International Gymnast

No need to be afraid of the Big Bad Wolf!

Awolf jump is a common skill on balance beam, but few gym- nasts perform it as well as Australian Lauren Mitchell (shown at right), who won the silver medal on beam at the 2009 World Championships in London.

Mitchell does an excellent wolf jump for two reasons. First, she is a quick, springy jumper. In other words, she gets plenty of height on her jump to fold completely into the wolf position. Second, she is flexible enough to easily lift her front leg to her chest while bending her back leg completely. These two actions form the straight line evident in the photo.

If you are a beginner, practice your wolf jumps on the floor first. Work on jumping high, then folding quickly into the wolf position before opening for the landing. The more you practice, the less you’ll be afraid of the wolf jump. In fact, you’ll start to like them!

ROSS GOULD

COACHING

COMPRESS Lauren Mitchell has created a straight line with er right leg and left lower leg

CORNER

DAVE BLACK

A

But she changed in Photo B!

Can you find 10 differences? B

What’s the
Difference?

Photo A is the original of

2009 World Champion
Bridget Sloan of the USA.

1. Rubber band missing on rightarm;2. Leftgrip strap has 3 stripes; 3. Rightgrip straploop missing; 4. Leftar m rubber band nottwisted; 5. Leftglove wrinkle missing; 6. D o w el missing; 7. Extra ro w ofrhinestones onleo; 8. U S A missing on shoulder; 9. Loose hair missing belo w ear; 10. M orelighthairs above ear.