Team Final Superlatives

Best Routine: McKayla Maroney, Vault

Maroney justified her placement on this team with the most flat out amazing Amanar I think anyone's ever seen. Height, flight, effortless twisting, and a perfect landing. Jawdroppingly gorgeous, where on Earth those judges found any deductions is a mystery to me.


Most Horrifying Moment: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Floor

Russia's team leader executed the best floor routine of the night...until she crashed her last pass to her head. Unable to hold back her tears as she saluted the judges, the devastation running through the Russian camp at this last, defining moment of defeat was agonizing to watch.

Most Underscored Routine: Ksenia Afanasyeva, Beam

After two very shaky Russian routines, Afanasyeva calmly and coolly executed the best beam of her life. The quality of her work stood out, not just among her nervous teammates, but among the field at large. However, the judges awarded her a sub 15 score, lower than her less fluent qualifications routine, and just where they found those deductions I'd like to know. If you want an example of everything that's wrong with this code, wrap your heads around the fact that Raisman's routine, with its lack of expression, flexibility or anything approaching the "artistic", complete with weak (for her) dismount, STILL SCORED HIGHER than Afanasyeva's work. Absolutely fucking ridiculous.


Most Impressive Comeback: Team Canada

Canada was almost entirely written off after the loss of the great Peng Peng Lee to injury, with many people predicting they wouldn't even qualify to the TF. Indeed, they just squeezed past Australia and Germany in qualifications, but they came to play at the final, especially on vault and floor. A 5th place finish is a superb result for the Canadian program, which was taking part in its first team final ever.

Notes on Qualifications, or HOLY WHAT?

Man, and I thought the men's qualifications were off the chain. Let's break down the surprises and shocks of WAG qualifications:

1.) NO JORDYN WIEBER. 

Honestly, did anyone see this coming? If so, please tell me next week's lottery numbers and where I can best go panning for gold.

After handling the pressure of being the defending AA champion in an Olympic year quite easily at Olympic Trials, US Championships, etc. Wieber qualified as the third American gymnast, blowing a crater into the race for AA gold. After being largely overshadowed all season as an all-arounder, Aly Raisman placed second in qualifications to beat Wieber out of a spot. She even beat Gabby Douglas for the top American position in quals! I mean, you can't make this up!

And not to say I told you so, but I KNEW Jordyn's beam composition was going to come back to haunt her. She was only credited with a 6.0 in qualifications after being given a 6.4 at USA Nationals for connections that she simply was not making. This is why I will never understand the generous national scoring in the USA- it creates a false reality and set of expectations around a gymnast. Much like Kyla Ross's ridiculously low floor difficulty, her beam set was an ongoing problem that could have been fixed, but wasn't.

2.) Deng Linlin = China's Second All-Arounder

Again, who thought this was going to happen? Not only is Yao Jinnan out of the AA thanks to painful troubles on vault and beam (how this poor athlete is going to get through the TF, I've no idea. Call Juang Yuyuan, China!), but Linlin beat her more heralded teammate, Huang Quishuang, as China's top qualifier. She had apparently been struggling with a sore back in training, so good on you Linlin!

3.) Event Finals Shockers

My predictions for floor are pretty much out the window, as Larisa Iordache botched her third pass to score in the high 13's (13's! For a Romanian on floor!). Not to be outdone, Sui Lu botched two passes and didn't qualify. Meanwhile, Afanasyeva watered down her routine and still placed 4th, and Raisman received what I'd describe as the world's most generous D score to place first in quals. Plus, Mustafina made it over Grishina! Yeah, sure, why not?

Beam was similarly nuts. Ponor had a shaky routine for her and just squeaked in, Iordache won't be there, but Didi Bulimar who Romania probably should have put up on floor, and may be in TF, is going to be there, after a very solid routine. Douglas, of all people, is going to be there as the second American and placed third! Afanasyeva is going to be there! The entire lineup comes from the top 4 teams, something I actually did get right.

I have one thing to say about bars- Grishina got a lower score than Raisman. In what fucked up universe is that a thing? Tweddle knocked it out of the park, as did the Chinese and Mustafina/Komova. Everyone else should just be happy to be there.

The biggest and best thing about vault finals would have to be Maria Paseka doing two good vaults and putting herself in bronze medal position, putting a Russian in every event final. 

4.) Russia keeps it close

Grishina's miss on bars was their biggest issue all day- Mustafina can do better on beam, and Komova kept up her streak of being subpar on floor, but they kept it close. Very close. Despite what NBC and the American media have been telling you, if Russia can handle their business, this is not going to be an easy, no-brainer win for the USA.

5.) Romania melts down

After the horrendous performance of the Chinese on floor, 3rd place in qualifications was Romania's to lose, and lose it they did. With their bars, misses on floor from Iordache and Ponor and a sub-par beam rotation are just not going to cut it at ALL. If you're going to suck on one event, you best get your shit together for the ones you are good at. Considering how weak the Chinese looked, the failure of Romania to capitalize on their errors is pretty shocking.

London 2012: Beam

More so than any apparatus, the lineup for the beam final could go a variety of different ways, simply because it is the most unpredictable. Depending on what happens in prelims, we could see a number of different lineups, especially from nations with a couple of viable candidates.

The one nation whose lineup is essentially locked is Romania. Larisa Iordache and Catalina Ponor, for my money, are the two gymnasts most likely to take gold because they combine huge difficulty with unshakable consistency. Ponor in particular has been an absolute beast on beam since her return, and I'm picturing her just pipping her teammate for the gold, especially if she pulls out her full twisting double dismount.

I've always been a huge Catalina fan, and her comeback has been sheer joy to watch- if she was to cap it off to a return to the top of the podium, it would be a fitting climax. Iordache is certainly capable of reaching the top of the podium as well- she's got a massive D score, and if she can put all her connections together, she'll be very tough to top.

China's lineup, on the other hand, is much more up in the air. They should easily qualify 2 competitors to the final, but who they are will completely depend on quals. Sui Lu should be considered a lock, but she has been more inconsistent on beam than on floor. Her complete and utter meltdown at the Test Event certainly shook up the perception that she got her shit together in Tokyo, but she is the defending World Champion, with a very difficult routine when she gets it right.

Deng Linlin is China's most consistent performer- as a multiple World medalist, she's earned her beam stripes, and is capable of scoring in the low 15s. She could easily be the second Chinese finalist, but she'll have to battle it out with Yao Jinnan, who was 2nd in Tokyo, but is a bit more inconsistent. She won't have forgotten that she could have been a World AA gold medalist had she not fallen off beam. It's also possible that Quishuang will sneak in there, but her routine is really reliant on connection bonuses that she doesn't always complete, and she'd need a bit of help from her teammates to make the final.

Russia and Romania select Olympic teams

Russia is, as expected, Mustafina, Komova, Grishina, Paseka and Afanasyeva.

This is a team with perhaps stronger individual hopes than team prospects, although if they all have a good day at the TF, they will be challenging for the top spot. Mustafina, Grishina and Komova alone are three of the best all-around gymnasts in the sport today. They have the skills and the difficulty, but the question with team Russia is always this; will they be able to put it all together when the moment comes? I certainly hope so.

As far as individual medals are concerned, Russia has the potential to dominate every apparatus but vault. Afanasyeva and Grishina should make floor finals, Mustafina and Komova bars, and a combination of Komova, Mustafina and Grishina on beam. The talent is certainly there for this to be a repeat of the 2000 event finals, where Russia won 3 out of the 4 golds on offer. Komova and Mustafina are also definitely threats for AA medals if they both upgrade to Amanars. Komova has been competing Amanars successfully in internal test events, and no one should put it past Mustafina to have one in her back pocket either.

Romania did throw a slight surprise into the mix with their team selection, taking Diana Chelaru instead of Raluca Haidu, along with the quartet of locks, Sandra Izbasa, Diana Bulimar, Larisa Iordache and Catalina Ponor. Haidu would have only been used on bars as the Romanian version of a bars specialist in the TF, and Chelaru is useable on bars and floor (and vault as a last resort because her form is eeeesh). Izbasa actually put together a decent bars set at the Romanian International Friendly, so theoretically either she or Chelaru could lead the team off on bars, followed by Bulimar and Iordache.

The individual hopes for this team are many and varied as well. Iordache should be considered the frontrunner for the AA if she throws the Amanar she's been training. Even without it, she's in the medal hunt. The girl is insanely consistent with massive difficulty; basically, she's ideal for this code and what it asks for. I find her an infinitely more palatable gold medal prospect than Wieber or Douglas- and how amazing would it be for Romania to end this quad on top, after all their turmoil and trials since 2004?

Izbasa is definitely a contender for a vault medal (though she'd need help from Maroney to win gold). Ponor, Izbasa and Iordache should all be in the floor final- stupid two per country rule. Any of them could win gold. Iordache and Ponor are certainly co-favorites for the beam gold, along with the Chinese duo of Jinnan and Lu.

As far as team prospects go, if Romania does indeed get an Amanar from Iordache, plus Izbasa's Mustafina (I have serious doubts about that Cheng seeing the competition floor, but it could happen) and a solid DTY from Ponor, plus their insanely good beam/floor rotation, they will be well positioned for a medal, possibly even gold if the USA or Russia slip up. Romania is expert at taking advantage of others' mistakes, and they have the talent and consistency to make it happen.

Let there be Romanian upgrades

As reported by The Couch Gymnast and others, the Romanian team has been working hard on some serious vaulting.

Sandra Izbasa is seen training a Cheng, and Larisa training an Amanar in this video:

I mean, awesome right? There are a few universal rules of gymnastics, and one of them is to never count Romania out in an Olympic year. Never, ever.

Ever.

PS Larisa Iordache should be the one to bet on in the AA, guys. Watch your back Jordyn.

Suck it, haters

This is how you recover from a bad meet.

But congrats to Romania! A well-deserved win, and a thriller of a competition.

European Qualifications

Well, what a shit show that was for Russia, and for Mustafina in particular. It's no secret that I'm rooting for Aliya to win gold in London, but today was not her finest hour by a long shot. 1 out of 3 events two months before the Olympics is concerning, but considering the last time she was at Europeans she blew out her knee, I wouldn't call it an apocalyptic moment. I'd certainly rather have her melt down today than in Olympic qualifications.

I am still completely convinced that she's got it in her, though, and while there are plenty of people calling this a sign of Dobre-itis (namely, how a major injury can take the spark out of a gymnast) I think that's way too early to call. Gym fans are so fickle (Aunt Joyce is one of the worst, tbh, though their commentary can be divine. See also their feelings towards Liukin, Nastia), that it doesn't shock me that a lot of people are taking this as a sign of doom.

Personally, I have faith in Aliya. This may prove to be misguided, but I sincerely hope not.

As far as those other Russians go, Grishina hit 3 for 4, which is about par for the course for her, and still managed to qualify 2nd in the unofficial all-around...so not an entirely disastrous day for her. Sidorova has proven herself a very steady beam worker, something Russia could really use, but imploded on floor. Paseka is entirely unremarkable, if you ask me, and Komova nailed bars but was wobble city on beam- better than Tokyo, but still not as good as her junior days.

Romania, on the other hand, rocked the house. Not a missed routine, and Iordache and Ponor were in especially stellar form. Iordache was the top all-around contender, breaking the 60 point margin, and killing it on floor and beam especially. If that girl can get herself an Amanar, I would probably put her at the top of my AA contender list, over any Russian and American you care to name. Even without one, her difficulty and consistency definitely makes her a podium contender. There's a spark to her gymnastics on every event that is a rare and wonderful quality.

Romania, unlike Russia, has dealt pretty well with their overall lack of depth. Bulimar has grown a lot since worlds in terms of her consistency, her bars routine and her steadiness on beam, making her, aside from vaulting, a pretty good Izbasa substitute. Izbasa only competed on vault in quals, which I think was a smart move. Ponor is the baddest most fabulous beam worker out there, if you ask me, and her value to this team is astronomical. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the team Romania took to Euros turns out to be their Olympic team. Chelaru at this stage brings way less to the table than Haidu, despite her international experience, and unless she can add a point's worth of execution to her bars routine in the next 2 months, she'll be the alternate.

Aside from these two teams, the highlight of these Euro quals for me was the return of Livchikova of Ukraine. Even though she's not eligible to head to the Olympics, her delightful floor routine and original combinations on beam make her one of my favorite gymnasts in the sport today, a reminder of how expressive and beautiful gymnastics can truly be. Thrilled that we'll be seeing her in floor finals!

Worlds are coming! Random thoughts ahoy!

I love reading the training reports from The Couch Gymnast and Blythe. It just gets me even more psyched.

USA of course is looking strongest thus far. I am basically resigned to the idea that they're going to win the Team gold barring a complete meltdown, even though their work is so soulless (exceptions being McKayla's vault, Gabby's bars, and not much else). 

I haven't heard much about Team China's training, but I am excited to see how this intriguing mix of newbies and veterans copes with the pressure. You can just never count on China to hit, no matter what you see in training, but still, they have some gorgeous athletes in Tokyo.

I would love it if Ukraine's Mariya Livchikova could bring home some hardware on floor. Ukraine has had SUCH a rough go of it since 1996, it would be delightful if she could make a big impact here.

Finally, Catalina Ponor: world gold medalist at last? It could happen on beam this year. Fingers crossed!

Worlds teams, part 2

With China announcing their lineup for Tokyo today, we're just waiting on Romania and the USA to complete the big 4 teams.

The USA girls will be back for a round 2 of camps with Marta K next week, to finalize Worlds and Pan Ams selection. Bridget Sloan being around has got a lot of people buzzing about the possibility of her sneaking on to yet another major squad. History does have a tendency to repeat itself, and Sloan is a former World AA champ and a strong bars worker. Like Chellsie, she's not someone you'd count out of anything.

Both Romania and the US are alike in that so much of their selection buzz is surrounding finding someone- anyone- who can swing bars worth a damn in a World Championship. Ana Porgras and Amelia Racea have decent sets, but that third spot is just a nightmare for Romania.

I wouldn't be surprised if Gabriela Dragoi takes it: she has lots of competition experience and a good beam set that can be used in prelims if necessary.

Honestly, I really am pulling for Romania this year, but it'll take some serious screw-ups from Russia and the USA for them to win the team final. However, in terms of individual medals, they've got loads of opportunities. I'm particularly excited to see Izbasa and Ponor take another run at winning a Worlds' gold.

My personal gym highlights and lowlights: Part one- the beam

One of the oldest, most oft-repeated chestnuts about gymnastics is also one of the truest- beam is the great leveler. Every twitch of your nerves is visible, every split-second of self-doubt can manifest itself into one of those wobbles that make the audience catch their breath and Elfi say "ooh, a little balance check there". It's perhaps this heightened sense of nervous energy, within the gymnast and the viewer, that makes great beam routines so exhilarating, and bad ones so painful to watch. Here are some of my personal stand-out beam routines- for a variety of reasons:

Chellsie Memmel, Olympic Trials day 2, 2008: So close and yet so far

I've always been a Chellsie fan. You can't help but feel for her terrible injury timing around the Olympics, especially her ankle injury in 2008 JUST she was looking so sharp after recovering from yet ANOTHER injury. This beam routine has it all- great pace, great variety of skills, incredible difficulty, and a stuck dismount. It's a memorable routine not just for its stand-alone excellence, but because of the "what might have been" feeling I get every time I revisit it.