Al Fong has continued to be bitter over the last minute drop of his gymnast Brenna Dowell at the World Championships. He took to his blog once again to vent his anger. It seems that Dowell was offered three international assignments but Fong has turned them down:
Everyone agrees Brenna should have been selected to compete and it was her fans’ loss including the USA that she wasn’t allowed to do so.
What’s next?
Even though she was offered two World Cup assignments and the Mexico Invitational in November and December, we turned them all down because…..what’s the point. We were preparing her for Worlds and she was peaking beautifully on her way to a medal on Bars. The physical and mental toll is hard to imagine. By accepting any of those assignments would have meant no down time to rest the body and soul. It’s not smart coaching to keep an athlete at high intensity for 3 months straight and continue to train for another month without a break. But that’s what the USAG was asking her to do.
Sorry USAG. You had your chance to let Brenna represent you proudly. Now it’s time for a much needed break.
Read more from Al Fong’s blog here. Do you think he was right to turn down these international assignments for his gymnast? Leave a comment below.