My Top 10 Favorite Beam Routines

I love creativity on beam, so all of these routines are a bit different, if only slightly. For me, arm waving isn't exciting. My favorite beam choreography includes skills or variations of skills, balances, handstands, and flexibility moves. Unique mounts are also my favorite thing in gymnastics, so a lot of these routines have them. In terms of style, I tend to prefer elegant gymnasts on beam, though there is something so satisfying about a powerful routine where nothing goes wrong. A perfect routine from Vika will simply never have the "Killed it!" quality of a perfect routine from Carly Patterson. There are some routines competing for tenth, but all in all this is the list I feel most comfortable with.

10. Ludmilla Stoyltchataja 1992 Europeans EF

This routine is absolutely beautiful. I love her great mount sequence and her dismount is fabulous. Full-twisting double pike! The choreography of this routine is really what sets it apart. She has a great 3/4 back spin. The tik-tok with the leg change is the best part of the choreography in my opinion. However, while this is a gorgeous routine, it's a little lacking in content, so it's up in tenth.

9. Shawn Johnson 2008 Olympics Qual

A tuck jump mount, I know. But this routine is just so solid! Her layout series is the first I always think of. Her switch+LOSO+back pike connection is probably my favorite of the routine. And she has a pike jump! A good pike jump is always such a find. I love her little cartwheel down on the beam. This routine is one of those super satisfying ones where nothing seems out of place.

8. Sanne Wevers 2013 Osijek World Cup

I need Sanne to win a World title on beam. Her turns are just so beautiful! Her tumbling is also different with her connection of two aerials to a front aerial and two Kochetkova skills. It's sad she didn't hit her glorious Okino here, but she still just glided through all the turns. Her turns will always be magical and this routine is smooth as butter.

7. Yang Tun 2000 Olympics TF

This is another smooth as butter routine. I love that she had the LOSO series even when they were going out. Her back dive skills are beautiful and I loved those connections from that code. The wolf 3/4 to back dive is definitely the best back dive combo from that quad. Everything in this routine is smooth and elegant. One of my favorite aspects of this routine is how much she moves up and down. She uses all angles and planes and it makes the routine so much more artistic.

6. Shannon Miller 1992 Olympics EF

I was torn between this routine and her 1994 one, but the mount sequence and extra LOSO gave this one a tiny edge. I find the twisting back handsprings that were Shannon's signature so exciting and beautiful. I love how there doesn't seem to be a second of wasted time in this routine. She is always moving and the routine feels so full but it isn't a skill-fest. And who doesn't love a back extension roll?

5. Oksana Knizhnik 1995 Worlds Team Optionals

Just ignore Ludivine Furnon's fallen vault halfway through. Oksana had glorious stag ring jumps, which are the best ring skills. She also had a beautiful triple LOSO series as well as an amazing LOSO mount. I love her handstand to Omelianchik-bent-leg split and her scale on her chest. It's the most beautiful pose on the beam. I always get nervous when she dismounts because I think she's going to miss one of her feet and then she sticks it!

4. Chellsie Memmel 2003 Worlds TF

I love the flexibility in this routine. The straddle mount with the bent leg over the side is a lovely unique touch. Who couldn't love her scale before the dismount? The way she leans forward in it just adds to it so much. There are so many exciting skills in this routine! Her acro series is one of my favorite. Illusion turns are my favorite, and Chellsie is the queen. I also love front tucks without a running entry like Chellsie does here. It's the ultimate cool and businesslike-but-not-boring routine.

3. Yang Bo 1989 China Cup

THE perfect beam routine. Artistically, this routine's got it all- flexibility, balances, handstands, the whole shebang. I really appreciate the way she incorporates balances and jumps into even her simple moving about choreography. The Yang Bo is so criminally undervalued in this code and we get a cavalcade of switch rings instead. For shame, it's such a beautiful jump. This was the only time Yang Bo was able to hit all of her connections and keep everything together. It's a tragedy of gymnastics that such an outstanding beam worker was hit with such an inconsistent streak. The BHS+LOSO+Rulfova is my favorite acro series. It really is the most perfect beam routine ever.

2. Svetlana Grozdova 1979 USSR Display

This is the ultimate of artistry on beam to me. The code needs to overhaul the artistry scoring on beam (artistry really does need to be separated from the execution score) with this as the guide. Apart from the handstand work which, obviously, is the standout of this routine, look at how high her releve is and how close to the end of the beam! She shows so much back flexibility and balance. Ah, the handstands! And the acrobatics are nice too, and exciting and dynamic for the 70s. This routine is just glorious!

1. Li Li 1993 Worlds AA

She has a big step on dismount, but I don't care, her work on the beam is so wonderful. This routine combines it all for me- unique and beautiful mount, nice acro series, gorgeous dance skills (Yang Bo AND stag ring!), creative and original elements, flexibility, handstand work, transverse acro, and perfect form, control, and line to top it off! Her back spin into split around the beam is probably my single favorite move on the beam ever, and of course her signature. This routine is so fluid; every movement seems to lead into the next. It's gorgeous, elegant, and so unique!

Honorable mentions: Phoebe Mills, Daniela Silivas, Henrietta Onodi, Olessia Dudnik, Li Chun Mi, Tatiana Gutsu, Ekaterina Vandisheva, Mo Huilan, Kui Yuan Yuan, Dina Kochetkova, Dominique Moceanu, Olga Roshupkina, Carly Patterson, Anna Pavlova, Maria Livchikova, Sui Lu

Thoughts on Low to Beam Work

Here's a montage by the lovely MostepanovaFan (I'm telling you to go subscribe to her channel again) highlighting unique low to beam work. Some of my favorite work is in this montage, such as Li Li's spectacular back spin to splits at 1:46, Irina Yevdokimova's butt spin at 0:01, Jackie Bender's physics-defying acro strength and flexibility at 1:00 and 2:37, Lilypod's head-cartwheel-thing at 1:59, Vera Caslavska's v-sit at 2:12, and neck rolls aplenty.

However, some of these, such as 0:11, 0:40, 3:46, and 4:09 I just find boring. I'd far rather watch a quick and pretty flourish such as Shawn Johnson's than a gymnast who's lingering low on the beam and appears as if she doesn't know what's coming next and is scared to get up again. These ones I find boring also tend to be pure choreography and don't have any elements or strength or flexibility moves.

FIG appeared to be making an amendment to the close to apparatus requirements at the beginning of 2014 when they released all the COP videos, but no one could quite figure out what they were, even after reading the FIG lit to go along with all those videos. All I know is I liked the look of it. Too bad it appears to have been dumped. I really prefer the don't-get-deduction examples to the do-get-deduction examples.

I also like actual changes in level. I'm so sick of gymnasts just doing their low to beam work in the mount! Actually move up and down!

I love Yang Yun's change in levels. She didn't even do all that much close to the beam, she just switched up and down so much. It really does add to the artistic impression to a routine when the gymnast utilizes all levels and planes.

Oksana also had great use of different levels. I love how she didn't always get low to the beam to the same degree, but sometimes she was on her knees, sometimes she was sitting, and sometimes she was all the way down close to the beam.

So, these are basically the points for me when it comes to close to apparatus work on beam:

1. It shouldn't take too long/feel like wasting time

2. Don't have it in the mount

3. I like actual elements/element variations, strength, and flexibility moves

Side note: Does anyone know where I can find footage of Li Li's beam from the 1994 Worlds? I know that's the competition in the montage, but I can't find it anywhere.