Raisman's Stock Raises in Karolyi’s Eyes

Raisman's Stock Raises in Karolyi’s Eyes

By Elizabeth Grimsley

Jordyn Wieber may have come away with the title and Gabrielle Douglas may have nabbed second, but bronze medalist Aly Raisman was the gymnast that impressed National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi the most at VISA Championships. “Mentally, she felt very confident, so that’s excellent,” Karolyi said. “She always wants to prove herself to me, and looks in my eyes before competition and I just nod. Everything is perfect.”

Raisman not only finished third in the all around, but left St. Louis with gold on balance beam and floor exercise as well– her first national titles. Raisman is known for her consistency, where she has hit 100% of her routines in Senior team competitions. “I really love to have this type of gymnast,” Karolyi said. “She gives her heart to be good.”

Raisman’s strength may be consistency, but she is definitely not one of the most artistic gymnasts competing today. “We take them as they are,” Karolyi said. “Not every single gymnast in the world is a ballerina. Everybody has their strengths and their weaknesses.” Karolyi believes that Raisman excels at staying calm, and keeping her nerves in check, something that allows her to be able to perform in any kind of situation.

Karolyi almost overlooks Raisman’s lack of artistry because, as she puts it,  “sometimes a gymnast can be beautiful, but if she’s not able to present when you have to present, it’s almost a waste.” And it’s not like Raisman has never worked on her artistry in the gym. Quite the contrary, actually, as she has worked with longtime coach Sylvia Brestyan day-in-and-day-out, hoping to improve. “Brestyan was the choreographer at the national training center,” Karolyi said. “She finished ballet school, so her specialty is dance.” So it’s not for lack of trying. Some gymnasts are simple more artistic than others.

However, artistry isn’t what Karolyi thinks Raisman needs to focus on. “She really doesn’t need [artistry]. She just needs to try to express,” Karolyi said. “She tries to express more, but I think her flexibility is a little better. She’s getting the credit for the leaps– even a year ago or two years ago she wouldn’t– so I see improvements.”

Flexibility and learning to express yourself on the competition floor isn’t something that develops overnight. “It’s a permanent work, and I think we can handle it,” Karolyi said. “Certainly, we all try to give a hand when she’s at the training camp. But she’s not spending so much time with that.”

Instead, Raisman is focusing on vault and bars– the two events she struggled on at the Visa Championships. “I definitely need to work on my vault a little bit more,” Raisman said. “In my warm ups, they were really good, and I felt good. I think I’m just not used to competing it enough. For my bar routine– I’m happy with how it was, and I think that I finally did a bar routine without any really major mistakes. That’s definitely a step forward, so I feel good. I still have a lot of room for improvement.”

With only about two weeks left until the start of Olympic Trials, which will take place in San Jose, CA June 28-July 1, Raisman will head back to the gym to work on fine tuning routines and ironing out the little mistakes. “I’m going to go back home and keep working harder and harder,” Raisman said. “Hopefully, I can improve my all around score a little more. I feel very confident; I’m just really excited.”

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Photo- Lloyd Smith

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