Wow. So I must say that I have heard a lot of comments about this Worlds being boring. Um….no. This was WAY better than 2005 (comparable because there is typically a bit of a lull the year following the Olympics) and I think the quality of gymnastics that we saw we typically much higher than what we usually see after the Olympics.
So let me just say that Worlds interrupted my life a little bit (and happily so). I was very behind in school work, forcing me to come home directly after the nail biting Gator Football game and write a paper. I watched the first night of EF until about 4am, and woke up at 7:45am to watch Day 2. I nodded off during parallel bars a little bit.
But here were the things that made me yell out loud.
1. Kayla Williams. Well, her life just changed. She will definitely be on the next world team. The first American woman to win a world vault title. But it’s not just that…..the quickness in which she has improved over the last few months is of Chellsie Memmel quality. I am also willing to nominate her in the gruop of “Best DTY Vaulters” because I have seen what….5 or 6 DTYs from her and she has stuck….well, like all of them! Hello the new Vanessa Atler (minus the nerves). Can we also talk about how awesome her attitude is? She is all business, and look at the way she runs off the podium when she is done, adorable. Then she fights back tears. Hello to one of my new favorites.
2. Beth Tweddle if this is your last competition I am glad it ends with a gold medal for you. Nice last pass. Sad she didn’t make bar finals.
3. Anna Myzdrikova would have beat Tweddle if not for that last pass. The whip double arabian was one of the best pieces of gymnastics I have seen in quite some time. (Or since Kayla’s DTY haha) The Triple back tuck combo is also something of great originality. I love this girl’s floor. I am sad she didn’t come away with a medal. But her awesome performances put hope into my, ‘Will the Russians reemerge as a gold medal threat?” i can wait and hope. bet you she will be on the World Team next year.
4. Ana Porgras is another person I am excited about. 3 EF’s and some really great style! Her Memmel turn on floor is amazing! Really excited about this girl’s future. How I wish she wouldn’t have fallen off the beam!
5. Yay for Marian Dragulescu winning two gold medals! How I wish this would have been the Olympics!
Side notes-
–He Kexin is looking even better. WOW.
-I wish Ivana Hong hadn’t wobbled all over the place, I think she could have gotten gold.
– Rebecca Bross didn’t do the Gogean, she only did a half. In the AA I thought this was a mistake….was this planned? Also, I like her double L. These elements could have made her bronze on floor.
-After Chinese Nationals, I said that if Deng Linlin didn’t fall, she would be world champion on beam. This happened.
–Ksenia Semenova I am hoping just didn’t have enough time to perpare (I also heard she has a back injury, dunno if that is true) which I hope is the reason for her poor showing. I really like her style. Also I have that Russian hope for 2012.
–Lauren Mitchell is now a force to be reckoned with. Watch out world. i am still hoping that Dasha Joura will come back better than ever next year.
-I hope Anna Pavlova is continuing and coming back.
– I am not a big fan of Sui Lu‘s FX. Sorry.
-My biggest complain is the stupid bonus gymnasts get by doing jumps after passes (like Mitchell’s stag after her double arabian, though she does it nicely). This completely negates the “stick your tumbles” rule. Hate it.
-Beam and floor routines are a lot smoother and look better with the code cutting it down to 8 skills. Much better.
-These execution scores are ridiculous. Let’s take William’s DTYT score….a 9.175? I think that was actually the HIGHEST execution score of WAG Worlds. That should have been like at least a 9.5. I would take a tenth for the split legs on the preflight, one for the slight crossing of the ankles toward the end. MAYBE a tenth for distance. You know what? Let’s take a tenth for height too. She lands ON THE LINE so no deduction there. Okay, well that E-score is a 9.600. What the heck is with all that anyway?
Here is a list of what I wish would have happened at Worlds….
AA
1. Bross
2. Sloan
3. Porgras
VT
1. Hong Un Jong (wish she hand’t fell even if I love Kayla)
2. Ariella Kaeslin (this really happened!!!!)
3. Mzydrikova
UB
1. Kexin
2. Tweddle
3. Semenova
BB
1. Deng (yay!)
2. Porgras
3. Bross
FX
1. Tweddle (another ‘yes’!)
2. Myzdrikova
3. Mitchell (this is actually my favorite routine, but Myz’s tumbles I like better)
Nastia Liukin– For years she was hearing how that Beijing ticket has been in her hand. And maybe even the gold. But Nastia has been overshadowed the last couple of years. And the pressure to hit when it counts surely must be mounting more and more while Shawn garners more spotlight attention. To do well in the AA is Nastia’s biggest source of pressure I think. And the string of second place finishes she keeps receiving on bars the last couple of years (06′ Worlds, 07′ Pan Ams, 07′ Worlds, 08′ Pacific Rim) add more pressure. I think. Plus, Nastia has alluded in a couple of interviews that the AA is her biggest priority.
Cheng Fei– I wish I knew more about how the media in China. Gymnastics is a much more popular sport there and Cheng Fei I would assume is certainly the most popular and famous women gymnast in the country. No one has ever won 3 straight world titles in a quadrennium, but Cheng Fei has! There is not just pressure but “GOLD OR BUST” seems to be the Chinese way. She must be phenomenal in team finals, and phenomenal in vault and floor finals. She also is the leader of the team, and must be there for all her teammates. To add to the pressure, this is not only the best shot China has ever had for team gold (or even this many golds!) but with the entire Nation watching her do this on her turf, Fei is certainly going to have all the pressure in the world riding her shoulders. Will Cheng Fei do what so many other great gymnasts from China do….crumble under the most intense pressure?
Yang Wei– A silver in Sydney, a fall in Athens, a silver in Anaheim. And the first man in like 80-some years to win back-to-back World titles. I MUCH less about the world of MAG, but I am pulling really hard for Yang. Like Fei, I cannot imagine what the pressure must be like for him. I totally believe there is almost no way the Chinese Men will lose the gold, so I wonder if that factor will help or hurt the pressure on him. The whole country is looking for gold from this man, and that just can’t be easy.
Vanessa Ferrari– The 2006 World Champion has informed the gymnastics world that she will not be up to par for Beijing and I think that is sad. From a country where they aren’t one of the main players in the gymnastics scene, I know bringing home an individual medal from the Olympics would be a huge, huge deal for her. Ferrari is a good competitor, it will be interesting to see what she does. But injury or not, in the world of gymnastics in Italy, that girl must have a lot of pressure on her to deliver.
Steliana Nistor and Sandra Izbasa– This will be the first Olympics in a looooooong time that Romania may not get a team medal. Like the Chinese, team is first priority. But in this new age of Romanian gymnastics, medals in individual events would be a big deal for them in my opinion. So a country with a love for gymnastics looks to these two to help bring home any medals possible. Not only leaders of the team and the ones the other look up to, these are the only shots at individual medals that Romania has.
Beth Tweddle– Of any gymnast, I swear I can count more times for Beth than any other who receives a great many string of 3rd and 4th place finishes. Hailed as the best and most successful gymnast of Great Britain, Beth has been eluded a major title many times on bars, though she did nab the gold in 2006. As one of the bar front runners in this quadrennium, Beth also has joined the “I have higher than a 7.5 Bar Club” and knows she must hit like her life can depend on it. After all, several of the front runners have shown some inconsistencies this year. Although the lead Chinese bar workers He Kexin and Yang Yilin have been the MOST consistent this year, it has been an unfortunate Chinese tradition to crack under the pressure of the big events. And Beth knows that a mistake from any of the three main rivals (Kexin, Yilin, Nastia) can give her a huge advantage; an Olympic gold. I wonder how well she is doing under that pressure.
Jade Barbosa– One of the best gymnasts ever from Brazil, I actually wonder how the pressure is on her. I have seen many different things featuring her that suggest she is getting a lot of media spotlight, but she recently lost the National Title to Ana Claudia Silva. That is something that may either add or subtract pressure, I’m not sure which.
Dasha Joura– The very best of the Australian team must be feeling some enormous pressure. With people retiring and putting more pressure on the team, Dasha may be the only shot for a medal, and has Australian female ever won a medal in the Olympics? I am not sure, but I don’t think so. And Dasha seems to be doing a lot to promote the Olympics and seems to be getting definite media attention with her newspaper column and all.
Oksana Chusovitina– It’s her fifth Olympics and her only medal is the Unified Team gold in her first Olympics, 1992. A medal would be an amazing achievement as she has no individual title regardless of the many world medals she has. I think it is kind of a long shot considering her difficulty, but you never know who will mess up! Maybe Oksana doesn’t have pressure, she does have more Olympic experience than anyone out there!
Alicia Sacramone– You know she wants an individual medal. Well, everyone does. But Alicia is only capable of medalling if she is at her very best. She also has the amanar to consider. With that and her good execution scores, she is capable of gold if Hong Su Jong and Cheng have errors. Her disappointment last year at the floor final is a good indication that she will be fighting for a medal this year. But she also has to be careful because she must deal with the pressure of not getting injured. In addition, Chellsie Memmel‘s comeback could jeopardize her spot in the beam lineup for Team Finals. And she now has one of the lowest A-scores among the Americans on floor. Not good.
The Entire Chinese WAG- With the strongest team ever and on their home turf, China legitimately has a chance to take all six gold medals. Team, AA (Yang Yilin I think has the best shot), vault (duh), bars (two more duhs, beam (Li Shanshan or even another between Yang, Cheng, or Deng Linlin). They have never ever been in this situation. I think Mo Huilan was capable of 4 or 5 gold medals in Atlanta. but nothing compares to how deep they are now. I can’t imagine what it must be like for them.
Vault- Cheng Fei was first with a 15.275, this includes a DTY and the Cheng. Jiang Yuyuan was 3rd with a 13. (???) Both vaults appeared to be a 5.8 SV. I have no idea what is going on with that. EDIT- She performed two DTY’s thus earning a deduction, she did score around a 15.
Beam- Marine Petit won with a 15.350 (6.3) and Sui Lu followed with a the same score (6.9). Marine Debauve, making a comeback was in 3rd with a 15.325 (6.4). Way to go for her. Yang Yilin produced the same score with a 6.5 A-score.
So what does this mean for the shape of the Chinese Team? I would say that Sui Lu is putting herself out. She just doesn’t seem to be consistent enough. Yang Yilin is not really affected (but I would say to the AAers of the world LOOK OUT!) Assuming everyone is back to full difficulty (notably Cheng and Jiang), then here’s what we have for the Team Final:
Gymnastics and Stuff 