In an attempt to prevent future controversies like the one in Beijing where two Chinese Gold-Medalists were accused of being younger than the 16 years required for Olympic competition, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced on Monday.
Beginning January 1, all junior and senior gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets will need a license from the FIG. This license will include gymnasts’ name, sex, country and birthdate and will be their proof of age for their entire career. Although this licenses could potentially be falsified, it will be much more difficult as most Olympic class gymnast begin …read more

This post is for my former co-blogger, Jeanne Dupuis who has moved up the b5 ladder as corporate trainer. She’s possibly Paul Hamm’s biggest fan. So, for Jeanne and all of you fans of the Hamm brothers, here are two videos from their performance on the Tour of the Gymnastic Superstars event.

The Tour of the Gymnastic Superstars continues its 36 city tour until November 16.
And, Jeanne hasn’t completely forgotten about the Olympics. Over on her hockey blog, Hockey Beat, she recently discussed how Steve Yzerman (formerly of the Detroit Red Wings) is taking over leadership of Canada’s Olympic hockey team.

The Women’s Sports Foundation chose Olympic Gymnast, Nastia Liukin as their individual Sportswoman of the Year at their annual banquet on Tuesday. The 18-year-old Liukin won five medals at the Beijing Games, including the Gold Medal in the women’s all-around competition.
US Women’s Softball player, Jessica Mendoza was awarded the Team Sportswoman of the Year award.

The controversy surrounding the ages of the Gold-Medal-winning Chinese womens gymnastic team is continuing. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) are examining whether He Kexin and Yang Yilin were truly the required 16 years required to compete at the Olympics. They have also expanded their inquiry to include the Chinese competitors at the 2000 Sydney Games, where China won a Bronze Medal. They are examining whether Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao on that squad were old enough to compete.
A spokeswoman for the FIG, Emmanuelle Moreau told the Associated Press on Wednesday at the inquiry “is a work in progress. Until …read more

Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, the Hamm Brothers and other US Olympic gymnasts are still on tour with Disney’s “Tour of the Gymnastic Superstars.” Here’s a brief clip of what goes on behind the scenes at the tour, plus a few works from Nastia Liukin about her plans after gymnastics.

Shawn Johnson, the Hamm Brothers, and other gymnastic stars are touring the country in the Disney-produced Tour of the Gymnastics Superstars. The video below shows Johnson performing on the balance beam:

US Gymnast, Nastia Liukin is still making the rounds of the talk show programs. On Monday, she appeared on Conan O’Brien’s show. Liukin is charming, but the highlight is the clip of former coach Bela Karloyi watching her Gold-Medal-winning floor exercise performance. Take a look:

The Disney-sponsored 2008 Tour of the Gymnastic Superstars kicked off on Sunday, September 7 in Reno. The 36-city tour features stars from the US mens and womens Olympic gymnastic teams, including Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, as well as favorites such as Paul and Morgan Hamm and Shannon Miller. The Tour will criss-cross the United States until November 16. For times, dates, and locations–and to buy tickets–click on the icon above.

Did you watch the Oprah Olympics show yesterday? It was a tear-jerker, but fun. No one does the patriotic, inspriational thing quite like Oprah. If you missed the show, I’ll be posting clips from it as they become available. Below is a segment with US Gymastics Gold Medalists, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin. Take a look:

Ortega Mexican Food Products is sponsoring a sweepstakes for which the grand prize is a chance to meet Shawn Johnson, Morgan Hamm, and Paul Hamm in person during their World Tour of Gymnastics Superstars event in St. Paul, Minnesota this fall. Included in the prize are admission to the event on November 9 (2008), backstage passes, roundtrip airfare, one night’s hotel accommodations, and $500 spending money. The sweepstakes is open to residents of the 48 contiguous US states plus Washington DC who are 13 years or older. You can enter once daily from now through October 15.
There are …read more