The 198 Era

The Russia Situation

• The FIG has now followed the IOC's "recommendation" and banned all athletes, coaches, and judges from Russia and Belarus from competition until further notice.
• The ban does not extend to members of the Executive Committee or Technical Committees. We discuss the issues with that.
• At Doha, Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak wore a tape Z on his chest on the medal stand alongside Ukrainian PB champion Ilia Kovtun. The FIG has opened disciplinary proceedings into this violation of the code of conduct. FIG Executive Committee member and president of the Russian GYmnastics Federation, Yuri Titov says he will defend Kullak.
• The gymnastics implications of the Russian ban moving forward to worlds and the Olympics
• And the happy news that meanest coach on earth, Russian rhythmic head coach, Irina Viner and her husband had their mega yacht seized.

News

• Valeri Liukin is no longer under consideration for women's high performance director at USAG.
• Liukin is under investigation by SafeSport for allegations of verbal and psychological abuse, and gymnasts McKenzie Wofford and Megan Marenghi spoke about their experiences at WOGA to the OC Register.
• When is "under investigation" not enough?

College Gymnastics

• 4 of the top 11 scores in college gymnastics history happened on Friday as the 198s flew. We discuss why this is so frustrating to us (Spencer), the disparate quality of routines all getting the same score, and whether anything will be done—or should be done—about it.
• A deep discussion of beam caps and equipment malfunction redos.
• Plus, your questions about a Trinity 5th year, regional placements, DIII gymnastics, concussion protocols and more

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