GymCastic: The Gymnastics Podcast

Latest Episodes:

102: Classic Episode with Louis Smith Jul 09, 2014

Show notes

Three time Olympic medalist, Louis Smith MBE, talked to us back in October 2012.

It's a classic interview this week from back in October 2012, when we talked to Great Britain’s Louis Smith. The outspoken, three-time Olympic medalist talked to us about Strictly Come Dancing, handling the pressure, role models, his nude pommel horse photo shoot, style on the British team and Rio.

We are very excited to announce that Louis will be our very first GymCastic Book Club guest in August.

What: You read the book and submit questions about it for Louis.

How: Buy the book here, send your questions to us at gymcastic @ gmail.com or leave a voicemail on Skype at username “GymCastic Podcast” or by dialing (415) 800-3191.

When: Submit your questions by the first week in August and we'll ask Louis when he's on the show in August.

101: Olivia Vivian Jul 02, 2014

Show notes

Australian Olympian, Oregon State star and Commonwealth team member, Olivia Vivian...just hanging out for a chat with us!

The Australian queen of antics is here! Olivia Vivian, perhaps the biggest ham in all of elite gymnastics, hung out for a chat. She helped Australia to a sixth place finish, its best Olympic finish in history in Beijing. Despite a back fracture, a mangled hand and being normal height of 5' 6", she's made a successful comeback to elite at the age of 24, almost 10 years since she first completed at the 2005 world championships. We can't wait to watch the Oregon Beaver compete at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this month. We are putting out bets on her to duke it out with the British in bars finals. We discuss:

"Australian Gymnastics Jail" - her thoughts on the Australians being left home from Antwerp World Championships last year.
Learning new techniques from coach John Carney at OSU to improve her already stellar bars.
How college gymnastics in America gave her a better understanding of the competitiveness Peggy Liddick brings to the Australian program.
Earning a living as an adult athlete and returning to elite training hours.
The freedom and trust she experienced from her coaches as an adult elite athlete.

Check out Olivia's antics on her Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or Instagram.

Just some of the reasons we love Miss Vivian and her Instagram account.

Watch our YouTube playlist for Olivia Vivian's interview here.

100 Biomechanical Booty Advantage Jun 25, 2014

Show notes

We made it to 100! This is the shamelessly vainglorious episode where we answer all of your questions about our irrelevant personal lives, and the origins of show. This week, Dr. Uncle Tim, Blythe, Evan and Jessica chat about:

Marta's very positive comments on Gabby Douglas, who made a triumphant return to camp!
An intimate moment accidentally recorded in the background during the interviews
Since Bill Cosby is saving Temple Men's Gymnastics, should the team now wear Cosby sweater uniforms?
Evan reveals a grand secret that even Jessica didn't know about; and his most embarrassing on-assignment moment, as captured by NBC.
Major changes for Olympic hopeful, Lexie Priessman, who left Cincinnati Gymnastics.
How much sleep does Blythe get when she's on assignment at a World Championships?
Play along with Dr. Uncle Tim for our very own quiz show based on the past 100 episodes.
Why are only 19% of the gymnastics federations headed by women?
The Commonwealth Games have been announced and our favorite twerker made the team.
We reveal plans to form our own country in order to recruit the best gymnastics team in the world--including stamps, flag and signature beverages.
Uchimora dominates per usual and Kenzo makes his case for Worlds.
Gymnasts, coaches and summer vacation--Evan gives wise advice.
Bailey Key and Roxanna Popa are training Amanar's

Lauren Hopkins launched her young adult fiction series based in the gymnastics world: The 2016 Trilogy

Dvora Meyers officially announced her book "The End of the Ten - The Fall of Perfection in Modern Gymnastics." Details on her site, Unorthodox Gymnastics.

Details on the fundraiser with BILL COSBY for the Temple Men's gymnastics team.

Pro Gymnastics Challenge streaming Wednesday, June 24th at 9pm Eastern.

The Nike Pro Sparkling Sunburst tights as worn by Ms. Gabby Douglas, Olympic Champion (available here).

Watch Liana Burkhart do a beam routine on her prosthetic leg here. WOOT!

99: Princess Catherine Lyons and Coach Rochelle Douglas Jun 18, 2014

Show notes

Princess Catherine Lyons and her coach, former international elite, Rochelle Douglas have been together since Catherine was six!

Princess Catherine Lyons of Europa and her coach, former international elite gymnast, Rochelle Douglas, are here! We noticed these two in the very popular YouTube series called Team Sparkle. Princess Catherine is known for her exquisite form, her elegance, her uncommon maturity, making audiences cry with her expressive melancholy and angst-filled modern dance choreography. She's on a major winning streak, in 2012 she won the all-around at the British Espoir Championships; in 2013 she swept it, winning all-around and all four event finals; and this year she’s won gold on floor in every meet she entered, including the English Championships and British Championships; and finally she capped off the year by becoming the 2014 Junior European Floor Exercise Champion where she helped the British team take silver. At Euros she also had the highest Execution score of any junior. And you know how we LOVE that. We have her coach, Rochelle Douglas, to thank for this. Rochelle was an International gymnast from 1994 to 2000 and competed at European and World Championships along with Lisa Mason and Holly Murdoch, only just missing out on the 2000 Olympics. She’s passionate about building truly artistisc gymnasts and getting them to the highest level. We discuss:

Achieving such a high level of artistry and execution at such a young age.
The story behind Princess Catherine's floor routine and choreography.
Why having puppy feet can be an adjustment, even for an artistic master.
A typical day in the life of Miss Lyons and her coach who has two jobs!
Why Catherine likes danger and how she mastered her switch split mount.
Creating confidence and commitment to performance in young gymnasts.
Keeping judges attention and drawing them into a routine.
How Rochelle handled the disappointment of not making the 2000 Olympic team.
Shenanigans that Rochelle and teammate, Lisa Mason, got into in their elite days.
Steps the British program has taken to improve their results since Rochelle was competing.
What happens at the Lilleshall National Training Centre training camps and what makes Amanda Reddin a special kind of leader.
What Princess Catherine and her coach think of her nickname.

Full slide show of Rochelle and Catherine since the very beginning on our site here.

Catherine Lyons on Twitter Rochelle Douglas on Twitter Europa Gymnastics Centre website.

Watch it on YouTube here.

98: Eddie Penev Jun 11, 2014

Show notes

Eddie Penev competing for Bulgaria at the 2010 World Championships in Rotterdam.

The US is lucky enough to have a World floor finalist, Stanford alum and Nissen-Emery Award winner Eddie Penev back on their team. With dual-citizenship, he used to compete for Bulgaria but now he's alllll ours again. He just won floor and vault at Anadia and has basically has every skill in the book on floor. This week he chats with Blythe and Jessica. We discuss:

Why he switched from Bulgaria to the United States even though the US is so much more competitive and will be harder for him to make a World team.
What he learned from teammate Jordan Jovtchev.
Standardizing equipment for international competitions.
The current state of Bulgarian gymnastics.
The biggest party animals and goofballs on the US men's team.
Growing up in New York with gymnastics parents.
How he can help the US with our pommel horse deficit.
Presentation and artistry work at US training camps.

Remember to call in and leave a voicemail question or topic for debate on the GymCastic hotline for our 100th episode.

Watch this week's YouTube playlist here.

97 Anadia World Cup and Canadian Nationals Jun 04, 2014

Show notes

In the news, Uncle Tim and Jess chat about:

The star of Portugal, Filipa Martin winning a medal on floor while Jessica Lopez just keeps getting better every year.
Which gymnast would be capable of much more if she were training elsewhere?
We pick our beam songs and discuss the horrors of background techno.
The correct moment to pick a wedgie if the television cameras are watching.
If we’ll ever get this whole difficulty world record thing going in artistic.
Is the call for a ban of the Produnova vault is just sexism?
Could Ellie Black contend for a medal on balance beam at Worlds in China?
Trampolinist, Karen Cockburn placed third at Canadian Nationals, proving once and for all that any woman can go back to adult gymnastics after giving birth.
The Enrique Tomás González, Eddie Penev, Sam Mikulak epic showdown on floor exercise at the Anandia World Cup.

And here are the latest news stories from around the gymternet discussed this week:

TUMBLE! A new gymnastics show coming to BBC, featuring Louis Smith, Beth Tweddle and Nadia!
Uncle Tim quizzes Jessica on: What’s Your Country’s Weakest Event
Belu is threatening to leave the Romanian gymnastics team for the 700th time.
The awesomeness of Rachel Gowey and Alyssa Baumann.
Gabby Douglas and Mary Lou Retton's daughter, McKenna Kelley, are at the Ranch training together.
University of Florida student charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault for pointing an Airsoft-style rifle at Mackenzie Caquatto and Marissa King.

Gymnastics Moustaches for Movember - featuring Mr. Enrique Tomás González

Watch the full broadcast of the Anandia World Cup here.

Follow along as you listen by watching our YouTube playlist for this epiosode here.

96: Men's European Championships & Australian Championships May 28, 2014

Show notes

World Champion, Lauren Mitchell, back on beam at the 2014 Australian National Championships.

She has been named to the Commonwealth Team for Scotland later this summer.

In the news, Uncle Tim, Brigid head honcho at The Couch Gymnast, Evan, and Jessica chat about:

Bela Karolyi style scratch-and-petition-nastics at Australian National Championships and the Godwin Factor for Commonwealth Games team.
The Russian men dominate with gorgeous, clean, high flying skills at European Championships while Ukraine earns a spot on the podium despite war at home and neck tattoos.
Max Whitlock beats Krisztian Berki on pommel horse!
Fabian Hambuechen had a scary fall, did Epke Zonderland's hair cut help his high bar form, and should Mr. Alexander Shatilov have won the Mr. Sofia title?
Mtv Germany has a shirtless gymnastics video shoot that we investigate like Grandi at a rhythmic judging exam.
The shinning hope for Australia after a dark time, Larissa Miller of tribe Uneven Bars.

We get to the bottom of the top news stories from around the gymternet :

Anna Pavlova's fall out of the show and down the stairs
THIS KID! Emmy doing the most adorable routine we've ever seen.
New skills submitted for evaluation at the European Championships
Updates from The Ranch: Laurie Hernandez, MyKayla Skinner and Maggie Nichols
Steve Butcher, Men’s Tech Committee Chair , sounding reasonable.

Pre-sale tickets for 2015 World Championships in Glasgow are on sale here. Full results from the 2014 Australian National Championships here

Igor Radivilov's neck tattoo.

2014 Australian All-Around Champion, Georgia Godwin of Queensland. Click on this Post

by Gym Qld WAG High Performance Centre to watch the video of her beam routine that Jessica references in this episode.

95: WAG European Championships Part TWO May 25, 2014

Show notes

Blythe and Jessica talk to Emma Bailey direct from the hallway of her hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria at the Women's European Championships about:

The great Soviet Pink Panther routine by Elena Shevchenko (USSR) vs. the new Pink Panther performed by Marta Pihan-Kulesza (POL).
The red carpet, the banquet dances, and other cool stuff the organizers did.
Could Sandra Izbasa return for Rio?
Diana Bulimar, the unsung hero and backbone of the Romanian team.
Teams on the rise and lesser known fan-favorites; Noemi Makra (HUN), Claire Martin (FRA), Emma Larson (SWE), Gaelle Mys (BEL), Lisa Top (NED)
Emma gives her impression of the once great Ukrainian women's program.
Are there too many World Cups schedule, without sufficient time to rest before the European Championships?
And finally, high bar Olympic medalist Krasimir Dunev proves he is freakin' cool as hell.

Emma's YouTube Channel has some videos of fan favorites not captured on the broadcasts. Leotard series postcards (leocards) and prints by Meg. Buy them here. 2014 European Gymnastics Championships site.

Insert YouTube play list here.

93: A Champion Makes Her Choice May 14, 2014

Show notes

World Cup Series Champion, Elizabeth Price has chosen to attend Stanford university rather than contend for a world title in the fall. Photo by Christy Linder.

In the news, Uncle Tim, Evan, and Jess chat about:

Elizabeth Price's decision to retire from the national team in order to go to Stanford.
The unprecedented 7th national title with a low for Kohei Uchimura.
Chinese women's National Championships; mature choreography; Yao Jinnan's 7.0 bar routine; beam star, Bai "The Blue Finch" Yawen; Huang Huidan's bar dismount!
Thi Ha Thanh Phan showing she's not just a vault worker at the Osijek World Cup, and Brazil debuts floor cosmonaut-tumbler, Angelo Dias de Assumpção.
Is it fair that both an Arabian double pike is an E and an Arabian double pike ½ out is an E, or should the half turn have a greater value?
FIG stepping in to fund Ukraine's trip to the European Championships.
Louis Smith MBE is not happy about being off the Euro team and lets everyone know about it. Can British Gymnastics improve their intra-team communication?
Our favorite champions from the level 10, JO National Championships, including Alicia Boren's hot FX and Olivia Karas stuck-like-a-mutha vault.

Then we discuss the latest news stories from around the gymternet:

Louis Smith, Luke Carson and Theo Seager comment on the European Team selection.
As Spanny reported months ago on this very show, Shawn Johnson WILL be on The Celebrity Apprentice next season.
New Super Awesome Choreographer alert! Gina Starbuck, watch this and tell us which gymnast is best suited for her style.
The similarities between coach Aimee Boorman and Simone Biles and the way Aliya Mustafina and her coach, Raisa Ganina work together.
The latest McKayla Maroney interview gives us more details on her extremely serious leg injury on tour.
How will gay and female fans be treated at the Doha World Championships in 2018?

Spanny Tampson recaps The Sarah and Suzanne show and NADIA the movie! Uncle Tim and Jessica weigh-in over at The Couch Gymnast for Love it or Hate it? The Non-Ballet Routine.

Gymnast Yan Mingyong releases early wedding photos of himself and his wife Ma Qiujing via his Weibo account on Thursday, May 8, 2014.[/caption] Gymnast Yan Mingyong & former trampolinist Ma Qiujing tied the knot in style! Do any of you have gymnastics wedding, prom, engagement photos like these? Share them with us! We want to see! More photos: buff.ly/1uNkYSf

Weekly YouTube playlist can be found here.