signature vault, which some argued Hong did better in Stuttgart. With Brazilian Jade Barbosa also performing the Cheng, it will be a battle to determine who's going to do what in 2008.

Hong Su Jong, 2007 World Championships Event Finals, Vault:

Anna Pavlova, Russia: The gymnast once deemed Svetlana Khorkina's successor on the Russian team has limped along since Athens, which was the last competition she really looked alive at. The rudderless Russian team has looked thrown for a loop most of the quad as well, despite immense depth and talent from upcoming juniors. The thing is, Pavlova nearly pulled off the upset of the quad in 2004 (many argue she should have had bronze), and there's a feeling she does have more to give. If she puts the extra effort into her performance in Beijing as she did in Athens, we could see more from her and the Russians this year.

Anna Pavlova, 2004 Olympic Games All Around, Floor Exercise:

Bridget Sloan, USA: One of the USA's "Bubble Girls," the 2007 World Championships alternate is getting attention for her clean gymnastics, personality, consistency and self-choreographed floor routine.

Bridget Sloan, 2007 Beijing Test Event All Around, Floor Exercise:

Cerasela Patrascu, Romania: With veteran Catalina Ponor gone for good, this girl could be the top Romanian in Beijing. Her form is good, her skills are difficult and her presentation has a wonderful quality to it. Expect her -- and not teammate Steliana Nistor, deserving as she is -- to be the one to watch this year.

Cerasela Patrascu, 2007 World Championships Team Prelims, Uneven Bars:

Yulia Lozhechko, Russia: She's got the long bodyline -- if not the sass -- of Khorkina, and her quality and steadiness on balance beam is thoroughly impressive. After being unceremoniously thrown off the Russian national team for disobeying her coaches in Stuttgart, one can only hope Lozhechko put her head down and kept training.

Yulia Lozhechko, 2007 European Championships Event Finals, Balance Beam:

Oksana Chusovitina, Germany: It's taken four Olympiads, three countries and one child for Chusovitina to get to this point. Regardless of how she performs, whether or not she qualifies for vault finals, how could anyone not cheer for this woman?

Oksana Chusovitina, 2006 World Championships Event Finals, Vault:

Canadian world team members Kristina Vaculik and
Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs each won one event and tied for another as Elite Canada concluded Sunday in Abbotsford, B.C.

Vaculik, winner of Friday's all-around competition, vaulted a clean Yurchenko full (13.7) and an Omelianchik (13.4) to place first, ahead of Missassauga's Alyssa Brown and Gymnix Montreal's Nansy Damianova.

Vaculik continued her success on bars (clear hip full to Tkatchev, full pirouette to Gienger, double front dismount), tying Sport Seneca's Hopfner-Hibbs (Markelov, Jaeger, toe-on piked Tkatchev, double layout) with a 15.1. Ontario's Peng-Peng Lee, second in the all-around, was third with a 14.2.

On balance beam, Hopfner-Hibbs turned in a solid routine that included a McCool (front handspring) mount to immediate back tuck and a side aerial to two layout stepouts to edge Vaculik, 15.300 to 14.95. Vaculik also performed a McCool mount but wobbled on her switch leap, back tuck combination.

Hopfner-Hibbs, who won the bronze on beam at the 2006 World Championships, said she is focusing on uneven bars and balance beam leading up to the Olympic Games.

"I'm trying to use all the competitions I get to go to as preparations for Beijing," she said. "For me it's just practice."

Lee, who debuted a back handspring, tucked full combination Friday night, missed it Sunday but managed to place third with a 14.35, despite also falling on a tucked barani. Lee's 7.0 A score was the highest of any in the competition.

Undeterred, Lee turned in a clean, jazzy floor routine (full in, Arabian double front, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 twist, double pike) to take top honors ahead of Damianova and Oakville's Aisha Gerber.

Gerber, who formerly trained with Elvira Saadi at Cambridge Kips, took off five months between October 2006 and March 2007. She is now training with Kelly and Sue Manjak at Oakville Gymnastics in Ontario and said she is attempting to make the Olympic team.

"We are thinking Olympic Games," Gerber said. "That is my goal and we are building step by step toward that goal."

In the junior division, all-around runner up Ti Liu of Gymnix was the day's big winner, placing first on uneven bars (13.85) and balance beam (14.4). Kristen Klarenbach of Ortona Gymnastics in Alberta won vault (13.325), while Laurel Clouston of Salta Gymnastics in Alberta was the top competitor on floor (13.85).

2006 World beam bronze medalist Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs and three level 10 gymnasts will join UCLA in 2009, coach Valorie Kondos Field announced today.

In addition to Hopfner-Hibbs, Vanessa Zamarripa, Kaelie Baer and Tauny Frattone have also signed letters of intent to compete for UCLA.

"These four outstanding student-athletes bring diverse and unique qualities to our program," said Kondos Field. "All of them are brilliant athletes in their own right. As a group, they will help maintain our program's quest for dynamic, unique and beautiful gymnastics and help keep our program at a level of national prominence."

One would guess this means Hopfner-Hibbs is going for one of the two Canadian spots up for grabs in 2008. Canadian Alyssa Brown, who plans to attend Stanford University, has also expressed her desire to wear the maple leaf in Beijing.