World

The Move That May Take Sunisa Lee’s Name

Published

2 years ago

July 28, 2024

The Move That May Take Sunisa Lee’s Name

Sunisa Lee, the defending Olympic all-around gold medalist and uneven bars bronze medalist, may attempt a new skill at the 2024 Paris Games.

The new element in her uneven bars routine is a release move in which a gymnast does a front flip and a full twist in the layout position. Lee is seeking to be the first woman ever to complete this move in international competition.

If she is able to do it at the Games, the skill — commonly known as a full-twisting Jaeger — would be christened “The Lee,” the first skill to be named after her in the sport’s Code of Points. A handful of skills tend to be named each year, but only a very small number of gymnasts will ever earn the distinction of a namesake.

“The Lee” would be one of the most difficult elements in women’s uneven bars. Let’s take a closer look at how she performs the move.

Each skill in the uneven bars event has a letter value indicating difficulty, starting with A and going through G, though Lee’s new skill has the potential to become an H.

Jaegers, named for Bernd Jäger, refer to a family of moves that consist of a 360-degree swing with a straight body on the high bar and a release into a front flip before catching the high bar again. They can be straddled (D), piked (D) or laid out (F).

The layout Jaeger is called a Cappuccitti (named for Stephanie Cappuccitti) and is rarely attempted in competition because of the difficulty of catching the bar. Lee’s move further increases the difficulty by adding a full twist.

Note: The Cappuccitti was performed by Luo Rui. The full-twisting Jaeger was performed by Sunisa Lee.

Imagery by International Gymnastics Federation (Rui); The New York Times (Lee)

What makes Lee’s move particularly striking is that she is not creating a variation on a different release skill called a Tkatchev, the route followed by most uneven bars innovators in recent years.

In the original version — named for the Soviet gymnast Aleksandr Tkatchev — the gymnast swings around the high bar with a straight body, releases it near the apex of the swing, flies backward over the bar with legs straddled, and rotates the upper body forward to catch the bar again.

Note: Performed by Gabby Douglas.

U.S.A. Gymnastics

The swing can be performed with five body positions, the flight can be performed with three body positions, and it is also possible to do a half-twist in the air. This means there are at least 30 permutations of the same root skill.

Six new Tkatchev variants have been named in the last four years alone.

While there are still some up for grabs, Lee chose to go a different route. It has been 18 years since anyone innovated on the Jaeger base. The Chinese gymnast Li Ya was the last, introducing a Jaeger with a half twist in 2006.

In January, Lee posted videos on Instagram showing her doing the new skill during a training session. It was a sign that she was getting back in form after facing serious health issues for much of last year.

Lee was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease, which caused severe swelling in her face, hands and legs, making it impossible to compete.

On her return to elite competition, she attempted the new skill at the Winter Cup in February but missed the element during her bars routine and fell.

Because of how difficult and risky the skill is, it is not certain whether Lee will attempt it with a medal on the line. But the Olympics in Paris will offer a chance to have the move named after her and to leave an indelible mark on the sport.

World

Venezuela releases all known American detainees after Maduro’s capture and government takeover

Published

3 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Venezuela releases all known American detainees after Maduro’s capture and government takeover

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All known American citizens being held in Venezuela have been released, the U.S. Embassy said Friday evening.

“We are pleased to confirm the release by the interim authorities of all known U.S. citizens held in Venezuela,” the embassy wrote on X. “Should you have information regarding any other U.S. citizens still detained, please contact American Citizen Services.”

No other details about the detainees were disclosed. Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department.

VENEZUELA’S DELCY RODRÍGUEZ SNAPS AT WASHINGTON, DECLARES ‘ENOUGH’ OF US INFLUENCE

Venezuelans burn a U.S. flag after the announcement of the U.S. attacks and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. government on Friday said all known Americans being detained in the country had been released. (Stringer/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Interim authorities have slowly released American detainees in the weeks since the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.

Both are being held in New York City on federal narco-terrorism charges.

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s interim government reported that 116 prisoners had been released, although only about 70 have been verified by the non-governmental organization Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón, according to Bloomberg.

STATE DEPT CONFIRMS ‘LIMITED NUMBER’ OF PERSONNEL IN CARACAS WORKING TO RESUME VENEZUELA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores parade in a military vehicle during celebrations for Independence Day in Caracas July 5, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)

Earlier this month, the U.S. government announced a travel alert advising against travel to the country. Americans in the country were advised to depart immediately.

“The security situation in Venezuela remains fluid. The U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, warns U.S. citizens not to travel to Venezuela, reiterating warnings against travel to Venezuela dating to 2019. As international flights have resumed, U.S. citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately.”

The country is being run by Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez, Maduro’s former lieutenant.

This week, Rodriguez signed a law overhauling the nation’s oil sector, opening it to privatization and reversing a core policy of the socialist government that has ruled Venezuela for more than two decades.

The State Department told Fox News a “limited number” of people are working on the ground in Venezuela. (Reuters)

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On Jan. 10, President Donald Trump said American energy companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s “rotting” oil infrastructure and push production to record levels.

World

Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

Published

5 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Press Room

Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians across Gaza, attacks reported in Rafah

Multiple attacks across the besieged enclave a day before Israel is expected to reopen the Rafah border crossing.

Published On 31 Jan 2026

At least 12 Palestinians, half of them children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip since dawn, a day before the Rafah crossing is due to reopen.

An Israeli air strike on Saturday on a tent sheltering displaced people in the al-Mawasi area to the northwest of Khan Younis city killed at least seven Palestinians, including three children, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

Rafah reopening

Residents in the border town of Rafah also reported several air attacks in areas under Israeli control. Israel is due to reopen the Rafah crossing, which links Gaza with Egypt, on Sunday for the first time since May 2024.

The opening of the key entry point is part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas. It was meant to open during the first phase of the ceasefire, but Israel refused to do so until the body of its last remaining captive was found.

Israel on Saturday said it would only allow a “limited movement of people” who have received security clearance by Israel to enter and exit. No aid or humanitarian supplies will be allowed to enter.

“Only those who fled during the past two years are allowed to come back,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud explained. “Those who are born outside the Gaza Strip are not going to be allowed to come back.”

Hamas responded to the Rafah announcement by calling for Israel to allow movement in and out of Gaza “without restrictions”, and urged it to adhere to all aspects of the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed more than 71,600 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

(Al Jazeera)

World

Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

Published

14 hours ago

January 30, 2026

Press Room

Video: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

new video loaded: Canada’s Prime Minister Meets ‘Heated Rivalry’ Star on Red Carpet

The actor Hudson Williams gave Prime Minister Mark Carney a fictional Canada Olympic Team fleece jacket that his character wore on “Heated Rivalry,” which has become a global phenomenon.

By Axel Boada

January 30, 2026