2008 USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials

The Olympic trials were amazing! We went to both nights of the ladies competition on Friday and Sunday before heading back to VA on Monday. I of course have my favorites on the national team, and could have called the top 5 before the meet had even started, but what fun would that be? Gregg took a work camera for us to use that had some massive lenses on it and took some really great sports photos. I am going to have to get me one of these cameras real soon.

Bella and Mary Lou Watching the trials.

Here is Marta keeping her eyes peeled and making a list I'm sure.

My favorite & by far the best gymnast in the world, Shawn Johnson.

Here she is before Bars. She is so strong it's mind boggling. I had Gregg taking only photos of her all night both nights. He compared it to being a stalker. I wasn't interested in anyone else really. I did clap a few times for a local Virginia Beach girl that goes to the gym that Payton used to attend. She did well, but not well enough to make it to training camp.

Release move on bars. Bars is her weakest event, as it was mine, but she still has perfect form throughout her entire routine. She has perfect form throughout all of her routines for that matter.

Full twisting standing back flip on beam. Not something I'd ever want to attempt. She is amazing on beam. She tumbles on it just as she would on floor, not even the slightest hesitation and everything is two foot landings. She just blows my mind.

Now that's a straddle jump!

Here are the results before we left on night two. Shawn Johnson won by 1.80 which is pretty huge in gymnastics terms. Nastia came in 2nd. I don't care for her style which is loose and weak in my opinion, but she continues to get good scores because of her bar routine difficulty. She just isn't strong and I don't really care for those long lean type gymnasts. Not to mention that I think she needs to build some muscle and eat a few hundred sandwiches, she looks like the wind could blow her over.

Here I am after night 1 of the trials. And no, that is not my mini-van.

We had a great time and this trip to the Olympic Trials is something I won't soon forget. They did, however, sell out of T-shirts the first night of the Women's competition, so I had to order one for me and one for Payton online, hopefully they get here soon, people were fighting over those things there at the competition. It was complete madness. We should have gotten some photos of the crowd, it was far more diverse than I would have ever thought.