Ashley Postell isn’t the only member of the Utah Utes with an eye on trying for Beijing. International Gymnast Magazine writer John Crumlish reported this week that Postell’s teammate Daria Bijak, a German native who’s now a sophomore at Utah, may also go for the 2008 Games.
“[2008] is still my goal and I am working towards it, but I think the most important thing for me is to stay healthy,” said Bijak, who will turn 22 on November 12. “I’ve had quite a few injuries in the past four years. So I guess only time will tell.”
Daria Bijak, 2007 NCAA Championships Team Prelims, Uneven Bars:
She’d make a nice addition to a German team whose fortunes have been rising, bolstered perhaps by having their country host the 2007 World Championships and their 10th place team finish there. The German men fared better. International Gymnast’s cover story this month is all about the charming and confident Fabian Hambuchen, who has matured into one of the best in the world.
Hambuchen, who just turned 20 and is enjoying his celebrity and standing among the best of the best, seems like he’s got a great future in the sport. In 2006, Hambuchen was named male Gymnast of the Year by the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Uzbec transplant Oksana Chusovitina is admired for her longevity, but the German women don’t really have a star like Hambuchen. German women who appear to be a lock for Beijing barring injury are Chusovitina, who deserves a gold medal just for hanging out in the sport as long as she has, and Marie-Sophie Hindermann, who made a wonderful impression in Stuttgart with her clean, fluid bar routine.
Imagine if Jana Bieger, who holds dual citizenship, went to compete for Germany. She’d not only make the team — something that’s by no means certain as long as she’s representing the United States — she’d do wonders for its standing.
Bijak isn’t the only German with a Utah connection. Graduated senior Gritt Hofmann, then 25, enchanted the crowd during the 2006 NCAA Championships in Corvallis with a terrific Riverdance floor routine that anchored Utah’s second-place effort. Hofmann was on the German national team from 1994 to 2001. In addition, former Ute Angelika Schatton competed for Germany at the 1994 World Championships.
Tags: Ashley Postell, Marie-Sophie Hindermann, Gritt Hofmann, Oksana Chusovitina, Daria Bijak, Angelika Schatton, Jana Bieger
November 8, 2007 at 5:51 pm |
[...] Blythe at the Gymblog reported on Daria Bijak, who now competes for the University of Utah. Apparently she, like her teammate Ashley Postell, [...]