Worlds 2018

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Worlds Predictions!!

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

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


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


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

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


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

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


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


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

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

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.

Favorite Routines from Worlds (VT and UB)

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

Vault
Giulia Steingruber, Qualifications

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

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

Oksana Chusovitina, Event Final

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

Ellie Black, Qualifications

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



Bars
Diana Varinska

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

Anastasiia Iliankova, Qualifications

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

Elena Eremina

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

Nina Derwael, All Around

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

Georgia-Mae Fenton Qualifications

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

Okay, onward to the actual competition.



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

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



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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

Worlds Predictions and Fantasy Podiums

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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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


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

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

Old Events on YouTube

I've found a great collection of old meets on YouTube I thought I'd share with you guys. There may end up being a part two of this, I've recently been finding a bunch more too! The channels are all great resources, so you should go subscribe.

1966 Worlds EF (Tribute2the80s)

Such a gem! Not only does it have the gymnasts (check out the pre-1968 drama Vera Caz and Natalia Kuchinskaya showdown), it's got COMMENTARY! Such an exciting find! Only a few gymnasts per event and there's a big glitch in one of them, but good quality and it's only about half an hour, so it's great if you don't have too much time.

1972 Olympics EF (dudnik and chocdave)

The first two have all the EF routines, and the second two have CBS coverage of the UB and FX final. Check out the crowd reaction to Olga Korbut's placement! Also, have to love Tamara Lazakovich's floor. I'm sure I found the beam final once, but I can't find it again...

1977 Euros EF (thelegendofNeshka)

All routines, absolutely fabulous! Not the greatest sound quality (TONS of background white noise), but still all routines from the 1977 Euros. Nadia, Nellie Kim, Emilia Eberle, Elena Mukhina, and one of my favorite Soviets who is totally underrated, Maria Filatova. Lots of good East Germans too. And so many Korbut-style skills on bars!

1977 World Cup

This one has at least ten parts, so I'll only post the first one. Filatova and Mukhina on display again, and Shaposhnikova joins them too. All right, I lied a little, this channel isn't as good for videos, but still a great competition here!

1978 Worlds EF (thelegendofNeshka, again)

This one's especially great because it cuts straight to the routines, so you get to watch all the gymnastics without it lasting forever. All the same Soviets, Nadia, Steffi Kraker Vera Cerna, and some great early Americans- Marcia Frederick wins the USA's first Worlds gold and Kathy Johnson has her beautiful balletic floor here.

1979 Euros EF (Fallen Star)

The same crowd again, Mukhina wowing with her bars, Nadia surprising with her medals- but what is really exciting about this one is it has Eberle's acid-trip routine with her music! The only instance of it I've been able to find. Easily the highlight of this one for me.