Through adversity, Konnor McClain has persevered

A year after Konnor McClain watched the U.S. championships in Dallas, her new hometown, she reigned supreme at the event last week, taking the women's all-around gold medal Sunday (21 August) at the 2022 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Tampa.

McClain, always a promising junior gymnast, moved from her home and long-time coach last summer to work with Anna and Valeri Liukin, parents to 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin.

That move - and perseverance through the painful loss of her father and grandmother to COVID-19 within days of each other - resulted in McClain's first U.S. title last week inside Tampa's Amalie Arena.

"It's been really a hell of a year. This kid's matured so much," said Anna Liukin. "You don't wish it on anybody. But she really prevailed, I believe. It's still a very short time since her dad passed. So, we still having flashbacks and some tearful moments in the gym, but she's getting stronger. And I do believe that she is learning so much about herself during this process that it just made her an absolutely amazing human being."

McClain went cleanly through eight of eight routines in Florida to hold off an impressive Shilese Jones, who finished second, despite two falls.

Liukin says McClain, who was questionable for the competition as recently as two weeks prior, has unlimited potential.

"I think she's an incredible kid," she said. "You know, if she continues to believes in herself and if, health wise, and you know, all the stars align, I mean, really the sky is her limit. She's pretty special."

McClain will next be in action at the U.S. world team selection camp in late October.

All-star field set for Paris World Cup

The gymnastics stars are lining up for what will be one of the final international tests prior to October's 2022 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships.

Olympic gold medallists Rebeca Andrade (Brazil), Arthur Zanetti (Brazil), Nina Derwael (Belgium), Artem Dolgopyat (Israel), and Jade Carey (USA) have registered for the 2022 Paris World Challenge Cup, scheduled for 24-25 September.

Other big names on the nominative roster released this week include 2019 European all-around champion Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (France), two-time Olympian **Flavia Saraiva (**Brazil), three-time Olympian **Ellie Black (**Canada), Olympic medallists Filipe Ude, Tin Srbic (Croatia), Rayderley Zapata (Spain), Jennifer Gadirova (Great Britain), and U.S. all-around silver medallist Shilese Jones.

The competition in Paris will be held in the same venue that will see gymnastics action at the 2024 Olympics. The 2022 event, along with the Challenge Cup events in Hungary and Turkey, lead into the Worlds in Liverpool, England, where the top three men's and top three women's teams will punch their tickets to the 2024 Games.

From the vault...

This week, we take a look back at the 1988 Olympic balance beam final which saw Romania's Daniela Silivas claim the gold medal.

The all-around silver medallist scored a 9.987 to win the beam title, one of three individual apparatus golds Silivas grabbed in Seoul.