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.

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.

Favorite Routines of the Quad: Floor

Laurie Hernandez 2013 P&Gs Day 2

Remember when they didn't choreograph facial expressions into Laurie's routines and just let it come naturally? Remember when this was the routine everyone was talking about? Ah, good times.

Louise McColgan 2013 National Championships

This has to be some of the most creative choreography I've seen. It was wonderfully fun and playful for a little espoir gymnast, but it was still mature and unique. I could watch this routine every day and not grow tired of it.

Giulia Steingruber 2014 Europeans EF

Giulia's leaps are just works of art. She flies on them unlike anyone else. I just love the intensity of this routine.

Catherine Lyons 2014 Europeans EF

The modern dance masterpiece. She had any number of strong performances of this routine, but the way she got up from the floor before her third tumbling pass in this one really made this one stand out to me. This routine just flows so effortlessly, it doesn't have that separation of skills and performance you so often see.

Yesenia Ferrera 2014 Pan Am Championships EF

The tumbling in this routine was fab. It's a shame she disappeared the way she did, she was a brilliant gymnast. The choreography in this routine isn't super complex, but it was super enjoyable all the same.

Ruby Harrold 2014 Worlds Qualifications

I love the avant garde style of this routine. Ruby just works so well with the percussive music. I also really like the selection of tumbling- it has all the different styles of skills I like to see. It's just such a unique routine performed so well.

Celine van Gerner 2015 WOGA Classic

My favorite Dutch routine of the quad. It's just such a powerful music and presentation. I love the bit after her double L spin, it's just so well done. The tension in this routine is just fabulous.

Ellie Black 2015 Pan Ams EF

When it comes to gymnastics, one of the things I am most thankful for is Ellie Black's wonderfully unique and original tumbling. I'm also a sucker for combination tumbling passes, and so all of Ellie's tumbling passes being combinations is just like Christmas for me. Her choreography is also just so well done and beautiful.

Kyla Ross 2015 Jesolo PT

Yes, it's a cop out to use a podium training routine. But in this case, can you really blame me? It's just so beautiful, and after her crazy issue in competition, she never did it like this again...

Lisa Verschueren 2015 European Games EF

This routine is everything I never knew I needed. It's just so off-the-wall. I love Belgium on floor, their MO seems to be "let's win the prize for kookiness" and I can't get enough.

Giulia Steingruber 2015 Europeans EF

As always with Giulia, the tumbling and leaps are beautiful. This is just such a great modern routine, and her performance is so effortless. It's just so watchable.

Claudia Fragapane 2015 Europeans EF

I like out-of-the-box routines, in case you can't tell. Her choreography is just so different and cool. Her tumbling isn't pristine, but you can't deny it's exciting. Her DLO to wolf should by rights be hideous, but somehow I end up loving that connection. And that back spin to finish!

Bailie Key 2015 Secret Classic

This did not seem to be a terribly popular choreography, but this is my favorite floor routine of the quad. I like the swimming part! I don't know, maybe it's just Bailie's lack of expression, but she seems almost to be mocking the audience, and maybe I'm just weird, but I love when routines do that. And the tumbling's not shabby either. It was just such a different direction to go with Bailie, and I love it!

Marine Brevet, 2015 Worlds Qualification

First of all, "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" is one of my favorite floor music selections. Add to that a lovely DLO, great passionate choreography, and that ending pose, and bam, this routine is amazing.

Fantasy Rio Podiums

Just for some fun before the Games! I'm not going to include the US for the team podium or Simone for any individual podiums, partly because it's too crowded already, partly because it's just not quite as fun when one of the people/teams on the fantasy podium is already super dominant and expected to do as well anyway. So they can get diamond-encrusted medals (would they technically be nonmedals?- okay, I'll put away my chemistry nerd puns now). Also, if I include a gymnast who is just total fantasy and not expected to be even close to the podium, I'll put a more realistic fantasy medalist in parentheses underneath.

Team
1. Great Britain
2. Brazil
3. Germany
Can you tell I love my underdog teams? I'm seriously pulling for a bronze upset, and I think there's a really good possibility it will happen!

All Around
1. Rebeca Andrade
2. Laurie Hernandez/Aly Raisman
3. Shang Chunsong
(Giulia Steingruber)
Even with the ACL hiatus, I have remained a devoted Rebeca fan. I really hope she can shine alongside Flavia! Shang came so close last time, and with her great gymnastics and sportsmanship and her life situation, it would just be so wonderful for her to finally medal individually!

Vault
1. Giulia Steingruber
2. Hong Un Jong
3. Marcia Videaux
Giulia has been so close to the top for so long, and she's done nothing but get better. I just love her vaulting, and it would be so great for her to do well! Also, she and Marcia both get nods for not doing strictly round off-entry vaults. And Hong of the weightless Amanar!

Uneven Bars
1. Ruby Harrold
2. Becky Downie
3. Fan Yilin
(Shang Chunsong)
Ruby's bars continue to be my favorite, and the new connection is just fabulous! But she is not a likely medalist at all. Becky medaling is my #1 hope for the UB final! Both the Chinese have fabulous routines, but Fan's is just smoother.

Balance Beam
Alright, so I'm copping out on beam. I'm way too emotionally invested in the beam podium (what a great final to be super emotionally invested in) and though I try to be as un-superstitious as possible, I'm not going to jinx an already beamy final. So I'm doing my dream podium of the gymnasts not likely in the medal hunt.
1. Eythora Thorsdottir
2. Vasiliki Millousi
3. Pauline Schaefer
Three gorgeous beam beauties. I love all of their unique skill sets and choreography!

Floor
1. Claudia Fragapane
2. Aly Raisman
3. Erika Fasana
There are too many gymnasts I love on floor this year. No, no Giulia on my dream podium. I love her on floor, but I'm not a fan of her current routine. Claudia winning a major floor medal is a huge dream of mine. Aly's tumbling is so great, and I just love how she has improved her presentation since last quad! And I just love Erika as a floor performer.

(Senior) Euros Predictions

With the whole end of the school year hubbub, I got caught off guard once again this year as to just how close Euros are. Close as in, they start Wednesday. So here are my predictions for the senior scene, because I'm honestly not informed enough to do junior predictions. So here are those: ZUBOVA WINS EVERYTHING!


Team
Finalists:
Russia
Romania
Great Britain
Italy
Germany
France
Belgium
Switzerland

Podium:
1. Russia
2. Great Britain
3. Italy
Russia and GB look pretty firmly at the head of the pack. Otherwise, a lot of teams aren't sending full A team squads. I'm really not quite sure who to pick for bronze.


Vault
Finalists:
Giulia Steingruber
Seda Tutkhalyan
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Ellie Downie
Claudia Fragapane
Zsofia Kovacs
Teja Belak
Tjasa Kysselef

Podium:
1. Giulia Steingruber
2. Ellie Downie
3. Afan
This, of course, assumes Afan will come with two vaults, which you can never be certain of. Steingruber is clearly the favorite, as always at Euros this quad. Ellie's work is always easy on the eyes and allows for some good scores, and I hope to see her rewarded for it at a high-level international this week.


Uneven Bars
Finalists:
Aliya Mustafina
Daria Spiridonova
Becky Downie
Ruby Harrold
Nina Derwael
Loan His
Kim Bui
Martina Rizzelli

Podium:
1. Daria Spiridonova
2. Becky Downie
3. Aliya Mustafina
Becky Downie's hit magic at Euros the last two years, so I'm picking her as safe for this final. Daria is obviously the clear front runner, like Giulia in vault. Aliya's basic routine should be clean enough for her to take a medal easily in this field.


Balance Beam
Finalists:
Aliya Mustafina
Angelina Melnikova
Catalina Ponor
Gabby Jupp
Becky Downie
Nina Derwael
Giulia Steingruber
Vasiliki Millousi

Podium:
1. Angelina Melnikova
2. Aliya Mustafina
3. Catalina Ponor
Melnikova has been dominating the beam so far. Aliya and Catalina are both consistent picks with routines that garner high scores.


Floor
Finalists:
Giulia Steingruber
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Angelina Melnikova
Claudia Fragapane
Ellie Downie
Elisa Meneghini
Catalina Ponor
Yana Horokhova

Podium:
1. Afan
2. Giula Steingruber
3. Claudia Fragapane
I had absolutely no idea who to pick for the last EF spot, so I went Horokhova because I like her and she made a World Cup EF on floor, so why not. Afan has had a good legacy on floor in her comeback, so she seemed the obvious choice for gold. And though Claudia has a bit of a history of outplacing Giulia, Giulia's Gogean! I'd like to see her get a higher medal at Euros.

Euros Predictions

I've just realized Euros are RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER (I was expecting more buzz on The Gymternet, TCG, etc.), so I'm getting down to making my predictions!

All Around
1. Giulia Steingruber
2. Erika Fasana
3. Maria Kharenkova
Con of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: No Aliya and Larisa
Pro of Aliya and Larisa missing Euros: This is going to be one crazy final
I do think Giulia will end up with the title- high difficulty vault and floor, respectable bars with good combinations, and improved consistency on beam. I do also think Fasana will leave with a medal- I said it on my Jesolo post and I'm sticking to it! Kharenkova did well at Russian champs, and I'm not as concerned about her imploding as I am everyone else. Others in contention are the British all arounders, Laura Jurca, Diana Bulimar, Marta Pihan-Kulesza (PLEASE), Eythora Thorsdottir, Vanessa Ferrari, Alla Soz, and maybe one of the Germans or one of the French girls. Too exciting! My dream podium would be Marta, Amy Tinkler, and Eythora. For now, anyway- too many good choices!


Vault
Finalists:
Alla Sosnitskaya
Giulia Steingruber
Noel van Klaveren
Ellie Downie
Claudia Fragapane
Teja Belak
Tjasa Kysselef
Noemi Makra

Podium:
1. Alla Sosnitskaya
2. Claudia Fragapane
3. Giulia Steingruber
I'm hoping for Pavs still, but not holding my breath. Unless Giulia has added a DTY recently, I don't think she'll be able to go beyond bronze. Her position there might be in jeopardy too. Teja Belak's been doing well for herself recently. Ellie Downie might also have a chance, her DTY is lovely.


Uneven Bars
Finalists:
Daria Spiridonova
Noemi Makra
Jonna Adlerteg
Ana Filipa Martins
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Andreea Iridon
Ida Gustaffson
Becky Downie

Podium:
1. Daria Spiridonova
2. Jonna Adlerteg
3. Becky Downie
I know, I know, but Becky's just been having so many troubles with bars this year! British champs always make predictions so annoying because it's always a splat-fest, and you never know whether it will actually carry into competition. I do think Daria will be the champion, she's been on fire on bars this year! I think Jonna will land on the podium; she has such nice bars and has been cracking this year! I feel like I'm missing out on someone obvious in the finalist predictions, and Bulimar and another Russian could also kick someone out.


Beam
Finalists:
Maria Kharenkova
Laura Jurca
Diana Bulimar
Eythora Thorsdottir
Sanne Wevers
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Claire Martins
Carlotta Ferlito

Podium:
1. Maria Kharenkova
2. Diana Bulimar
3. Eythora Throsdottir
I feel like, with this one, there's Maria at the top and then a bunch who score high 13s-low 14s. Eythora and Sanne HAVE to hit it out of the park!!!! Diana is super solid on beam and really beautiful, so I think she'll be medaling. Eythora's routine is beautiful and her form is perfect and it's so artistic and she doea have a 2.5 dismount and she HAS to get a medal, and I'm restraining myself by only putting her in bronze because I can't get my hopes too high. Same with Sanne off the podium. We all know Maria has the gold in the bag, with such little tough competition she can relax with this one. So many beautiful beam workers at Euros who won't get to shine at Worlds, I'm so glad we get to see them here! If Ellie Downie miraculously breaks her my-scores-look-like-they-came-out-of-the-2004-quad streak and actually hits a routine, she should be in here. My dream podium would be Sanne, Eythora, and Claire.


Floor
Finalists:
Giulia Steingruber
Claudia Fragapane
Erika Fasana
Ksenia Afanasyeva
Alla Sosnitskaya
Diana Bulimar
Amy Tinkler
Vanessa Ferrari

Podium:
1. Ksenia Afanasyeva
2. Erika Fasana
3. Giulia Steingruber
I think this one should be close between Erika, Giulia, Amy, and Claudia for silver and bronze. If Afan goes clean, she should take the gold fairly easily. This should be a good floor final, really close and lots of beautiful work. I think Marta might kick out Vanessa if she's having an off day, which she has displayed this season.


So, how wrong do you think I am? Which final are you most looking forward to? Who is that incredibly obvious bar worker I'm totally missing?

American Cup Lineup

USA Gymnastics announced the American Cup roster today. The women's field is Emily Little, Ellie Black, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold, Erika Fasana, Vanessa Ferrari, Jessica Lopez, and the American contingent Simone Biles and Mykayla Skinner.

So, on the roster:

• I'm a bit surprised Bailie or Nia isn't on the roster. The major new seniors (and these are really major ones) generally get a nod. But then, World Cup rosters are also known for being quite fluid.
• However, YAS MYKAYLA!!!! So excited about this, and I'm totally happy with her competing at the American Cup!
• Ellie Black is also a major bonus on the list. Her vault and tumbling pass variations will be very interesting.
• Jessica Lopez back for the first time this quad, always a nice touch. Imagine if Bailie did get swapped in- battle of the Lindsay Sterling floor routines!
• Sad not to see Iordache here. It's always great to see her and Simone competing together, and she would have been a shoe-in for the World Cup title.
• I've come to enjoy Erika Fasana (at least on floor, which is a good intro event to become a favorite of mine), so I'm glad to see her here.
• I'm interested to see what the Trio will make of Frag's floor routine. It wasn't included in the NBC Worlds coverage. I think they'll like it, but it's always amusing to hear what they do finally have to say.
• Oh, and Ruby's bars! YES, official broadcast quality!
• Speaking of floor, I'm interested to see who all brings new routines for 2015. Fragapane, Harrold, Ferrari, and Lopez have all had their routines for two years, so I'll be interested to see if they stick with them or bring something fresh. I'd also like to see Emily Little with a new routine...
• And, finally, what is Simone going to bust out?! Are we going to see the DLO 1/1? What of the other awesome upgrades we saw in her last USAG video? And maybe Mykayla too...

And my prediction:

1. Simone Biles (duh)

2. Mykayla Skinner

3. Vanessa Ferrari

4. Jessica Lopez

5. Ellie Black

6. Claudia Fragapane

7. Ruby Harrold

8. Erika Fasana

9. Emily Little

Spots 1-3 were easy, as were 7-9. 4-6 were harder to puzzle out, and I feel they probably won't be this order.

(Floor) Artistry in Nanning: The EF

Yeah, so it's REALLY late to make a Worlds post, I know. This is just the first of three or so on artistry, but I'll get to them before the end of the year at least. Just be patient.

We're all accustomed to the claims the the sport is totally lacking in artistry and should just drop that part of the name and kick out anyone bigger than a size 2 and just shut down all the programs outside Europe except with maybe of the exception of the China, depending who you're talking to, and lynch Martha Karolyi while we're at it- or, at least, we're used to the whining of the artistry trolls who can't accept that the sport won't evolve from what it was in the 80s, and the rest can often be easily inferred. So, what was the artistry situation really like this year? I decided to take a look at some top routines from Worlds (and some of my favorites as well) to get a general temperature of (floor) artistry in 2014.

On tonight's episode of (Floor) Artistry in Nanning- the 8 routines of the floor event final!

Simone Biles

This is the kind of routine the trolls mentioned above love to crucify with no real reasoning as to why. Simone is a real performer and it is on perfect display in this routine. Her amazing eye contact, totally genuine dazzling smile, and even fun expressions before her mind-blowing tumbling passes make for the most enjoyable performance. This routine works with all her strengths and is another example of Dominic Zito at his best. This routine interprets the music perfectly. Her low to the floor bit is especially in tune with the accompaniment. The choreography also does a great job of capturing the fun nature of the music and making it like a party instead of a grueling test of physical ability. I love the way she is constantly moving from one skill or gesture to the next. This routine never stops and continues seamlessly as one complete, cohesive unit. I also love how well her trademark cartwheel was incorporated into the ending!

Larisa Iordache

I definitely prefer this routine to her guitar one from 2012. Larisa is one of the best gymnasts at working with the regulations of how long the gymnasts may stand in the corner. She has great body movement and does a great job of moving her body along with her arm and leg movements instead of having disconnected gestures. Larisa does a really good job of combining punctuating movements with extended ones to shape the music. I also like the way she changes the way she holds her hands and head position to add flourish and depth to her choreography and get in lots of good eye contact. It's a really great energetic and joyful routine but still mature.

Aliya Mustafina

This routine is just so- empty. I finish the routine and wonder where exactly the choreography was. It's good, but... she can do so much more than this! She does, as Christine says, have a beautiful shoulder line and nice smooth movement. She just spends so much time setting up for turns or getting into place for them with extremely simple movement. Aliya has just had such underwhelming routines that don't take advantage at all of what she can put forth since London! Just- the Rods! Like I said, it's good, but it should be so much better than good.

Mykayla Skinner

Mykayla is most certainly not the best dancer. She is fairly stiff, especially in her upper body movement. Whereas Aliya has great movement but lacking choreography, Mykayla- well, she doesn't have great choreography but it does fill the routine, but her quality of movement is just not there. Usually I prefer gymnasts who don't have the most natural movement to perform routines like this instead of crowd-pleasing ones, but her folk routine worked for her because she was able to have angular movement for the music. I think she handled it pretty well in the final and it was definitely her best performance, but there's only so much you can do when you are stiff in movement.

Vanessa Ferrari

Like her Last of the Mohicans routine, this is really a Vanessa-only routine. The choreography itself really isn't the greatest and fairly repetitive, but Vanessa is exactly the one to perform it. She makes it dramatic and full of flair and somehow regal. It suits the music and fits it easily, and her interpretation of the slower part is similarly perfectly Vanessa. There's really not much more to say about this routine. Vanessa makes this routine.

Larrissa Miller

Larrissa is elegant, no doubt. But where is the musicality in this routine? Her movements seem to have little to no relation with the music. Christine says that she seems to be waiting for the music- this describes her less than serendipitous relationship with the accompaniment. She also seems to be a bit stiff in her movement at times, though not as bad as Mykayla. The best choreography is definitely between her second and third tumbles.

Erika Fasana

Erika has amazing presence here. Very aggressive and she really attacks her movements. Works well with the slightly different music choice. She really has a flair for the dramatic. The choreography isn't always the greatest, but it has some really good moments as well. I especially love the sequence after her leap passage and before her final tumble. Nice variety between sharp movements and smooth ones and really exciting moments. She moves quickly throughout the routine but really does a good job of interpreting the music. I also really love how Erika is pulling in toward herself and tossing her back backwards throughout the routine. The routine seems to pass fairly quickly because Erika moves so quickly and it is such a forward moving routine but she really packs in a lot of good artistic work.

Claudia Fragapane

I'm still so sad about that fall! What is there really to say about this routine? It's just so mind-blowing! Claudia has such unique, fun, and exciting choreography! It totally works with the unusual music choice. Claudia has perfectly combines her skills with dynamic artistic work. The best sequence is definitely in the corner after her leap pass. The leap to prone position is so exciting, and is the falling spin into the back spin into the toss to her knees. She shows such delight in her movement and is just so much fun to watch!

Overall, I'd say the artistry in the floor EF was... okay. There were some really fun routines to watch, there were some fine ones, and there were some flat ones. Quality of movement definitely needs to be addressed in gymnastics as there was some fairly stiff work. The best routines in this final were exciting and crowd-pleasing ones as opposed to elegant ones, which were strangely lacking. Performance quality was good, as a lot of the gymnasts seemed to really enjoy what they were doing and drew in the audience to watch.

Commonwealths: Beam and Floor Finals Wrap-Up

Today, we were treated to some more great gymnastics in its final day at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. This has been a strenuous competition, with five straight days of gymnastics for some of these ladies. As such, it's really no surprise there were some off moments from top competitors, but all the medalists had lovely, hit routines.

Beam Final
This final started out as a splat-fest, with three of the first four falling. However, the later gymnasts were able to pull it together and put out some stunning routines.

Becky Downie started the final off on not a great note, and she was clearly having a terribly off day. After some choreo on her mount, Downie immediately fell on her first skill, a punch front. She sadly also experienced falls on her next two skills as well, her beautiful acro series and Y turn. After remounting the beam for the third time, Downie had a fairly good go of it, though she elected not to go for the ring position on her second switch leap, but she dismounted with only a layout. Downie appeared not terribly upset afterward, accepting that she had just had a very, very bad day. We hope she can put this behind her for Worlds and put up performances like those we have seen earlier this year.

Sadly, Lauren Mitchell followed suit with her beam, up second. She began with her amazing mount series, switch leap mount immediately into front tuck into wolf jump. I love front tucks immediately connected out of other skills so much! Sadly, on her series of two back handsprings into a layout to two feet, Mitchell also came to grief and fell. She went on to have a very lovely routine, including her low-to-beam cartwheel which I just love and her signature turn. Mitchell is very watchable on beam and really makes it a complete unit. Even with her fall, Mitchell was able to reach a 13.000 for her routine for sixth place. She submitted an inquiry which was rejected.

Isabela Onyshko sadly joined the ranks of those who succumbed to the beam today. She has beautiful work on this event, but is also quite inconsistent. Onyshko also fell on her BHS+BHS+layout series. She also has a beautiful split full and switch leap into gainer layout connection. Her final score was a 12.9666 to put her in seventh place. Onyshko is very elegant and I loved her choreography. She could be great on this event if she could get her mind together.

After Onyshko was English Pocket Rocket Claudia Fragapane. I love the composition of her routine. She has a great interesting mount and engaging choreography. Her opening acrobatic element was her back handspring layout connection, which she wobbled on but was able to hold onto. Fragapane had wobbles on lots of skills and stumbled a bit on her aerial cartwheel. She performed her standing full with a bit of a wobble but great power. She had a back handspring connection into her double pike to dismount. Apparently Fragapane lost CR for her dance series because the judges did not think she directly connected her switch leap into her wolf jump. Her score was a 13.133 for fifth.

The two Welsh gymnasts competed in succession. Lizzie Beddoe was the first of the two to mount the beam. She put on a beautiful and solid performance. She connected her switch leap into another with half a turn into a wolf jump. Beddoe continued her lovely dance work with an illusion turn. Her acro series, a BHS+LOSO was lovely. She also had a very solid double turn, which was very special. She dismounted with only a 1 1/2 twist, which kept her difficulty down. Beddoe placed fourth with a score of 13.366.

Georgina Hockenhull was able to build on her teammate's beautiful performance to earn Wales's second medal in WAG at these Games. Hockenhull also had a beautiful BHS+LOSO connection for her acro series. She had a lovely dance connection of a switch leap to a Johnson leap. Hockenhull had a nice split jump out of her aerial walkover to make for a very beautiful connection. Hockenhull also included a switch leap with half twist which had beautiful position in the air. She dismounted with a double tuck, was was landed slightly low and had a step as a result. Hockenhull earned the bronze with a score of 13. 466.

Mary-Anne Monckton, who competed second, was able to overcome the first-half curse and put up a solid routine. She began with a pretty forward roll mount which was followed by her choreography low to the beam. Monckton started her routine in style with a well-fought aerial cartwheel into layout stepout. Her front foot on her LOSO was very off line, but Monckton was able to bring it under control with just a step back. She had a wobble on her dance series of a switch leap connected to a switch leap 1/2. She also had a solid sheep jump in her routine. She also had a double tuck dismount which wasn't able to quite tell if it was stuck. Monckton received a 13.666 for the silver.

Ellie Black stormed the beam final today as the final performer to win by over a point with a 14.900. She began with her double turn, which resulted in a wobble. To quote the BBC commentators, she followed it up with a front pike which she "stamped". Her back handspring to layout connection was also perfect. Her difficulty continues to build with a tuck full connected out of a back handspring. On her front tuck, Black had to fight for it because she was underrotated, but she was able to reign it back under control. She clearly wanted this title. She dismounted with a 2 1/2 which was landed with a "Shannon stick". Black's score today would have tied her for the gold at least year's World Championships.


Floor Final
Lots of great personality was displayed on the floor mat today! This was a great finale to the women's competition in Glasgow and filled with big gymnastics.

Kirsten Beckett got this final started in style with her very exciting and powerful floor routine. She opened with a big half in-half out, which unfortunately went out of bounds. Her double Arabian had nice position in the air and stuck the landing! Her third pass was lower difficulty with only a 1 1/2 twist. She finished with a double tuck. She did not have problems with her dance passage today, where she executed a switch leap into switch leap full. Beckett showed lots of personality and put on an engaging performance! She placed eighth, her score a 13.000.

Jessica Hogg followed Beckett in the lineup. She opened with a big stuck full-twisting double tuck. Her double tuck dismount was a bit overrotated and led to a step back. She had beautiful switch leap variations throughout her routine. Hogg used very upbeat music and put on a good show. Hogg placed fifth with a score of 13.166

Stephanie Merkle had a sparkling performance in her final routine of these Commonwealth Games. She opened immediately with her leap connection which was a switch leap connected into a Johnson 1/2. Her first tumble was a full-twisting double back with a bounce. Like fellow Canadian Ellie Black, Merkle also includes a Popa in her routine. Her second pass was a beautiful 2 1/2 twist punch front. This was followed by a triple twist. Her final pass was a double back with a hop forward. Her choreography was amazing and Merkle really shone in her performance! I loved her choreography low to the floor, and it was definitely a memorable routine for me! Merkle placed fourth with a score of 13.433.

Hannah Whelan of England put up her usual fierce performance on floor. She also started with a full-in, but had a big out of bounds on landing. She followed it with a very strong 2 1/2 punch layout. Her leap series was a switch ring to split full. After her double pike dismount, Whelan performed a Ferarri to end. As always, Whelan sold the heck out of her routine and had a fabulous ending choreography. Whelan placed sixth with a score of 13.133.

Charlotte Sullivan of New Zealand made her second appearance in and individual final today in the floor final. She had a beautiful double turn into double stag connection to open. She opened with a triple twist. Her routine also included a 2 1/2 twist into a stag-ish jump. That doesn't even get bonus anymore. She had a very nice switch ring to switch full passage. Sullivan dismounted with a double tuck. Sullivan received a 13.033 for seventh place.

Ellie Black now has a full set of medals after picking up a bronze in the floor final. I just love her floor because she combines artistic value with incredibly unique and creative tumbling. She had a little bit of a stumble on her opening Popa. Her double layout was high and beautiful in the air with just a small hop. A split leap full was connected into her switch leap full. After falling on her double pike in both the team and all around events, Black made a smart decision and replaced it with her previous double full. However, she went out of bounds on this pass. Her third and final pass was her punch full into double tuck. Black put on an enchanting performance for a score of 13.666.

Lauren Mitchell followed up hear beam performance in the floor final. This is definitely one of her best routines she's ever had. She opened with a full-twisting double pike which bounded backward. On her double Arabian, Mitchell tried to jump out with a stag jump, but instead went out of bounds. Her signature triple wolf turn was the best I've ever seen Mitchell do. It was eased around all three turns. She had a lovely bounding pass with her punch front out of a 2 1/2 twist. She dismounted with a great double pike. Mitchell earned the silver with 13.833. If Lauren Mitchell really is retiring after these Commonwealth Games, this was a fabulous final performance.

Claudia Fragapane added to her collection of gold medals today with the gold on the floor exercise. Unlike how she usually plants her landings, Fragapane had to adjust with a step on her full-twisting double layout. She did follow it up with a planted double layout, though. As always, her breakdancing choreography into her third pass was so much fun to watch! She followed it up with a planted double Arabian with a nice lack of cowboying. I love her new addition before her final pass! When she landed her double pike, everybody knew the gold was hers. Fragapane took her fourth gold of these games with a score of 14.541.

Commonwealths: Vault and Bars Finals Wrap-Up (plus Injury Updates)

Gymnastics continued today in the Hydro at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Two huge finals were contested today, vault and uneven bars. We were treated to some of the most difficult routines in the world on both events and very, very big gymnastics.

Vault Final
This is a great example of why I love vault finals at smaller meets better than at major internationals. Less crazy sloppy chucked vaults and more simply prettiness! Though there was some insane stuff on display today!

Georgia-Rose Brown got the day started of right with the beautiful vaults. She vaulted an FTY for a very high 14.100. FTYs rarely are able to break the 14.000 barrier. Her second vault was a fairly simple half-on tucked front. She scored a 13.566 to average 13.833 and take seventh place.

Hometown favorite Emma White was second up in the vault final. She began, like Brown, with a very nice FTY. It piked a bit into the ground, but was otherwise nicely executed and scored 13.800. White's second vault was the same as that of Brown's but in a piked position. She tucked her legs too early and was thrust forward. Christine Still said in her commentary that White had landed the vault with her legs locked in the training earlier in the day, which explained her issues. She earned a 13.300 for an average 13.550 and eighth place.

South African great Kirsten Beckett showed very powerful vaults in the final today. She had an amazing 1 1/2 Yurchenko for her first vault. Her only problem was a hop on landing, but it was an otherwise amazing outing, scoring her a 14.366. Her second vault was a Tsuk full which also showed great power for a 13.866. Her 14.116 average was good enough for sixth.

England's Kelley Simm had a very respectable outing on vault today in her first individual final of a major championships. Her first vault was a very powerful DTY, though it was rather sloppy. Her DTY scored 14.633. Simm's second vault was a half-on tuck front half, which she landed a bit low, but was otherwise solid for a score of 13.766, giving her an average of 14.199 for fifth place.

Maegan Chant of Canada placed fourth in the final with both vaults scoring 14.233. She had two very clean vaults but not enough difficulty to put her onto the podium. Her first vault was a handspring front 1/2, which was fairly piked. There was a fair bit of discussion among the commentators about whether it would be credited, which it was. Chant's second vault was a beautiful Tsuk full with only a small hop on landing.

The biggest surprise and the buzz story of today was India's Dipa Karmakar. Karmakar is a hugely powerful gymnast, which is well displayed in her vault work. Her first vault, a Tsuk full, was fairly sloppy. She had a significant leg separation, especially on the block, and also incurred a penalty for out of bounds. She scored a 13.633. However, she matched that vault with her Produnova. I was literally watching through my fingers as she vaulted, expecting a huge crash, when, to everybody's surprise- Karmakar stood her vault up! She likely incurred a deduction for brushing against the landing mat, for she landed in a very deep squat, but she definitely stood it up! Her Produnova earned her a 15.100, the highest score of the final, and earned a bronze medal, India's first in artistic gymnastics.

Elsabeth Black was able to put all prior misfortune behind her today for an amazing vault final. Black had the same first vault as teammate Chant, a handspring front 1/2. It was dead center and almoooost stuck! It was an absolutely beautiful effort. Black saved her more difficult vault, a Tsuk 1 1/2, for second. This time, there was nothing almost about it, she landed in a stick! She tucked her legs slightly coming in for landing and landed fairly deeply, but it was definitely a huge victory! Black scored 14.433 for both vaults to take the silver.

Claudia Fragapane continued her gold streak in her one event final of the day. Fragapane began with bit of a scraggly DTY which incurred a penalty for out of bounds, and on which her feet were flexed. Her DTY earned her a 14.766. Fragapane's second vault was a Lopez. Off the table, Fragapane had a very open layout position. She piked down a bit for the landing, on which she had a hop. The Lopez scored a 14.500 and gave her an average of 14.633.

I love Claudia as much as anybody else, but as much as I would love her to be rolling in gold medals, it was clear she didn't deserve this title. Ellie Black was simply robbed. She put up two textbook vaults of respectable difficulty and had much better landings than Fragapane, who has iffy blocking technique on her Yurchenkos especially and took hops on both of her landings. Black was the best vaulter of the day, and it was obvious.


Uneven Bars Final
Bars showed many very exciting routines with very unique and original combinations. The Brits are some of the best bars workers in the world, and Australia sent a team of many very talented bars workers, so it was quite competitive!

Sadly, the Welsh gymnasts did not see the success and consistency of the team final today. Both gymnasts had very rough outings on the uneven bars today. Lizzie Beddoe was the first gymnast of the final, and her problems began very early in her routine. After her toe-on full, Beddoe had a very well flighted Maloney, but she stalled on her cast out of it which resulted in an empty swing. She then fell on her next move, a Jager salto. Beddoe went on to have a good rest of her routine, and showcased gorgeous lines. Rear Theaker came into this final injured, so many questioned whether she would even participate. It was clear from the beginning of her routine she was not in top form after she stalled on her hop grip change. On an attempt for a Weiler, Theaker fell from the bar. She came back onto the bars for a beautiful Maloney. However, on a clear hip circle, Theaker fell again and chose to end her routine. Theaker was clearly not on top form and working through immense pain, but she put on a gutsy performance and made a wise decision when she saw she couldn't go on.

Ellie Black had a very clean routine today. She began with a clear hip circle into a beautiful Shang release. She had a very nice Jager into Pak down to the low bar. She was off handstand on her giant full, but absolutely PLANTED her Moors dismount, which showed a very good stretched position. I still never quite understand that weird half turn under the bar and how that doesn't kill her score, but it was a great routine otherwise. Black scored a 13.700 and placed fourth.

Kirsten Beckett also had a very clean going of it in finals today, but without much of any difficulty. She began her routine with a nice bail straight into a Ray back to the high bar. She had a giant full which landed beautifully in handstand and then went straight into a HUGE Tkatchev. She finished with a very nice double front dismount. Due to her low difficulty, Beckett scored only a 12.933 and placed in sixth.

Georgia-Rose Brown was once again able to put her difficulties of the past two days behind her and put on a beautiful routine which showcased her gorgeous lines. She brought the original difficulty immediately opening with her gorgeous Maloney+Geinger connection, but caught close with bent elbows. After her toe-on full, Brown executed another flight series with a Jager connected to a bail which hit perfect handstand. From a toe-on 1/2, Brown went straight into a beautiful stuck double front. She was short on handstand for most of her routine, which is where she incurred most of her deductions. Brown scored 13.566 for fifth place.

Ruby Harrold, the final performer of the day, had another of the routines of her life. She had great flight on her Maloney into her Bhardwaj, which she caught well. Then it was back to her Van Leeuwen into Zuchold, which she connected directly into her toe-on full. She had a good Jager, but was over handstand in her cast out. She went into a double front with just one step forward. Harrold had a fair bit of leg separation in her routine, but she hit all of her connections and was very solid. She earned a bronze with a 14.366.

Larrissa Miller of Australia also had unique connections in her routine, and beautiful execution. She had a very unique Ricna into Geinger connection. She had a beautiful toe-on into a Jager, but kipped out of it before her bail. On the high bar, she executed a Stalder full before her full-in dismount. Miller had beautiful lines and lovely execution, and this is definitely a routine that might be seen in the event final come Nanning. She earned the silver with a 14.566.

Becky Downie added a Commonwealth Games title to match hers from Europeans with a 14.666. Her routine opened with the ever-exciting Chow to Hindorff connection. She hit all her connections except for her Ricna into Pak. She went cleanly through the whole slew of releases and transitions very cleanly. Her only significant errors were two small steps on her dismount, but this was definitely unarguably the best routine of the day.



In other parts of the world, two gymnasts pulled out of big upcoming events. Ari Agrapides will no longer be competing in the Secret U.S. Classic this Saturday. According to MG Elite's Facebook, Ari hit her foot on the low bar which created an open cut and fractured her toe. However, word is she will be competing at Championships later in August. Sadly, a major name for the YOG who was expected to be a top contender, Rebeca Andrade will no longer be competing for Brazil and be replaced by Flavia Saraiva. Andrade has broken her toe according to Alexander Alexandrov, and he does not want to risk anything the season before she turns senior. The Netherlands' Wendy de Jong has also withdrawn due to a broken ankle in favor of Isa Maassen.

Commonwealths: All-Around Wrap-Up

England swept the podium at today's all around competition!! Claudia Fragapane was able to repeat her result from yesterday to win the title. She was followed by fellow English competitors Ruby Harrold, who had the bars routine of her life, and Hannah Whelan, who just barely scraped into the medals.

I really enjoyed this format of the competition. The bottom 12 qualifying gymnasts competed an entire round of competition on two events at a time, with the top 12 qualifying gymnasts following in the same manner. I liked how it meant that the competition was twice as long(!!) and we got to see all the bottom qualifiers.

In the first subdivision, both hometown favorite Scots competed, and displayed their on-point music selection! Both had strong competitions. Emma White placed tenth, a great accomplishment for Scotland, and Amy Regan finished her competition in fourteenth. Brittany Robertson of New Zealand also had a great competition, scoring above 11.000 on every event. She finished in a very respectable twelfth. Georgia-Rose Brown's problems on beam and floor came back to haunt her today, but her vault and bars were beautiful and should be a highlight of tomorrow's finals. Her floor was also much improved from yesterday, and her Memmel was gorgeous!

There was plenty of great gymnastics from some of the lesser-known gymnasts as well. Stelutsa Savvidou had a rough start on bars and beam, but pulled it together for the leg events, earning her high score of the day, a 13.733 on her last event, the vault. Claudia Cummings and Bianca Mann of South Africa both had great vault rotations, earning their high scores of the day. Cummings and Mann placed twenty-third and twentieth, respectively. Dipa Karmakar had a great competition today, with a nice beam routine featuring a gainer layout dismount and a great powerful vault. Sadly, she fell and rolled out of her final tumble, a double tuck. The Isle of Mann's Grace Harrison had beautiful elegant floor work. Singapore's Janessa Dai and Heem Wei Lim placed in eighteenth and nineteenth with beautiful beam work, despite errors on the event. Nicole Mawhinney of Northern Ireland had a very pleasant floor routine to "Wild Dances Part 2", placing well at seventeenth.

The second subdivision was a nail-biter, with lots of big gymnastics on display.

Charlotte Sullivan, who wins the competition for the best leo of the day, had a bit of a rough go of it, falling down the rankings to sixteenth. However, she finished the event solidly on vault with her beautiful Yurchenko 1/2. Can more gymnasts do this please? It's such a pretty vault! Kirsten Beckett started off the day wonderfully on vault, but unfortunately fell apart on the other events to place fifteenth. On her final event, floor, her foot caught on the carpet and she was unable to execute the second leap in her series. She was visibly devastated and we hope she can put up some stronger performances in the event finals tomorrow and Friday.

Malaysian princess Farah Ann Abdul Hadi had a day of beautiful gymnastics. She had an unfortunate fall on her tumbling series on beam, but pulled it together for the other tow events. On floor, she put on a beautiful performance, and she had a great FTY which scored a 13.933. She was delighted with herself, and especially her score on vault!

Canadians Isabela Onyshko and Maegan Chant placed seventh and ninth, respectively, after a much better outing than yesterday. Both had errors on bars, where each received her lowest score of the day. However, Onyshko caught her Hindorff today. Chant had a beautiful double layout on floor and handspring front 1/2 on vault.

The gymnasts from Wales proved yesterday was no fluke, and came out with some incredible performances. Both had errors on their third event, floor for Georgina Hockenhull and beam for Elizabeth Beddoe, but proved themselves elsewhere. Hockenhull had a high 13.733 on beam for a beautiful routine with a nice switch leap+Johnson connection. Beddoe had an engaging floor with music from Chicago!

Olivia Vivian placed an exciting fifth today, but what really made her stand out was her sparkling attitude! Vivian was constantly addressing the camera between rotations to send out messages to her fans and family and dancing on the floor. Her vault was a bit piked, but the rest of her work was amazing! The standout was her gorgeous beam which should be a model for everyone's in terms of choreography.

Ellie Black had a rough go of it today. Black started out strong with a great Tsuk 1 1/2 and hit bars set (though I still don't get how she doesn't get a huge deduction for that half turn under the low bar). Beam got the best of her, though. After nailing the double spin which got the best of her yesterday, she fell on her BHS+tuck full connection. Floor was also a hard one for her. After a beautiful double layout, Black put her hands down on her double pike and stumbled forward on her double tuck. It's so frustrating, she has such an artistic routine with the most creative tumbling in the world and it's gotten to her both days! However, as she's qualified to all event finals, Black has the chance to redeem herself the next to days. Best of luck to her!

Hannah Whelan was able to capitalize on rough rotations today and earn the bronze. She had a bit of an error on her double pike bars dismount, but held it together in the beam rotation when everyone else fell apart. She hit her Onodi which she erred on yesterday and added a second layout after her aerial. She put everything she had into her floor routine to earn a 13.500 and the bronze by less than .7.

Ruby Harrold had a very strong performance today. She earned the high vault score of the day, a 14.800 for her powerful DTY. Getting past the mistakes of Monday, Harrold caught her Bhardwaj perfectly and put together the best routine on the event of her career. She hit all her connections and had some of the best execution she's had. A routine like that tomorrow could definitely earn her a medal! Ruby sadly fell on her punch front on beam but earned the silver after an amazing floor routine. England should be looking forward to their floor rotation in the team final in Nanning!

Claudia Fragapane to the gold no one would have thought she was anything close to a contender for before this competition. Fragapane took the gold with a 56.132, enough to place in the top ten at Worlds last year in Antwerp! Fragapane had her usual powerful DTY to start the competition. She was able to complete a secure bars routine with none of the problems from Monday. She had a fall on beam on her BHS+layout to two feet connection, but was otherwise solid. Fragapane's final event was her best, her astounding floor. She hit all her tumbling runs out of the park as well as her incredibly exciting breakdance. Her third run was her double Arabian, which so wonderfully is not cowboyed!! Fragapane has really made a name for herself this year in every competition in which she has taken place. This title definitely affirms her stardom and proves she will be an asset to Team GB at Worlds this year!

Source: icannotcountthosetwists tumblr

Commonwealths: Gymnastics Day 2 Wrap-Up

We were treated once again to some very exciting gymnastics at the Hydro this morning! The team final results were totally unexpected, with Wales taking home the bronze! Wales definitely raised their profile yesterday, but few expected them not to be overtaken by Canada! England won the title by almost 6 points, with Australia, Wales, and Canada came in places 2-4, just over 2 points apart. This is very exciting news for British gymnastics, because it shows that they are developing depth outside of England.

Canada was not able to pull it together after their disastrous first two rotations yesterday. They counted several falls on beam and were not able to put up the routines they are capable of on floor. Yesterday's rock, Ellie Black, had some errors, the biggest being a fall on her double turn on beam. Black was able to pull it together for floor, but had two low landings on her double pike and double tuck, both done in connection. However, it was great to see her 2 1/2 twist into 2 twist upgraded to a 2 1/2 into double pike. When will FIG get their heads on straight and make this a .3 CV!

Wales put on a magnificent performance! Wales has qualified four gymnasts- Elizabeth Beddoe, Rear Theaker, Georgina Hockenhull, and Jessica Hogg- into seven spots in four finals. Two Welsh gymnasts will be in the bars, beam, and all around finals and Wales will be represented by one gymnast in the floor final. No one- including the gymnasts- expected this success, and it was a wonderful surprise!

Australia was not as steady as yesterday, but did well to take home the silver. It was an unfortunate day for Georgia-Rose Brown, who made errors on both pieces, but she will have the chance to redeem herself in tomorrow's all around and Thursday's vault and uneven bars finals. Lauren Mitchell did well to qualify into both beam and floor finals despite a large step on her beam dismount. She made an inquiry on her beam score which was slightly confusing to some, seeing as it wouldn't have made a difference to the team standings or her own personal beam qualification, but it was accepted. Mary-Anne Monckton also did well on beam to just qualify in eighth.

England was the clear leader and no one could argue their win. Beam was bit of a shaky rotation with Becky Downie falling (she appeared to have some ankle or heel discomfort) and scary moments from both Ruby Harrold and Hannah Whelan. After floor got off to a rocky start with Kelley Simm falling, Ruby Harrold and Hannah Whelan both put on solid routines with great performance quality. The highlight routines of the day, however, belonged to Claudia Fragapane, who proved herself a clutch performer putting on incredible routines as the anchor on both events. She has qualified first into the all around final, where she has now made herself into a favorite for a medal, perhaps even the title itself, and into vault, beam(?), and floor finals. British gymnastics should be very pleased with Fragapane and her potential for the team!

In other news, Kirsten Beckett has qualified for all around, vault, bars, and floor finals! Great job for her and South Africa! Also, Malaysian angel Farah Ann Abdul Hadi qualified into the all around final! Georgia-Rose Brown and Isabela Onyshko both changed their floor music. I was sad about both, because I loved Brown's Nessun Dorma, and I thought Onyshko's routine was in some ways nicer than Moors's to the same music.

I was quite annoyed with the BBC commentary in the final subdivision. They seemed a bit to eager for Canada to make major mistakes in favor of Wales.

Let the all around final begin!!

Commonwealths: Gymnastics Day 1 Wrap-up (Plus Team Japan)

The Gymternet posted the qualifiers to vault and bars EFs. Gymnastike also has the full score sheet, but organized by team standings.

I was only able to watch the last three subdivisions, but there was quite a bit to be amazed by in just those three rounds! I am now in love with Malaysian gymnastics and add Mackenzie Slee to my list of favorites!

The big news is that Canada is currently in fourth behind Wales after having to count an FTY on vault and a disastrous bars rotation. Replacing Victoria Moors sure looks like a good decision now!! In other news, Becky Downie is also only competing bars and beam. Word is she didn't have as much training time as she was studying for finals, so she decided to focus only on the two events.

Australia was definitely the most solid team of the day. They were the on team to really rock bars, with gymnasts qualifying in 2-4, but Olivia Vivian will miss out on the final due to the 2-per-country rule. England had an uncharacteristically weak bars rotation. Both Claudia Fragapane and Hannah Whelan had shaky routines while Ruby Harrold had an unusually large error, Nastia's-Pak-at-2012-Visa's-ing her Bhardwaj. However, Ruby was able to muscle through it without hitting the ground and still scored a 13.400 and made the final. We will hope for a solid routine there, myself especially as it's my personal favorite! However, with their superior difficulty on vault- where Kelly Simm proved herself well- England is still in the lead ahead of Australia.

Canada's fourth-place position at the midway point was certainly a huge upset. I do believe they will be able to overtake Wales tomorrow, seeing as Ellie Black has a killer beam routine and floor is the team's strongest event, but I do think a silver is now out of the question for them now barring an implosion from Australia. Moors's removal is looking a bit suspect now, or at least the official reasoning for it. Bars was a mess anyway with only one score over 13, and certainly her DTY, full-in dismount on beam, and big floor would be welcome score-boosters for the team? If it really was because of unreadiness, which was evident at selection, why was she selected anyway? Anyway, enough speculation.

With Downie now out of the all around race, the title is basically Black's to win or lose. Though she's currently in fourth, she still has her two best events to come. The others in medal contention are Georgia Rose-Brown and fellow Englishwomen Fragapane and Harrold.

Let's get ready for beam and floor tomorrow!


Across the world, Japan has followed in their trend of naming a Worlds team before the US elite season has even started. Yu Minobe, Asuka Teramoto, Mai Murakami, Natsumi Sasada (she of the layout full beam mount!!), Inoue Wakana, and Hiraiwa Yuna will be making the trip to Nanning this October.

Commonwealths Predictions

Tomorrow, the artistic gymnastics competition of the Commonwealth Games will finally be upon us! Qualification rounds will begin with all teams and individual gymnasts competing on vault and bars, with beam and floor qualifications on Tuesday. The qualification round also serves as the team competition. The all around final (which is 3-per-country!!!) takes place Wednesday, vault and bars finals Thursday, and beam and floor finals on Friday.

The last Commonwealth Games took place ridiculously soon before the World Championships, so most teams sent maybe one or two of their A team. In Glasgow, however, England, Australia, and Canada are all bringing their big names.

Rebecca Tunney was not named to the Commonwealths team due to an elbow procedure. Victoria Moors was recently pulled from the Canadian team to be replaced by Victoria-Kayen Woo. Word is Moors is not injured.


Team
1. England
2. Canada
3. Australia

With Rebecca Tunney out, I was thinking Canada might have had a chance at taking the title, but now Victoria Moors's absence pretty much cements this in England's favor. Team Australia, which elected to make a bit of a risky move and stack its team with specialists, may be able to steal the silver, but I think Canada is the superior team.


All Around
1. Becky Downie
2. Ellie Black
3. Georgia-Rose Brown

The bronze was pretty much a shot in the dark, and honestly my favor for her is what made me go with Brown. I would not be at all surprised if I was incorrect, in fact, I'd probably be more surprised if Brown took the medal, but I'm sure she'll be competing in the AA and pretty much at a loss for everyone else. Unless Downie implodes, she's pretty firmly the favorite. Ellie Black is the only other serious AA contender.


Vault
1. Ellie Black
2. Claudia Fragapane
3. Maegan Chant

Ellie Black is easily the favorite to take the title, adding to her 2014 collection with the Pac Rims gold. I think Claudia Fragapane's superior difficulty should be able to put her into silver position. The bronze is definitely between Chant and New Zealand's Courtney McGregor. I think Chant's precision should put her into the medals, but McGregor beat Chant at Pac Rims this year.


Uneven Bars
1. Becky Downie
2. Ruby Harrold
3. Larrissa Miller

England is totally dominant on bars. Downie is fresh off her recent Euros win on the event and had a breathtaking routine, both in its difficulty and execution. Harrold is actually Britain's #3 UB gymnast right now behind Downie and Tunney, but with Tunney out, it's Harrold in. Harrold's routine contains two stunning transition combinations. Miller is Australia's reigning UB champion and a 2012 Olympian.


Balance Beam
1. Ellie Black
2. Becky Downie
3. Lauren Mitchell

Black has a 6.6 difficulty beam which qualified first into the Pac Rims finals with a 15.000. However, she has also displayed inconsistency on this particular event. Downie has displayed strong consistency on this event so far this year and scored in the low- to mid-14s at Europeans. Mitchell comes into this competition with the most prestige, being the reigning Commonwealths champion and 2010 World silver medalist. She has a potential 6.6 difficulty and has scored in the mid-15s at home in Australia.


Floor Exercise
1. Claudia Fragapane
2. Lauren Mitchell
3. Isabela Onyshko

Fragapane's floor took the gymternet by storm earlier this year at Europeans. It qualified second into the finals and has some great break dancing in the choreography! The silver and bronze positions will be a fight between Mitchell, Onyshko, and potentially Black. Mitchell made her debut in Doha this year, as did Onyshko, where they came 4th and 3rd, respectively. Though Moors's absence takes some of the excitement out of this final (as well as the potentially awkward situation of having two teammates use the same music), it should still be a good fight!



Let the gymnastics begin!!