The showdown really wasn't supposed to come this early in the season. But Jordyn Wieber's first matchup against Aliya Mustafina is here, and her coach isn't flinching about it.
I had a brief chat with John Geddert earlier this evening and asked about Wieber's preparations and how he felt about going against the reigning World champion during Wieber's first big meet as a senior. Here's what he had to say:
Q: Did you want her to go against Mustafina so early in her senior career?
Geddert: "Absolutely. We have nothing to lose. We're not supposed to beat the world champion, so we're in a win-win situation. We just go in, we just do our best and if we come up short, we come up short but hat's off to the world champion. But you know what? The way things are looking in practice, Huang Qiushuang, she's on point right now. She's gonna be no piece of cake. It's going to be a really good dogfight. And you know Aly Raisman, she's ready to play too."
Q: How satisfied have you been with Jordyn's training for this competition?
John Geddert: "Training has been very good. She had a great verification camp, some of her highest scores ever. We've added some new combinations, and anytime there's new stuff there's always that air of doubt, but she's been handling it well. We'll see. This American Cup field is obviously the toughest it's been in a long time, if not ever, so it's going to be a really, really exciting meet."
Q: There have been reports that Mustafina can be a bit of a handful in training. What's Jordyn like, from a coach's perspective?
Geddert: "She's pretty focused in the gym. She's all business when it comes to gymnastics. Outside of the gym she lightens up a little bit. She's got a good little personality. But when she's in the gym, she's there to do gymnastics and do it well. She's a little intense at times, gets down on herself a little bit, but that's what makes her who she is. I mean, she's not happy unless it's perfect, and that's the kind of kid you need: the kid with talent, and the one who wants to use it. And she combines both of those. So it's a good combination."
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