Never mind that his father is in a bit of trouble: The present is an excellent time to revisit the wonderful high bar work of current Spanish Gymnastics Federation President Jesus Carballo Martinez. (Check it out here.)
Carballo Martinez, the 1996 World champion on high bar, flew through a special release move named after him, making his routine look like nobody else's. His longevity was impressive -- he was a mainstay on the Spanish team for nearly 10 years, and competed at two Olympic Games, in 1996 and 2004.
In 1999 at the International Three-on-Three in the U.S., he unveiled -- and fell on -- what appeared to be a stoop to Liukin (inbar stalder to immediate layout Tkatchev with a full twist). Not too many videos of him in competition afterward exist, so I'm not sure if he ever successfully competed it.
What sets Carballo apart on this event is something you see from a lot of Spanish gymnasts, both women on uneven bars and men on high bar: impeccably clean, crisp lines on stalders. Even the great high bar workers of today (and they are great) cannot boast of this.
Carballo was elected President of the Spanish Gymnastics Federation in 2010. His brother Manuel also had a full career on the Spanish national team.
More Routine of the Day articles are here.
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