Social Distancing Adventures: 2000 All Around

Inspired by BBS, I decided to do my own social-distancing viewing. I realized I didn't think I had ever watched the notorious 2000 All Around Final, and figured this was the perfect time to amend that egregious oversight.

"In the Olympic All Around there are only three gymnasts per nation" Oh just you wait honey...

This whole RUSSIA DRAMA montage is especially hilarious when you know what's coming. But I'm also not okay with Produnova out of this final.

"That has seen Andreea Raducan set herself apart" #justiceforAndreea


Rotation 1
Getting right into this thing with Lobaznyuk! Annnnd she's out of bounds first thing. Really an omen of things to come.

"And intriguing choice of music too" Oh Al how I don't miss you.

Oh and they're talking about how a big wobble on a standing full just took Chow out of the medal race. Those were the days. Also, not this meet.

Zamolodchikova's bars seem very... un-Russian.

I kind of like Maloney's tinfoil leo. Don't @ me. Also I'm pretty sure that tumbling was more difficult than half of the routines at the 2019 Worlds. That was also a strange combination of dramatic music and Great American Songbook.

OI and now we get the Elise Ray wipeout on vault. My spine has been tingling for a minute.

JUSTICE FOR ANDREEA! And I swear her form was cleaner on the Lopez than the Podkopayeva.

OH YES and now we have some Enya for Sveta this is the early-2000s cheese I long for. And an abrupt transition into monks singing, beautiful.
Did... Produnova fall on a Yurchenko 1.5?
And... was it Lobaznyuk's birthday? Why did she have a balloon?

Elfi I'm gonna need you to learn how to pronounce Svetlana. Also, this floor routine has grown on me. I only used to like her first and last floor routines.

"And three more sets like that and she's going to be your AA champion. There's not a lot of in-between with her, either she will win or she'll make a major mistake and not really factor in at all." Oh if only you knew...

And Elise Ray is safe.

That's always so odd to remember Olaru was world AA champion. This quad, man. Switch wolf to Rueda is... a connection. But she makes up for it with a twisting back circle jump.

YANG YUN!!! Is it weird that she's one of my favorite Chinese gymnasts and bars is my least favorite event of hers? Nice floaty Tkatchev, though.

Man, I'm surprised Karpenko was able to pull that front layout around. She looked really low to me. Also, who told NBC front-row-at-the-movies was an acceptable angle?


Rotation 2
Oh, and we didn't even see Amanar the first rotation. Interesting she did the gainer BHS for the series. Man, this was a stacked meet. Yes, Al, we are aware that floor is also going on and involves music.

Zamolodchikova almost gets a Pavlova zero. And not the fun hip circle mount, sad. We're hearing about how she damned Russia in the TF but hit her Rulfova. Cool entry into the turn. Get the back dive in the jump series though. Man, she is a fan of these twisting dive skills, and I'm here for it. And a full-in! Well dang!

Lobaznyuk with the Tsuk double. Jaaaaade.... you know you wanna.... And showing versatility with the Yurchenko.

"Russia trying to put a second or even a third member into the top three right now" Oh how interesting...

I'd give Maloney's Y1.5 a college 9.875, 9.9 considering she went to UCLA. And similar for the DTY.

JUSTICE FOR ANDREEA! I see Romania is already carrying on the proud tradition of weakness on bars. Liked the immediate double front out of the half turn, though.

Liu Xuan now. Not one we think of much when we remember how stacked this field was, but she got the bronze after #justiceforAndreea right? I like how she combines dance skills in this routine. Very UCLA-worthy Shush out of her tumbling, bhs to jump, and turn to double stag.

Back to the reigning world AA champion. I find her dance super awkward but I kind of like it? It reminds me of Kocian's French waitress routine, where the more comfortable she got with it, the less I like it. And we're hearing about how costly her OOB will be. You have no idea what's coming...

Dominique Dawes sitting on the bars is everything I need in life.
OH MY GOSH this 2000 pop for the fluff on Elise Ray! Also, what's this FAMILY BACKSTORY thing they've got going for this final? It's kind of creepy.
I LOVE THIS ROUTINE! And she pulled out the Ray dismount!

The Sveta yell in context! "No one wins the all around gold with a fall" 2006 is coming, Elfi. "Way high on the horse" you just wait and see, Tim. Hits the Podkopayeva, sad she didn't do the other Khorkina, I love that vualt. It's so intricate.

YANG YUN! This beam routine is devastatingly lovely. NO, AND SHE FALLS! My heart. Lots of dives in this final, I'm here for it. Is the 10 second warning a guy blowing a whistle?

I love this hip circle hecht from Karpenko. The Pak, not so much, very low. Great routine, though, her bars should be more remembered.

Al's talking about how dramatic it would be if Zamolodchikova got the gold after being substituted in. China's like, "Wait 19 years, we've go you, Al."


Rotation 3
And they've finally figured it out. Well done, everyone. They've mentioned Alana Slater, but weren't there other non-Australian gymnasts who had noticed it seemed off and were just ignored? Also, the "raise the vault" motion from the meet staff looks like it came out of a made-for-TV movie.

JUSTICE FOR ANDREEA! Her beam work was so airy. Love to see a bhs tuck full tumbling series, too bad she didn't nail it. Also, the Aladdin music in the background is excellent.

Al talking about how lots of people don't know about the vault issue yet. That seems like an important thing to communicate to everyone immediately? Also, I love how they're focusing on Elise Ray's fall and not Khorkina's. NBC cannot get any more NBC. Ah, now we get Khorkina. "I remember calling this and saying she's too high on the horse" told you you would see, Timmy.

And now Khorkina on bars. This will always be one of the great quandries of gymnastics. She did have that fall in team. So did the equipment malfunction really do it for the Ricna? But classic Sveta was always hitting for yourself. Also, it's fascinating watching from 2020 seeing how ahead of her time she was.

And now Elise Ray goes from missing her hands on the vault to missing her foot on beam. Perfect.
Cool skills, though.

Andreea waving to the camera, so another reminder of #justiceforAndreea.

Bogi alert!

I can hear Yang Yun on floor while they show Karpenko on beam. And we get the glance at the clock. I love how she's basically killing time until she can do her dismount.

Two takeaways from beam here: 1.make beam mounts great again 2.make back dive skills great again

YANG YUN! Why is the foot-ography so satisfying? Her twisting is also wonderfully airy.

Donna Straus's face in response to the vault catastrophe is everyone.

Liu Xuan appears to half a penchant for blind landings on vault. Interesting. "Could maybe get a medal, that would be a big upset" you don't know the half of it, Timmy. And, of course, #justiceforAndreea.

And again, we have a focus on Donna Strauss giving the update on whether the Americans will vault again. Peak NBC.

Now we get Lisa Skinner on floor. I always enjoyed this routine.

And now we see them asking Sveta if she wants to vault again. It takes a comically long time for this woman to figure out that she needs a translator.

So we found out Amanar has the nickname "airhead." Fun fact there. Amanar making my point about folk music. Someone get the Careys on the phone. Oh, and now we're finding out Bellu says she isn't talented. More fun facts. But she has a full-in dismount!

Zamolodchikova is another with awkward choreography I prefer for the awkwardness. Oof, that's quite the fall! Definitely will take that over Ray's. "And that's it for her" how many times have we heard that in this broadcast? Also, her tumbling would keep her competitive today.


Rotation 4
We just heard about how Khorkina qualified to every final except beam. Just you wait, Timmy. Man, this was a crazy Olympics.

Ray's Shush out of her middle pass would not be UCLA-approved.

Cool pirouette work from Olaru. Again, experiencing the proud tradition of Romanian Bars. And we have the classic Tim masking his criticisms with "a lot of people say." He is Not Happy about that bars score.

And Karpenko is out with the weirdest fall in this broadcast so far. Cool jump-handspring-jump choreography. And another full-in dismount! This meet has done more to make me curmudgeonly about the state of today's gymnastics than endless gymternet rantings.

Al angry that Skinner isn't pulling out some non-existent fantasy vault. She does her layout and Y half very nicely though.

Classic Amanar DTY. That feels like an oxymoron.

Really cutting down on the number of routines in this final rotation.

JUSTICE FOR ANDREEA! Bring on the Riverdance! Classic college "hot coals on the floor" landing there. "And the Romanians sweep gold-silver-bronze" #justiceforAndreea

Man, Yang Yun was barely over a fall's worth out from first!

I do appreciate that they're showing Elise's competition vault for the equipment malfunction reminder. And as I type that they show her warmup vault for the "What if?" retrospective at the end. Oh, NBC.


And of course, because it wasn't enough for the rotating-door for the winning spot to end with the competition, WADA decided to step in. #justiceforAndreea

Also, it was really ridiculous that they changed the rules for the number of people who could qualify into the final in response to a sweep in THIS final. I feel like that's a great encapsulation of FIG's stupidity.



I might do this some more. The whole 1997-2004 era is one I've rather neglected, so maybe I'll dip into those during my weeks of containment.

Worlds 2018

And once again, the titles have been decided, the competitors put up their performances, and I have taken forever to type anything up because school!

The Boys
The men's competition was INCREDIBLE! The team and AA finals were the craziest things I've ever seen! Also, the fall and rise of Daloloyan across those two finals was breathtaking. Of course, I was also devastated at the end of the AA when Sam missed by so little. Waiting for him to FINALLY get that medal, this was the most tense men's Worlds! And he finally got it in the last final!! Sam's medal was the biggest win from the men's side for me. Other highlights included Epke's reign of glory, the p bars final, and Eleftherios's mind-boggling win.

Team
This was the first of the weird WAG finals where the final podium was pretty tame but the ride to get there was a roller coaster. UGH, Brazil's UB rotation was heartbreaking!! France also could have sprung in there. I think this final really exemplifies this weird shifting period we're in right now. Outside the US, the Big Four are all on something of a downswing, and gobs of other top countries are on the rise, so you end up with a huge array of teams at about the same level, but I think the record of Russia and China gives them a slight edge in the mental game. I hope this just makes Brazil hungrier and motivates them! Russia is also showing a refreshing new consistency with only one fall in the TF. Also, we can't forget about Canada! They're another team with and awesome uprise, and that without an Olympics in near sight! I really expect them to become a major player. Also, China has some really lovely gymnasts right now, but their lower difficulty is a bit worrisome, especially with Japan presumably coming in with a stronger side next year.

All Around
Our second final with a pretty vanilla podium but a ridiculous ride to get there. What happened with Simone's performance! Just a weird fluke day from her.  That was too bad, too, because if she'd had a perfect hit it would have been a perfect example of an exciting final with major dominance. With that performance, it put quite a dimmer on the otherwise excellent competition. I've got feelings on her winning, but basically I don't see a practical way of addressing this issue within an open-ended system because Simone's just Simone. But seriously, who would have thought SIMONE would have ended our five-year no-falls-on-the-podium streak! (Though I do get a certain petty satisfaction in THAT being the performance to break Khorkina's record.) I loved Mai getting the silver! She put in an awesome performance and showed why she would have won last year without the fall. Morgan's issue on beam was slightly disappointing, but she also had an otherwise great day. I also loved how well Nina, Gelya, and Melanie did and how close they got! No one's catching Simone, but everyone behind her is in a super tight fight! I love it!

Vault
Viva la Mexico! Yes Alexa! And I'm totally crediting her bronze on the ASU leotard she wore (okay, it isn't the exact same leotard, but it's basically the same.) It was very sad that we were between Alexa and Chuso because why can't we have both?, but I do love that Alexa made history. Chuso also did just because she's Chuso, so it's great all around. And Simone finally has her World vault title! It took too long. I'm less excited about Shallon, but I don't have any really strong feelings either way with her medal. On the one hand, I love seeing Canada bust out medalist after medalist. On the other hand, I'm always going to pick Chuso in my personal desires. I also loved seeing Yeo Seo-jeong, and I'm always up for Ellie Black's vaulting!

Bars
Once again, I love this bars podium, and the whole final was a delight. Bars has been killing it this quad. All of the medalists used the code in different ways to create interesting compositions, and I enjoyed seeing that rewarded. Really, more original approaches to composition was a theme for this whole final, with the exception of Aliya, but she's Aliya so it's okay. I'm also very excited for all of the medalists in different ways: Nina because YAS NINA WON!! and I love her composition more than anything, Simone because it completed her set and showed her fantastic development on the event, and Eli because she's been the cool kid busting out the exciting skills for so long and to see her finally get the medal, especially after coming so close in Rio, was wonderful. But of course, we also had to suffer the falls from Becky and Jonna. After they both made the final, I was pretty much expecting it because there was no way they were going to hit after they both hit in qualifying, but I've worked out a deal for them. Jonna's Euros medal shows she is gaining in her hitting and winning capacity, so each of them can fail in qualifying one year so the other gets the hitting energy, and the Euros proof supports my idea that it can work. So... yeah! But overall, bars is showing itself to be the strongest women's event, so that even shallower years still put up a satisfying crop of routines.

Beam
TINGTING! In contrast with bars, beam has been slumping since, like, London, with even winners rarely having routines without major falters, and Tingting's winning routine was a gorgeous shot of steadiness into that trend. But seriously, let's just remember Tinting and Anne-Marie Padurariu from that final, okay? Okay. Of course, the most depressing moment for me was Sanne's fall, followed closely by Kara Eaker's. Seriously, I'm too depressed thinking about this final so let's just move on. And beam's always the event I'm most emotionally invested in... I guess I'm just a masochist....
But also, the moral of Simone on beam in Doha is WHY HAVEN'T YOU GOTTEN RID OF THAT BARANI ALREADY

Floor
A much better final to end on! In general, I think this final shows a great trend in the artistry-scape. Akhaimova's isn't particularly inspiring, and I definitely think this is a low year choreography-wise for Simone, but otherwise this was a very aesthetically pleasing group of routines. Of course, I'd have loved for a Belgian routine in the mix, but I'm also not totally delusional. While Simone's choreography isn't my favorite, her tumbling was just as effortless as always. Her big OOB is another area where I feel you just can't do much about Simone's dominance. Behind her, Morgi was a fantastic silver medalist. I love how much she's grown as a performer and especially in her expression. Combined with her clean product and she was a perfect silver medalist. While I adore Mai and I love seeing her as a big FX presence after she was robbed in 2013, I personally would have given the bronze to Melnikova, seeing as Mai had her troubles in her big spin and Gelya had such awesome landings. It was also sad with Flavia just missing out on a medal with her OOB. But she, Melanie, and Brooklyn all also contributed to making this such an artistically strong final.

Worlds Predictions!!

Team Finalists
USA
Russia
China
Japan
Brazil
France
Great Britain
Belgium
I'm calling for Belgium here. Look how well they did at Euros with two and a half gymnasts. They're an expected outsider, but I think they call pull it off. Canada's probably the more expected contender, though.

Team Podium
1. USA
2. Russia
3. Japan
China has serious vault and floor issues. Honestly, I wouldn't be shocked to see an outsider pull off a silver, but Russia has high D vaults and better hitting records with Gelya suddenly becoming strong, Aliya back, and their awesome Euros performance, making them look awesome. If the US didn't have Simone, I think Russia could make a serious push for gold.


All Around Podium
1. Simone Biles
2. Mai Murakami
3. Morgan Hurd
I'm giving Morgi the edge for making the AA final after seeing Riley's vault struggles in podium training. We could very well have a one-American podium this year, but I do think they still come in as favorites for two. Mai is continuing her quest of awesome from last year, and if she can make it through clean this year, I think she should be on the podium. I'd also not be at all shocked to see Aliya suddenly a four-eventer instead of the announced two-eventer and sweep in for a medal. Honestly, at this point it might be more surprising if that didn't happen. For other potential medalists, obviously Melanie DJDS, Gelya, and Ellie Black would all be foreseeable.


Vault Finalists
Simone Biles
Shallon Olsen
Yeo Seo-jeong
Pyon Rye Yong
Oksana Chusovitina
Angelina Melnikova
Lilia Akhaimova
Liu Jinru

Vault Podium
1. Simone Biles
2. Yeo Seo-jeong
3. Shallon Olsen
I would rather see either of the other Asian Games medalists than Shallon on the podium, but I think she probably has the edge. But I wouldn't be surprised to see one of them either. I'm expecting the medalists to come from that group of five.


Bars Finalists
Nina Derwael
Riley McCusker
Simone Biles
Becky Downie
Liu Tinting
Luo Huan
Aliya Mustafina
Angelina Melnikova
I'm not willing to predict Becky and Jonna both making the final. That's too big a hope-setter. Becky has the better record of making finals.

Bars Podium
1. Nina Derwael
2. Aliya Mustafina
3. Riley McCusker
And I'm also definitely not predicting Becky medaling. We all know too well for that. Nina has her killer routine which she has been slaying with this year. Aliya's gonna Aliya, so there's that. Riley has a good routine and has had pretty much no issues with it this year.


Beam
As standard practice whenever a certain beam specialist competes, I'll be doing a fantasy podium of everyone I expect not to be competitive.
1. Ilaria Kaeslin
2. Vasiliki Milliousi
3. Brooklyn Moors


Floor Finalists
Simone Biles
Mai Murakami
Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos
Grace McCallum
Flavia Saraiva
Angelina Melnikova
Denisa Golgota
Marcia Videaux
Outside the first few, I'm not seeing a super clear group of finalists. I think there will be two Americans, and right now I'm feeling Grace, but either Riley or Morgi could make it too.

Floor Podium
1. Simone Biles
2. Mai Murakami
3. Flavia Saraiva
I fully expect Simone and Mai to be one and two. Even in our Simone-fest, I do think Mai has a serious chance to beat her, but I'm sticking with Simone having the edge. I don't really know what I expect outside them. My ultimate delusional fever dream is for Axelle Klinckaert to come in and win.

I don't care, Jordan wins

Yes, I realize I am completely skipping Euros (which was awesome and I had lots of feelings about) and going to nationals, but I figured I could be at least kind of timely with a nationals post so I might as well just do that first.


The Good

• The meaningful night 2 leos. Jordan with her theme leo (Baby Celine!!) and Simone's teal "hey USAG you may want to recognize that survivors of the abuse you allowed are still people" leo.
• Speaking of Jordan's Wonder Woman leo, she kept her commitment to the superhero theme in her arms-crossed Wakanda salute/doesn't WW do that too? (I don't watch superhero movies guys) beam choreo
• NBC honored Elena Shushunova
• The solidest nationals in as long as anyone is patient enough to check
• This was just a really strong competition. With so many fewer juniors it seemed like maybe there wouldn't be as awesome a group, but HOO BOY this was a GROUP and I stan all of them. They will all make at least one Worlds team and I don't even care that I'm not connected to reality.
• All the good decisions to rest and protect gymnasts' health (COUGH)
• MORGI WAS STEADY
• LEVI JUNG-RUIVIVAR WAS PRESENT
• I love watching Trin and Marz rewrite the rules about elite and NCAA competition. And the fact that it's Marz doing it is also so great given her role in the national team as the one who speaks up for the athletes.
• Kara and Trin both got included on the national team, honoring actual FIG scoring and not just USAG vault values
• GAGE girls. These girls are on fire.
• Sloane Blakely and Konnor McClain finished in the top five!! These kids are new favorites of mine! (Oh who am I kidding, ALL of these juniors are new favorites of mine. But these two making the top five particularly was great to see.)
• Leanne the national champion
• DANG Sunisa
• I'm not scared watching Riley anymore. (Mostly.)
• I don't care that it failed this time, the attempt at a second Wolfkino was glorious

The Bad

• The fact that the Wolfkino attempt failed. And that Jordan went on to fall on her wolf turn on floor.
• WHY IS RAGAN'S ANKLE STILL SO BUSTED? Why didn't they get surgery? I mean, didn't she have a good amount of time for surgery and recovery? ISN'T HER PHYSICAL HEALTH FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE MORE IMPORTANT?
• Jordan Bowers and Sydney Barros having to bow out of day 2. But still well done making health-conscious decisions.

The Ugly

• That MG Elite corset leo. Or as Spencer put it, the "baby prostitute leos."
• Speaking of MG Elite, Riley's horror dismount. Can we please have her do a double full or front full and swallow the difficulty loss instead of this hellish dismount combo?

Overall, I really enjoyed this competition. So many people did really well and I loved a lot of the gymnastics we saw. Like I said above, I STAN ALL THE JUNIORS. I thought we saw really good form from most of the gymnasts and I also thought the artistry was looking pretty good too. I'm a much bigger fan of Ragan's new floor routine than her previous two. It feels more mature to me and cohesive. I'm also loving watching Morgan perform her new routine. I think the choreography isn't quite as strong as some others, but I really love what an engaged performer she's become. Riley's isn't my favorite, but I don't understand why a lot of people hate it so much. It's fine, in my eyes. I also really enjoyed both the NCAA gymnasts' routines. They were fun and full of verve. The GAGE girls didn't have the most intricate and interesting choreography, but they are so pristine. And GAGE takes me into the juniors and how many of them are so beautiful. I'm really excited about the future of US floor routines. I also think the beam composition was a step up this year. They seemed to move smoothly to me and felt more like a whole than I was used to.

It also seemed to me like this was a more positive atmosphere at this Nationals. The girls were in good form and seemed like they weren't under as much pressure. I hope that's a genuine reflection of the nature of this competition and atmosphere. Let's make a good environment for our athletes.

Also, this is way too late as well, but with me being glad USAG honored Elena Shushunova, I want to highlight one of my favorite floor routines of all time. RIP, Elena.

So something happened at Classics

Classics was last weekend and it was a meet! I am so excited for American gymnastics this year. And the years to come, because the juniors are fabulous!


I WAS NOT PREPARED

So we went straight into the senior competition with the first two competitors on floor being Jade and Simone EACH DEBUTING HER MOORS! I watched podium training, but somehow them both opening on floor at the beginning of the start list completely flew over my head. I was literally shaking.

And then of course, there's Simone's whole debut. I was keeping my expectations "low" by going in with the mindset that she would probably have at least one fall and score around 56. And then she went and had one fall and scored over 58. Well, dang! She definitely got some Simone's Return glitter scoring, but the queen has most definitely returned!


And to complete the trinity...
So Morgi turned up with a Moors too.

I agree with those who say the Moors really isn't worth it compared to the Silivas, but I still just need the Moors and a Moors and a Moors floor lineup at Worlds. I also love this routine and her goal that people would never be bored when watching her. We also need to talk about that beam routine.

There was the fall and the blooey side jump, but otherwise this was the greatest beam routine in history. I just need her to do this exact routine minus fall at Nationals and I'll be so happy.


I wasn't afraid of Riley's gymnastics!

Dang, if this is this same Riley I saw last year! Her standard gorgeous gymnastics but her ligaments also never seemed in danger! (Okay, she had an ankle-cruncher DLO, but still an overall safe day.) AND that was when she was doing a DTY!


Texas Dreams was Texas Dreams
As usual, Texas Dreams did weird Texas Dreams things at Classics with a random collection of routines done. Ragan's ankle did weird things. So apparently she just decided... not to have the surgery her doctor said she needed. Great. She had the best timing for a recovery and just didn't do it? But anyway, she looked pretty good. I don't think her bars were quite at last year's "What Ragan Smith bars are these?" level, but she looked in decent Classics form. Her beam also looked in decent Classics form. She had a wobble and some split things, but it looks like good goings.

Emma Malabuyo had some struggles on beam, so I'm hoping to see her back in normal Emma Malabuyo form at Nationals. While there were some struggles, there were also some glimmers of greatness. And of course Deanne Soza was also there and so a gift to humanity. Unfortunately, she has not qualified to Nationals, so we must all mourn. (Wait, now she is going?) But we still have that glorious floor routine I love.

GAGE DID A THING
Oh man, this Classics was basically the GAGE show. Unfortunately, Kara Eaker fell on a switch leap, but she still showed off her gorgeous and fluid gymnastics. There's a reason she still got a 7.450 E score with a fall in the current code-scape. (Also, apparently the beam was crooked?!?)

The juniors, though, they DESTROYED this competition. Of course, we got to have our ever-perfect Leanne Wong as the champion.

THESE JUNIORS GUYS!! There are so many talented kids. Leanne had a beautiful day to take the title and she will be such an asset next year. Also, speaking of GAGE girls coming for the elite scene next year, Aleah was also beautiful.

She should give a clinic on that double Arabian to stag.


The Blakelys
Sloane first caught my eye in 2016 with her beam skills, and she's been getting noticed again this year for her awesome performance there.

She's doing the fluid movement demanded by this code beautifully. I'm also a huge fan of the FHS+front tuck series!

Skye also caught my eye this year with her super fun and well-performed floor routine.

Sunisa did a Gabby Perea
In an homage to Gabby Perea winning the junior bars title last year without a bars dismount, Sunisa Lee decided to do the same this year on beam.

I LOVE CLASSICS!


Jordan Bowers did a pirouette

THAT IS A GIANT 1.5!!! That was all I needed from her competition at Classics.


Levi Jung-Ruivivar

Well, for some reason the floor from the US Classic won't embed, so get her American Classic routine here. She was there. She did gymnastics. We were blessed.


The Disney Music
Trista Goodman used Beauty and the Beast music, which was great and I need more Gaston floor music because I just find it funny for some reason.

And then Brenna Neult has Bear Necessities, and her choreography isn't really anything special (except that great floor-pounding part!), but I just love her effervescent presence.

Zoe Gravier's music

I'm so bugged by this music guys. I LOVE acid routines. They're kind of my favorite thing. This choreography is far too plain for this acid routine music. I keep watching it trying to make it an acid routine, and it never becomes one! I do like some of that stuff before the third pass and at the end, though.

"You need a degree in advanced calculus to understand the new COP!!11!1!!"

The whole "Two numbers? HOW WILL WE EVER BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND!!!!" thing has always been annoying to me, and I decided to do a rant about this after two things lit a fire under me:
1. The fact that USAG apparently felt the need to do a giant "It's not out of a 10 anymore because you're all stupid sheep" PSA at American Classic
2. This 2006 Worlds AA recap by Spencer which involves a fair amount of ranting on this same topic, so I decided to do it too

Seriously, this has to be one of the most understandable scoring systems out there! Hear me out on this: It's a number
And a number
AND YOU ADD THEM!!
It's just addition! The numbers aren't any higher than 10!
There's an ACTUAL STANDARD unlike in freestyle skiing or whatever the heck that sport is the just pulls arbitrary numbers out of its butt.
There's no multiplying by a factor of 3.5 or whatever the heck it is diving uses. Or some changing factor depending on what kind of program you're watching like in figure skating.
Seriously. All you have to do is comprehend two numbers (which won't be higher than 10!!!... or, you know, 8.5, let's be real) and then the final score they add up to (which will be less than 20!!) We learned how to do this in... what... first grade? Maaaybe second with all the decimals?

"But you can't expect the casual fans to remember an over-decade-old scoring change!"
Figure skating does. When's the last time you turned on an NBC broadcast of a figure skating competition which opened with 10 minutes of "But they did away with the SIIIIIIIIX!! (side note- what a random number was that to pick for your max score? why not 5?) How will anyone ever understand again?!?!!1?" And while we do have the ubiquitous quadriannual "What is this 80-some/100-some nonsense?" articles, THE BROADCAST DOESN'T TREAT THE AUDIENCE LIKE IGNORANT PIGS. It expects them to remember things that get presented to them over and over again OVER A DECADE, or at least be able to pick up on the basics of this scoring system (there are DOO DUMBERS!) when they see numbers that... are definitely higher than 6. And they see more than one of them.

The figure skating broadcasts respect the sport and its audience. So what do they do that gymnastics broadcasts don't do?

• They meet the scoring system on its own terms. Skating commentators talk about what is important in the rules of the current system. They describe the skater's performance entirely using the vocabulary of the current system and how it affects the score the skater will receive. Compare to gymnastics: How frequently do we hear commentators using 10-system vocabulary?
• They address the viewer on the scoring system's terms. Going off the idea of the last one. The commentators explain the score's mechanics in terms of GOEs and components. Even the stoplight box system is based on how this system evaluates the technical aspects of the program. Compare to gymnastics: NBC's entire presentation of the score is pretty much a perfect illustration of this. "Start value" is a term that applies solely to the 10 system, and the way they present it actually makes way less sense than the separate D score. Also notice how the stoplight scoring applies only to the E score, aka the 10 score in the current system, instead of the overall score which will determine placing. All of this prevents the viewers from absorbing the components of the current scoring system.
• And, really at the basis of it, they don't let nostalgia make them refuse to accept change. The entire way the broadcast interacts with the technical aspects of the sport, and therefore allow the viewer to do so, is tailored for how the sport works. Gymnastics presents the open-ended code as a hindrance, limiting the viewer's ability to accept its rules and absorb them.

The open-ended code isn't prohibitively difficult to understand. As complex systems go, it's even simple enough that lay fans can get a far better grip of the particulars of it than in most others. If the commentators stop putting on a drama that the viewers can't possibly grasp the scoring then they will.

Feats of Courage

After a super busy semester, I'm finally getting around to my planned post on the statements from the sentencing hearing (we all know which one, I don't have to use the name). We've all seen Aly Raisman's, Jordyn Wieber's, Lindsay Lemke's, Kyle Stephens's, and Rachael Denhollander's statements. And they were statements we should all know. But in this post I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on some of the less recognized statements that particularly impacted me in one way or another. This isn't to say that these are more important than the others in any way; all of the victims' voices are important. These are just some that touched me.

Jennifer Rood Bedford

I think her statement was just a clear communication of how far his violation went. Statements like hers also drive home just how many victims there are that aren't tolled. And most of all, the forgiveness and grace she shows is astounding.

Tiffany Thomas Lopez
The thing that really stood out to me about this statement was when she said she was relieved when she saw the contemporary pictures of him because she assumed it meant he didn't abuse anyone else. It just highlights the contrast between the victims' innocence and strength and his depravity.

Madeleine Jones
"You were born in the image and likeness of God and you chose to sexually assault little girls. To call you a monster isn't even the right word; you're a human being, and you chose to do this, you chose your actions, and you chose to sexually assault little girls."

Larissa Boyce
The description of how she blamed herself really struck me. This one also just highlights the depths to which MSU sank in protecting him.

Bailey Lorencen
That back injury. Put Geddert behind bars.

The Minors

The minors are the women who will particularly haunt me. Listening to them speak really put a fine point on the fact that he did this to children. Speaking at the hearing was a woman's battle, and I will forever be in awe of their bravery. Chelsea Zerfas's statement is the one that sticks with me the most: to see this young girl in so much pain because of what she had to go though, and yet her concern for what he did to her teammates. Hers just encapsulated this tragedy to me.

Let Justice Roll Down like a River

One hundred and seventy-five years.

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina "just signed inmate 21504-040's death warrant."

He isn't going to get the punishment he deserves because our justice system doesn't allow the punishment he deserves. But he is getting a fitting punishment for what our law supports.

Rachael Denhollander is a hero. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina is a hero. Every single woman who spoke out at this trial, whether publicly or anonymously, is a hero. Everyone who spoke in their support is a hero. Everyone working to put him behind bars is a hero.

The change is only beginning, because these women won't let it be otherwise.



I'm going to say more, but it's probably going to be a while. I want to do this one right. I just wanted to make a quick statement here in the immediate aftermath.

Floor Music I Want to See: USA

Morgan Hurd- "Game of Thrones" or "Avovra" (Anna Bessonova hoop 2008/Tabea Alt 2017)
I've not been the biggest fan of Morgi's routines since 2014, though I definitely preferred this year's routine to her previous ones. I would prefer to see a return to the older thematic feel. "Game of Thrones" would be a clearer return to the feel of her 2014 routine-- am I the only one who gets a medieval vibe from it? I think it brings the quieter drama which she could really build from. And I just love the medieval-ish style for her. "Avovra" is more in line with the heavy drama of her 2017 routine, but I think it's more in line with what I want to see from Morgan. It's not so string-heavy as her recent musics, which I think is what's tripping me up with her recent routines. It's got a darker style, which is what I want to see for her. Again, the music has a less packed sound, and I really think Morgan does a good job elevating that kind of sound and brings almost a mystical edge to her routines.

Emma Malabuyo- "Hedwig's Theme"
Emma is just such a charming performer. She has a lightness to how she performs on floor and there's always a humor and joy to her routines. I think "Hedwig's Theme" would be a perfect fit for that style she brings. It's light and frothy but also mysterious, and I think she would bring a really, well, enchanting performance to the music. It would be yet another delightful routine from Emma. Of course, I would also down with Morgan Hurd using this, partly because it has the some of the same mystical sound, but mostly because MORGAN WITH HARRY POTTER MUSIC!

Maile O'Keefe- "Renegade" by Kevin "K.O." Olusola (Macy Toronjo 2017)
Now with Maile, we're getting into the heavier drama. I feel like with Maile, she's always had aesthetic enough routines, but never really broke out of her shell as a performer. I think this music is sort of an in-between with her old 2014 music and this year's music. I think her style is suited to the darker, heavier drama, and she and the music could elevate each other.

Ragan Smith- "Promenade (Walking the Dog)" or "Seaside Rendezvous"
I think both of these pieces would be a good return to Ragan's 2014-2015 playful but mature style (why is it that her routines got more immature as she got older? is it because they had to do so to keep up their look at how cute and little she is schtick, or because they had to keep up the schtick?) "Walking the Dog" gets a little jazzy, which I think Ragan could play with really well. It's light and playful, and I think she could put in a lot of unique touches. "Seaside Rendezvous" would bring out some of the good in Ragan's 2017 choreographic style. It would be a real crowd-pleaser routine, and I think Ragan broken out of the "must be cutesy!!" box would do great things with this.

Riley McCusker- "Pirates" (Ellie Black 2012/2013)
I wasn't a huge fan of her 2017 routine, and definitely not as big a fan of her 2017 routine as her 2016 routine. However, I'm not opposed to moving in a bit more of that direction. I think this music would bring a bit of the 2017 style while maintaining the best of her 2016 choreography's style. I think Riley (and MG Elite in general) has some tendency toward moving to hit poses, and this music allows for that while elevating the music. It's also nicely light and bubbly, which I think would be really good for her.

Adeline Kenlin- "Once and for All" from Newsies
I got the desire for Adeline to use a showtune for floor after a random set of circumstances led me to realize that her 2017 floor goes really well to Dumbledore's part to the end of "Back to Hogwarts" from AVPM (it was the polished album version if you want to try at home). I picked this one because it has the driving beat from those sections of "Back to Hogwarts," which seemed to work for her, and it also embodies the pretty melodic elements of her 2016 routine and some fighting elements from her 2017 routine. I'd also be down for "At the End of the Day", for similar reasons with more similarities to her 2016 routine, and "Defying Gravity", which doesn't have the elements from her old routines but I still think she could do something with.

Favorite Routines from Worlds (BB and FX)

Beam
Pauline Schaefer, Qualifications

UGH this is gorgeous. Pauline is just such a beautiful beam worker. I love her skills such as the double spin and the Schaefer, but I'm also a huge fan of her choreography. It actually adds something, which the gymnastics world in general seems to be doing better at this year.

Ellie Black, Qualifications

She's a powerhouse on beam. I said in my favorite beam post that while I prefer elegant beam work in general, there's just a "killed it" quality about well hit powerful beam work that, say, Vika will never be able to manage, and I love it! I'm also a big fan of the "gallop" choreography-- it's weird and I love it! Just in general, she surprisingly artistic. And she stamps out her skills!

Asuka Teramoto, Qualifications

Asuka is such a pleasant beam worker. I was disappointed she messed up and couldn't get vindication in the final, but it was lovely here!


Floor
Claudia Fragapane, Qualifications

It's too bad she couldn't hit this well in the final, even though she was still able to medal. I've always been a Claudia fan, but she really is a whole new performer this year! And she's cleaned up so much! I will always love how she does tumbling+dance combos that should by all rights be hideous and makes them look fab. And say what you like about the rest of her execution, I will always appreciate the non-cowboyed double Arabian!

Ellie Black, All Around

This was such a passionate and powerful performance! Ellie is also just one of my favorite floor workers. I love her unique combination tumbling and how much of it is forward! Her first pass is my favorite. I also love her dance. It's always forceful and different and kind of... angsty? This performance especially, she put everything she had into it.

Morgan Hurd, All Around

Another all-heart performance. You could definitely see her excitement in those landings, but she was exuding so much joy here! I also love her upright landings. Everything about this routine (well, minus the landings) is exquisite!

Nina Derwael, All Around

I LOVE BELGIUM ON FLOOR! They just always have such weird choreography. And Nina didn't disappoint! I especially love the part in the straddle. Her landings here were also much more secure than in qualifications.

Jade Carey, Event Final

Yes, the artistry isn't... good. But her tumbling! I could watch those passes on loop! They're GORGEOUS!

Mai Murakami, Event Final

I'm so glad she made a change to this routine from the Christina Aguilara screaming! The tumbling here was impeccable! The performance was everything it could be. She makes this routine. What a deserving routine for the championship!

Brooklyn Moors, Event Final

This routine is just lovely. She also includes the Semenova, such a beautiful turn! It's a gorgeous routine, and that tumbling isn't shabby either. I mean, look at the Podkopayeva! This one especially, to me, she really seemed to put everything into the performance.

Gabby and Gymternet Whipping Boys

It was obnoxious and unnecessarily mean for a long time, but it didn't seem to be anything more harmful than pettiness.

For a while now, the gymternet has been caught up in the internet trend of being more enthusiastic about what we can trash and shred than, you know, what we like and enjoy.

There was Mykayla, who, make no mistake, has absolutely posted things she shouldn't have on social media. But can we really claim the moral high ground when we comb through everything we can reach-- including hunting down her family's accounts-- to find ways to crucify her? And why, if it was the problematic stuff she's posted, was so little of the focus of the crusade on that as opposed to the cocky stuff she's posted?

There was Ashton. Again, people were bound to take issue with her political posts. But hating on her for crying? There were comments on the confession accusing the gymternet of double standards with defending Nina because she's white (oh don't worry I'll get to Nina) where people were saying "No it's because Ashton supports Trump!!"... so that makes you being a hypocrite morally superior? But hey, at least you're admitting your double standards.

People were all over Maddie for a while for saying "let's be nice to each other regardless of who we voted for."

Various Russians have been in and out of the firing range for months.

Nina is the most obvious example of a gymnast just seeming to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. For no apparent reason other than people were looking for a new whipping boy, they jumped on the first at all questionable thing they found and shredded her for it. I mean, just look at the floor final for proof it's not arbitrary. Look at how everyone was responding when the champion was hugging people and quietly celebrating while Vanessa was still on the floor being seen to by the med staff. No double standards here at all...

But that's all just pettiness.

Add the Nassar scandal to our harpy mentality, and now you're playing with fire.

I've been worrying that we were going to end up crucifying one of his victims for how she dealt with this. I didn't think it was actually going to happen.

And enter Gabby.

Now, I am not saying her tweet was right. I am not saying you need to forgive and forget or that your opinions of her should go back to what they were two weeks ago. What I AM saying is this should serve as a wake-up call to the gymternet for our toxic mentality.

Because now we know Gabby was a victim too. And the gymternet spent days trashing her for the way she's handled the scandal. And some are so far down the rabbit hole they're even accusing her of lying.

Again, the fact that she was a victim doesn't make what she tweeted okay. But it does mean she deserves our compassion. And because we're all so sure we know these women as people from what they post online, it didn't even  occur to most that she could have been a victim.

And from so many of those same places, we're seeing no apparent acknowledgement or concern that Gabby was abused (I'm referencing especially the comments with that post). Gabby's story shows precisely why the "S/HE IS CANCELLED!!" stuff is so wrong.

Can you really claim moral superiority?

I just want to leave with these two comments on how we need to treat the Nassar scandal:

Source: The Gymternet-- You Asked, the Gymterner Answered

And, to leave on a better note, Nassar is going to prison. May he rot in his cell.

Favorite Routines from Worlds (VT and UB)

I was planning on doing this post in the week or so after my Worlds post, and... well, you see how well that plan worked out.

Vault
Giulia Steingruber, Qualifications

She is just such a dynamic vaulter. I love the way she flies! It's also astounding that she made it to this point in her gymnastics so quickly in her return. Plus, a non-Yurchenko entry is always a bonus.

Jade Carey, Qualifications
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0CJ-koOQJs
Well, the video isn't available for embedding, so I'll just have to link it. Still a wild landing, but my oh my, that vault is gorgeous. It's just so easy for her!

Oksana Chusovitina, Event Final

What a gorgeous vault from the queen. She has cleaned up so much and it's just mind-boggling! I was definitely one of those people calling for the judges to overscore her into the gold! Ah, we can't have everything in life.

Ellie Black, Qualifications

She's not the cleanest vaulter, but I just love Ellie's work here. She just seems to fly. It's wonderful.



Bars
Diana Varinska

I love everything about this routine!! It is breathtaking and exciting and jam-packed! Just a fabulous set.

Anastasiia Iliankova, Qualifications

Look at the Hindorff+Pak+Maloney+clear hip 1/2+Ezhova combination! It's all that I love and all that I need. And she wasn't super close on the Shang here!

Elena Eremina

She just flies through this routine. Absolutely lovely. And the big combination work in the Nabieve+Pak+Chow 1/2! I just love gusty combinations like this.

Nina Derwael, All Around

There's so much flight in this routine! And so much intricacy! She just soars through this whole mind-blowing exercise.

Georgia-Mae Fenton Qualifications

Can you tell what style of bars routines I love? Once again, such breathtaking flight! And I love the different kinds of skills she has in combination!

It was the best of Worlds, it was the worst of Worlds

Yeah, I'm aware I'm quite a bit late on the Worlds post game, but what with midterms and an appendicitis scare and then having to work on my extended assignments from said appendicitis scare, the post-Worlds week wasn't really open for blogging. And then, because of the neurotic person I am, I needed to get super ahead on my work when I got back into school so I wasn't having panic attacks. I'm so sorry. This was ridiculous.


My feelings about Worlds were constantly swinging between "This Worlds is a flaming trash heap" and "This Worlds is freaking awesome!!"

So much of the actual competition was breathtaking and glorious. So many of the finals came down to the wire and the gymnasts competed so much incredible gymnastics.

But the injuries. And it's not just that there were a ton of injuries. It's not like a bunch of gymnasts who had no business trying decided to bust out Prods or anything. That would have been bad and frustrating also, but ultimately it would have come down to foolish decisions. But in this case, SO MUCH of it came down to the organizers' fault. The lighting sucked, the mats were super hard (and when the athlete delegations tried to bring in softer ones the organizers refused), the PT was rushed, and the whole issue with the floor. And then, separately from the organizers but still belonging in this section, Casella pressuring Ferrari into the meet when she was clearly not ready and she snapped her Achilles.

I'm also not behind this beam scoring. There's no point in scoring so many gymnasts in the 7's in E when only two routines score above an 8 in E, they are by the same gymnast, and they are 8.133 and 8.033, respectively. That's why Tim's whole "The best should be able to do better than 1.2 in deductions" thing is valid... because otherwise, you're doing just as bad a job of differentiating the gymnasts; all the scores might as well have been .5-.7 higher, it really wouldn't have made much difference. With the two-part system, the E judges should be taking advantage of the system to use a wider range of scores and provide better differentiation, not just give most hit routines scores packed together in a lower range. In a less everything-looks-abysmal-for-no-real-necessary-reason situation, the vault final scoring also illustrated this problem. There was a .7 difference between the E scores all the non-fall vaults, and when not counting Wang Yan's weak Rudi, it was only a .5 difference. That's not what the judges are supposed to do.

And then the digital flags. No. The gymnasts deserve real flags. Have the federations provide them if you need to, it shouldn't be that hard.

However, on some other non-actual-gymnastics but kind of "controversial" discussion topics, I liked the medals! I'd way rather have a big donut medal than medals that are mostly glass like we've seen at some winter Olympics and other competitions or the really dinky ones we've seen some places. They're different and kind of fun! In addition, I thought the intros here were a bit overdone, but I like the general intro idea. It's the biggest meet of the year and these gymnasts don't get a ton of recognition for their extremely hard work and super impressive accomplishment, so make a big deal of them here!

Okay, onward to the actual competition.



The Men
The worst of Worlds: Obviously, the massacre subdivision. That was horrible. To move to a less grave aspect of the horrible subdivision, it was such an anticlimactic end to Kohei's streak. He didn't retire on his crowning gold after an eternal unbroken streak, nor was he finally toppled by a scrappy challenger, he just was taken out of competition. Oleg's exhaustion was showing by this point, and as someone who manages to delude myself into believing this will be HIS. TIME. every competition, I always end up sighing in acceptance of the inevitable. And then Yang Hak Seon injured himself right before vault. Ah. What with papers and looming midterms, I really wasn't as focused on the men, but I don't remember being too devastated by anything else. I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting, though.

The best of Worlds: KENZO!! What a lovely, lovely competitor. Gorgeous gymnast, and seems to be a wonderful man. His vaulting was life-giving! And speaking of his vaulting, the Chellsie-Nastia finish in the vault final was one of the most ridiculous things that I've witnessed since becoming a serious fan of this sport. Has any final in the two-part system had such a close finish? Both breathtaking vaulters, though in their own ways. Always what you want to see! I was also very pleased when Oleg made it to the PB podium. Always love to see him leave with a medal! Max Whitlock succeeding is also a great addition to any competition. And, of course, we need to talk about the fabulous cap to the ridiculous saves this year, Epke's hand-slip morphed into a one-arm giant! Hit. And if you can't hit, make your mistake into something memorable. Bart was all of us in this moment! And speaking of Bart, I was also a major fan of him getting the authorities to check the floor and then... not taking his second opportunity to go. You win! I know it was for rational reasons, but it's still mighty amusing.



Women's Qualifications
Obviously, the injuries here (Larisa!!) were the down side. As well as almost the entire competitive beam field imploding. I wanted Sanne to add a World title to her Olympic one! Qualifications was less of a massacre for the women than the men, though, so that was an improvement. It was just hard to get out of the shadow of men's sub 3. Other than the Lari injury and beam implosions, not too much noteworthy happened in women's quals. I think the only other real exciting thing was JAPAN!! They are coming to slay this quad, and I am ready.


Womens' AA
The worst of Worlds: Once again, the biggest disappointment was Ragan busting a tendon in her ankle moments before competition. I think we were all pulling for her here, even those who weren't really interested in seeing her on the podium. In addition, there were of course a number of falls which no one wanted. I think it's reasonable to say the biggest of those was MAI!! Ugh, she had such a great day otherwise. And then Melka's floor was also really unhappy, too.

The best of Worlds: On the other side of Ragan's injury, it was good to see Ioana Crisan handle being thrown into the final at the very last second so well. Also, the competition was so tense and exciting! It was exactly the opposite of how competitions with Biles were exciting, and I really got into it! Of course, seeing Morgan win was like Christmas coming early. Her gymnastics was lovely and her joy was infectious! And even though the other two medalists did have large errors, they were also able to continue the streak of no-fall podiums! From only 2008 until 2013 to five years straight, I'm really appreciating this turn-around. There were also so many gymnasts tying or breaking their country's record for best finish! I loved all the big gymnastics we got to see, with Lena and Nina on bars, Tabea on beam, Mai on floor... it was full of big moments. Of course, we all want a final with all top-level competitors where everyone hits, but sometimes this kind of tension is what you can have.

I'm happy with this outcome. Obviously, Morgi winning was all I really wanted. I do think her floor score was a little cooked compared to Ellie's, but Ellie's everything else was a little cooked, so it evened out, and I think the more deserving gymnast won. It's not the best thing, but sometimes, in gymnastics, two wrongs do make a right. I also like Elena in third, and was pleased to see her do so well. Of course, it was annoying that Mai would have won without her fall, but the ones who did the best came out on top.


Womens' VT
The worst of Worlds: Overall, this was one of the more generally positive finals. Sae's and Shallon's falls were rather gnarly, but ultimately both gymnasts were okay after, so it was only disappointing in terms of performance and not depressing like a lot of the other disappointments. The judging was also rather screwy and failed in the job of, you know, actually differentiating the athletes (what?).

The best of Worlds:One of the biggest positives that stuck in my mind from this final was Chuso's vaulting! I love how she was able to clean up so much AT FORTY-TWO! May she never leave us. I also loved seeing Giulia do so well after such a short return, Jade's wonderful form and power, and while Wang Yan doesn't always have the strongest and cleanest vaults, I do appreciate how she doesn't terrify me so many vaulters frequently can. And while Bee Farm's vaulting isn't the nicest, it was good to see her hit when her back was basically taped together. Should we be begging Russia to stop encouraging her to compete at this point? I think so.

As for the result, I would have been okay with any combination of the medalists. I think if I was picking the podium, I would have done 1. Jade, 2. Giulia, 3. Masha, but I have no real complaints about the actual result either. Sometimes in gymnastics, multiple placing permutations are equally valid, and sometimes it comes down to a closer result but the outcome is more definite. Such is our wacky sport. Ultimately, while all the medalists had strong-enough performances, no one here really had a champion-worthy performance. Jade would have had it not been for that landing, and it's completely legitimate that she gave away the title there. Hopefully we'll see her back with a stronger hit in the next years (and an upgrade-- that Amanar is way too easy for her! she could legit get the TTY!)


Womens' UB
The worst of Worlds: Obviously, the big negative (in athlete performance) here was Ashton's... well, I hate to use sensationalist language on here in reference to a bad performance, but her meltdown. I mean, that's a routine she can do in her sleep! And apparently she exacerbated a shoulder injury, and finished her routine through tears. I felt so bad for her! She had been so crapped on in the lead-up to Worlds and then that had to happen. And the biggest downside of the final was the pettiness after. What ridiculous nonsense to be pillorying gymnasts for. And with the targets, people were definitely just looking to attack. "Ashton crying was unreasonable if she wasn't injured!" Seriously, calm down. And then the Nina issue. Yes, how dare she smile to herself when she realizes she just won Belgium's first World medal. Yet no one seems to mind how everyone was hugging the floor medalists while Vanessa was still on the ground being attended to by the med staff. Nope, no hypocrisy here at all. Not picking and choosing who to hate based on our already held biases, never. Some people in this fandom just really need to grow up.
Okay, gymternet rant over.

The best of Worlds: Onward to what I loved. Because outside of the Ashton sadness, this is probably my favorite bars final. Maybe with 2015 as an exception, because that was hilarious and all kinds of magical and had basically no falters, but I LOVE the style of bars we saw in this final. All I really cared about going in was that Elena, Anastasia, Nina, and Diana hit, and I got that. (Well, there was the Shang thing in Iliankova's routine, but details.) So many unique and gutsy combinations with big releases! So many connections combining multiple categories of skills! These are the bars routines we deserve! (Actually they're probably more than we deserve, tbh.) I seriously don't get how people are complaining current bars routines are boring? Are we watching the same competitions? They're so breathtaking!

So yeah, I was paying zero attention to scoring, so... Lena and Ilya wur robbed!!!!11! Fan shouldn't have medalled!!1!111! (I seriously have no legitimate opinion here. I paid NO ATTENTION to such trivial things as "quality".)


Womens' BB
The worst of Worlds: This was certainly one of the less bad beam finals we've had at this level in a long time, but there were still spots of sadness. Of course, no one wants to see the falls. I was especially sad to see Teramoto fall when I wanted her to get vindication for her fourth in 2014. I was less sad about Ellie's fall because she didn't seem too upset after medaling in AA, but she can be such a powerhouse here that I would have liked to have seen her hit the way she can, and she would have had a chance for a medal. And of course, it was sad to see Mai in fourth again. And while it wasn't as bad as some have been, it also didn't really have any super great routines either. There were a lot of falters.

The best of Worlds:But PAULINE WON YOU GUYS!! We of course had to deal with the tragedy of Sanne not qualifying, but one of the two I wanted to return to the podium was able to walk away with the title! She is such a gorgeous beam worker, and one of the few who has real choreography which added genuine artistic quality to the routine. It was also great to see Tabea able to pick up a second medal for Germany. I would love to see Germany put themselves at the top! And of course, MORGI! I'm loving this new steady Morgan we're seeing. Elena coming through and finishing off her competition with no falls and all hit beam routines was also super exciting, and I'm really looking forward to what she'll do for the Russian program.

I don't think there's too much controversy here. I've seen just a very little claim of robbing on Elena's part from Russia stanning, and I'm sure you'll find the same for Morgan, but that's just the fringes. I'm with what seems to be the consensus from what I've seen, which is being fine with the outcome.


Womens' FX
The worst of Worlds: Of course, with the bad, we need to talk about Vanessa. I, like everyone, am furious with Casella. One of the few injuries here that was actually the fault of decision-making on the part of the athlete team. And his manipulation to get her to go for difficulty she wasn't ready for yet. He appeared to be literally the only person who didn't see what a stupid decision he was pushing her to. When I watched the final, I was just thinking "Well at least Vanessa's got an epic routine to go out on", and then that happened. Absolutely shameful. I really don't think I can say much else negative about this final, but what a terrible negative it was.

The best of Worlds: MAI! MAI MAI MAI!! She finally got her Worlds medal. And what fabulous vindication for when she was robbed in 2013. It's such a fantastic total package routine. Speaking of total package routines, Brooklyn Moors is also how lovely. I'm not sure why, but I didn't have the same adoration for this routine until the last time I watched it yesterday, and... why? It's gorgeous. And the Podkopayeva! The difficult and intricate front tumbling! THE SEMENOVA! Lovely, lovely, lovely. And speaking of the Canadians, I also appreciated seeing Ellie Black again in this floor final. She may have stumbled, but I just love her floor work. Jade's tumbling was gorgeous. I could watch those passes on loop. Of course her artistry is quite lacking, but I think people are a bit over the top where criticizing her is concerned. No, it's not good. But her choreography has a fair enough correlation to the music, and she does it cleanly. I do hope we see good improvement there. It's her one barrier to being a total package floor worker. I also love the new Claudia we saw here. Her stumble on the first run was disappointing, but she's cleaned up A LOT. While I loved her old choreographies, she's like a whole new performer and it's fab. Another floor worker I love.

I loved this podium! Mai finally winning, Jade's gorgeous tumbling getting rewarded, and CLAUDIA MEDALLED! However, I really wouldn't have hated it if Thais had medalled ahead of Frags. Frags is one of my favorite on floor, but... there was that stumble.

Worlds Predictions and Fantasy Podiums

The time has come, the time is now, to talk of Worlds and things, of hits and hopes and average scores, of champions and swings, of who has upgrades under wraps, and what the judges think. Calloo, callay, we'll sing today, of champions and swings.

AA Prediction
1. Ragan Smith
2. Larisa Iordache
3. Angelina Melnikova
Compared to Larisa, I have more confidence in Ragan that she won't 1.fall apart, 2.be downgraded a bunch, 3.get hammered in execution all over the place.

AA Fantasy
1. Rebeca Andrade
2. Ragan Smith
3. Ellie Black
REBECA!!! And I would also just love for Ellie to medal, especially at home!
Update: Well, now Rebeca's out, put in Larisa or Morgan for bronze.


VT Prediction
1. Maria Paseka
2. Shallon Olsen
3. Rebeca Andrade
The Chengmanars in front, of course. I always want someone with beautiful vaults to win, but Bee Farm always seems to get it.

VT Fantasy
1. Rebeca Andrade
2. Giulia Steingruber
3. Jade Carey
Once again, REBECA!! How gorgeous are her vaults! Giulia because duh, and then I just want Jade Carey to do the level-10-to-World-medalist-in-under-a-year thing. Because of course.
Update: Again, now Rebeca's ACL destroyed all our hopes again, slot in Jade Carey for the prediction and Chuso for the fantasy.


UB Prediction
1. Nina Derwael
2. Fan Yilin
3. Anastasia Iliankova
While bars is absolutely stacked, these three look to be coming in the clear frontrunners. I moved Iliankova into third because of the injury/rough training stuff.

UB Fantasy
1. Nina Derwael
2. Anastasia Iliankova
3. Diana Varinska
Can you tell what kind of bars routines I like? So many breathtaking gutsy combinations! So many Ezhovas! So many Tkatchev halves! So incredible!


BB Prediction
1. Ragan Smith
2. Liu Tingting
3. Larisa Iordache
Once again, I don't trust Larisa as much in certain key medal-getting areas. Liu's routine depends more on finicky combinations, so I'm wondering more about her D score. But then there's the wolf turn/side jump issues with Ragan's routines.

BB Fantasy
1. Sanne Wevers
2. Pauline Schaefer
3. Luo Huan/Morgan Hurd
All I want is Sanne and Pauline to medal on beam. That's it!! They just have such lovely, lovely work. #makebeamartisticagain I couldn't decide between Luo and Morgan-- I'm allowed one tie, right?


FX Prediction
1. Mai Murakami
2. Larisa Iordache
3. Ragan Smith
Mai seems to have the momentum this year. She's beyond due for a World floor medal! Larisa's apparently busting out a Silivas, so slot her in. And Ragan consistently does hit routines that get good scores.

FX Fantasy
1. Claudia Fragapane
2. Yesenia Ferrera
3. Mai Murakami
I'm still waiting for Frags to get her floor medal. And she's grown so much as a performer! I just love this routine. Same for Yesenia! Please let her get her medal here. And again, Mai's just overdue.

The Greatest Beam Save of All Time

Yes, I am aware that this is going up really late. Starting school the week after nationals will do that to you. So, nothing about Universiade either (I still need to catch up and actually watch that) and we'll see if I work up something about the Russian Cup videos if anything there looks interesting enough. (Can you tell how long it's been even since I wrote this intro?)

So, obviously the first thing we have to talk about is THE BEAM SAVE.

That beautiful moment when you almost fall and end up upgrading. I'm bummed she didn't get the CV because it was connected to a wolf turn-- she didn't break the rhythm or anything!! It's way nicer than those horrible double wolf, pause, triple wolf/vice versa constructions. This could have been the Olympics, and this would be what I consider the most important moment of the meet (unless Sanne won beam, in which case, SANNE)-- for a post-Olympic nationals, even more so! Heck, this just might be the most important thing to happen in competition this year. This is legendary. I'm also super down with her getting the silver here! I know in all context of Worlds discussion we go to "but inconsistency!"... like we do with every non-Ragan candidate (except maybe Marz? and Trinity). At least we'll always have the wolf+side-stand triple.

And then, in the realm of beam saves, we must not forget the Leah Clapper Beam Moments. On night one, she held on with the jaws of life in ultimate refusal to meet the mat, which always gains my respect-- it might not be reflected in the score, but the character it shows!

Unfortunately, on night two she had an actual fall, but still a fall in valiant style:

While we're on the topic of beam, we also really need to talk about the horrible relationship the US has with beam construction this year. First of all, as I already referenced, the doubling up on wolf turns one right after the other. Let me make this clear, I like well-executed wolf turns. I don't like well-executed doubled up wolf turns. They are hideous, QED.

And then there are the side-stand half-twisting jumps. Fortunately, for the most part, they were better-executed here than at Classics, and the ones which hit split and weren't accompanied by a large balance break were decently pleasant enough. But some were still cringe-inducing. Ragan's beam from night one basically just stood as a monument to the pitfalls of contemporary US beam construction:

Also, what was that score?

There are so many aesthetically-pleasing routes to beefing up the D score in the new COP that the US just... isn't utilizing. I can't think of a single senior who's putting the mixed connection potential to use, and with all the upgrades in mounts they're just sticking with their same A mounts. I know the minimize risk, maximize reward strategy, but... is it really working? We had the wolf turn errors and the twisting jump errors, so are they really the most risk-free options? (I feel vaguely like Umbridge talking about risk-free conditions.) Surely it would be better to risk not getting SB than those errors? And not to mention, it's not just the acrobatic mounts that got upgraded! THE HOMMA WAS UPGRADED!!! (Please, just anyone from anywhere do a Homma.) There are plenty of low-fall-risk options for higher difficulty mounts.


On a completely frivolous note at the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, the Texas Dreams leos night one were fab. I'm still not completely sold on the gathering on Ragan's, but it was a cool different touch and otherwise so regal! I loved the red/white/black/gray look, and how they were different but complementary. Just a nice touch of flair!


And, of course, with Texas Dreams, we must discuss Ragan. She was clearly the best by far, and will definitely be the US's hope for the World title in Montreal. She's been one of the most consistent at the end of the summer, and has been topping the scores, so she is going in a favorite. Her bars both nights missed the strength of her Classics routine, but she made it through securely both times, still. While her beam will never be scored that way at Worlds, her night two beam was FANTASTIC! It was steady and precise for almost the whole routine, and her biggest slip involved one of the lovely "no need to notice my foot just completely missed the beam, it didn't affect me at all or anything" moments. All in all, she is establishing herself as the top class at this point.

And, of course, the weirdness of her floor. Well, her choreography fits the new opening music better than it did for the car horn IT WAS CHOREOGRAPHED TO, so good for that. Also, side eye to Dominic Zito (he is still her choreographer?) It's no longer the bizarro Addams Family mess, but still... we know she can do so much better!! There's a proclivity toward butt shelving and there seems to have been a shift toward constructing her routines with static movements that wasn't there in her junior routines. They went from her cuteness just being a natural facet of the routine to the routines screaming "Look! She's cute and little! We give her beads for motivation! We're going to keep pretending she's five!!" This infantilization I just don't get.


Riley both did and didn't do her job here. She had an overall pretty much hit meet (those bars and floor E scores night two were ridiculous, though, floor significantly more so), which was an improvement along the lines she needed to show. However, it came along with a downgrade and, of course, two routines with significant errors. I am more convinced now that issues for her won't mean complete mental implosion and safety-threatening errors, which had been my big hesitation where she was concerned. I do wonder if doing the FTY might have been behind the increased consistency. With her problems at American Cup, I wondered if maybe going for the DTY threw her off. If you took her day one performance, she made a good case. And her day two beam was lovely.

I was totally on the Marz train to make the podium, but actually looking at the scores, it was a fairly unlikely ask of her to get that score on beam. Still, I truly do think she had one of the best overall performances at nationals. She beat both of the other medalists in steady performance. Plus, her floor is just really fun!

Trinity Thomas's coaches must be really bugged this isn't a team year, because if it was, she'd be a shoe-in for her consistency and the competitive scores she can bring on three events. It's such a shame she couldn't have a more difficult vault!

And, oh, Morgan. Especially night 1. *Sigh* And she finally hit the beam routine, too!

Hit the usual problem routine, then miss on others. I will always be here for hoping for the ice-in-her-veins Morgan to happen. She's just such a beautiful gymnast!

But, on the topic of Morgan's beautiful gymnastic, she dealt a huge blow to the artistry in the world when she shaved down her ending choreo!!


Fortunately, however, the void has been filled by the SJS night two routine:

THIS IS GORGEOUS! I love how she and her mom just decided "with the injuries pneumonia and such, Worlds, etc. isn't happening, so we'll make a splash with TWO DIFFERENT FLOOR ROUTINES!!" This was definitely the one I preferred.


Moving from magnificent artistry to pure power, Jade Carey's performance... wasn't what we wanted it to be. Neither Amanar was up to scratch. I wonder if at this point it might be better just to do a DTY instead of the Amanar (that is legal right? I always get confused with whether you can have two vaults with the same number of twists) and go for a safer and cleaner route.


And then, rounding out the major players, Ashton still didn't bring the inbars. The routine with the inbars and Ashton-execution would be quite formidable, but there is the question of bringing a routine she hasn't shown in competition this year. Still, there will be an element of risk whatever Worlds team is chosen.



And the juniors!

I like both of the top two, but I was definitely rooting for Maile going in, so I was glad to see her defend the title! Of course, I was not happy that it came with an error from Emma Malabuyo. But, after the issues she had as Classics, it was great to see Maile go 8-for-8 here. These juniors are insane. How much do you want to bet Valeri has a countdown in his office for the number of days until 2018 and these girls are seniors? I know Maile's standout event is beam, but her day 2 bars are what really stuck with me:

Lower difficulty than day 1, but gorgeous!


It was such a shame that Emma had her stumble day 2 on her beam dismount! She has such lovely gymnastics. She really should have been in the lead after day 1, she had such a clean and polished day. But she's had a great year otherwise! Though her day 2 beam was the cause of her downfall, her day 1 beam was glorious, and I love her arabian! But the highlight of her performance had to be her day 1 floor.

And, speaking of floor, ADELINE KENLIN BROUGHT THE PODKOPAYEVA

But, of course, the big thing that caught my attention here was the new GAGE girls! Dang, they are lovely gymnasts. While Leanne and Kara have been getting the lion's share of the attention, I am a major fan of JaFree's beam composition. But, like everyone else, the one I could watch on loop is Kara's:

This is a vision of what gymnastics should be. And her choreo is also super enjoyable and adds to the overall aesthetic of the routine! Sadly, her difficulty is low everywhere else, but it's ridiculous (not as in crack judging-ridiculous, as in how awesome-ridiculous) that her execution was still able to get her into third! And she turns senior next year? We don't even have her hanging in the junior ranks another year? Well, I guess that will keep her from going into the "permanent junior" category in my mind.



And, of course, I can't finish the post off without talking about the Worlds team. I don't envy the selection committee this year, not because there are so many viable solutions, but because this looks like a puzzle where not all the pieces fit yet.

Ragan is obviously going for the AA. Riley is obviously going in some capacity. Since she would have beaten Jordan even with the rough spots and the FTY if the US didn't have its own values, probably AA. The rest is... eh.

Jordan's rumored Lopez is the biggest wrench in the plan. With Carey's issues, another option would be nice. This brings multiple routes and questions into play. The first is looking at comparing her and Carey for a vault spot. If Carey keeps not Amanaring well, Jordan could be the favored option for vault. Except she hasn't done the Lopez in competition. And then the, y'know, "having other competitive events" issue. Pfft. Jade clearly beats her on floor, making Jade the more-viable-potential-medals option.

But then, on the other side of the coin, the vault field is always the easiest to get into. So, if Jade doesn't get her vaults into order, which option provides the bigger medal opportunity? Of course, not having seen said Lopez, we can't say.

But then there's another option of Jordan going for the AA, having two vaulters, and bring Riley as a UB/BB specialist. Riley may have been ahead of Jordan using, y'know, the criteria they'll actually be judged by, but Jordan didn't hit her peak. So what if she turns up at camp looking fab? At this point, probably, "You needed to do this in an actual competition with people, sorry." But of course, Riley's consistency isn't her greatest strength either. Does either's consistency record make a better case? And, the bigger question in my mind, should Riley go back to the DTY option, will she still have her newfound hit-ness even with the upgrade? The lack of consistent AAers with competitive difficulty levels is what really messes the decision up here. But Riley's definitely the clear favorite for the second AA spot. The Ragan-Jordan-Jade-Riley option just fits the best, but probably wouldn't maximize outcome.

Ashton and Riley were the only two to beat Ragan on bars, therefore making them the only two worth bringing for bars. Ragan and Riley were also 1-2 on beam, making anyone else for a beam spot illogical unless they can outweigh the collective benefit of Riley. Ashton without the inbars is less compelling than she should be, but if she has them securely at camp, I would think that would be good enough for her case. She's still one of only two beating Ragan, so unless Riley doesn't go as an AAer, she's got a claim to a spot where no one else can really make a compelling argument.

With all the pieces in play at this point, the Ragan-Riley-Jade-Ashton team definitely seems like the most solid option of what we've seen and what I'd expect, but an underwhelming top choice. Like I said, the issue is there are a bunch of puzzle pieces which don't really work together.

And then, of course, there's the ideal option of Trinity Thomas suddenly gets a DTY that looks great, there's a consistent second AAer who can bring in some nicely competitive scores on individual events, and we get a solid second AAer and more balanced team both in the bag. If you add in the D score she would have gotten from a DTY (because of course her E scores would have been exactly the same) she comes in second at nationals. It really would just be the best solution.

Ah well, a girl can dream, right?