Gymnasts wear coats too

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Recognize these bundled-up athletes in front of Mt. Rushmore?

You’re more used to seeing them in leotards or shorts, mostly barefoot and usually encased in a cloud of chalk dust.

But that’s not chalk, it’s snow, and some of them are members of the 2008 U.S. men’s and women’s gymnastics team. Name them before skipping down to the next paragraph. No cheating.

OK, give yourself a gold medal if you got this right. Front row, left to right: Samantha Peszek, gold medal all-around winner Nastia Liukin, all-around silver medalist Shawn Johnson and Justin Spring; back row, left to right, Ivan Ivankov, Paul Hamm, Steven Disson and Raj Bhavsar.

Ivankov is from Belarus and is a two-time world champion who recently joined the Illinois men’s team coaching coach after Jon Valdez stepped down in the wake of police charges that he had illegally videotaped gymnasts in the locker room.

Disson is producer of the Progressive Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular that will be on NBC Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. PST. These lucky gymnasts, less accustomed to the ice than, oh, the skaters, looked pretty chilly in Rapid City, S.D., where the show was taped.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo cortesy of Disson Skating