Simone Biles to Part Ways with her Longtime Coach Aimee Boorman

When Simone Biles won five medals (four of which are gold) at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, there was one woman who always stood by her side. Many might not have noticed her, but Aimee Boorman, Simone’s coach of 11 years, was on the sidelines supporting her and giving her proper guidance. 

Boorman has been Simone’s personal coach for more than a decade and is no doubt the driving force behind the Olympic success of the 19-year-old gymnast.

On Monday, Aimee Boorman mentioned that she was about to leave the World Champions Centre, the 56,000 square feet gymnastics facility in Spring, Texas, owned by Simone’s parents, Ron and Nellie Biles.

The reason behind the end of their coach-gymnast relationship isn’t down to the differences between the pair. Boorman’s husband has been offered a job opportunity in Florida, causing the family to move out of Houston.

Boorman mentioned that it will not only be an opportunity for her husband, but for herself also. She will now work as the executive director of women’s gymnastics at Evo Athletics in Sarasota, Florida.

“My vision for what a gymnastics facility should be is reflected in Evo,” Boorman stated. “Not only having world-class equipment and staff, but the dedication to exceeding the needs of all members of the Evo family, athletes, their families’ coaches and staff while providing a platform for developing young athletes to reach their great potential.”

Simone Biles, who has trained under Boorman since she was eight, has experienced the fruit of her coaching. Ever since, the two trained together every day for years. Boorman’s outstanding coaching skills led the young gymnast to three world all-around championship titles and four U.S. All-around gold medals.

The 19-year-old American gymnast will take a brief break for now before deciding whether or not to return to the sport.

“We were both sad, but Biles understands that life moves on and she knows that if she plans to continue in gymnastics… I will always be willing to coach her,” Boorman stated. “I will be there as a mentor.”

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Simone Biles’ Outstanding Performances in Rio Boosts Gymnastics’ Popularity

Several gymnastics facilities across the United States have reported a significant surge in enrollment after the gold medal-winning performances of the 19-year-old gymnast Simone Biles at the competition recently ended in Rio last week.

According to the owner of the Klub Gymnastics in Los Angeles, Michael Eschenbrenner, the Summer Olympics usually brings a 20% boost in the amount of gymnastics newcomers in their facility. But this year, “it’s going to be at least that because of the whole Simone Biles amazingness.”

Simone Biles has been one of the most successful gymnastics in the U.S., having won a total of 4 individual Olympic gold medals and one bronze despite being a first time competitor in the Summer Olympic Games. She also owns a large number of World Championships titles, which adds up to her huge collection of gymnastics achievements.

Her success in the sport encouraged the young generation to try out the sport themselves. Watching her perform stunning routines in the Rio Olympic Arena inspired young gymnastics aspirants to be just like her someday.

Normally, the post-Olympics surge doesn’t come until the summer session ends and the school starts. But that clearly have changed this season, with more than 1,400 weekly enrollees at Klub Gymnastics – “higher than we’ve ever been,” says Eschenbrenner.

There is typically a surge in enrollment after an Olympic Games,” said USA Gymnastics’ spokeswoman, Jennifer Teitell. “For example, the women’s program had over 16,000 new athletes in 2012-2013 which was a 22% growth over the previous year.”

Names such as Simone Biles and Aly Raisman have encouraged a generation to try out gymnastics, a sport that’s often overlooked outside the Olympic season.

“Gymnastics is one of the most popular Olympic sports. All the kids are watching it, they see that and decide that’s what they want to do,” a coach in a gymnastics facility in Huntington said. 

After witnessing her impressive performances in the 2016 Rio Olympics, everyone suddenly wants to be just like Simone Biles.

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Son Yeon Jae arrives in Rio for the Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition

Korean rhythmic gymnastics star Son Yeon-jae has finally arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Monday after her training in Sao Paolo to compete at the Rhythmic Gymnastics competition in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 

The 22-year-old gymnast will compete in three rhythmic apparatus events (ball, hoop, clubs and ribbon). Each of her gymnastics routines will take approximately 90 seconds to finish, but that six minutes of her life would be the climax of her 17-year gymnastics career.

Son was only ranked 32nd after she made her debut in the senior circuit during the 2010 World Championships. However, she did not let it discourage her and instead used it as an inspiration to improve herself further. She challenged herself by participating in Russia’s Novogorsk Training Center, a facility filled with the world’s top performing rhythmic gymnasts.

The competition was fierce in the facility where the athletes had to line up in order of performance records even for ballet warm-up. Son, who has been at the end of the line at the beginning of her training, has endured great challenge (over 10 hours per day) for six years. With her extreme dedication and hard work, she eventually moved up to the front.

When asked whether she still wants to engage in the sport of rhythmic gymnastics if she was to be reborn, the 22-year-old nodded without hesitation. 

The South Korean athlete, without a doubt, has greatly improved over the recent years. In the previous World Cup cycle, the 22-year-old gymnast consistently broke her own personal record in every competition, and even won at least one medal in each of them.

As she arrived in Rio de Janeiro, she carried with her the dream of becoming the first Korean gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. Should she achieve her ultimate dream in this competition, it would be marked as a historic achievement in Korea’s sports history.

The rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around qualifications in Rio will begin on August 19 at the Rio Olympic Arena. The competition will continue on Saturday (August 20) with the individual All-around finals and on Sunday (August 21), with the team All-around finals.

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US Men’s Artistic Team Qualifies for Olympic Gymnastics Finals

The U.S. men’s artistic gymnastics team is headed to the Olympic gymnastics team finals on Monday after posting an impressive score of 270.405 on the qualifying rounds on Saturday, boasting the second best score behind the Chinese team.

China earned 270.461 points in the qualification rounds to win the top spot ahead of the Americans, while Russia settled on the third spot with 269.612. 

Japan, Britain, Brazil ranked behind the Russians to complete the list of the team final qualifiers, along with Ukraine and Germany.

The American team dominated the competition through their subdivision, but unfortunately, Saturday was a day full of flaws for the men’s national team.

At the Rio Olympic Arena on Saturday, the U.S. men’s team captain Chris Brooks messed up his Vault routine, lost his balance and fell off the Pommel Horse, and had some error on the high bar. Jake Dalton landed short and low on the Vault event. Sam Mikulak also fell off the pommel horse. And Alex Naddour stepped out of bounds on the Floor routine.

Despite their flaws, the U.S. men’s team still had some outstanding performances. Mikulak and Dalton acquired a score of 15.800 and 15.600 on the Floor exercise, respectively, bragging the two highest scores of the day. 

Danell Leyva obtained the team’s best scores on the Parallel Bar and high bar. In addition, the performance of Alex Naddour on the Pommel Horse achieved the highest score for the Americans.

Sam Mikulak’s score in the All-around (89.041) has earned him the seventh place and a qualification spot for the finals on Wednesday. 

Brooks acquired a total score of 88.631 to achieve the 19th place in the All-around and qualify for the finals. The top 24 All-around performers will proceed to the finals. 

The U.S. men’s national team will need to fine-tune their performances to stand a chance for an Olympic team medal on Monday. China and Japan have been the most competitive countries in the artistic gymnastics discipline in the recent years, and Britain and Russia are expected to compete for an Olympic medal as well.

Aside from the All-around qualification that Mikulak and Brooks had earned, a number of U.S. artistic gymnasts had also earned qualification spots in the event finals later next week. 

In the apparatus event finals, Mikulak will compete against other contenders in the Floor and High Bar finals, while Leyva will participate in the High Bar and Parallel Bar finals. Dalton will take part on the Floor exercise, and Naddour will compete on the Pommel Horse. 

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Laura Halford Grabs Two Titles at British Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships

Three-time senior British Champion Laura Halford has successfully won two individual gold medals at the 2016 British Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships held last weekend. 

The young British gymnast impressed the judges to acquire the Clubs and Ribbon titles at the Echo Arena in Liverpool last Sunday, in addition with silver medals in the other two individual events (hoop and ball).

The victories came after she failed to defend her All-around British title the previous day, an award which she had consistently achieved for the past three years. 

Halford had to settle for the third spot, and it was her former club mate, Stephani Sherlock, who who was crowned the senior All-around British champion. The silver medal was won by Llanelli’s Gemma Frizelle.

Sherlock herself cannot believe the outcome of the competition, but she felt overjoyed with the results.

“I just feel so, so happy and so grateful for all the people who have supported me and believed in me, and who knew I could do it,” said Sherlock after the competition last weekend. 

“It’s been so hard and a long journey towards this medal – it means so much to me.”

Laura Halford missed the chance to make a gold medal sweep in the opening event on Saturday as she could only make a score of 13.250 in the Ball, almost 3 points behind the top performer’s score. 

Laura said: “Overall I’m happy. I didn’t have a very good start and I was disappointed with my performance but glad I showed determination to come through on the second day.”

“I just wish I’d shown it all the way through the competition.”

Laura, who is currently taking Sport and Exercise Science at Cardiff Metropolitan University, memorably acquired the team silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and bronze in the individual All-around and Ball events. 

She acquired her latest titles soon after acquiring the Welsh rhythmic gymnastics gold in Cardiff for the third consecutive time in July, where she also acquired three out of the four individual apparatus titles, winning the gold in the Hoop, Ball and Ribbon apparatuses. 

Laura added: “It’s been a really hard year; I’ve had a few good competitions but quite a few where I’ve not shown my full potential.”

“My coaches have been pleased with my improvements but I’m disappointed I can’t show it in competitions.”

She is now aiming to further boost her medal collection at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which will be held on the Gold Coast of Australia. 

“If I’m selected I hope to repeat my successes,” said Laura “hopefully to claim an All-around medal and get a few more in the individual finals. “

Laura is currently enjoying her two week break before she proceeds to a training camp in Barcelona to further refine her routines ahead of the 2017 season. 

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