9.17.2009
GG-Revelsals of the Fortune.comments
9.13.2009
2009 Rythmic Gymnastics Worlds-Miè
Ball Apparatus Final1 KANAEVA Evgenia RUS 9.400 9.350 9.375 9.550 9.650 28.5752 GARAYEVA Aliya AZE 9.000 8.950 8.975 9.200 9.200 0.05 27.3253 BESSONOVA Anna UKR 8.400 8.700 8.550 9.450 9.250 27.2504 DMITRIEVA Daria RUS 9.100 8.450 8.775 9.150 9.300 27.2255 STANIOUTA Melitina BLR 9.000 8.650 8.825 9.150 9.200 0.05 27.1256 CHARKASHYNA Liubou BLR 8.400 9.000 8.700 9.200 9.150 27.0507 RISENSON Irina ISR 8.600 8.500 8.550 9.200 9.200 0.05 26.9008 MITEVA Silviya BUL 8.600 8.400 8.500 9.100 9.100 26.700Ribbon Apparatus Final1 KANAEVA Evgenia RUS 9.200 8.800 9.000 9.600 9.400 28.0002 BESSONOVA Anna UKR 8.900 9.100 9.000 9.500 9.400 27.9003 MITEVA Silviya BUL 8.900 8.600 8.750 9.050 9.050 26.8504 CHARKASHYNA Liubou BLR 8.500 8.600 8.550 9.150 9.050 26.7505 RISENSON Irina ISR 8.000 8.700 8.350 9.200 9.100 26.6506 KAPRANOVA Olga RUS 8.700 7.800 8.250 9.350 8.900 0.10 26.4007 GURBANOVA Anna AZE 8.200 8.700 8.450 9.100 8.850 0.05 26.3508 YUSSUPOVA Aliya KAZ 7.800 8.800 8.300 9.100 8.850 0.05 26.200
1 KANAEVA Evgenia RUS 113.8502 KONDAKOVA Daria RUS 113.2503 BESSONOVA Anna UKR 110.3754 STANIOUTA Melitina BLR 109.0505 MITEVA Silviya BUL 107.8506 RISENSON Irina ISR 106.3007 CHARKASHYNA Liubou BLR 106.2008 GARAYEVA Aliya AZE 105.6759 GURBANOVA Anna AZE 104.37510 MITROSZ Joanna POL 104.20011 YUSSUPOVA Aliya KAZ 103.70012 TROFIMOVA Ulyana UZB 102.77513 CANTALUPPI Julieta ITA 101.37514 RIVKIN Neta ISR 101.12515 HIDAKA Mai JPN 100.07516 MAKSIMENKO Alina UKR 99.55017 ALYABYEVA Anna KAZ 99.150

9.11.2009
Usain Bolt closes 2009 Season
9.01.2009
2009 Gymnastics Worlds without Nastia Liukin
“Absolutely not even a question,” Liukin told Inside exclusively of her commitment to not only stay in sport, but return to competition. “I’ll be back for sure.”
It’s still unknown when that return will happen—“I’m not setting a date for myself right now,” Liukin said of when she plans to resume training—so, for now, the only certainty is that the Olympic Champ won’t be competing in London this October.
"I know it’s probably a shock to some, but [I’ve been] thinking about this for quite a while now,” Liukin explained today in a media conference call. “Just because of all the obligations I had and the travel I’ve done—time was running out. I knew I didn’t want to go out there and represent Team USA unless I was at my best. The best for me is to be able to compete for a gold medal and, at this point, I’m physically not capable of doing that.”
“Martha was definitely the hardest call I made, probably, in my life,” Liukin shared. “I honestly didn’t even know how to start. I spent about two days tracking down her [phone] number, all the way in Romania, and I talked to Bela first [because] Martha was doing her daily walk when I called. I think [Bela] was worried when we hung up because Martha called me back, like, five minutes later. She started asking how gym was going and I had to say, ‘Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.’ I could tell it was a little hard for her to take … [but] we had a nice long conversation.
“She’s been by my side my whole entire career and has always supported—and continues to support me—in whatever I do,” added Liukin of Karolyi. “She, of course, tried to convince me to give it one more shot, but [my parents and I] made the decision that it would be best, not just for me, but for the rest of the team.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” an emotional Liukin concluded, “but, at the same time, I know this is the right decision for me at this time. I don’t want to go out there and perform if I’m not 100 percent. I’ve set my standards too high. I don’t want to compete just for the experience. I feel that anyone else on the National Team could benefit more than me from that experience.”
“I hope to go on vacation, hopefully to an island, some place tropical,” said Liukin wistfully. “But, just looking at my calendar now, it’s booking like crazy, just in the last few days, which is exciting, but I definitely know I’ll have to plan a vacation in there somewhere, somehow. But I’ve been putting so many things off to train—now that I’ve decided to put that on hold, I’ve got other obligations.”
“I would leave for three or four days and have to come back and start all over,” Liukin said of her slow progress. “That was frustrating. … I was [spread too thin.] I thought I would be able to balance everything out but (trails off)… I gave it all I had, and I gave it my best, but time is just coming too fast and the traveling didn’t stop soon enough, I guess.
“I’ve been training all the way up to this past weekend, full-time,” added Liukin of her exhausting schedule. “I will be taking a little bit of time off and, as soon as I feel ready to come back, I’ll be back in the gym. … I really feel like it is necessary, just because I haven’t really had that much time off since, well, ever. I wasn’t always in the gym, but I was always on the go. Now, I need to regroup and get ready for the next thing.”
“This is by no means a retirement or the end of my career,” she stated emphatically, repeating that fact more than once during her 30-minute chat with the media. “I’m just taking some time off to rest my mind and take that break that I haven’t had since the Olympic Games. In terms of 2012, I definitely want to continue training and keep that in the back of my mind. But I definitely want to take a break right now and focus on some other things.
“This decision has nothing to do with the rest of my career,” Liukin reiterated. “It is based on just this year, just these World Championships. I really want people to understand that. I just didn’t have time to prepare. There are still World Championships in 2010, 2011 and I will try and do that. That is a still a very possible goal to achieve and, of course, with 2012 only three years away, that’s still on my mind.”
“I guess I’m the kind of person who likes to please people,” Liukin concluded a bit sadly, “so I hope I’m not letting too many people down."
Thanks to Inside Gymnastics for the pieces of the Press Conference.
