Covergirl Classic 2011 - Results and Highlights

A few days belated, here are the results of the 2011 Covergirl Classic meet and some thoughts on how it went.

In the senior division, Alexandra Raisman took first All-Around with a 57.250. Chellsie Memmel came in close second following Aly by three tenths, and it was Chellsie's second meet back since the Beijing Olympics. For Aly to take first with a couple big mistakes on bars is pretty phenomenal - there were a lot of good competitors out there, but it also says a lot about how few senior girls actually competed on all four events. For a lot of the gymnasts, CG was about testing out a couple of routines and earning a spot at Worlds, not about trying for all-around. Regardless, a great job to the top scoring AA girls in both divisions. Kyla Ross took all-around in the junior division by eight tenths, scoring in the top 4 in every event. No huge surprise there.

A few Olympic veterans returned for the CG meet. Shawn Johnson was back for her first big meet in three years. It had been since Beijing for Shawn. She had a fall and a few uncharacteristic bobbles on beam and a tough landing on bars, but overall I think she did a great job for just getting back out there. She'll be making a strong comeback. Chellsie of course scored well in the all-around and had a solid meet on floor. Alicia Sacramone continued her comeback with this meet, as well. She had some excellent routines - first on beam and vault - and showed her usual strength and power.

CG also served as Jordyn Wieber's first senior meet. She took first and second on the two events she competed on (bars and beam, respectively), so she's definitely somebody to watch out for in the future. Lots of difficulty in her routines.

Inside Gymnastics has posted both junior and senior rankings for all-around and all four events, along with scores. The Covergirl Classic is available to watch on online here if, like myself, you didn't have access to Universal Sports to watch the meet live.

Mattie Larson Biography

Since Mattie Larson is everywhere these days, I decided to make her my gymnastics biography of the month. :)

DOB: May 20, 1992

Representing: USA

Coaches: Galina Marinova, Artur Akopyan

Best Event: Mattie has definitely racked up the most gold medals in floor, winning first place at the Junior Pan Am games, WOGA Classic, and US National Championships (2010). She has contributed to quite a few team medals throughout her career.

Best Known For: She's probably most recognized as one of the up-and-coming gymnasts a lot of people were expecting to see at the 2012 Olympics in London prior to her decision to pull out of elite gymnastics and compete with UCLA instead. Due to an injury to her leg, Mattie lost the opportunity to compete with the 2008 Olympic team. After about two years of recovery, she made a comeback and so far has had a lot of success. She has said that there is a chance she may make another comeback into the elite scene after competing college gymnastics.

Currently: Mattie will be going to school this fall, 2011, and training with the UCLA Bruins. She's keeping her options open as to whether or not the 2012 Olympic Games are going to be part of her plan in gymnastics.

Interesting Fact: Her talent for gymnastics was evident very early on in her training. In her level 5 season, Mattie became California state champion on both vault and beam. In levels 6 and 7 she became All-Around state champ and earned first place on beam, floor, and vault.

July Questions and Comments

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