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At the world championships in Glasgow, Scotland, in October, U.S. national champion Simone Biles took an uncharacteristic step on her vault landing. She had a major wobble during her beam routine. She landed out of bounds on floor.It was neither her cleanest performance nor her most dominant, yet she won by 1.083 points over her teammate, defending Olympic all-around champ Gabby Douglas. It was Biles third consecutive world title and her biggest margin of victory. In the past decade, an American gymnast has held the world all-around title seven times.To say the U.S. is dominating womens gymnastics is like saying Serena Williams is having a respectable career. In the two decades since the Magnificent Seven became the first U.S. team to win an Olympic team gold in 1996, the American womens team has finished in the top three at every Olympics -- and the 2004, 2008 and 2012 individual all-around gold medalists were Americans. In Rio, the American women will compete routines and vaults so weighted in difficulty that it is plausible for them to have multiple falls and still secure a dominant team victory.As we prepare to watch the five-woman U.S. team compete in Rio, we take a look at four of the reasons for the dramatic shift in gymnastics dominance and ask if the rest of the world will ever catch up.1. The breakup of the Soviet UnionMost gymnastics experts point to one world event as being the most influential in reshaping the landscape of the sport: the dissolution of the Soviet Union, once home to the most dominant gymnastics program in the world. From 1952 to 1992, the Soviet Union won every Olympic team gold except one, when the Soviets boycotted the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. (In 1992, 12 of the 15 former Soviet republics competed as the Unified Team and won gold.)As athletes departed for their respective republics in the early 90s, the powerhouse Soviet team was diluted, and eventually the programs of once dominant eastern European teams faced the same hardship. Coaches from Russia, Romania and Ukraine left for the U.S. and western European countries such as France and Italy in search of more opportunities and better-paying jobs. The most significant line in that story came when Bela and Martha Karolyi defected to the United States from Romania in 1981.2. The semi-centralized national team training programI dont know if there has been a system that was as well thought out, NBC analyst Tim Daggett said of the U.S. national program, which has been run by the Karolyis since 1999. In the past, the dominant teams were those with centralized programs, and everyone thought that was best.The problem with centralized programs, Dagget said, is motivation. It is difficult to keep athletes motivated inside a bubble, when they train in the same place with the same coaches beside the same gymnasts day in and day out for years.With the U.S. womens teams semi-centralized program, they get together on a regular basis, but there is always a freshness to it, he said. Its motivating to the athletes and their coaches, and when they go back to their home gyms, the amount of knowledge that transfers from gymnast to gymnast and coach to coach is amazing.That spread of information and training techniques means Olympic-caliber gymnasts no longer have to leave their homes and families to train with Olympic-caliber coaches. Aimee Boorman, who was recently named head coach of the U.S. Olympic team, is bringing her first elite gymnast in Biles, and Maggie Haney will do the same with 16-year-old Laurie Hernandez, the first elite gymnast to train at her gym.This is what we want, to educate, said national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, who is retiring after Rio. To pick up young kids and expose them to the expectations for world-class gymnasts. Laurie [Hernandez] doesnt feel so intimidated because she was part of the training camps and her coach comes to the program. Now she has international experience that is good for her coaching and her gym. We also coach the coaches.3. The massive number of gymnastics clubs in the U.S.After the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, little girls across the U.S. wanted to be Mary Lou Retton, the first American gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal. To accommodate that interest, gymnastics centers began cropping up across the country.When I started gymnastics, there was no gym in my area, said Kathy Johnson Clarke, a former Olympian and commentator for the SEC Network. I had to move away from home to train.Today, there are more than 175 gymnastics clubs in Florida, where Clarke grew up.There are more quality gyms that can develop an athlete now, Clarke said. We have that system in place, and its taken our sport to a whole new level.In other words, while coaching and training techniques improved, the talent pool deepened. Today, there are more than 2,000 gymnastics clubs around the country training upwards of five million kids. The chance, then, of a future Simone Biles or Gabby Douglas walking into a gym is much larger than in countries with inadequate grassroots programs.Just at our gym in Norman, Oklahoma, we have 1,500 kids and 35 coaches, and if we never put a kid on a national team, it is still a good business, and parents feel their kids got a quality experience, said Olympic gold medalist Bart Conner, who, along with his wife, Nadia Comaneci, runs the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy. European coaches come here, and they look around the gym for the best one or two athletes. In the U.S., we work with everyone. There arent grassroots programs left in those former powerhouse countries. There is no feeder system, and now were seeing the results of that. We could have predicted this shift 30 years ago.4. The open-ended scoring systemIn 2006, the 10-point judging system was dropped in favor of the current Code of Points, which was created in response to several judging controversies at the Athens Olympics and intended to make judging less subjective.In the new open-ended scoring, each element is assigned a point value and connections between skills increase that value, which places a premium on power and difficulty.When they went to the open-ended scoring system, the genie came out of the bottle, and good luck putting it back in, Johnson Clarke said. You would be crazy to not jam-pack your routine with as much difficulty as possible to elevate that area of the scoring.That is exactly what the U.S. women have often done.In Simones third tumbling pass, she does what many men do in their opening pass, Johnson Clarke said. She is an extraordinary physical talent, and then you add using the Code of Points to her benefit, and shes made herself untouchable. She can make mistakes and still be points ahead. Thats unfortunate. I dont think they had that in mind when they changed the Code of Points. Im sure other countries are trying to find and develop that type of athletic component in their gymnastics. We are just so way ahead.The Code rewards power skills, which the U.S. has been known for since the days of Retton. That also opens the sport to more body types and more mature gymnasts. Just look at this years squad: They are muscular and powerful, and the average age on the U.S. team is 19.2. Three-time defending world champion Simone Biles is 19. Aly Raisman, who returns for her second straight Olympics, is 22. Douglas, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, is 20. For comparison, the average age of the 1996 Magnificent Seven squad was 17.7.But Daggett insists that while the Code favors the type of athlete the U.S. currently boasts, if the Code changed tomorrow, those same gymnasts would still rule the podium: They could completely rewrite the rules, and if the same effort and work ethic and dedication continued, this group of girls would be just as dominant.However, he cautions, nothing lasts forever.Dynasties always fall, he said. I dont know how it can happen when I look at the U.S. relative to everyone else, but Im not foolish enough to not recognize that whoever is on top doesnt always stay on top.For now, the U.S. program is so strong that its gymnasts will likely remain on top, even if they fall in competition. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Marc Gasol Jersey . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Jodie-Meeks-Jersey/ . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Kyle Lowry Jersey . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Serge Ibaka Raptors Jersey . Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach. BEREA, Ohio -- Josh Gordons return to the Cleveland Browns practice field was not exactly stressful.Gordon did not take part in any team drills and participated only in the initial individual work, catching passes without defenders.After practice, coach Hue Jackson said Gordon will not play in the preseason game Thursday night against Atlanta. That didnt stop Gordon from vowing he can be the same guy he was in 2013 when he led the NFL in receiving yards while playing 14 games.Im definitely the same guy, he said Monday. Im confident in my abilities. I know what I can do. Just given the opportunity and the right timing, right position and the relying on the rest of the team as much as they rely on me, its a great boost of motivation, and anything is possible for anybody.But I definitely am aware of what I can do, and I think I can build upon that and do even better.Lofty words from a guy who went through his first practice since Dec. 26, 2014, on Monday. On Dec. 27, Gordon missed the final walk-through before the 2014 season finale and was suspended. A few months later, he was suspended for the entire 2015 season for violating the NFLs substance abuse policy.Thats 600 days without practicing, a long time for anyone. And it has many wondering what kind of player Gordon will be, including his teammates.Ill be tuning in just like you guys will, wide receiver Andrew Hawkins said. Josh is an incredible talent. He has incredible ability. I dont know if Id be able to sit oout two years and come back at a high level.dddddddddddd Im not going to count that out of Josh because Im not the freakish athlete like Josh is.Gordon faces a four-game suspension at the start of the 2016 regular season, but the NFL is allowing him to participate in team activities during the ban.Jackson and Art Briles, Gordons college coach at Baylor, both said Gordon had to lose weight. In practice, he looked a little thick around the middle but did not look to be in bad shape, either. Hes listed at 225 pounds.I kind of set my own goal in my head of what I used to play at, Gordon said. But I feel just as strong, just as fast as I felt before, if not stronger, if not faster. So well see how my production is, and well go from there once they evaluate and get some stuff on film. Ill be able to tell how I feel.Gordons biggest challenge is getting back into the physical elements of the game. The daily grind, the hitting, the competition, the physical challenge. Coaches always say that training is not the same as football training. Gordon has been training, but he has been away from the game for almost 20 months.Which is why Jackson wont force anything. He said the team will continue to work its process. Jackson must balance preparing Gordon and getting him in shape with the realization that Gordon will be suspended the first four games. ' ' '