(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: 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 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!!