Yes, I realize I am completely skipping Euros (which was awesome and I had lots of feelings about) and going to nationals, but I figured I could be at least kind of timely with a nationals post so I might as well just do that first.
The Good
The meaningful night 2 leos. Jordan with her theme leo (Baby Celine!!) and Simone's teal "hey USAG you may want to recognize that survivors of the abuse you allowed are still people" leo.
Speaking of Jordan's Wonder Woman leo, she kept her commitment to the superhero theme in her arms-crossed Wakanda salute/doesn't WW do that too? (I don't watch superhero movies guys) beam choreo
NBC honored Elena Shushunova
The solidest nationals in as long as anyone is patient enough to check
This was just a really strong competition. With so many fewer juniors it seemed like maybe there wouldn't be as awesome a group, but HOO BOY this was a GROUP and I stan all of them. They will all make at least one Worlds team and I don't even care that I'm not connected to reality.
All the good decisions to rest and protect gymnasts' health (COUGH)
MORGI WAS STEADY
LEVI JUNG-RUIVIVAR WAS PRESENT
I love watching Trin and Marz rewrite the rules about elite and NCAA competition. And the fact that it's Marz doing it is also so great given her role in the national team as the one who speaks up for the athletes.
Kara and Trin both got included on the national team, honoring actual FIG scoring and not just USAG vault values
GAGE girls. These girls are on fire.
Sloane Blakely and Konnor McClain finished in the top five!! These kids are new favorites of mine! (Oh who am I kidding, ALL of these juniors are new favorites of mine. But these two making the top five particularly was great to see.)
Leanne the national champion
DANG Sunisa
I'm not scared watching Riley anymore. (Mostly.)
I don't care that it failed this time, the attempt at a second Wolfkino was glorious
The Bad
The fact that the Wolfkino attempt failed. And that Jordan went on to fall on her wolf turn on floor.
WHY IS RAGAN'S ANKLE STILL SO BUSTED? Why didn't they get surgery? I mean, didn't she have a good amount of time for surgery and recovery? ISN'T HER PHYSICAL HEALTH FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE MORE IMPORTANT?
Jordan Bowers and Sydney Barros having to bow out of day 2. But still well done making health-conscious decisions.
The Ugly
That MG Elite corset leo. Or as Spencer put it, the "baby prostitute leos."
Speaking of MG Elite, Riley's horror dismount. Can we please have her do a double full or front full and swallow the difficulty loss instead of this hellish dismount combo?
Overall, I really enjoyed this competition. So many people did really well and I loved a lot of the gymnastics we saw. Like I said above, I STAN ALL THE JUNIORS. I thought we saw really good form from most of the gymnasts and I also thought the artistry was looking pretty good too. I'm a much bigger fan of Ragan's new floor routine than her previous two. It feels more mature to me and cohesive. I'm also loving watching Morgan perform her new routine. I think the choreography isn't quite as strong as some others, but I really love what an engaged performer she's become. Riley's isn't my favorite, but I don't understand why a lot of people hate it so much. It's fine, in my eyes. I also really enjoyed both the NCAA gymnasts' routines. They were fun and full of verve. The GAGE girls didn't have the most intricate and interesting choreography, but they are so pristine. And GAGE takes me into the juniors and how many of them are so beautiful. I'm really excited about the future of US floor routines. I also think the beam composition was a step up this year. They seemed to move smoothly to me and felt more like a whole than I was used to.
It also seemed to me like this was a more positive atmosphere at this Nationals. The girls were in good form and seemed like they weren't under as much pressure. I hope that's a genuine reflection of the nature of this competition and atmosphere. Let's make a good environment for our athletes.
Also, this is way too late as well, but with me being glad USAG honored Elena Shushunova, I want to highlight one of my favorite floor routines of all time. RIP, Elena.
Classics was last weekend and it was a meet! I am so excited for American gymnastics this year. And the years to come, because the juniors are fabulous!
I WAS NOT PREPARED
So we went straight into the senior competition with the first two competitors on floor being Jade and Simone EACH DEBUTING HER MOORS! I watched podium training, but somehow them both opening on floor at the beginning of the start list completely flew over my head. I was literally shaking.
And then of course, there's Simone's whole debut. I was keeping my expectations "low" by going in with the mindset that she would probably have at least one fall and score around 56. And then she went and had one fall and scored over 58. Well, dang! She definitely got some Simone's Return glitter scoring, but the queen has most definitely returned!
And to complete the trinity...
So Morgi turned up with a Moors too.
I agree with those who say the Moors really isn't worth it compared to the Silivas, but I still just need the Moors and a Moors and a Moors floor lineup at Worlds. I also love this routine and her goal that people would never be bored when watching her. We also need to talk about that beam routine.
There was the fall and the blooey side jump, but otherwise this was the greatest beam routine in history. I just need her to do this exact routine minus fall at Nationals and I'll be so happy.
I wasn't afraid of Riley's gymnastics!
Dang, if this is this same Riley I saw last year! Her standard gorgeous gymnastics but her ligaments also never seemed in danger! (Okay, she had an ankle-cruncher DLO, but still an overall safe day.) AND that was when she was doing a DTY!
Texas Dreams was Texas Dreams
As usual, Texas Dreams did weird Texas Dreams things at Classics with a random collection of routines done. Ragan's ankle did weird things. So apparently she just decided... not to have the surgery her doctor said she needed. Great. She had the best timing for a recovery and just didn't do it? But anyway, she looked pretty good. I don't think her bars were quite at last year's "What Ragan Smith bars are these?" level, but she looked in decent Classics form. Her beam also looked in decent Classics form. She had a wobble and some split things, but it looks like good goings.
Emma Malabuyo had some struggles on beam, so I'm hoping to see her back in normal Emma Malabuyo form at Nationals. While there were some struggles, there were also some glimmers of greatness. And of course Deanne Soza was also there and so a gift to humanity. Unfortunately, she has not qualified to Nationals, so we must all mourn. (Wait, now she is going?) But we still have that glorious floor routine I love.
GAGE DID A THING
Oh man, this Classics was basically the GAGE show. Unfortunately, Kara Eaker fell on a switch leap, but she still showed off her gorgeous and fluid gymnastics. There's a reason she still got a 7.450 E score with a fall in the current code-scape. (Also, apparently the beam was crooked?!?)
The juniors, though, they DESTROYED this competition. Of course, we got to have our ever-perfect Leanne Wong as the champion.
THESE JUNIORS GUYS!! There are so many talented kids. Leanne had a beautiful day to take the title and she will be such an asset next year. Also, speaking of GAGE girls coming for the elite scene next year, Aleah was also beautiful.
She should give a clinic on that double Arabian to stag. The Blakelys
Sloane first caught my eye in 2016 with her beam skills, and she's been getting noticed again this year for her awesome performance there.
She's doing the fluid movement demanded by this code beautifully. I'm also a huge fan of the FHS+front tuck series!
Skye also caught my eye this year with her super fun and well-performed floor routine.
Sunisa did a Gabby Perea
In an homage to Gabby Perea winning the junior bars title last year without a bars dismount, Sunisa Lee decided to do the same this year on beam.
I LOVE CLASSICS! Jordan Bowers did a pirouette
THAT IS A GIANT 1.5!!! That was all I needed from her competition at Classics. Levi Jung-Ruivivar
Well, for some reason the floor from the US Classic won't embed, so get her American Classic routine here. She was there. She did gymnastics. We were blessed. The Disney Music
Trista Goodman used Beauty and the Beast music, which was great and I need more Gaston floor music because I just find it funny for some reason.
And then Brenna Neult has Bear Necessities, and her choreography isn't really anything special (except that great floor-pounding part!), but I just love her effervescent presence.
Zoe Gravier's music
I'm so bugged by this music guys. I LOVE acid routines. They're kind of my favorite thing. This choreography is far too plain for this acid routine music. I keep watching it trying to make it an acid routine, and it never becomes one! I do like some of that stuff before the third pass and at the end, though.
Morgan Hurd- "Game of Thrones" or "Avovra" (Anna Bessonova hoop 2008/Tabea Alt 2017)
I've not been the biggest fan of Morgi's routines since 2014, though I definitely preferred this year's routine to her previous ones. I would prefer to see a return to the older thematic feel. "Game of Thrones" would be a clearer return to the feel of her 2014 routine-- am I the only one who gets a medieval vibe from it? I think it brings the quieter drama which she could really build from. And I just love the medieval-ish style for her. "Avovra" is more in line with the heavy drama of her 2017 routine, but I think it's more in line with what I want to see from Morgan. It's not so string-heavy as her recent musics, which I think is what's tripping me up with her recent routines. It's got a darker style, which is what I want to see for her. Again, the music has a less packed sound, and I really think Morgan does a good job elevating that kind of sound and brings almost a mystical edge to her routines.
Emma Malabuyo- "Hedwig's Theme"
Emma is just such a charming performer. She has a lightness to how she performs on floor and there's always a humor and joy to her routines. I think "Hedwig's Theme" would be a perfect fit for that style she brings. It's light and frothy but also mysterious, and I think she would bring a really, well, enchanting performance to the music. It would be yet another delightful routine from Emma. Of course, I would also down with Morgan Hurd using this, partly because it has the some of the same mystical sound, but mostly because MORGAN WITH HARRY POTTER MUSIC!
Maile O'Keefe- "Renegade" by Kevin "K.O." Olusola (Macy Toronjo 2017)
Now with Maile, we're getting into the heavier drama. I feel like with Maile, she's always had aesthetic enough routines, but never really broke out of her shell as a performer. I think this music is sort of an in-between with her old 2014 music and this year's music. I think her style is suited to the darker, heavier drama, and she and the music could elevate each other.
Ragan Smith- "Promenade (Walking the Dog)" or "Seaside Rendezvous"
I think both of these pieces would be a good return to Ragan's 2014-2015 playful but mature style (why is it that her routines got more immature as she got older? is it because they had to do so to keep up their look at how cute and little she is schtick, or because they had to keep up the schtick?) "Walking the Dog" gets a little jazzy, which I think Ragan could play with really well. It's light and playful, and I think she could put in a lot of unique touches. "Seaside Rendezvous" would bring out some of the good in Ragan's 2017 choreographic style. It would be a real crowd-pleaser routine, and I think Ragan broken out of the "must be cutesy!!" box would do great things with this.
Riley McCusker- "Pirates" (Ellie Black 2012/2013)
I wasn't a huge fan of her 2017 routine, and definitely not as big a fan of her 2017 routine as her 2016 routine. However, I'm not opposed to moving in a bit more of that direction. I think this music would bring a bit of the 2017 style while maintaining the best of her 2016 choreography's style. I think Riley (and MG Elite in general) has some tendency toward moving to hit poses, and this music allows for that while elevating the music. It's also nicely light and bubbly, which I think would be really good for her.
Adeline Kenlin- "Once and for All"from Newsies
I got the desire for Adeline to use a showtune for floor after a random set of circumstances led me to realize that her 2017 floor goes really well to Dumbledore's part to the end of "Back to Hogwarts" from AVPM (it was the polished album version if you want to try at home). I picked this one because it has the driving beat from those sections of "Back to Hogwarts," which seemed to work for her, and it also embodies the pretty melodic elements of her 2016 routine and some fighting elements from her 2017 routine. I'd also be down for "At the End of the Day", for similar reasons with more similarities to her 2016 routine, and "Defying Gravity", which doesn't have the elements from her old routines but I still think she could do something with.
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.
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.
Yes, I am aware that this is going up really late. Starting school the week after nationals will do that to you. So, nothing about Universiade either (I still need to catch up and actually watch that) and we'll see if I work up something about the Russian Cup videos if anything there looks interesting enough. (Can you tell how long it's been even since I wrote this intro?)
So, obviously the first thing we have to talk about is THE BEAM SAVE.
That beautiful moment when you almost fall and end up upgrading. I'm bummed she didn't get the CV because it was connected to a wolf turn-- she didn't break the rhythm or anything!! It's way nicer than those horrible double wolf, pause, triple wolf/vice versa constructions. This could have been the Olympics, and this would be what I consider the most important moment of the meet (unless Sanne won beam, in which case, SANNE)-- for a post-Olympic nationals, even more so! Heck, this just might be the most important thing to happen in competition this year. This is legendary. I'm also super down with her getting the silver here! I know in all context of Worlds discussion we go to "but inconsistency!"... like we do with every non-Ragan candidate (except maybe Marz? and Trinity). At least we'll always have the wolf+side-stand triple.
And then, in the realm of beam saves, we must not forget the Leah Clapper Beam Moments. On night one, she held on with the jaws of life in ultimate refusal to meet the mat, which always gains my respect-- it might not be reflected in the score, but the character it shows!
Unfortunately, on night two she had an actual fall, but still a fall in valiant style:
While we're on the topic of beam, we also really need to talk about the horrible relationship the US has with beam construction this year. First of all, as I already referenced, the doubling up on wolf turns one right after the other. Let me make this clear, I like well-executed wolf turns. I don't like well-executed doubled up wolf turns. They are hideous, QED.
And then there are the side-stand half-twisting jumps. Fortunately, for the most part, they were better-executed here than at Classics, and the ones which hit split and weren't accompanied by a large balance break were decently pleasant enough. But some were still cringe-inducing. Ragan's beam from night one basically just stood as a monument to the pitfalls of contemporary US beam construction:
Also, what was that score?
There are so many aesthetically-pleasing routes to beefing up the D score in the new COP that the US just... isn't utilizing. I can't think of a single senior who's putting the mixed connection potential to use, and with all the upgrades in mounts they're just sticking with their same A mounts. I know the minimize risk, maximize reward strategy, but... is it really working? We had the wolf turn errors and the twisting jump errors, so are they really the most risk-free options? (I feel vaguely like Umbridge talking about risk-free conditions.) Surely it would be better to risk not getting SB than those errors? And not to mention, it's not just the acrobatic mounts that got upgraded! THE HOMMA WAS UPGRADED!!! (Please, just anyone from anywhere do a Homma.) There are plenty of low-fall-risk options for higher difficulty mounts.
On a completely frivolous note at the other end of the aesthetic spectrum, the Texas Dreams leos night one were fab. I'm still not completely sold on the gathering on Ragan's, but it was a cool different touch and otherwise so regal! I loved the red/white/black/gray look, and how they were different but complementary. Just a nice touch of flair!
And, of course, with Texas Dreams, we must discuss Ragan. She was clearly the best by far, and will definitely be the US's hope for the World title in Montreal. She's been one of the most consistent at the end of the summer, and has been topping the scores, so she is going in a favorite. Her bars both nights missed the strength of her Classics routine, but she made it through securely both times, still. While her beam will never be scored that way at Worlds, her night two beam was FANTASTIC! It was steady and precise for almost the whole routine, and her biggest slip involved one of the lovely "no need to notice my foot just completely missed the beam, it didn't affect me at all or anything" moments. All in all, she is establishing herself as the top class at this point.
And, of course, the weirdness of her floor. Well, her choreography fits the new opening music better than it did for the car horn IT WAS CHOREOGRAPHED TO, so good for that. Also, side eye to Dominic Zito (he is still her choreographer?) It's no longer the bizarro Addams Family mess, but still... we know she can do so much better!! There's a proclivity toward butt shelving and there seems to have been a shift toward constructing her routines with static movements that wasn't there in her junior routines. They went from her cuteness just being a natural facet of the routine to the routines screaming "Look! She's cute and little! We give her beads for motivation! We're going to keep pretending she's five!!" This infantilization I just don't get.
Riley both did and didn't do her job here. She had an overall pretty much hit meet (those bars and floor E scores night two were ridiculous, though, floor significantly more so), which was an improvement along the lines she needed to show. However, it came along with a downgrade and, of course, two routines with significant errors. I am more convinced now that issues for her won't mean complete mental implosion and safety-threatening errors, which had been my big hesitation where she was concerned. I do wonder if doing the FTY might have been behind the increased consistency. With her problems at American Cup, I wondered if maybe going for the DTY threw her off. If you took her day one performance, she made a good case. And her day two beam was lovely.
I was totally on the Marz train to make the podium, but actually looking at the scores, it was a fairly unlikely ask of her to get that score on beam. Still, I truly do think she had one of the best overall performances at nationals. She beat both of the other medalists in steady performance. Plus, her floor is just really fun!
Trinity Thomas's coaches must be really bugged this isn't a team year, because if it was, she'd be a shoe-in for her consistency and the competitive scores she can bring on three events. It's such a shame she couldn't have a more difficult vault!
And, oh, Morgan. Especially night 1. *Sigh* And she finally hit the beam routine, too!
Hit the usual problem routine, then miss on others. I will always be here for hoping for the ice-in-her-veins Morgan to happen. She's just such a beautiful gymnast!
But, on the topic of Morgan's beautiful gymnastic, she dealt a huge blow to the artistry in the world when she shaved down her ending choreo!!
Fortunately, however, the void has been filled by the SJS night two routine:
THIS IS GORGEOUS! I love how she and her mom just decided "with the injuries pneumonia and such, Worlds, etc. isn't happening, so we'll make a splash with TWO DIFFERENT FLOOR ROUTINES!!" This was definitely the one I preferred.
Moving from magnificent artistry to pure power, Jade Carey's performance... wasn't what we wanted it to be. Neither Amanar was up to scratch. I wonder if at this point it might be better just to do a DTY instead of the Amanar (that is legal right? I always get confused with whether you can have two vaults with the same number of twists) and go for a safer and cleaner route.
And then, rounding out the major players, Ashton still didn't bring the inbars. The routine with the inbars and Ashton-execution would be quite formidable, but there is the question of bringing a routine she hasn't shown in competition this year. Still, there will be an element of risk whatever Worlds team is chosen.
And the juniors!
I like both of the top two, but I was definitely rooting for Maile going in, so I was glad to see her defend the title! Of course, I was not happy that it came with an error from Emma Malabuyo. But, after the issues she had as Classics, it was great to see Maile go 8-for-8 here. These juniors are insane. How much do you want to bet Valeri has a countdown in his office for the number of days until 2018 and these girls are seniors? I know Maile's standout event is beam, but her day 2 bars are what really stuck with me:
Lower difficulty than day 1, but gorgeous!
It was such a shame that Emma had her stumble day 2 on her beam dismount! She has such lovely gymnastics. She really should have been in the lead after day 1, she had such a clean and polished day. But she's had a great year otherwise! Though her day 2 beam was the cause of her downfall, her day 1 beam was glorious, and I love her arabian! But the highlight of her performance had to be her day 1 floor.
And, speaking of floor, ADELINE KENLIN BROUGHT THE PODKOPAYEVA
But, of course, the big thing that caught my attention here was the new GAGE girls! Dang, they are lovely gymnasts. While Leanne and Kara have been getting the lion's share of the attention, I am a major fan of JaFree's beam composition. But, like everyone else, the one I could watch on loop is Kara's:
This is a vision of what gymnastics should be. And her choreo is also super enjoyable and adds to the overall aesthetic of the routine! Sadly, her difficulty is low everywhere else, but it's ridiculous (not as in crack judging-ridiculous, as in how awesome-ridiculous) that her execution was still able to get her into third! And she turns senior next year? We don't even have her hanging in the junior ranks another year? Well, I guess that will keep her from going into the "permanent junior" category in my mind.
And, of course, I can't finish the post off without talking about the Worlds team. I don't envy the selection committee this year, not because there are so many viable solutions, but because this looks like a puzzle where not all the pieces fit yet.
Ragan is obviously going for the AA. Riley is obviously going in some capacity. Since she would have beaten Jordan even with the rough spots and the FTY if the US didn't have its own values, probably AA. The rest is... eh.
Jordan's rumored Lopez is the biggest wrench in the plan. With Carey's issues, another option would be nice. This brings multiple routes and questions into play. The first is looking at comparing her and Carey for a vault spot. If Carey keeps not Amanaring well, Jordan could be the favored option for vault. Except she hasn't done the Lopez in competition. And then the, y'know, "having other competitive events" issue. Pfft. Jade clearly beats her on floor, making Jade the more-viable-potential-medals option.
But then, on the other side of the coin, the vault field is always the easiest to get into. So, if Jade doesn't get her vaults into order, which option provides the bigger medal opportunity? Of course, not having seen said Lopez, we can't say.
But then there's another option of Jordan going for the AA, having two vaulters, and bring Riley as a UB/BB specialist. Riley may have been ahead of Jordan using, y'know, the criteria they'll actually be judged by, but Jordan didn't hit her peak. So what if she turns up at camp looking fab? At this point, probably, "You needed to do this in an actual competition with people, sorry." But of course, Riley's consistency isn't her greatest strength either. Does either's consistency record make a better case? And, the bigger question in my mind, should Riley go back to the DTY option, will she still have her newfound hit-ness even with the upgrade? The lack of consistent AAers with competitive difficulty levels is what really messes the decision up here. But Riley's definitely the clear favorite for the second AA spot. The Ragan-Jordan-Jade-Riley option just fits the best, but probably wouldn't maximize outcome.
Ashton and Riley were the only two to beat Ragan on bars, therefore making them the only two worth bringing for bars. Ragan and Riley were also 1-2 on beam, making anyone else for a beam spot illogical unless they can outweigh the collective benefit of Riley. Ashton without the inbars is less compelling than she should be, but if she has them securely at camp, I would think that would be good enough for her case. She's still one of only two beating Ragan, so unless Riley doesn't go as an AAer, she's got a claim to a spot where no one else can really make a compelling argument.
With all the pieces in play at this point, the Ragan-Riley-Jade-Ashton team definitely seems like the most solid option of what we've seen and what I'd expect, but an underwhelming top choice. Like I said, the issue is there are a bunch of puzzle pieces which don't really work together.
And then, of course, there's the ideal option of Trinity Thomas suddenly gets a DTY that looks great, there's a consistent second AAer who can bring in some nicely competitive scores on individual events, and we get a solid second AAer and more balanced team both in the bag. If you add in the D score she would have gotten from a DTY (because of course her E scores would have been exactly the same) she comes in second at nationals. It really would just be the best solution.
Classics is my favorite US meet... which, given that 75% of the time the US season consists of three meets, one of which is at the Ranch and isn't broadcast, isn't really saying much, but still. It's 10x wackier, and therefore 10x more fun, than Nationals.
And this year certainly didn't disappoint. Literally no one who will be in the hunt for the senior national title did AA, Gabby Perea won junior bars with a flyaway dismount, Deanne Soza decided to go ahead and do her floor routine even though she couldn't do her DLO and just do a layout pass instead, the junior champion outscored the senior champion, Riley McCusker invented a Stalder-entry tucked Tkatchev on the fly, and Ashton did one event and it wasn't bars. The meets that have literally no bearing on anything else are always my favorite and make me feel full of life.
(Also, there will be basically nothing from the junior session here. There was way too much of that for me to keep track of anything.)
The Good
So let's start with new superstar Jade Carey who literally no one had heard of 3 months ago. New favorite for the World vault title. Also, her floor is not shabby at all and we really need to give more attention to her fab double double. If she doesn't become this quad's Kayla Williams I will be so disappointed.
MORGAN HURD!! Her ending choreography on floor is all the artistry I need this year (though there was tons of great ending choreo). Yes, she did put her hand down on her beam, but it was more solid than we've seen her do all year. So I am going to delude myself that she's going to bust out with the steady beam routine until she has another big issue at P&Gs.
NO AL!!!!!!
Luisa Blanco. Girl is a gorgeous gymnast, bare minimum difficulty or no.
Also, Adeline Kenlin's beam was glorious. It was smooth and solid and difficult and not the same as every other beam routine in the world!
In general, I felt the beam choreography was an improvement this year. If felt less staccato and less like it had been done in a half-asleep daze. Routines moved better and were more interesting between skills.
Some great skills busted out-- more standing fulls than we got from the top dogs last year, arabians, some Onodis (including in floor choreo!), nice combos from the new front tumbling rules (HALLELUJAH), Deanne's Ezhova, and lots of same-bar releases other than straddled Jaegers!!
Laney Madsen might have struggled HARD here, but she did at least bust out the cool skills. If you're going to be sloppy, at least be sloppy doing cool stuff.
Coaches who didn't have their taped-together gymnasts compete unnecessarily. Well done Everest, First State, Brandy Johnson, and Texas Dreams; Maggie Haney, take notes.
Ragan Smith. She is not playing around. Of course, as always we have to appreciate her beam routine of effortless difficulty
but now she's also putting pressure on the gymnasts going for the bars spot by suddenly improving by leaps and bounds there because, if you can't beat Ragan, really what's the point of taking you as a bars specialist? But seriously, her beam score was higher than all of her beam scores last year (which, that score was a little ridiculous, but still, it deserved to be up there) and of her sever bars scores last year, four were within half a tenth of what she got here. She's out for blood.
As always, the Texas Dreams floor routines. At least, those we saw here. We haven't seen Ragan's yet so we don't know if the dark days of finger monocles and finger walking will carry on to haunt us this year, but everyone else's was fab. All of their routines (with the exception of the Addams Family... thing) are just so creative and polished. All of them were enjoyable, but I especially loved Emma Malabuyo's hand-walking and Deanne Soza's routine. (Side note: it was so weird seeing Deanne Soza not in blue and yellow.) (Second side note: I'm still salty we never got to see Bailie Key on floor after 2015 when-- if I recall correctly-- she got a new routine.)
And, once again, the weirdness that lived up to the Classics reputation.
The Bad
Once again, Maggie, why did you make Riley compete for no good reason?
Jordan Chiles not busting out of the gates like everyone was hoping for two years ago.
Even though I am glad she's at least going to do cool things if she's going to be so messy, Laney Madsen did have quite the rough meet.
The Ugly
Triple wolf+double wolf combinations. Just gouge my eyes out, why don't you, it would be kinder. (I don't even hate wolf turns as much as most of the gymternet! I really like a well-executed wolf turn, but even Simone couldn't make this palatable.)
Side-stand split 1/2 jumps. The vast majority of the side-stand half-twisting jumps would fit this category, but even the well-executed ones in cross split were awkward-looking.
Of course, we are all now turning our sights toward naming the Worlds team. While I love the team competition, there's a certain kind of fun about an individual Worlds selection. Of course, Classics isn't really a big indicator, but it did tell us that Jade Carey is definitely a thing and Ragan Smith is bringing it.
Basically for the AA you've got Ragan Smith pretty much confirmed and Riley McCusker and Morgan Hurd (and not really but still should probably be talked about Alyona Shchennikova) for the second spot. Jade Carey is looking fairly unchallenged at this point for a VT/FX (and possibly BB?) spot. That leaves a UB (and possibly BB) spot, Ashton being the obvious pick for that. All of the ones in for the second AA spot would be in the hunt for the UB(/BB) spot if they don't get the AA spot, especially if Ashton doesn't upgrade.
I want Morgan Hurd for the second AA just because she's the one I want for it. She doesn't have a good hit record this year, but no one really does, so... we'll see what happens at Nationals. For the bars spot, I don't really mind, though Alyona does have my favorite composition.
