Of all the WAG apparatus, this event is the most cut and dry in terms of medal prospects- there are so few gymnasts training two vaults at this stage, there are hardly enough to make up a final.
A slight wrench has just been thrown into what should be the easiest gold medal to predict in all of WAG- McKayla Maroney reportedly has suffered a broken toe during her training, but during podium sessions today appeared mostly unaffected by the injury. If her health remains stable, she is the firm favorite for gold.
The other main contenders for vault are as follows:
Sandra Izbasa: The two time European champion is, funnily enough, more likely to medal on vault than floor, the apparatus she is best known for, and where she is the defending Olympic champion. Sandra threw her Cheng today in podium training, and even without it she has a powerful DTY and solid Mustafina. With her good execution and fairly even start values, she has a great shot at the podium.
Oksana Chusovitina: Gymnastics' grand dame is in what will probably be her last Olympics, and there's really not much left to say about her outstanding career. It would be wonderful to see her make the podium one last time.
Janine Berger: The first year German senior actually defeated Chuso at German Nationals this year, and has been throwing 6.3 and 6.0 vaults, which actually gives her a higher start value than Izbasa without her Cheng. Berger is definitely my dark horse pick for a vaulting medal, if she can hold her nerve in her first major international competition.
Valeria Maksyuta: Vaulting was what helped this experienced Israeli gymnast make the Olympics at the Test Event. She just missed out on a vaulting medal at Euros this year, and it would be great to see her make a final after all the drama with her simply qualifying to the Games!
Giulia Steingruber: According to podium training reports, Giulia was looking very solid on vault today. She has a very powerful first vault, but her second isn't quite as strong. Nevertheless, she's got an excellent chance to make the finals, and could sneak into the medal picture if some of the favorites falter.
Yamilet Pena: One of the biggest wildcards in this final, and frankly in all of gymnastics, is Pena and her Produnova. We've all watched her attempt this massively difficult vault through our fingers, but if she could actually land it in a final, it would be incredible, even if she didn't win a medal. It's one of the most exciting pieces of gymnastics being attempted today, but I still cringe when I see her running towards the vault.
Maria Paseka: Frankly, it's MUCH more important that Paseka can just hit an Amanar in the TF for Team Russia, but it would be a nice bonus if she could make the final for the one event she was brought to London for.
Anastasia Grishina: Nastia is another athlete with lower start values but beautiful execution. With her slight leg injury earlier in the season, I'm not sure if she's still seriously training two vaults.
Ellie Black: This Canadian star burst onto the scene this year with unique skills on floor, vault and beam, and is, along with Victoria Moors on floor, Canada's best shot at an event finals slot. Her Rudi is just as powerful as Steingruber's but her execution is not always the strongest.
Medal Predictions:
Gold: McKayla Maroney
Silver: Sandra Izbasa
Bronze: Janine Berger
If I ruled the world...more gymnasts would train two vaults and there would be more landings like this:
A slight wrench has just been thrown into what should be the easiest gold medal to predict in all of WAG- McKayla Maroney reportedly has suffered a broken toe during her training, but during podium sessions today appeared mostly unaffected by the injury. If her health remains stable, she is the firm favorite for gold.
The other main contenders for vault are as follows:
Sandra Izbasa: The two time European champion is, funnily enough, more likely to medal on vault than floor, the apparatus she is best known for, and where she is the defending Olympic champion. Sandra threw her Cheng today in podium training, and even without it she has a powerful DTY and solid Mustafina. With her good execution and fairly even start values, she has a great shot at the podium.
Oksana Chusovitina: Gymnastics' grand dame is in what will probably be her last Olympics, and there's really not much left to say about her outstanding career. It would be wonderful to see her make the podium one last time.
Janine Berger: The first year German senior actually defeated Chuso at German Nationals this year, and has been throwing 6.3 and 6.0 vaults, which actually gives her a higher start value than Izbasa without her Cheng. Berger is definitely my dark horse pick for a vaulting medal, if she can hold her nerve in her first major international competition.
Valeria Maksyuta: Vaulting was what helped this experienced Israeli gymnast make the Olympics at the Test Event. She just missed out on a vaulting medal at Euros this year, and it would be great to see her make a final after all the drama with her simply qualifying to the Games!
Giulia Steingruber: According to podium training reports, Giulia was looking very solid on vault today. She has a very powerful first vault, but her second isn't quite as strong. Nevertheless, she's got an excellent chance to make the finals, and could sneak into the medal picture if some of the favorites falter.
Yamilet Pena: One of the biggest wildcards in this final, and frankly in all of gymnastics, is Pena and her Produnova. We've all watched her attempt this massively difficult vault through our fingers, but if she could actually land it in a final, it would be incredible, even if she didn't win a medal. It's one of the most exciting pieces of gymnastics being attempted today, but I still cringe when I see her running towards the vault.
Anastasia Grishina: Nastia is another athlete with lower start values but beautiful execution. With her slight leg injury earlier in the season, I'm not sure if she's still seriously training two vaults.
Ellie Black: This Canadian star burst onto the scene this year with unique skills on floor, vault and beam, and is, along with Victoria Moors on floor, Canada's best shot at an event finals slot. Her Rudi is just as powerful as Steingruber's but her execution is not always the strongest.
Medal Predictions:
Gold: McKayla Maroney
Silver: Sandra Izbasa
Bronze: Janine Berger
If I ruled the world...more gymnasts would train two vaults and there would be more landings like this:
No comments:
Post a Comment