Monday, November 7, 2011

Dark Horses for London - Kennedy Baker

(Property of USA Gymnastics)
In an interview earlier this year, Kennedy Baker said that she'd love to go through the Olympic Selection process. Not only do I anticipate her doing this, but I think she'll make to the other side.

It may be because of her lack of presence in online media, or maybe it's because she's one of twelve elites at Texas Dreams, but people seem to forget just how good Kennedy is. She WON bars in 2009. Did you forget about that? Yeah, unfortunately, so did just everybody else. Which is awful, because she's just so good!

This year she competed a 6.2 SV on Bars. That's two tenths higher than Mackenzie Caquatto. With a little blip on high bar, she scored a 14.75 on the routine below, which would have earned her 4th place in the world in the World Championship Event Finals. I know, you're not supposed to compare scores across competitions, but I just thought it was worth pointing out.



She's got a clean double on Vault. I've never seen her miss it. To say that she could get an Amanar in the next 6 months might be a stretch, but it wouldn't be impossible. She's has added a half twist to her Yurchenko every year since 2009.

I really liked Kennedy's floor routine this year. Her music had pieces of "Ramalama" with Kelli Hill-esque choreography. I thought it worked well for her. However, her mediocre start value (5.6) and messy tumbling may keep her out of really factoring in on this event.

(Property of USA Gymnastics)
And then we come to beam. It's upsetting, because when she hits, she's fantastic. If she would have hit Day 2 as well as she hit Day 1, She would have placed 4th on Beam, rather than tying for 13th. She has a 6.1 Start Value, a fantastic Patterson dismount, and a Straddle Jump that even Dominique Dawes would envy. The trouble comes with consistency. Luckily her double turn in tuck position (A Humphrey minus 1/2) is becoming more consistent, but she's fallen several times in the past year.

What scares many people about Baker is that she literally has ZERO international experience even though this is her 2nd year on the National Team. But in my opinion, if Marta sends Baker to Jesolo, Pac Rims or another international competition early next year and she performs well, Kennedy has a fabulous shot at being an alternate or possibly even making the team.

Is there a "dark horse" who you think that I should cover? Let me know in the comments!


6 comments:

  1. Claire Boyce? Not sure if she has a shot, but she sure is a beautiful gymnast.

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  2. I know she is not a complete dark horse but Kyla Ross. I feel people do not give her enough credit.

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  3. I agree with anonymous, lately she has been neglected but she is a 2 time national champ.

    Also, the US girls like Bross and Sloan at 2010 Worlds had higher execution scores than some of the top girls. The difficulty scores are killing US.

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  4. I love love love the Texas Dreams girls. They are currently my favorite US gym. I love KZB and what she is doing with them. Also as much as I like kenn's bars, I don't see her making a 5 member team. I'm curious to know where you think Kenn would fit in on your team, bekah?

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  5. While Kennedy isn't likely to make a 5 member team, I could see her as a fantastic alternate. Or, if we need a bar worker (No Nast, Bross, Caquatto etc), I could see her taking the spot. Not likely, but not impossible.

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  6. I feel high difficulty gets you known but isn't your ticket onto the team. Kyla had the second highest all around score on day two of visas of the girls eligible for London. Even after hitting her amanar she was overlooked because of Katelyn Ohashi amazing difficulty.

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