Olympic Games: Gymnastics

I am working on creating a "preview" of sorts for the gymnastics competition at the Olympics. It will include who you need to know, what you need to know, and predictions.

First, however, I want to post some videos about how gymnastics SHOULD look (IMHO). Note: vault and bars will be pretty good at this Olympics; beam and floor - yuck, no innovation.

VAULT

Luckily the best vault of all time should happen at this Olympics. Unless she's injured (which is entirely possible with Marta Karolyi leading the team), she will get gold.

McKayla Maroney - USA - 2012

BARS

Bars should always be innovative, with good form, straight body lines, and good swing. Luckily, like vault, we have the potential to see some amazing bar routines during THIS Olympics.

Svetlana Khorkina - Russia - 2000

Beth Tweddle - 2011 - Best UK gymnast of all time - Will compete this year!

He Kexin - China - 2009

She may have been underage in 2008. She'll be at this Olympics too,

but many think it is unlikely she'll hit this well again:

BEAM

Beam is horrible right now due to the code of points. It is just trick-trick-trick. No artistry. There are bonus points for weird connections, which has led gymnasts to string together many mediocre skills instead of the big, innovated skills. You really won't see anything much like these...with amazing tricks, beautiful dance, perfect extension, and handstand work!

Olessia Dudnik - USSR - 1989

Yang Bo - China - 1989

FLOOR

Floor is HORRIBLE right now. There are too many requirements and artistry is almost nonexistent.You will see NOTHING like these.  

Cheng Fei - 2004 - China

Tatiana Groshkova - USSR - 1989