Monday, March 22, 2010

And That Concludes It... So Magnificent, Right?






This month we learned about the "unknown" gymnasts. We learned about the popular gymnasts like Moceanu, Strug, and Miller. But here is each and every gymnast's story: On the gold medal.

"Winning the gold medal proves to me that hard work pays off!"
-Amanda Borden

"Winning the gold medal at the Olympics means that I've accomplished my dream, my own satisfaction and feeling of pride."
-Amy Chow

"The Olympic gold medal has meant so much to me, but even without it, I would still be proud and satisfied with my Olympic experience."
-Dominique Dawes

"It means a great deal because it showed we can accomplish anything with teamwork!'
-Shannon

"The best part of winning the team gold medal in Atlanta was the feeling of pride for my country!"
-Dominique Moceanu

"Winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games has made all the long days in the gym and ups and downs worth it."
-Jaycie

"Winning the team gold medal was an accomplishment of a lifetime goal and the fufillment of a dream."
-Kerri, who is getting married Aril 25th, 2010!!!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Magnificent #7 of 7, Kerri Strug!!!




This is Kerri Strug. To the left, the little girl is Dominique Moceanu. But the girl in the arms of Bela Carolyi, yep, that's Kerri. And her story is the longest. But to make a long story short....

"Did You Know?" Fact:
Nearly every girl on the team coaches now. Moceanu is at Moceanu Gymnastics. Dawes coaches. Kerri coaches. Amanda Borden coaches. Phelps coaches. Miller coaches.

The History-Making Story:
"Kerri, listen to me. You can do it." Her coach, Bela Carolyi said. The pressure was intense. The Russians were the "BeamQueens". And they were still competing on floor excersise. The chances of the Russians winning? Huge. And since Kerri was the last American gymnast on vault, the pressure was on her. It was probably hard for her to accept Bela's words.

Heading into their final event, the vault, the U.S. had a lead over Russia and it looked liked the U.S. had its first gold in the team combined exercises all sewn up. That is until teammate Dominique Moceanu fell down on both her vaults and Strug's first attempt also ended in a fall. Serious doubt crept into the thoughts of 32,000 spectators and Karolyi let her know that she needed to land her second and final vault in order to seal it. The only problem, aside from the avalanche of pressure on the 18-year-old, was that Strug had felt a pop in her ankle on her first vault and could barely walk, let alone sprint down the runway and fling herself up and over the horse to land with great purpose onto only one good leg.

Somehow Strug gritted her teeth, thinking that the team's gold medals all depended on this final vault (in actuality they didn't, but no one knew that at the time), and got the job done with a solid landing before collapsing in pain onto her hands and knees.

The bear-like Karolyi scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the award ceremony to collect her gold medal and the rousing ovation from the packed house.

Strug, with two torn ligaments in her ankle from her courageous effort, was left unable to compete in any individual events.

The U.S. got gold, thank you so much Kerri!
~~~~~~~
March isn't over yet! One more magnificent seven post, the girls' own quotes and feelings, and pictures galore of what we call not only THE magnificent seven, but OUR magnificent seven.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Jaycie Phelps, Magnificent #6




This is Jaycie Phelps. She DOES have a skill named after her on beam, called the "Phelps". She is a gold medalist like all.

"Did You Know?" Fact:
Jaycie was named "Jaycie" because of her parents initials--- J.C., Jack and Cheryl.

1994 was Jaycie's breakout year on the international scene. After a difficult year in 1993 where she placed rather low in the national junior ranks, Jaycie made remarkable progress. She performed well at the 1994 Team World Championships in Dortmund, Germany. The following year, Jaycie placed 3rd all-around at U.S. Nationals behind Dominique Moceanu and Shannon Miller. She competed at the 1995 World Championships in Sabae, Japan, where she made the un-even bars event final and got the Phelps vault named after her. Although Shannon Miller had performed the vault at Worlds the year prior, in Brisbane, she had fallen and it had not been named for her.

In 1996, Jaycie competed at the individual apparatus World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She made both the un-even bars and the balance beam finals. At the U.S. Nationals, she finished a close second to Shannon Miller, who had overcome a fall off beam to win. Jaycie finished third at the U.S. Olympic Trials, behind Dominique Dawes and Kerri Strug. Shannon Miller and Dominique Moceanu had petitioned onto the team with injuries.

At the 1996 Olympics, Phelps did well on all events but balance beam. She started off well on compulsory bars, but then following three lackluster performances on beam by her teammates, Phelps fell. She came back with a great floor performance and a tidy vault.

In the team optionals, the night the Magnificent Seven won gold, Phelps started off the team's performance with a tremendous set on her best event, the uneven bars. With a superb base score established, the Americans breezed through their first event with high marks. Phelps again had some trouble on beam, recording the lowest score on the team, but she started off the team strongly on floor, finally hitting her front full to front layout pass despite missing it at Nationals and struggling with it at Trials. She dismounted with a difficult full-in. Phelps led off the team once again on vault, with a solid effort. In going first for the team so many times, Phelps was in some way was forced to sacrifice her chances at individual glory for the good of the team. Nevertheless, she largely did her job, and her clean sets were fairly well received.

Phelps, along with every other member of the Magnificent Seven except Kerri Strug and Amanda Borden, attempted to come back and make the 2000 Olympic Team. Eventually Jaycie was forced to stop because of a chronic knee injury. Miller and Moceanu were also injured by Olympic Trials, and in the end, Dominique Dawes and Amy made the team.

This shows it takes MAJOR belief in yourself. Who cares if you break your leg? You let it heal and you get straight to work.

That's Jaycie!

...Ca you guess number seven???

Dominique Moceanu, Magnificent #5




This is Dominique, my second favorite! She was a very good gymnast, but sadly, the only magnificent girl without a skill named after her.

"Did You Know?" Fact:
Moceanu is a child prodigy! She made the junior team at age seven and the senior team at age nine, competing internationally at age thirteen and at the Olympics at fourteen. She also now lives and coaches in Cleveland.

Dominique "Domi" Helena Moceanu (born September 30, 1981 in Hollywood, California) is an American gymnast of Romanian descent who was a member of the Olympic Gold medal winning 1996 U.S. Women's Gymnastics team in Atlanta (the "Magnificent Seven").

The hallmarks of Moceanu's gymnastics, in the early stage of her elite career, were daring tricks on balance beam and spunky, inspired presentations on the floor exercise. In the latter part of her elite career, under the direction of new coaches, she developed a more elegant, mature style. Although she was never considered to be an overwhelmingly innovative gymnast, she did display a high level of difficulty in her gymnastics, particularly on beam and floor.

Moceanu trained under coaches Marta and Béla Károlyi, and later, Luminita Miscenco and Mary Lee Tracy. She earned her first National Team berth at the age of 10 and went on to represent the United States in various major international competitions at the junior level. She was the all-around silver medalist at the 1992 Junior Pan Am Games and the 1994 junior U.S. National Champion. In 1995, at the age of 13 1/2, Moceanu became the youngest gymnast ever to win the senior all-around title at the U.S. National Championships. She was the youngest member of both the 1995 World Championships team and the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic squad, the Magnificent 7, and was popular with both the public and with gymnastics fans.

That's the prodigy, Dominique M.!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Amy Chow, Magnificent #4




This is Amy Chow, Olympic gold medalist. (take note, every magnificent seven girl is gold medalist, and you'll find out why when we talk about Kerri, the seventh gymnast.)

"Did You Know?" Fact:
Amy was the first Asian-American gymnast to win a medal of both gold, silver, AND even bronze. Also, she has a skill named after her, like many girls on the team! Kerri, Amanda, and Jaycie (haven't talked about her)also do!!!

Chow began gymnastics training in 1981, and began competing in national and international competitions in 1990. She is primarily known for her performance at the 1996 Olympics where she won a silver medal on the uneven bars and a team gold. She also competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics, likely winning a bronze medal at Sydney on the team competition that took nearly ten years to award when China member Dong Fangxiao was disqualified for age violations. Chow, however, qualified to the all-around finals where she was the second-ranked American woman, finishing in fourteenth place. [1]

Chow has two gymnastic moves named after her, the "Chow/Khorkina" (Stalder 1 1/2 pirouette) and the "Chow II" (Stalder to Shaposhnikova).[citation needed] She was nicknamed "the Trickster" for her extreme difficulty on each apparatus and her ability to perform complicated skills with apparent ease. She was the first American woman to perform both the double-twisting Yurchenko and the tucked double-double dismount on bars in international competition. Chow also competed one of the most difficult balance beam routines ever performed. It consists of a standing piked full, flic-flac, layout, flic-flac, layout series, a full-twisting swing down, and a round-off, flic-flac, triple full dismount.

In addition to her gymnastic career, Chow is also a pianist. In 1994, she received an advanced level certificate of merit for piano. In high school she was also a competitive diver for Castilleja School. In 2007[2] she graduated medical school at Stanford University, having earned an undergraduate degree in biology from Stanford in 2002. As of August 2008[update], she is a pediatrics resident at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.[3] She is licensed as a physician and surgeon.[4]

Amy has been a pole vaulter, and has competed as an unattached athlete at "open" track and field events in the discipline. Because she received money following the 1996 Olympic Games, she was ineligible to be a collegiate athlete.

That's Amy's story!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Amanda Borden, Magnificent #3




This is Amanda Borden, Olympic gold medalist. I usually don't mention where the gymnasts live, but this one is very interesting.

Did You Know?
That a US athlete lives less than an hour away from you? That's right, and that person is Amanda Borden. She lives in Cinncinnati, Ohio.

Amanda even has a story.
Amanda Kathleen Borden (born May 10, 1977) is an American gymnast, who was one of the members of the gold medalist United States team in the 1996 Summer Olympics, the Magnificent 7.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio and graduated from Finneytown High School, Borden trained under coach Mary Lee Tracy at Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy. She took up gymnastics in 1984, and spent six years on the US women's national team (1990, 1992–97), competing in the 1993 World Championships, and making the event finals on uneven bars in the 1994 World Championships before leading the United States to gold in the 1996 Olympics. She also originated an original element, a twisting straddle pike jump on the balance beam, which is named after her in the Code of Points.[citation needed]

After her victory as part of the team nicknamed the "magnificent seven", Borden appeared in numerous national tours and television appearances. She graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a degree in early childhood education, though she was unable to compete under NCAA rules, having gained professional athlete status from promotional work.

In May 2006, Amanda married Brad Cochran, and the couple currently owns the Gold Medal Gym in Tempe, AZ. At age 30, she gave birth to her first child - a daughter, Kennedy Faith, who arrived at 5:45 pm on July 29, 2007.

That's Amanda's story!

Still four more gymnasts to go, who's next???

Monday, March 15, 2010

Dominique Dawes, Magnificent #2




This is Dominique Dawes. Notice, if you look up magnificent seven photographs, she is the ONLY black gymnast you'll find. And she'll be the only one for quite a while.

here is Dominique's story:
Though Dawes was a solid team player in 1992, she did not break through as an all-around gymnast until 1993. Indeed, she is probably best known for her performances at the 1993 and 1994 World Championships. In 1993, Dawes led the competition after three events, even beating her more famous teammate Shannon Miller. Then, showing the same boldness that she had in 1992, she decided to try her harder vault (1 1/2 twisting layout Yurchenko) which was worth a 10.00 instead of simply a full-twisting layout Yurchenko which had been devalued to a 9.8. She made the first vault, but slipped and fell on the second, immediately bursting into tears. With the new rule that both vaults were averaged in all-around competition, her fall dropped her to 4th overall while Miller won the title.[5][6] Famously, after the vault fall Dominique's coach Kelli Hill exhorted her to be proud of her performance anyway, stating: "When did you ever think you would be in that position? You have to be happy with yourself. Come on. Be happy. Stand up and wave". Dawes did so, and earned a standing ovation from the crowd.[7] After this disappointment she rebounded in the event finals, winning two silver medals on bars and beam.

That's Dominique D.'s story!

Who's the next magnificent???

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Shannon Miller, Magnificent #1




This is Shannon Miller, the first magnificent member to talk about. But first, let's explain what the magnificent seven is to make everything clear.

The 1996 womens' artistic gymnastic team was called magnificent because of winning the first team gold medal for the U.S., which I will talk about later when we begin talking about Kerri Strug.

Shannon Miller is an Olympic medalist: 7 medals. Two gold, two silver, three bronze. If you ask me, a bronze medal is good enough! Shannon is probably one of the most well-known 1996 gymnasts. Every gymnast on the team has her story. It may not be like Kerri's story, but every girl has her story.

Small "Did You Know?" Fact: Shannon Miller has won more medals than any other U.S. Olympic gymnast.

Now, the REAL story is:
In the All-Around, Miller was sitting in 2nd place half-way through the competition with another showdown for the gold on the horizon. But her wrist was in poor shape and had only gotten worse since the Nationals, forcing her to have 2 cortisone injections. While numbing the pain, the injections failed to solve the problem and Miller was not at her most powerful. She failed to fully complete a new skill on the floor exercise, a double layout somersault, that needed a big lunge forward. Although she and her coach considered a different opening pass, she had not been able to practice her traditional opening run of a whipback through to a full twisting double pike as a hamstring injury had made it difficult for her to pike. Obviously disappointed, and in tears, she finished the night with a superb performance on the vault. Getting the only standing ovation of the night from the crowd. Miller left the All-Around despondent, but still managed a very respectable 8th place finish, making her the highest ranking American in that competition. She crashed in the vault apparatus finals, another event in which she wasn't at her best, and as the final day of Olympic gymnastics arrived, Miller had only one more shot for individual Olympic gold.

Miller went for it. That's how she won beam that day.

Wow, Shannon really did a lot for her team and the USA!

Magnificent Madness

I know, I know, I am doing my report on Dominique Moceanu, but I really wanted to do it on the magnificent seven, so March is:

MAGNIFICENT MADNESS!!!!!!

Today I will talk about: Shannon Miller!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Quotes That YOU May See in My Books

"We must walk conciously only part way to our goal, and then leap to our success."
-Henry David Thoraeu

"And that's why I called it the perfect race."
-Apolo Ohno

"If you believe you can do it, you will. If you doubt you can do it, you won't."
-Me

"Judge people from where they stand, not from where you stand."
-Proverb

"It's never over 'til it's over."
-Yogi Berra

"To live without loving is to not really live."
-Moliere

"Trying will do anything in this world."
-Theocritus

"Fall seven times, stand up eight."
-Japanese Proverb

"The only time you mustn't fall is the last time you try."
-Charles F. Kettering

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dominique Moceanu, Cleveland, Ohio, 2010


This is Dominique today!

Dominique Moceanu


This is Dominique Moceanu when she went to the Olympics.

History Channel Alive/Loser!

I posted a new chapter of LOSER! This time, it's every girl's view of the story before I write who qualified for the Junor Olympics! But hurry, scurry, and read it before something new is posted! Hurry up, you better read it! Are you behind? Well you've got 21 chapters to catch up on!

Mrs. Jenilee,
My mommy does not want me to go to fun arts practice, but i'll go next time. Hopefully, she'll change her mind.

History Channel!
For homeschool, I'm doing this awesome history thing and I'm so excited! I'm going to dress up as Dominique Moceanu and do a report on her. I'm wearing a long-sleeve leotard with my volleyball medal to look like a gold medalist like her, a ponytail, and sweat pants.

Did You Know?
Dominique Moceanu and Kerri Strug are close friends--- still in touch?

Did You Know?
Dominique is married--- Dominique Canales.

Did You Know?
Dominique has two kids now.

LASTLY, Did You Know?
Dominique lives in Ohio!!!!!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Author's Journey

I never really thought about it until today, but how did I realize that writing was my passion???

I guess if I really go back in time, I have small memory of how I began. I was about eight or nine years old when I really liked reading. Now, not so much. When I was five, I wrote little novels, also called "chapter books" for myself that are now lost. (my mom knows where they are, that's what haunts me.)

I started not liking reading and writing later, but I started reading blogs a lot when my friend Megan started blogging (from Publicly Pure) and read pastor Jay and Mrs. Jenilee's blog. I decided to make my own, and here it is!

Then, my friends started writing stories on their blogs and I was interested, so I wrote the Peachy, Alyssa, and partially Sarina stories. Then all of a sudden I started writing stuff on the hey guys guy and dissapearing children and found out, "Hey! This is fun!"

So now, here I am, I've got a publisher, I'm hooked up with an editor (my mom) and I'm publishing soon. And that's how I started!

NEW BOTTLE!

I got coca-cola last night! And do you know what that means???

It means I GET AN OLYMPIC ONE!

I got a hockey one and I love it! The hockey player was made really tiny, so you can barely tell it's Olympic, unlike the cans. But it's still cool!

Well, I would love to blog all day, but I have school to do!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

"Hey..."

This is a "Hey guys" story, but not about the hey guys guy. You'll be surprised.

I take out the trash. I hear a ghostly voice saying, "Hi..." I look into the backyard and see nothing. It's a dark night. I turn around to roll the trash can to the front. I hear it again, and this time, lightning flashes, and I see my dog, Lexi, standing there. It goes dark again, and I run as she chases me. Then I wake up from my nightmare.

CREEEEEEEEEPY!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Major Thought

Okay, I talked to some friends, and obviously, they do not understand the writing process. So here it is:

Outline.
You must outline your story parts, if desired.

Cluster.
Clustering is NOT optional! You need to cluster to become more organized and get off subject less often.

Rough Draft.
You begin your story. This is my absolute favorite part because writing takes a shorter amount of time for me, but also takes longer. This is the part where you are most creative. You come up with all your ideas and even add unexpected scenes. Add in some characters, whatever. But you should do this on a long trip or on a Saturday, because you might desire to only write one chapter, but you might be sitting with a pen and a notebook for an hour just trying to figure out the first sentence.

Proofread and Revise.
Before ANYONE proofreads and/or revises, YOU need to. Why? There might be something you really regret writing that someone else may proofread when they really don't have to. Or maybe it's a weird part that would be embarrassing for them to see.

Get a Family Member to Proofread and Revise.
I used my sister for this. What can your sibling do? Chances are, your brother/sister will be way more honest with you than your Sunday school teacher. (They're honest when they say, "Shut up!" aren't they?) They can help you change something they think may not make too much sense.

Get a Parent to Proofread/Revise.
Nobody can add more drama than your mama! Your parents, depending on which one is better in Language Arts, can proofread for you. In my case, I chose my mom, because she taught at a charter school in Japan and was a school principal in math, plus she teaches me, but my dad went to Air Force Academy. A college, but does English class really matter at war???

Final Draft.
Go to your computer. Using WORD or PUBLISHER, start by typing two pages that say:

(example) The Perfect Race
Hope Angelica Ezell

Then, type your acknowlegements.

(example)To Jimmy Carter, because he's my favorite president, to Granny, because she makes the best chicken, (and THAT's true!) and to my best friend Shawn Johnson, because whenever our team has meets and I lose, she helps me stay happy with my place.

Now start your story.

Editor.
Now look for an editor that makes a living off of editing. Have them edit.

Publisher.
Find a local publisher who can help you design a cover, give you tips for future books, and talk to you about your work. They can also help you sell your most.

Wait.
This process takes about a year, so be patient!

Receive the First Copy.
You'll receive a copy with the cover on it and everything. if you like it, you can let them know and this will be the copy in bookstores. Don't like it? Send it back. Try again.

SOLD!!!
Your book is published! Hope for the best!

You're a Star!
You become famous and are on the TODAY show!

Hollywood!
They make a movie! Now you've hit the box office just like Twilight, only more Christian-like, and no one cares about Twilight anymore!!!

Monday, March 8, 2010

I Am Also Doing...

After singing, I'm doing worship band, too. Can't play an instrument WELL other than piano, which you really don't want to see my play piano. I only know ONE song.

I was gonna try to learn another song for fun arts, but I was like, "that's not smart, Hope. You'll kill everyone's ears." I was thinking of some hymns or orchestra songs, and after the workshop, I think:

Save A Place For Me.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT SONG A COUPLE MONTHS AGO?! Now I'm so mad. Oh well. This is just like one of those moments when someone is mean to you, and you have no comebacks, yet AFTER the arguement, you have the PERFECT comeback! Oh, that makes me SO MAD.

And I'm doing a short story. RIGHT after the workshop, I wrote down all the stuff and... DONE!

Fun Arts: The Final Decision

I really can't say that you voted, but I can say that there was a ty in votes for songs, and the decision was mine.

LEAD ME TO THE CROSS.

I found it funny that we sang that song in church yesterday LoL. My only problem is, there are two---make that three---versions of that song.

Hillsong sings it. Chris and Conrad sing it. Francesca Battestelli even sings it. But I can only sing one version. I chose Chris and Conrad.

I don't have this song, so now I have to pay one dollar to buy on iTunes. But whatever. I was this = close to using Hillsong's version since my Daddy's in the church band and he has this song on his practice CD or on the website or however he's getting this song. But that version is too classy. Chris and Conrad's is so hard rocky. And if you don't know this, I LOOOOOVE <3 hard rocky! I like:

Orchestra Music (You probably figured when you saw the Olympic theme song)
Hard rock
Jazzy Music (didn't think that, did you???)
Opera (JK!!! Just thought that would sound cool!)
Any music with chello in it
Popular songs
CHRISTIAN SONGS!!!
Country music
Love songs that are sad
Songs that make no sense!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

"Hello, My Friend"

I haven't updated my blog in awhile because I wasn't allowed for a week due to too much computer time and school issues, but now I'm back!

Vancouver's over.=( I know, sad. but on the bright side, Biggest Loser came back on and there's a new show on, Tyson American Cup. It's the gymnastics elite nationals and people like Johnathan Horton (cover of INSIDE GYMNASTICS) and Rebeca Bross (National Treasure floor) are competing.

I have to go, but I'll chat a little later. Because:

My mommy wants me to go to bed. I know, that isn't fun, but I have to. Tomorrow, I'm getting up at 12 a.m. midnight and doing more blogging. That way it counts as getting up tomorrow early, and not staying up late.