Whitney Bjerken | Level 8 Regional Championships | All Around Champion

Whitney and her family headed to Asheville, North Carolina for the USA Gymnastics Region 8 Level 8 Regional Championships. Everyone was a little nervous because Whitney had twisted her ankle (again!) the week before the competition and had been unable to do any tumbling or vaulting prior to the day before the competition. Her coaches were planning on her scratching on both vault and floor unless she could show them that she was able to perform the skills needed. She proved she could do it, and so she competed all 4 events.

First came the dreaded vault. Whitney had been battling an ankle injury all season long and then just when it was getting better she twisted it again. So the vault is no fun for Whitney right now. In warm ups she tried over and over, but never landed her Yurchenko once. When it came time to compete, Whitney stuck her first vault! But she and her coach knew that she had touched the mat with her hands when she landed. This is a half point deduction, so the decision was to try a second vault. Whitney did not stick her second vault, but she did manage to stay on her feet and scored a 9.025.

Whitney did well on bars, scoring a 9.5.

Next came the balance beam. Always a little intimidating by itself, but this time the girl who competed right before Whitney on beam had a huge scary wipeout. That can sometimes get in one’s head. Whitney stayed on the beam, though she was a little shaky. Whitney was disappointed with her routine, but managed to get a 9.4.

Lastly, it was time for floor exercise. This was the last time for Whitney to compete with her Fur Elise floor music. Whitney did a great job with just a few hiccups, but she managed to make them look intentional and graceful. Whitney scored a 9.5 which was good enough to make her the Floor Champion for Region 8!

Whitney also won the All Around title with a score of 37.425.

And yes...that is Svetlana Boginskaya at the awards ceremony!
From Wikipedia: Svetlana Lioubov Boginskaya, born February 9, 1973, is a former artistic gymnast for the Soviet Union and Belarus. She was called the "Belarusian Swan" and the "Goddess of Gymnastics" because of her height, balletic grace, and long body lines.


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