Continuing my five-part series on highlights from past US National Championships, see Part 3 below on the 2011 National Championships.


The 2011 Visa National Championships was one of the most fascinating, albeit a bit scary, competitions in USA Gymnastics history.

There were multiple Olympic comebacks taking place which had started at Classics - Alicia Sacramone continued her comeback from the previous year, adding in floor as well. Chellsie Memmel also came back, and, apart from her fall on bars on day 2 due to injury, was actually one of the most successful competitors of the meet. Most publicized was Shawn Johnson, who competed on all events except floor.

Along with comebacks, there were some new faces, three of which would join Aly Raisman to comprise the future 2012 Olympic team: Jordyn Wieber, Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney. Jordyn had already made a name for herself by this time, having won the American Cup earlier that year (her first senior competition) and competing in Jesolo to help the team win gold. Surprisingly, it was actually McKayla Maroney who finished first in the All-Around in Jesolo.

Speaking of McKayla Maroney, 2011 is also known for the emergence of the Amanar in US competition. Maroney placed first on vault with her Amanar that year, taking the National title away from Alicia Sacramone.

Gabby Douglas had probably the worst competition of her elite career at the 2011 Nationals. One would never think that she would end up as Olympic All-Around Champion based on her performance at this meet, where she looked nervous and unsure of herself. She stumbled on floor and especially on beam, where she fell off a staggering 3 times on the first day of competition.

Gabby was not the only one who had trouble, however. Day 1 of competition was somewhat shocking in terms of falls and stumbles. Alicia Sacramone, McKayla Maroney, and Gabby Douglas all stumbled toward falls on floor; Rebecca Bross, Mackenzie Caquatto, Casey Jo Magee, Bridget Sloan, McKayla Maroney and Gabby Douglas all fell on beam; and Rebecca Bross, Sabrina Vega and Chellsie Memmel fell on bars.

Day 2 was improved, until unfortunately a rather scary event happened on vault, when Rebecca Bross had a bad landing, taking her out of competition with a dislocated kneecap. In addition, Chellsie Memmel had several slips on bars, which we later found out was due to her shoulder dislocating during her routine.

A messy competition, for sure, although Jordyn Wieber lived up to the hype and finished as the new All-Around National Champion.


Stay tuned for Part 4 on the 2012 National Championships!

Related:
Read Part 1 featuring highlights from the 2009 Nationals
Read Part 2 featuring highlights from the 2010 Nationals