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After Madison won the Silver medal at the Jesolo competition she told USA Gymnastics that she planned to compete at Visa Championships, hoped to place in the Top 3 and receive an international assignment in the fall.
After Classics, coach Valeri Liukin claimed he was still hopeful that she'd be attending Championships, but according to insiders, it was already apparent that Madison wouldn't be attending. There was no falling out or major injury; Madison was just tired. At that time she was listed on WOGA's website as a Level 10. While she never stopped training, she took the season to decide whether or not she and her family wanted to continue down the elite path.
As of today, both her official website and the WOGA site list Madison as an Elite Gymnast.
Hopefully there will be more of that beautiful artistry for years to come.
Edit: Although WOGA & her official website state that Madison has gone back to elite, I was told the following by an ongoing source I have-
"Madison dropped to level 10, but all WOGA staff trying to hide the fact she did and making it look like she is changing her mind and going back, all politics, which makes WOGA look bad."
Edit: Although WOGA & her official website state that Madison has gone back to elite, I was told the following by an ongoing source I have-
"Madison dropped to level 10, but all WOGA staff trying to hide the fact she did and making it look like she is changing her mind and going back, all politics, which makes WOGA look bad."
She was such a young junior when she was doing so well and she's still only 14!! As a 1997 baby I don't see any point in her burning out. She's not eligible for 2012 & 2016 is still ages away so if she's tired have a break! Given that she doesn't need to hit her peak for 3-4 years, staying in training without the pressure and drama of competition makes sense. Plus, as spectators, we never really know what's going on in a gymnast's personal life.
ReplyDeleteLevel 10, Elite, what's the difference? The Jr Elites pretty much only compete about 2 elite meets all season and then fill the rest of their schedule with Lvl 10 meets. And at WOGA, Level 10s have the same training schedule as the Elites, so I don't know why this girl would have drama about this. She's very talented, has been improving a lot... No reason not to do the couple of elite season meets. By the way, she's not coached by Valeri.. She's coached by Laurent!
ReplyDeleteAlso, why bother doing all that training and then not getting the reward of getting to compete... It seems like there is more to this story than we know. If healthy and training regularly, I think she would have been at Nationals!
ReplyDeleteI'm just telling you what I was told. And Valeri is apparently on edge after Lizzy & McKenzie left, so now he's trying to keep things hush-hush.
ReplyDeleteAgain, this is just what I've been told.
Oh, my comments were nothing against your blog entry at all.. I'm just wondering what Madison and her family are thinking on this one.
ReplyDeleteUPDATE:
ReplyDeleteMadison Kocian came back as an elite in the 2012 season. She competed at the WOGA Classic as an elite in February and placed 2nd AA. She was then also ready to compete at the HNI (Houston National Invitational) in March when she had a minor knee injury and was forced to withdraw. She recovered quickly and was ready to compete at the 2012 US Classic & VISA when she broke her wrist while training and has been out for the season. Although she won't have to re-qualify as an elite next season, she will not be part of 2012-2013 Jr National Team again since the only way to qualify is through the VISA Championships (which she didn't compete since in, she left for the season). However, her team-mate, Katelyn Ohashi, went on and thrived... Natasha, Valeri, and Laurent, all three coach Madison, and in my opinion is that they are too tough on their girls, constantly crossing the line with skills that their girls are not ready yet for, hence the outrageous and numerous injuries of their gymnasts. Yes, Lizzy and McKenzie have left the gym, as well as a few others, and I wouldn't be surprised if more upper-level gymnasts ditch WOGA in the near future (but that's just my opinion). There are a few GREAT up-&-comming gyms not too far away, which are proving to also produce great elite gymnasts! I hope she comes back to gymnaastics next season, regardless of if she comes back as a L10 or Elite. I'm sure she will get right back into training when she's fully recovered from her wrist injury.