Sandra Elsadek isn't missing out on any experiences as a member of Team Egypt at the 2023 African Championships. (Photo credit: @sandra_elsadek on Instagram)
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Happy Gymnastics Saturday! And happy Memorial Day weekend to all who celebrate. If you have to work:
Sorry, couldn’t resist the greatest gymnastics GIF of all time. (Also, I’m a freelancer. I’m rarely not working, so I feel your pain.)
Perhaps due to the impending holiday weekend, perhaps due to a bit of American insularity, the gymternet has been quieter this week. So I’m going to encourage you to take the time to watch some international gymnastics where Americans do not dominate.
Both the Pan Am Championships and African Championships are this weekend, so it’s an important time for worlds qualifications. Here’s a refresher on how that works.
The Americans are at Pan Ams, of course, and there are several Americans competing for other countries who will also be in attendance in Medellin. But check out the quality of the gymnastics from Mexico, Argentina and Colombia, in particular. The former two are looking to qualify teams to worlds.
Unfortunately, there will not be a stream for the African Championships. You can follow the action via the South African Federation. And this tweet has links to the federation’s social media, where it will post updates from the meet.
Follow us on Instagram for more content from the 17th Artistic African Championships taking place at Heartfelt Arena in Tshwane 26th and 27 May! #AFCH2023
Aurelie Tran won the Canadian national title this week, with Ava Stewart taking silver and Jenna Lalonde bronze. Tran and Lalonde will compete at Pan Ams.
The Chinese nationals are ongoing this week. Qiu Qiuyan sits atop the women’s qualification results in the all-around.
The Mountain West Conference will add women’s gymnastics for the 2024 season. The four competing schools will be Air Force, Boise State, San Jose State University and Utah State University.
Flip for joy 🤸♀️
The MW will add women's gymnastics as its 19th sponsored sport starting in 2023-24
UCLA’s Emma Andres will return for her fifth year.
𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 “I’m so grateful to be able to spend another year being a part of this program! I can’t wait to soak in every moment with this amazing group of athletes, coaches, support staff, and community!! Let’s go ring shopping! 😤🏆💍💅” – @EmmaAndres9pic.twitter.com/69fXVTgfYp
Elsadek posted a series of photos from Egypt, including one of her doing a handstand on a camel that, if I were queen of the FIG, I would say merits sending her straight to the Olympics.
Not my interview this week, but I did want to draw your attention to GymCastic’s interview with Canadian gymnast Emma Spence, which begins at the 32:50 mark and ends at the 46:22 mark.
Spence was part of the historic bronze-medal-winning Canadian squad at worlds last year, which qualified the team for the Olympics. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Spence was the bronze medalist in the all-around and on beam. She also competes collegiately for Nebraska, where she will be a junior in the fall. (Per this interview, she will compete in college and train for the Olympics simultaneously.)
In this interview, Spence talks about representing Canada at the G7 Summit. She traveled to Japan in April with nine other international gymnasts, including Nastia Liukin and Uchimura Kohei, for the summit. It’s a really interesting conversation.
