| Site has moved! Try www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Rink/4281/GYMREPORT.html !!! | |||||||||||||||||
| The Life of An Aspiring Journalist | Living and Dying for the Love of Sport | ||||||||||||||||
|
Hello all, my name is Rob Yarborough and I am a 20 year old junior currently at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. Believe it or not, I am actually from Virginia Beach, VA which is the first featured picture at the bottom, however the advantages of attending Iowa were to good for me to pass up(money!money!money! ;). I am a former junior elite gymnastics competitor and am beginning my career as a sports journalist with The Daily Iowan in Iowa City and Cetate World Gymnastics Online which is on the verge of becoming an online provider for the IOC. This site will be updated with regular gym updates, as well as, new occurences in my life as they occur. Take care and God bless ;)! |
Some people live and die by watching and playing sports, however I guess I was kind of thrust into a role of loving athletics real early. As one of a few minority sports journalists in ALL of Iowa, I feel that more than ever, it is important to expand the spectrum of the field and open eyes to many new things - which is the focus of everything I do in my life right now. My grandfather was a radio personality here in the Hampton Roads area for many years and is still widely regarded in the sports broadcasting field...I would like to have that same type of success in print journalism. | ||||||||||||||||
| WHAT'S NEW - UPDATED 2/10/99 | |||||||||||||||||
|
02/10/99 - I wanted to get this out before Winter Cup started - but it seems that Jay Thornton is only planning to compete 4 events. I got an email from him for an article that I am writing and this is what he basically had to say. Jay's goals for the Winter Cup have changed a bit in the last week or so because of a severely sprained ankle that he sustained about two weeks ago in competition. Jay thought that he would be fine for this weekend, but even as of today (WED) he cannot punch or run on it. Therefore he will only be doing 4 events at this weekend's Winter Cup. Jay says that he is in great shape and hopes to do well in the four events that he will be competing. "Other than my ankle, I am in great shape and expects to do well in the four events I will be competing," Thornton said. "My routines have all been upgraded for the upcoming season, so I will be using this competition to gain experience with these new routines." "This will help me set up for the US Championships and World Championship Trials this summer." By having a strong showing on 4 events at Winter Cup, Jay hopes to be selected for the American Cup and International Team Championships in March. Thornton said it is always good to see how his former Iowa teammates are progressing and the new skills they are working on. "I always pull for my Iowa teammates in any competition." 02/07/99 - I just got word that there is a possibility that I might be covering the men's gymnastics competition at the International Team Championships in March for Cetate - but the Big Ten Championships are the same weekend - so I will have to find out if there is a possibility that Ican cover both meets - though we shall see...I had such a good time with my colleague and good friend Brian Mulligan at the Goodwill Games that I hope that we can band together and give Cetate the best gymnastics coverage of the meet. 02/04/99 - Ok - I have gotten more information about Alex and am going to paraphrase an article from "Hawkeye Gymnastics" newsletter that the athletic dept. at Iowa sent me: After 40 days in intensive care, 4 days intermediate care, 6 days in regular hospital care and 2 days of rest back home - Alex Kolyvanov was finally able to attend men's gymnastics practice for the University of Iowa on January 21st. Dunn says that nurses in the medical I.C.U. refer to him as one of their miracles and now he is on the road to recovery. 40 days in intensive care is to be expected for the severity of the disease and so were the complications Alex had with pneumonia. He ended up having to be on a respirator for 36 days and showing his workman-like qualities - was back at coaching in less than two weeks after getting out of intensive care.It was originally thought that he would be out of work for nearly 6 to 9 months! - so that is incredible. Dunn says the only noticable effect of his illness is in his voice and he tends to lose it quickly and cannot really shout too loud across the gym (which I am sure the gymnasts are not fretting about). His pancreas is not 100% and may never be - the two primary functions of the pancreas, insulin production and digestion, are supplemented by insulin shots twice a day and pills with food. Alex should be starting classes anytime this week or next week to learn more about living well with diabetes. Alex, his wife Oxana, son Evgeney and the gymnastics team say that they would like to thank everyone for all their help, good wishes and prayers. Dunn says it is great to have Alex back in the gym now the Hawkeyes can focus on winning their first NCAA title since 1969...he adds the 30 year drought must come to an end. ---- That is such good news to hear about Alex - I actually spoke to Alex during the Iowa/Minnesota meet on Jan. 30th and when I asked him how he was feeling, he bent down and whispered jokingly, "Let's just say that I am living right now!"..I thought he was just kidding around by whispering that in my ear until it occurred to me that he probably has not really gotten back his full voice yet - He is such a great coach for the team and there is no doubt he will be back to full steam soon. OK - next order of business - I am possibly doing a story on Winter Cup because Iowa has three guys going (Todd Strada, Anthony Petrocelli, and Kevin Agnew) and could possibly be interviewing Jay Thornton for the story. I will post any interesting news that Jay has to say and will keep everyone updated on that. It is Feb already - which means that Winter Cup and American Classic are both going to get going soon...I was greatly surprised to see that Kristie Phillips was on the roster for the Am Classic and I am guessing that she has gotten a bit more serious in her training with this new code since she has been a mainstay on the professional circuit of late. If anything else - it will be great to see her signature reverse planche in competition again - her move which I thoroughly believe is one of the skills we see in the gymnastics world that can leave people mesmerized.I am sure it will be a great competition - however injuries to prominent gymnasts such as Atler, Maloney, and Ray might give the chance to some other competitors to grab the spotlight. Winter Cup Challenge should be a showdown between Blaine and Jason, however the late season rise of Sean Townsend in 1998 has made him an all-around threat and like Gatson, his only nemisis now is the pommel horse. After seeing Townsend compete close up at the Goodwill Games - I believe that he has the goods to lead this team in the next couple years and he is already one of the best ring performers on the US team - which is a weak event right now overall. His progress should be interesting to watch. Also - I am going to start changing the links down at the bottom every week to showcase some of the different stories that I have written because fortunecity is only allowing me three links for this site and I don't feel like building another one anytime soon ;). So this site will be real text-heavy for sure...and before anyone notices, "favourites" on the bottom was the way fortunecity wrote it and I cannot change it for some reason - so that was not on purpose. Ok, see you soon. | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
|
This page has been visited
|