 By Caroline and Meredith. |
By Caroline and Meredith. |
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Daniele Hypolito profile (part 2).
Nonetheless her apprenticeship continued, and more medals came to her on the Panamerican circuit. Daniele trains hard under the guidance of Georgette, who freely admits to being a very exacting coach. Daniele works for up to seven hours per day, only relaxing on Thursday afternoons and Sundays. In 1999 at Tianjin, her first World Championships, she achieved a highly promising 27th place. At Sydney she climbed the ladder once more and placed 20th, a remarkable performance for a gymnast taking part without a team. Daniele though believes she could have done better. She was one of the many gymnasts penalised by a vault that was set at the wrong height, but due to a misunderstanding she was not allowed to re-vault. What's more, her Olympic preparation was greatly disturbed by the internal misunderstandings in her own federation.  On the eve of the World Championships at Ghent, although not yet revered by the general public, Hypolito was no longer an unknown in the eyes of the judges. All agreed on her exceptional athletic abilities; her dynamism, her phenomenal power. On floor - her best piece - she can do almost any tumble, having mastered all directions: backward tumbling (double straight), front tumbling (double arabian), and twisting (a superb triple twist). Her problem isn't attaining a start value of 10.00, but of learning how to "catch the imagination with an expression that no one else has. I'm looking for that extra little touch which will distinguish me from the others in the eyes of the judges." It's true that artistically her routine isn't the prettiest although in the past few years she has made enormous progress. That is doubtless connected to her twice daily sessions at the dance barre. Yet again it is Georgette, a former dancer, who gives ballet lessons. When the means are available, the club also uses the services of Ukrainian and Romanian choreographers. The pocket-sized gymnast does not only excel on the floor exercise, but has a 10.00 start value on beam and in the long-term could become one of the best in the world on that piece. In any case, this is what her trainers are hoping for, and for the moment they are accentuating her work on both pieces. |
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