As part of my five-part series on reflecting on past National Championships, here is part two on 2010!


In 2010, the reigning champion, Bridget Sloan, had recently suffered a pectoral injury, preventing her from competing on all events except beam at Nationals. This left the stage wide open for Rebecca Bross, who had had a very successful year already, winning All-Around at the American Cup, as well as every other event with the exception of vault. She also won the senior All-Around competition at the Pacific Rim Championships in Australia. Bross competed as expected (including actually landing her beam dismount on both days) and ended up walking away as National Champion.

We also got a glimpse of a couple new girls, most notably Aly Raisman, who was competing at her first senior nationals. Raisman was also a rising gymnast, having finished second behind Bross at both the American Cup and the Pacific Rim Championships.

The return of Alicia Sacramone turned a few heads as well, who had announced her comeback the previous year, citing “unfinished business.” Sacramone intended to come back as a 3-event gymnast (everything but bars), and started by competing on vault and beam at the CoverGirl Classic and at Nationals. Sacramone defended her Vault National Title, placing in first place, in addition to placing second on beam.

One of the routines that stood out the most for many was Mattie Larson’s beautiful floor routine. Although Larson had been a senior for two years already by this point, she had been plagued by injuries in the past, and 2010 proved to be her breakout year, starting with her winning the CoverGirl Classic a few weeks prior to Nationals. At Nationals, Larson’s floor routine included gorgeous choreography coupled with powerful tumbling, resulting her earning the gold medal. She also won silver in the All-Around and bronze on bars.


Stay tuned for Part 3 in the series on 2011 Nationals!

Related:
Read Part 1 featuring highlights from the 2009 Nationals here