2016 Women's P&G Championships - Sr. Women Day 1 - NBC Broadcast

the women of gymnastics have come from the ranch to champions arena in st. Louis Missouri to find out who this year's national champion is if it's Simone biles it would be four in a row and that has never happened before Gabby Douglas looks to be a returning Olympian as the all-around gold medalist that hasn't happened since not even her teammate Aly Raisman parlayed the Olympics into Dancing with the Stars and she wants the Olympics again Maggie Nichols returns to competition after a couple of knee surgeries and she's trying to smile away into the Olympic picture at this late date as well there's Lori Hernandez she's got that special something in Marta's eyes and little Regan Smith has her own big hopes the road to Rio continues in st. Louis [Music] get the gold [Music] [Applause] NBC Sports presents the 2016 P&G gymnastics championships heroes Saarinen's gorgeous gateway arch and not far from the majestic Mississippi River is st. Louis University and we're in chief its arena for two nights of competition tonight and Sunday which will determine the 2016 national champion everybody I'll trout work along with my favorite gold medalists Tim Daggett and nastya Luke and Andrea choices with us too a lot of talk about the ranch obviously before we came on the air here what are your best memories of that place well of course it was all about gymnastics but there was definitely a lot of time for building that bond as a team and I remember oh goodness sleeping in the bunk bags but beds and watching movies together and obviously a lot of hard trainings but you know it was really what made the team a team and I think you see that when they're out there on the floor now they're cheering for each other and there really is that bond all right let's talk about the event now Tim Simone biles comes in biles comes in she's been dominant since the London Olympics can't you keep it going it's all we've been asking it so far she's been doing that yeah can she keep it going absolutely not just in this field but in the international field she's the most dominant female athlete in the world today she just doesn't lose she's unbelievable she can do what you said become four times in a row national all-around champion never been done before it'll happen we'll see lots of shots of Marta Karolyi and the selection committee they're looking at everything but what do you think they look specifically for well absolutely consistency you know they want them to go out there and perform under pressure and again not the pressure of the national championships but the pressure at the Olympic Games in a situation and a team finals where three gymnasts have to go up in all three scores have to count so there is no room for error we've talked about Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman but look at the depth the United States team has these are women that have all competed at the world championship level representing the United States Bauman Vile's Douglas Dowell koushin Locklear Nichols race Ben Skinner it's a very tall order here there's going to be some disappointment there's no question I remember five women will be selected for Team USA to go to Rio and we begin with Brenna Dowell this is a home game for version of the decima story which is west of here on i-70 just outside of Kansas City and she accomplished one of her lifelong dreams competed at the 2015 World Championships and in addition to that got a skill named after herself it happens here on floor exercise in her first pass you get that honor when you're the first person to do it in a major international competition here today and she flip-flopped the order on me there [Music] we'll actually do it second tumbling pass which is coming up right here saw her do a double front in the Tuck position and she's actually going to do it in a tight position right here [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] some steps on those landings but a pretty good start for Rena doll she would wanted it to have been a little bit better though [Music] which our attention to Simone biles so consistent it's so remarkable and she's been doing it almost unchallenged she's a three-time world all around champion she's won war world medals than anybody in history nasty do you consider her the greatest of all time or do you need to see her do it in the Olympics no I mean I absolutely do consider her to the greatest of all time I mean obviously the Olympic Games and an Olympic gold medal will be the cherry on top but what she does year after year not only is she staying consistent in staying on top but she's actually getting better every year which is extremely difficult to do more like this so there's a very neat space here [Music] it's very tricky has great control on [Music] major right here fronts uh me with a half twist that's relatively new for Simone pass right here beautiful so she's the reigning world champion on balance being awesome on floor exercise obviously the all-around the team and believe it or not she could grab an additional one she could come away from Rio with five Olympic gold medals [Music] [Music] huge dismount right here two skills into fooling back out cheese oh the gymnastics is so hard at the illegal elevation balance me I just never known but this young lady she just doesn't make mistakes Marta Karolyi was definitely pleased with that beam routine she starts her routine as Tim was saying with a two and a half turn on one leg which she makes it look very easy but it's actually very difficult try that in your living room front flip with a half turn you see her look at the beam almost the entire way she spots that and here is her dismount two acrobatic skills she'll do a double backflip but she adds a full twist which makes it infinitely more difficult lands with her chest up the slide backwards but Wow she is she is incredible look at her score takes a little time and we go to Laurie Hernandez on floor this is a spot where you guys have told me she can play a role on this team absolutely and you know she's doing a new floor exercise routine she's so bubbly so energetic she says she's portraying different character she says I'm like a little actress out there and you're not gonna believe how great she can tumble but watch the choreography in the dance [Applause] [Music] you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that music is made for real it really isn't you know we got to talk to Laurie earlier this week and Bobby she said that you as Tim said she's portraying all these characters and we're asking how she's able to kind of you know hold up to the pressure and the expectation in the print in the attention she goes you know I like it no actually I love it oh my god and that's her coach Maggie Amy right there so this is her double back dismount just a little slide back but this is a fabulous start for Lauri Hernandez and it's all about hey Marta you see that when Marta says wow it's a real Wow [Music] that was really something we can give you a few scores Rena dalla got a 14 point one five and Tim said she probably would want to do better than that look at some own files 15.7 my green triangle is just to help people figure out because in a lot of cases it's about the deductions and if you keep those to a minimum you're in good shape and if you start letting them pile up you get a yellow score and if you really get deducted two hits a red here's a two-time world champion as a member of the United States team Madison Koshi she's coming back coming in dreams so she'll be doing a full twisting your chinko tonight here but talking to her coaches she'll be doing the upgraded double twist at the Olympic Trials in two weeks good landing but it's not going to bring in that big score the maximum score that she can get for this vault is a 15-point zero we'll see some other gymnast that will do starting in the fifteen point eight or even 16 point three range her big event is coming up army on even more right it is absolutely she's the world champion on uneven bars right now she won it in 2015 tied with three other gymnast just about as good as Madison can do on this fall as you said you know we talked about it's an easier vault but her big event is coming up next our Lord's eyes for this sport let's see Roy Hernandez is a fourteen point seven yep that Sun don't quite understand that I thought it was executed a little bit better than that that's it just from a visual standpoint there you see Madison kirshen with a start value of only 15 gets a 13.8 so the deductions were okay she just didn't have the start thought value we go to Ashton Locklear on the beat and just like Madison koushin Ashton is extremely great on the uneven bars which we'll see later today and she actually was only competing two events so she'll do the uneven bars and the balanced team right here and she told us she thinks that balance beam is just as important for her Olympic selection as uneven bars I don't agree with that I think that she'll make the team predominantly because she is so great on bars but she's really wanting to get a strong routine to show the chicken if be fill-in somewhere she's poop that she is very consistent on the uneven bars but she actually told us that you know she really thinks she's lacking a little bit on that consistency on this event right here be part of that she can hit when it counts [Music] she admitted to us that she was actually more nervous here than she was at the qualifying meet for this the secret classic and she says she really needs to calm down a little bit was going to be working on that [Music] [Applause] [Music] pretty clean routine so far is that little problem at the end they're just the dismount left right here it's a nice job you know she definitely won't be using the team final in this event but for her to be able to get through that routine thanks they're happy for sure no coach quiet on Gabby Douglas here she goes this will be a double twist very clean a good start for Gabby she can land there a little bit better it typically does it's certainly very strong pepper right out of the blocks one of the one of the things she does so well is her form is is really good in the air nice extension look at the knees or lock they're pasted together the only problem she kind of scoops her feet underneath herself a little bit too much has to take possibly a 3/10 hop backwards so funny we were talking to Gabby before the competition began and she goes wasn't it just 2012 it feels like it was yesterday she's right yeah absolutely but you know that lady right there Marta Karolyi she is going to choose the team that is the best at that time and titles and past accomplishments don't mean anything to her pocket we're it's a fourteen point four five and Gabby Douglas gets a fourteen point eight on the Bulls lows started scoring deductions were good there's Locklear's total we're just getting started here and st. Louis MO [Music] the P&G gymnastics championships are presented by Pantene and brought to you by Olay ageless by AT&T mobilizing your world and by P&G proud sponsor of pumps trow away Tim Daggett Nastia Liukin Andrea Joyce we're going to continue here on the balance beam for Aly Raisman we keep talking about how important it is to impress the selection committee but mostly Marta Karolyi and you know Marta has told me in the past that this young lady Aly Raisman is an example of a hard-working gymnast she's dedicated discipline and she sets an example for the whole team that's a pretty good recommendation when it comes from the chief she lost an Olympic medal in the harshest way that I've ever seen in our years together she finished in a tie for the bronze medal and then they went to a tiebreaker and she lost it and that's one of the major reasons she's back here she thought it was so wrong it was in the all-around Aliya Mustafina from Russia ended up taking that bronze very much she told us she's been working on that really trying to make sure she gets credit for that layout shows a good rebound on it and not just working on that skill but just so many routines I talked her the week before she left the competition and she says I've just done so many numbers now it's all about muscle memory here [Music] it's funny the music is from floor exercise but it's matching up to the soup routine pretty nicely [Music] she told me that she works like she had no success in London at all she says that keeps her focus big dismount right here it's an Arabian double front that might be the best one we've ever seen from Ali I had I've never seen her do that better that is so hard to stick oh my gosh unbelievable Carly Patterson did this in the Olympics where she was all-around champion but this is so hard because it's a blind landing and there puts her feet down zero deductions on the landing and a giant exclamation mark how many little tiny young gymnasts are in this building though sitting there in their chair with mom and dad maybe going are you kidding yeah that was pretty that was pretty darn good all right here's Maggie Nicholson Maggie second at the last year's US Championships and she's had her share of injuries it's one knee that's bandaged and then if you look carefully there those are a couple of arthroscopic incisions on the other knee yeah she had that one in 2014 major surgery from that was a turning point for her she says and just recently this year before the Pacific Rim championships at the karoli ranch she injured that other leg needed meniscus surgery on it to repair it now she's a little bit taller than some of the other gymnasts so it really gives her a beautiful line especially on the uneven bars a little short on that handstand another release right here [Applause] yes the dismount ice double layout [Applause] competition days left today there's Sunday then there's two weeks in San Jose is that enough time you know I really think it's enough time for Maggie this week we watched her and training and although she'll only be doing the uneven bars look at this beautiful dismount she does a double layout you want to look for the extension all the way up until she lands a little bit of leg separation find the ground sticks it beautiful as I was saying we wash her and she actually trained on the floor and she trained on balton in our opinion she looked drink you know she's not quite ready to compete here this week but I absolutely know she will be ready in two weeks Aly Raisman gets a 15.15 on the balance beam we'll get the number on Maggie Nichols but as you can see the women are on the move that's the end of the first rotation here in st. Louis at the 2016 P&G gymnastics championships [Music] well ho-hum Simone biles has a lead and after one rotation to be up by 5500 civil point is unbelievable that's what reality is Aly Raisman there and Gabby Douglas the veterans as the story of the 2016 P&G gymnastics championships plays out and again a national champion crowned on Sunday night but this is part of the Olympic process the Olympic Trials in a couple of weeks and the key event is the team final and in those on the floor apparatus you put up three gymnasts and all three of those scores counts you got to really make sure as best as you possibly can so Tim explained how this team of five for Rio might be constructed well it'll be built Friday primarily upon the shoulders of Simone biles how could you leave her off she's the best gymnast that ever was and the reigning Olympic all-around champion the runner up last year at Worlds Gabby Douglas can't leave her off either and someone else in my opinion yell that you can't leave off is Aly Raisman especially after that fever routine was a solid start for her but she has proved that she is such a key player for the team because she's so consistent and so reliable and then of course you see you need a little help on the uneven bars and that's where Team USA struggles a little bit so you know it's either going to be between Madison koushin or Ashton Locklear they're both great on the uneven bars haven't seen them yet but we will soon and who else might be in place well yeah you see a lot of question marks there that's a lot of spots to fill Elissa Bauman and Regan Smith they can help tremendously on the balance beam and lori hernandez and maggie nichols they're in the hunt as well but wait a minute don't forget about Michaela Skinner she can add close to a half a point to the team total on one event alone unbolting okay Tim why don't you guys have some unbias on all four events well you know she is great and she's capable of doing the uneven bars she's been a world finalist on bars it's just they could get somebody who could give them a few more ten a lot of decisions to be made but over the years that she's been in charge of things artists on a great job of making the right decisions the second rotation live from st. Louis coming up [Music] back live in st. Louis we've had some surprisingly low scores here tonight Macke nickels for example 14.6 and then he had the very low score for this one the Laura Hernandez is dazzling on the floor but she's in third place after the first rotation and now she helps the team in a lot of spots on floor exercise potentially even bars but she's really good everywhere so she could fill in in a number of areas but talk about reality her coach told me that she's either going to be fourth or fifth on the team or first or second that was great [Applause] that was scurry so she does a Yurchenko double full a little bit less difficulty than we'll see from Simone biles later but look at her body position stretched out all the way almost a stick just a slight little hop but a really good bounce rebound off of the vaulting table just shot her up in the air here's Alyssa Bauman you guys have her penciled in is maybe a contributor on beam or floor so when you grow up to an apparatus that you are not a major player in what are you trying to get done here well you can still earn a lot of points and you can do that by showing that you're consistent and it's another opportunity to prove that you can hit under pressure a little bit over everything has to go to a handstand on uneven bars right there you saw a little shy such a simple skill hmm out of that routine okay so now does this mistake on an apparatus that may not be considered something she would contribute does this hurt her for the ones that she is absolutely absolutely harsh I mean certainly if she were to fall on beam that would be the worst-case scenario for her well Marta is looking for tough competitors people that can handle any situation and never fold and the irony like Nastya says way short on that pirouette is it was probably the easiest element the routine she fell on [Music] busy night for morning she's looking all over the room all right so is this score flooring and is on the low side at fifteen point oh five no that's actually pretty pretty good you know I mean it's only seven and a half tenths off I mean at the World Championships the best double poles were about that level the absolute best in the world so okay back to Simone biles the leader waiting for the green flag if she does some awesome stuff at her floor exercise routines she's got a move named after herself B in her second pass she does passes late in the routine that many guys can't do in their opening tumbling run she is a phenom [Music] [Applause] is that telling pass coming up called the vials [Music] Oh [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] if you [Music] [Applause] well it doesn't really get much better than they call that untouchable and the selection committee all three of them their cheeks are sore right now they were smiling through the entire thing 41 days to go kid you're almost there wow you were I thought for a second oh and here's that file so she does a double layout and at the very end you see her do a half-turn so watch right here one flip to flip and then a half turn makes it a blind landing perfect just unbelievable power she has done so much already and look at the height she gets on this full twisting double back somersault many gymnast can't do that in their first tumbling run yikes shudders Josie and there's the entire selection committee [Applause] Wow the look on Martha's face was almost like she's on my team it's like unfair yeah Romeo's Regan Smith you know she started on her exercise where she had a very uncharacteristic fall actually didn't fall she just couldn't complete something scored on yet one [Applause] and it was good you know not gonna get they did the huge score see her coaches crisper back and pizza mescal kim of course has won three national titles as well a world champion in the all-around but remember for this young lady right here where it counts most is when she goes to the balance beam that is where she will do her best to impress that selection committee and where she can impact the team score most let's go back to Simone biles where did they take 810 I have no idea I have no idea about a 16-1 that you can't even imagine how hard it is to get a 15-5 on floor exercise not not to mention being in the 16th hey this next performance is pretty crucial for Madison koushin because according to the plan that you guys have if she's a player she's a player here absolutely this is actually her best event of course the world the current world champion has the highest starting value out of anybody on the uneven bars [Music] what is it that makes it so goodness to you well a lot of things you know she kind of floats from one bar to the other her releases her form and then of course it's very difficult but she makes it look easy so it's really a combination of it all it's like and it's airing in it she flies so hard high and does these great transitions in connection from low bar to high bar [Music] that's if you were telling me there might be 11 women in this room think they're good enough to make the rear Olympic team in one form another that means that when the meet San Jose hands we're gonna have some serious tension absolutely there's there's no question about it I mean this young lady right here she's the reigning world champion as Nancy had just said on the uneven bars but there's another girl Ashton who is just incredible as well either one of them could be left off and if they're left off they could easily have gone to the Olympic Games and now won just a medal on a gold one that's crazy [Music] we saw mr. Baumann on the uneven bars she is a teammate who trains alongside Madison and whoa go this first connection right here it's very crucial she miss that big supposed to go right into this element right there beautiful right here look at this I love [Music] another release skyhigh way over on that para wet covers very nicely in dismount so that first connection that she missed that we talked about it wasn't a disaster by any means she'll lose if she'll lose a few tenths of bonus but that's what she's really been working on and you know what it comes down to though is for her to make the Olympic team with someone like Ashton Locke really really good she's got to be phenomenal and that opens the door [Music] Regan Smith six-five start value 15.8 Gabby Douglas on the uneven bars a spot where she could really help Team USA in Rio P&G gymnastics championships continue after this from st. Louis [Music] this August the world will come together in Rio de Janeiro Brazil as athletes from across the globe compete for country and Olympic gold the 2016 Olympic Games coming August 5th to the networks of NBC Universal we can't wait management ocean in spite of the things that you guys pointed out she did okay absolutely fifteen point four five that's how good she is could have been even higher had she and that little connection and now Gabby Douglas on an apparatus that could be very important for her without a doubt and you know Gabby told me that the most important thing for her is always trust myself trust everything that I've done in training and then just let it happen release right here oh boy she did not connect that some a little confused here this is really tricky nice transition pretty sure she left out whatever major skills on the good ones gotcha [Applause] she just kind of seemed off right from the beginning missing that first connection I think that she just got a little bit lost and a little bit flustered she's supposed to do a release and then do the release into connection down to the low bar this is where she can really do everything from music as though a spot-on there's always a spot in her music that reflects her heritage not to mention the reigning Olympic gold medalist on this event right here she jokes with us and says you know I am like Nasia said the Olympic champ on floor my routine is way harder and I still can't catch Simone that's how great Simone is but this is a phenomenal routine if she pulls it off makes it to Rio this is metal worthy without any question of it up watch this pass right here [Music] [Music] they're difficult to my pass right here double-a I'll watch the height that she gets [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] beam was awesome and that was spectacular what a start for Aly Raisman [Music] some of Marta Crowley's decisions should be easy absolutely but that opening tumbling pass that she does you know we watch her do it in training every single day and it just doesn't it's impressive all the time look how many skills she fits into one tumbling pass it doesn't stop there I mean that is so difficult and the height on this watch her hips how they rise up instantly off the floor hips up over her head she's rising still Wow this brown is really getting treated to some fantastic gymnastics yeah we go back to Gabby Douglas she's so got a little bit yeah I'm I'm very confused because I could have missed something but I thought she left a major release out back-to-back evils [Music] she said her knee is a hundred percent at this point in time and she'll be a hundred percent ready to compete on all four events only doing bars and beam I think she tapped the beam there halfway through which she is not allowed to do to talk to Maggie earlier this week and she told me that coming back from an injury always bring that fire inside of me making me want to achieve my dreams even more than before we saw it from her already she came back stronger and better than ever the surgeons who perform the procedures are watching seems a little nervous a little tentative on every skill [Music] [Music] a lot of people when they heard that Maggie had hurt her knee at the ranch a lot of folks were saying there's no way she's not going to have time unbelievable pressure and stress she said one of her coaches Mike hunger Hunger really kept her happy and a nice finish right there [Applause] [Music] the biggest question though for me is that does she touch the beam on that turn on one leg saw Simone do it as well it's called a work Wolff turn let's see if that hand comes down and makes contact with the beam well does it now light look like it I don't think so it's gonna be a deduction live it looked like yeah but this dismount a double pike so not as difficult as Simone but has great height and you want to look at her chest on the landing very good so explain this to me now the judges sit below the apparatus they don't have replay punchy touch for sure so live maybe they did too should there be replay well there is actually replay believe it or not at the Olympic Games there will be a panel that's judging right at the equipment and then there will be a group of judges that sit up above and if they think that she touched and the score doesn't reflect it they'll review it and they'll change the score Nicky Nichols gets a thirteen point nine so I think they think she touched two full points off in execution meanwhile that woman Aly Raisman really rocked it fifteen point six and floor exercise such deductions will determine a national champion this weekend at st. Louis [Music] small files has a very comfortable lead it was 0.55 after the first rotation now it's up to 0.85 after the second rotation which brings us to the halfway point of night one she's looking to win this event for a fourth year in a row and it's never happened before [Music] everyone assembling for the third rotation al Trautwig Tim Daggett Nastia Liukin and Andrea Joyce who has a familiar face to talk to you Andrea that's right al 2012 Olympic gold medalist Kyla Ross who competed in seven consecutive national championships first big event you're attending since you announced your retirement in February be honest how weird was it to pack for a trip and not have to pack any leotards it definitely was a big change being being able to come out here and not having to pack leotards and be ready for this competition but I'm really excited to be here and just for all my friends I've missed them so much I miss everyone here so I'm really happy to be here so you were the youngest member of the fierce five only 15 years old in London as you look at the youngsters out here regan smith and lauren hernandez give us an idea what they're going through what is this like for them because switching from junior to senior elite is definitely a big change and i know being able to come out Olympic year is kind of a shock but I think it is really the moment where you do prove yourself I know you have only a limited amount of chances but you really just got to go out they nervous I mean there's definitely nerves but I think the harder you train the more the more consistent you are you just got to rely on your past training alright we know that you are headed to UCLA you're gonna compete there you'll be reunited with your former teammate Jordyn Wieber who's a volunteer coach there how excited are you for that next chapter I'm super excited to be with Jordan we're really good friends so to be able to have her there to have her mentoring and coaching me will be a really fun experience all right good luck Thanks thank you now okay Andrea women's team but no men's team yes that's right it was dropped that hurts yeah well she was elegant she really was oh she was so beautiful one of my absolute favorites to watch that just had that beautiful elegance in line to her gymnastic very successful too you know she came back after the Olympic Games and she said she wanted some individual glory as well and was a silver medalist in the all-around and then a bronze medalist as individual apparatus medals as well tremendous career okay so what does this beam routine mean for medicine kosher well this is really important obviously she her strength is the uneven bars but she needs to prove to Martin the selection committee that she can go up in the qualification round possibly and hit a good Beemer team [Music] our biggest test comes right off the top right here it's called an Arabian perfect [Music] [Applause] [Music] little tentative there and Madison has really battled injury after injury Marta told me she's a little bit fragile we just need to be very careful with her she fractured a tibia in March of this year only began walking nine weeks ago [Music] just the dismount left [Music] well that was a good routine you know just a few weeks ago at the secret classic she fell off the balance beam but reclaimed herself here she will be happy with that so watch this here she starts flipping backwards to the half twist and all of a sudden it's a front flip very difficult a lot to get done and look at how far off to the side that left foot was when we watched it the first time you really couldn't tell and here's that dismount she does a roundoff to a double pike you want to look for her shoulders so it's a bit low but pretty good you guys are not allowed to say that's very difficult anymore that's just getting on the apparatus is American so you know everybody makes it look so easy so you don't really realize how difficult some of these skills are yeah you know in talking with Simone biles a little while ago she said that to me she said you know we make it look easy but we do it a thousand times that's why it looks easy yes let's say a vault is five seconds that means in this entire weekend with two vaults ten seconds is pretty important ten seconds more this is where she can contribute most to Team USA she is one of three gymnast here performing this skill it's called an amen' are the same one you'll see from Simone biles and Aly Raisman very difficult sorry I said difficult again but if you think that's not and this was a very good vault but she had a little bit of a problem on the landing you know really what you have to do is you have to get yourself prepared to land it's actually in the coat prepared to land before you hit the ground and she's kind of pulling that all the way to the very end she takes that step that'll be a 310 step and she goes over the line which is another deduction annachi I know the answer but to explain the second vault again so if she were to make the Olympic team in the qualification round she would do the two vaults in order to make it into the Olympic vault final if there she would also have to do two different vaults from basically what they call two different families so you'll see two different entries getting a little confusing here but in order to win or in hopes of winning in olympic fault metal just clean things up Madison Cowan gets a fourteen point four now you know that really wasn't wasn't as great as we saw her do it just a couple of weeks ago in Hartford at the secret secret classic it was it was all good in the air it's just like I said not quite ready for the ground and you see that 1.1 off in deductions we've seen gymnast get much less than that [Music] this scorp is now account in the all-around ranking at all it's only to determine the national championship on vault which is up for grabs [Music] and that was pretty darn good in my opinion I don't know why they're not doing it that is a better fault than her fault she starts off with you know she's gotten criticized that she only hits with one with two hands for just a brief second month that's crazy that's a better fault that's what she should be doing first off meanwhile Andrea Joyce is absolutely thrilled she's found someone shorter than she is Andrea that was me now you know when you watch Regan Smith you have to remember that she is just 15 her coach Kim's of mescal knows that there's a delicate balance here that's why she is always trying to come up with age-appropriate motivational tools say hello to the perler beads they sell them by the tub basically Regan gets two for a stuck landing she could earn up to five for a clean routine but if she pouts or cries or is not a good teammate she has to give two to each of her teammates and as you can imagine she has plenty for a very long necklace and alia got to give props to Kim's a mescal sprinkling in those life lessons with all that gymnastics so she is shorter than this low bar she's standing on the board and she still doesn't really need to bend over [Music] [Applause] when you are this short really the biggest challenge is getting from the high bar to the low bar and really then getting from the low bar back up to the high bar that was beautiful though so transition over to that high bar she's got to really work on that we're on there gymnast she kind of just relax let go a little early on it though so I kind of flew out a little bit farther then she probably wants it to talking about her height look at that she does tip her head down but she's standing on a board that's about at that point it's about six inches off the ground though she be little she is fierce I'll tell you I like that system Kim's husband came up with so I'm gonna start bringing some beads for you now let's see a valley race to keep her great night going as well she's going to be doing the two and a half just in Yurchenko that we just saw Michaela Skinner do some old files will do as well this has improved for her over the last five months or so very good it looked like she stepped out of out of the lines which will cost her but showed a lot of control in that vault landing antimage she said she's really been trying to improve because she knows that the team can use her in the team finals on this event World Championship she faltered was really out of control on the landing she's had problems this year in international competitions but she's been great so far at the secret it was excellent so what makes it so hard she does another half turn at the end and the big step you see that's more than shoulder-width apart so that's three tenths of a point and an additional deduction for going out of bounds that was good but it was better in Hartford a couple of weeks ago Regan Smith deductions little on the high side so she gets a 14-point date [Music] see what Gabby Douglas has for us right now third place after the second rotation so I asked her before the meat began do you wish it was right now if you wish the Olympics was here and she says oh god you know physically I'm ready I know that but mentally I just need a little bit more time [Music] very nice school skill right here full twisting back nicely done [Music] Oh just looking a little bit tentative [Music] [Music] just the dismount so she'll do two back handsprings into a double pike I think I heard the Bell so she's got to get going [Applause] her best routine that we've seen her do she stayed on and managed to get through you know it's funny here on that orange wide beam there's our coach kitty carpenter the Buckeyes in Ohio you're on that four-inch wide beam and if you are not completely aggressive it just shows up so quickly here's that full twisting back tuck look at she's eyeing the beam just a little bit of a bobble but not a big deal so this is a relatively easy skill a full turn it's required in the Beamer team much harder because she holds her legs up but oh look at that so off if she had bent down and touched the beam would have been a huge deduction it's all about she really got I'm not exactly sure it looked like she just didn't get up high enough on her and here's that dismount so you see she does two back handsprings immediately into the dismount which makes it that much harder double pike and you want to look for her chest a little bit low but just to get it up pretty quickly a little bit here a little bit there we'll see how it goes meanwhile Aly Raisman 15 point three five she is having a night Saint Louis unfortunately she's in the same meet with Simone biles and you know Ali joked with us at one point and said you know when we go to competitions or we have a member ranch it's like whoever gets second is the winner because rich we all know that this one right here she's going to come out on top this is gigantic [Music] [Applause] it's like she is shot out of a cannon after she hits the table Oh coach Amy Borman who has been her coach since the beginning with her every step of the way but look at watch how her body Rises after she hits the table it just goes up its going up still many of the guys don't fly that high folks has excellent technique gets her arms back very quickly and just soars look at how she as I said prepares for the landing before she lands about a 16-point oh wow Debbie Douglas takes a hit on the beam 14.2 yeah lots of deductions there at two point one as you see here is her second fall the same one we saw the Kayla Skinner do have on that's the best I've seen her do it right there so she had four gold medals at the last World Championships she can copy and paste that vaulting scenario into all into event finals at the Olympic Games she comes home with five [Laughter] [Music] no one does it quite like this she's got a big lead on I won here in st. Louis back after this on NBCSN you're looking at Laurie Hernandez live here and Chaffetz arena in st. Louis Missouri on the campus of st. Louis University al Trautwig Tim Daggett Nastia Liukin Andrea Joyce and if I'm tell me to get over it but I still can't get over her floor score yeah was it was it was very strict that's for sure and it's funny she was over talking and then she went back to her bag it looked like she grabbed a few extra rubber bands for some of the gymnasts use them on her grips on their grips to kind of keep the finger holes in or buckles and this is a place where she can contribute to Team USA without question she's much improved on uneven bars does a whole bunch of release skills that are in what we call a toccata named after a great Soviet gymnast she does a bunch of variations on that [Music] start [Music] the one right here [Music] and one more transition beautiful nicely done right rock-solid to that handstand a little short there though big time [Applause] master we have some concerned citizens here that they want to know why we as a country always seem challenged on the uneven bars I'm really not sure that was great that was intimate that was really great I mean remember she's a first year senior watch she'll go right into this beautiful reverse hack door Tkach oh now she'll do this one from a stalter that straddle element and her legs are together she's allowed to do a third one because this time it'll be different she'll keep her legs apart watch right there they're apart and we call straddled she transitions down to the low bar is this the best uneven bars that we've seen tonight no no it's not Madison Cohen's certainly was a little bit better but this is very strong this was a great one for her and you see she lands with her finishes with a full twisting double back sticks that landing gymnastics 101 baby fly high and zip the landing I've never heard that before ELISA Baumann on the beam and this is exactly where she could potentially help the team the balance beam really have to wonder if what her mental state is like remember you had that really rough go on the uneven bars here's that same skill that we saw from Madison koushin and that right foot that time that looks like it was almost completely off the beam Honolulu ending [Music] a little bit off awkward on the landing and you swing your arms around those are deductions [Applause] [Music] their dismount right here [Music] nice nice routine she had some little errors in there and she can do better than that though that's the problem so watch this skill right here this is an Arabian really difficult look at the right foot see it's like not on the beam that left foot it's like a talent it could crack walnuts that's holding on so tightly just look at the effort it's like look at those toes they are squeezing no way am i coming off the bean that was a tremendous save and the dismount that she does is a double pike we've seen it before from a roundoff once again you want to look at the height and the chest on the landing a little bit low didn't quite rise up quick enough and we are moving to the fourth and final rotation I can tell you that Lauri Hernandez got a 15.3 that's the second highest uneven bar score so far tonight one last rotation to go in one of two nights that will crown a national champion if it's this woman it would be a history maker [Music] 41 days to Rio and were all over it tomorrow coverage of the 2016 US Olympic Trials continues starting with the men's springboard final and the women's platform final and finishing here with the conclusion of the men's gymnastics trials when they'll announced the Olympic team then sunday is a jam-packed day of competitions on NBC and NBCSN including the first day of swimming trials from Omaha featuring Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte and Dana Bowman and then the finals of the P & G Championships right here in st. Louis question do they crown Simone biles again well how about this after just three events she leads by one and a half points that is absolute domination that we should be used to by now back to st. Louis and the png gymnastics championships after this [Music] back live in st. Louis night one of our national championship this is not the Olympic Trials but it is part of the Olympic process in two weeks from now in San Jose a five woman team will be announced and you really have to fill out in all four apparatus where you think you can be the best so Tim and Nastya in a rare moment of agreement crunched the numbers and came up with this as a possible scenario Tim take us through it no absolutely you got to take some ole miles Aly Raisman is going to be in there Gabby Douglas obviously as well uneven bar specialist though that is going to come down to between how does a coach Madison coach in and Ashton Locklear strut Madison Co she did on the end even bars fifteen point four or five Locklear's got an answer and you know for Madison she scored 0.25 higher in the last meet of the secret classic this young lady scored a staggering fifteen point eight five a couple of weeks ago in Hartford said she had the least deductions she's ever had in a bar routine [Music] all about handstands very nice and her release beautiful she actually doesn't have as high of a maximum swore as Madison but I think she's gonna come out on top here again that was definitely a very clean routine - that little step on the landing had all of her connections so very difficult when you scoot your feet in between your arms and your pirouette right directly to that handstand that was picture-perfect into that beautiful straddle front flip and again the smallest mistake of the entire routine really was just on this dismount she does a full twisting double back same one we saw from Madison looking for that stick in this slight step a pretty darn pretty darn clean we'll see how the judges saw it meanwhile Regan Smith is on the beam this could be her ticket this is a very important routine for Regan so remember we're talking about a team that has Simone biles Aly Raisman Gabby Douglas that are pretty much locks and remember the routine we just saw from Gabby on being if she's consistently performing like that that's a routine they're not going to want to have so for the team final you need three and this is where she shines super difficult stuff here little bit off on that [Music] another big one right here wait and that's a lot of steps she's just seemed a little off all day really from the start another step forward we sound so nitpicky that was very cautious she wanted to put those two skills together we sound so nitpicky but it's exactly what the judges are doing and the selection committee absolutely very difficult dismount done in combination like that that was fabulous if the entire routine was like that it would be a staggering score but it wasn't [Music] Kim's got such a nice way about her with her yep and you know Marta is pretty easy to read you know if you see her home shaking side to side she's not happy so here are the couple of little spots in the routine that really the judges are gonna be fierce on these nice huge layout but off to the side she swings her arms she bends her hips and this one very difficult back with a full twist but let's see here chest down a hop a step a step an adjustment get her score meanwhile I can tell you that Ashton Locklear has won the battle of the uneven bars with a 15.6 it's a pretty big difference to a fifteen point four five all right Gabby Douglas now on a Florida and her height and you know I would I misspoke earlier I said she left out how to release on on bars she didn't but she has not looked as sharp as we've seen her look let's see if she can get back on track here [Music] [Music] she's got a new addition right here she's going to do a double back with the full twist and then a battle-ax right out of it right here [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you [Music] and that's what we have grown accustomed to seeing from Gabby Douglas a very solid finish to her competition great exercise for her [Music] so Vanessa Ferrari who was the all-around champion I think it 2006 she did this first Gabby is borrowing from it it's an upgrade for her the judges are going to look to see if they think she keeps moving well enough and I think she definitely does she connects that very difficult focusing double to that backflip a nice upgrade forget it's tough score for Regan Smith to absorb but she has no choice yeah that really was an opportunity yeah she's such she's so cool typically and she just looked a little bit cautious today [Music] for Aly Raisman right here on this event the any of Marsh she said I don't have to be perfect on bars I just need to make it through she knows that the team will not be using her in the team finals on this event you know and she made the all-around finals at the Olympic Games where many people thought it would be Jordyn Wieber and just narrowly missed that all-around medal that was one of her major reasons whoa that was close major reasons for coming back [Music] she just is not as polished on bars [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Arda Tatyana Paris kaya another member of that selection committee Mihai freshman Aly Raisman [Music] Gavan gets a 14.8 okay still the gun will see Simone biles who's in the first place after a third rotation and it's a big lead here this is night one and a two night process to see if she can win her fourth straight national championship uneven horses not Aly Raisman his best event he gets a 14 point one five and looks really tired still breathing heavy Simone biles last routine of the night and this is not her best event but she's still great here has a very good amount of difficulty in the routine but what she does so well is she just eliminates deductions that many others get [Music] some sort of a judging issue she's just waiting for the green flag and so are we I think they're talking about where they're gonna go to dinner tonight in the men's Olympic team will be announced alive competition ends we start a clock there selection committee goes into a room approximately 12 minutes later they come out make the announcement of the five men who will have 41 days to get ready for or 40 days at that point to get ready for their Olympics the same thing will happen with the women in two weeks in San Jose will start on Friday there'll be a night just like this except the leader won't mean anything and then on Sunday night the same thing will happen the selection committee for the Rio Olympic team will go into a room they'll crunch their numbers then they'll listen to Marta and they'll announce the team beautiful handstand [Music] tricky combinations here show you two of them to our release nicely done now she'll connect this release to that transition to the low of our beautiful flight [Music] only the dismount and if it's Simone biles she's gonna stick [Applause] and when you say this isn't exactly her strongest event I mean she will probably score higher than some of the other gymnast competing tonight oh absolutely so she does this in combination as well this toll on right to a handstand and because she doesn't do an extra swing around the bar a giant swing she gets some bonus for that but look at that baby man it's like a walk in the park she is just in a league of her own not just here in these United States but all over the world [Music] [Applause] [Music] Lori's had a great night so far but this will be another important routine to show Marta that yeah balance beam is kind of a litmus test because it is so incredibly stressful and even the great ones can wobble if she can put together a clean routine boy did she ever have a great first day of nationals as a senior [Music] so far doesn't seem like she's affected at all by any kind of pressure doctor earlier this week and she said that our trainings been pretty stressful because she took a some time off of her legs but now she's healthy and back in the swing of things Wow just the dismount and what a phenomenal first Nationals as a senior on the road to Rio Wow you know if someone was just letting it wash over me about looking at it like you guys she makes it brother [Music] she's just so energetic see her everything is done leaving and dances that's over for some Oh miles and she's smiling as she usually is a nice 15.1 we'll take one last break and tell you who stock is up stock is down [Music] the PMG gymnastics championships presented by Pantene are brought to you by P&G proud sponsor of moms by AT&T mobilizing your world and by Olay ageless Lauri Hernandez was just given a very nice 15.3 on the balance beam and there's your leader Simone biles after the first rotation she was up by 0.55 and she'll take a big lead into Sunday night where she could win the fourth straight national title and look at she's in front by 2.45 in front of him Aly Raisman and Lauri Hernandez who had a great night and is with Andrea Johnson I'll believe it or not Lori turned 12 years old in this building competing at her first junior nationals four years ago did you ever imagine that you would return in such a big way and put yourself in contention for the Olympic team um I mean I think at the time I was so young I didn't realize where I was at the moment I was just kind of embracing all these big lights in this podium and I didn't know what to expect so coming back here four years later is pretty exciting and it's nice like reminiscing all the events you debuted a new floor routine here you're coming off a knee injury what do you think that you showed Marta today um I think I showed her that anything that's going on with me last minute like I can show up and I can compete and I can really help this team out no matter what's going on you told us that you liked the spotlight just a little bit how much fun was that out there tonight oh it was nice I mean this new floor routine I really feel the music and I feel all the poses and everything that I'm doing so being able to show it for the first time was really exciting I was really feeling everything that was going on out there and how are you gonna contain yourself for the second night of competition um often remember to breathe alright good luck congratulations thank you well boy there's a lot to like there absolutely she's got a tremendous personality and those women will be busy on Sunday night right about now okay stock up stock down let's start with the positive absolutely without a doubt laurie Hernandez her stock didn't just go up it went through the roof on three different events remember in the beginning we had those question marks for the third spot in the team finals on three different event she was third unbelievable performance who got your I you know I think Ashton Locklear went out there today and did exactly what she needed to do on the uneven bars she edged out Madison koushin a little bit I wouldn't necessarily say Madison stock went down I think it stayed exactly where it was but Ashton was very impressive tonight who should be concerned uh well Regan Smith she didn't do herself any justice tonight falling off the balance beam and you know Gabby Douglas she wasn't she wasn't bad certainly but she could have impressed a lot more now it seemed to me that there was a little something missing from Gabby personally she was almost expressionless did that concern you at all well you know she's kind of looked like that since since London you know since she's been back on the competition floor she she's looked just very focused very stoic not smiling a lot and and that has worked for her thus far she went to the World Championships after this big time off and was second in the all-around so she can do it and get the job done and I don't think that there's anything to be that alarmed about but I know she needs to be better and she knows that as well but we wondered about Gabby and Allie coming back to the Olympics and now it's pretty darn close to being believable it really is and I think Allie did an amazing job today she for in my opinion right under Simone biles is quite a lot for the team right now all right that's going to do it thank you for joining us plenty of pre Olympic coverage to come that's for sure a busy weekend on NBC and NBCSN tomorrow night at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific it's conclusion of the men's Olympic Dreyer's trials where we will find out who will represent Team USA in Rio then on Sunday night the 2016 national champion will be crowned at the PMT Championships coming up next it's local news and later tonight it's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon with guest Jim Parsons The Avett Brothers and Jay Jay one for Tim Daggett nasty-looking and Andrea Joyce on Val travel we'll see you back here in st. Louis tomorrow night well it wasn't the best we've seen Gaby this year what do you think was missing tonight um I think uh just I I rushed myself a little bit and then I get kind of a little bit relaxed so I just definitely need to just go out there and just say aggressive but I think the confidence level is definitely there I just need to not rush and just be patient and just let it flow you said the magic word aggressive you said earlier this year I've got to compete like a tiger will that be your mantra for night too oh yeah oh yeah definitely and I have to compete so fierce and really be bold and just so courageous out there all right good luck thank you I'll try wake Tim Daggett and I'll see Luke and I'm the one who didn't win a gold medal night one of the PNG gymnastics championships and what got your attention well it's Simone biles I mean come on she has the rest of the world is just quaking in their boots I mean she is so unbelievable the most dominant athlete in the world right now male or female Simone biles if her stock could have gotten any higher it did tonight and that's you you're the perfect person to talk about Ali Raisman and Gabby Douglas it looks like they're going to pull herself it really does and what they're doing is so difficult being there firsthand and Aly Raisman tonight especially when out there improved how consistent and how reliable she is on the three events her bars she got through but those other three events were key in Gabby Douglas - she went out there you know maybe had a few mistakes here and there but overall she's looking good Sunday night will crown a national champion here in st. Louis

Channel: USA Gymnastics

Views: 2,821,611

Keywords: USA, Gymnastics, Sports, National Team, Routine, Training, Gymnastics Tricks, USA Gymnastics, Gymnast, Gymnastics Tips, Athlete, Motivation, Lessons, Amazing, How to, Gold Medal, Professional, Qualifying

Id: hibW8s4WQmQ

Length: 90min 20sec (5420 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 30 2016