For in the Same Way You Judge Others, You Will Be Judged

I'll be making some Worlds wrap-up posts later, but first I need to address a very big problem from this Worlds.

The judging.

There were close races- the vault gold, the bars bronze, the beam gold- these were medals that could have justifiably gone to more than one person. Simone and Hong both were stellar on vault, and Simone and Bai were insanely close on beam, though they had very different approaches. Any of the gymnasts ranked third through sixth in the bars finals could have legitimately received the bronze. Close races like this are simply an aspect of gymnastics. Even though it can be disappointing to lose the coin toss, they are a fair and even healthy part of gymnastics.

And then there were agendas. The judges this year very clearly did not leave their biases at the door this year. Half of the finals were very clearly marred by the judges' determination that certain gymnasts be rewarded.

Yao Jinnan was pushed by the judges in the uneven bars final. While it is true that, as I said in my earlier post, it is lovely to see her finally win through after what a rough career she's had, she was handed an undeserving win. Huang Huidan's routine was only one tenth less difficult. Her execution should have more than made up for it, and that her E score was only .033 higher than Yao's is laughable. It was absolutely more polished than Yao's. Yao missed two handstands by a fair margin, had to shuffle to get in place before her pirouettes, and lacked flight on her Tkatchev. Not only did home bias come into play- which affects all sports, not just those that are judged- but the judges actively favored Yao to beat Huang. They were eager to give her the gold as long as she did nothing major wrong, and they rewarded her over the better gymnast in the final.

Yao Jinnan, however, was far from the gymnast most favored by the judges. One gymnast was pushed blatantly almost everywhere she competed. And she was Aliya Mustafina.

This is not meant to be an attack on Aliya. She is a legendary gymnast and a lovely person. But she was given favor by the judges in many situations that were questionable to say the least.

Even in the all around final, Aliya's scores were given a bit of a bump. Her vault should in no way have scored higher than Larisa's, which was much cleaner. Her beam also scored higher than her beam from qualification despite her low standing Arabian and how much she had to bend to save her Onodi, while her qualification routine was much steadier. Though her scores wouldn't have affected the standings any, the judges did show their penchant for giving Aliya just that little nudge.

In both finals where she medalled, Aliya was clearly given a push to land on the podium. In the beam final, Asuka Teramoto was simply robbed. She was one of the three gymnasts in that final to hit her routine, yet she was not rewarded with one of the three medals. Asuka had a very clean routine (with an acro series) and yet somehow placed below Aliya's, which after the Arabian was very hesitant throughout and riddled with small checks after every skill that was supposed to be connected. And she DIDN'T HIT ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS. No way should Aliya have landed on the beam podium.

While the floor final was less blatant, she still was clearly given a bit of the benefit of the doubt. Aliya certainly could have been justifiable medalist, but the super-close victory by the exact margin needed immediately after being handed the beam bronze made it eye-roll worthy. The judges were inconsistent in their level of harshness and how they chose to deduct in comparison to the former rounds of competition. Mykayla had her best floor routine certainly of the season, and arguably her entire career. Her landings were the best they have been Nanning and her leaps were about as good as she's done them this year. However, the judges gave her a lower execution score in the event final than in qualifications. Aliya, on the other hand, had a better executed performance in qualifications. She fell out of all her turns in the final and had a worse landing on her middle tumbling pass. Aliya, however, received a higher execution score in the floor final. In fact, had Aliya added the stag jump to her routine, she would have beaten Larisa Iordache for silver, which is simply preposterous. Again, it is not necessarily her placement that is suspicious, it is the inconsistency and the methods of the judges. That she got the exact margin she needed to beat Skinner just makes an even stronger case for dishonest judging.

This was (apart from the beam final- that needs to be erased from memory) an outstanding World Championships. The quality of competition and the parity of the competitors was more in the way of an Olympics. However, the judging will stand as a dark blot that will taint this competition. I hope there are disciplinary hearings and consequences for the dirty judging we saw in Nanning.

Worlds Vault and Bars Finals Thoughts

Despite everyone else's tepid feelings going into this Worlds, I knew it was going to be a good one. And these event finals cemented in my mind that I was right! Some of the closest competition in recent years and with only one fall across the two finals!

Vault
Phan Thi Ha Thanh: It's great to see her in the final, even if it didn't go her way. It's her landings that get her, she just seems not to get enough air time to really wrap in the twists during the salto. In a way, I'm glad she came in last, because that's just a testament to how great this final was.

Claudia Fragapane: Definitely not the cleanest vaulter, but I do definitely think she's improved the Lopez on CWGs. It still had a bit of the whip open-whip closed of her Lopez there, but it was nowhere near as pronounced. The DTY was about like usual for her, nothing really memorable either way.

Alexa Moreno: I'm just so happy she made this final! I love how she does an FHS and a Tsuk! Not the cleanest and and the floor seems t come to her as a bit of a surprise, but it's just so lovely that she made the final! I do think her Rudi was my favorite of the final, as well.

Alla Sosnitskaya: The Cheng was fairly nice, other than the landing. She just doesn't seem to get quite enough power to make it to the ground easily. It's definitely one to keep and continue working on though. Her DTY was pretty soft, form-wise.

Giulia Steingruber: Not her best of outings, certainly. The Rudi wasn't one of her better efforts and seemed kind of all over the place. She seems to have kind of lost steam this year. I think it might have been a smart idea to keep the FTT in the locker in case the DTY didn't work out, as it didn't here. I'll always be annoyed at her lack of toe point in the salto of the FTY. It's sad to see how much she's gone back from last year.

Mykayla Skinner: The judges are certainly being generous where the block is concerned, because that second hand could barely have been said to touch the table. Otherwise, it was a gorgeous vault. The form and body position were both lovely, and it was the best Cheng in the air of the final. Her DTY is always nice and powerful, and her vault in the final was no different. Beautiful. She really does just look so great at this Worlds.

Simone Biles: That Amanar is breathtaking. And she minimized the hop for the final! She just rockets off the table and into the stratosphere. I just love the way she's able to really open up into the grouns because she does everything so well in the air. The Lopez was beautiful as well! There's just nothing negative to say about either of her vaults, they're just so precise!

Hong Un Jong: Hong's Amanar has quickly become one of my favorites at Aisian Games and Worlds. I finally understand why they thought she could do a triple. She just hangs in the air! This one was no different, though she took a bit of a large step. Just beautiful vaulting, still. She didn't seem to get quite enough power for the Cheng and looked to go more out than up, but other than a bit of a scrappy landing it was still a crackerjack vault. I never thought I'd be fawning over Hong's vaulting, but she really has just improved a ton. And at 24!!

This was definitely one of the best vault finals in a long time. No falls!!! The top three vaulters were definitely the ones to medal, which is what we always want. It was super close between Hong and Simone and it could have fairly gone either way. This was definitely one of the only times I was on the edge of my seat waiting for a vault result! Two Amanars, three Chengs, three Rudis- great difficulty. All in all an amazing final. Well done to everyone!

Bars
Aliya Mustafina: Gorgeous. Duh. She really is just gorgeous on this piece. I think her handstands were a little bit less perfect than usual, but they were all still very nice. She caught her Van Leuwen with the straightest arms I think I've seen her catch with. I remember Mitch Fenner one time commenting that she was "leisurely in the full turn," and I really think "leisurely" is the best word to describe her bars. She just always seems so calm throughout her work and it really makes you feel like you don't have to worry with her. Brilliant stuff.

Ashton Locklear: Ashton can definitely be really proud of herself after these Worlds. She went from not even having competed at a Nationals to a Worlds gold medalist and individual finalist in such a short amount of time! She did one of her best routines in the final, which was wonderful for her. And she got the six-skill connection! I know some people think this routine is too cookie-cutter, but that connection has the wow factor for me! She had some of her cleanest execution of the season and it flowed really well. She just had the small step on the dismount, which was disappointing after she'd been sticking them so well in the domestic season.

Becky Downie: Becky also did a great job here. Her only really noticeable errors were some short handstands, including the one before her dismount. I wonder if she was maybe playing a little safe since she knew that was where she fell last year. The connections in this routine are just dynamite and I love them so much. It's great that everything is finally coming together for Becky this season and she's really showing the world what she's made of!

Ruby Harrold: I was so sad that she had a fall here! I love this routine so much and it was just so sad to see her falter. The Van Leuwen to Zuchold was breathtaking, as always. Her stuck dismount was also great to see after the disappointing fall. Ruby's had a stacked year this year, and she's done really well overall.

Lisa Katharina Hill: This is a great composition. Her connection of toe full-Maloney-clear hip 1/2-clear hip full-Geinger is really unique and eye-catching! Her Bhardwaj was also beautiful. She definitely had some bobbles throughout the routine, but she covered really well and kept her head through it all. Really exciting stuff and she did very well in the deepest final of these Worlds.

Daria Spiridonova: This was absolutely one of Daria's best routines. Why not save the best for last? All the inbar work was really deftly completed. She caught pretty much everything with fully extended arms, which was wonderful to see. Her Van Leuwen was also really well done, and she managed to make it stand out. The piked Jager was gorgeous and well above the bar in the flight. She hit most of her handstand perfectly, her only really noticeable error being when she lost herself in her last half pirouette before the dismount. Really gorgeous work.

Huang Huidan: I just love her dismount. Just something a little different. She performed pretty much like always. The pirouette combination into the piked Jager was really deftly performed. She also caught her Chow 1/2 with COMPLETELY extended arms, which just made it look so nice! The stuck dismount was a great finishing touch for her great routine. The slo-mo afterward really made me appreciate her lack of grips. She seemed to barely have her hands on the bar at all in some of that elgrip work!

Yao Jinnan: Everything finally came together for Yao! The opening connection was incredibly fluid and beautiful. Her pirouette series into Tkatchev went very nicely, and a 1 1/2 pirouette is always a nice somewhat unexpected flourish. The highlight of the routine was definitely the dismount for me. She just hung in the air and stuck it so easily. And a perfectly done DLO dismount is very easy to watch.

Bars was pegged to be the nail-biter of this year's Worlds, and it didn't disappoint! Excellent work all the way through the ranks and a ton of super exciting routines. Who would have expected Daria to claim the bronze here? Really well done for her, she had an outstanding routine last night and totally deserved the bronze. Haung and Yao pulled off the Chinese 1-2 on bars everyone was contemplating, and they really have superior work. Ruby's fall was disappointing, but it was great that there was only one fall across both finals. It was great to see Yao finally bringing home a World title after a lot having not gone her way in her senior career. There were also some great unique moves- TWO Bharwajes, a Zuchold, and a half-in double front, showing that there is still a ton of creativity!


Leos
My favorite leo of the night belonged to Becky Downie. I love the flag-on-the-back design, and the red was just beautiful! I personally love the bumblebee leo, so I was totally down with Aliya wearing it in the UB final. I loved the American one! It's great to see them in red, white, and blue, and I liked how the design was done. I was also a big fan of Giulia's. The light blue color was really gorgeous on her and the combination and design was great too.

My least favorite was definitely Huang's. I'm a person who prefers long sleeves, and the nude mesh and yellow/green... stuff didn't look great. I'm not a huge fan of the North Korean leotard either. It just seems all king of thrown together to me. I thought Phan Thi Ha Than's was a bit strange as well, kind of space-agey mixed with we-put-together-our-scraps. Alla turned up in a Russian stand-by. I'm not a big fan of it. It is very busy and the colors all kind of compete with each other.

Worlds Qualification Day 1 Thoughts

Vault

This is shaping up to be one of the most exciting vault finals in recent world-level competition. Fortunately, the amount of death-defying skill-chucking that can get you into a final seems to have diminished greatly. And only one Prod this year, and from the gymnast most equipped to handle it! And even then, it looks like it might not be enough to make it into the final. I'm predicting the top five (Simone Biles, Mykayla Skinner, Alla Sosnitskaya, Alexa Moreno, Phan Thi Ha Thanh) are in, Giulia will be able to cling to a spot, and Dipa and Ellie are out. Hong Un Jong, Larisa Iordache, Claudia Fragapane, and maybe Courtney McGregor are the biggest threats going into today, and I'm thinking Hong Un Jong and maybe Claudia take the last two spots. Who knows, though, this could be a very interesting qualification!

• PAAAAAAAAAAAVS!! Why? WHY! Whyyyyyyyyy?
• The Cheng seems to be worth its weight in gold this year. Seems to get a bit of the benefit of the doubt from the judges.
• I'm totally down with Nabieva sticking her DTY at the Worlds she's at by accident
• KRAM!! You do that DTY!
• Where can I find video of Dipa's Prod? If she got an 8.100 E score, I'm thinking she had to have stood it up?
• All hail the great Simone Biles.
• So, Marina seems to have a score now? YES! Go Azerbaijan!
• I am so excited that Alexa Moreno is likely in the finals!
• It just isn't the same without Queen Chuso.

Bars

Again, as I said in my predictions post, why can't this final be open to more gymnasts?! Seriously, qualifying to bars might be harder than the actual competition. Shaposh variations are definitely here to stay, and frankly, I'm okay with that. I'd far rather watch a bunch of Shaposh variations in connection than a bunch of toe shoots or Rays. This should be a nail-biter qualification, and everyone right now has reason to be a little uneasy. I think Ashton and Aliya are fairly safe. I'd also be surprised if Daria wasn't in the final. If Kyla makes it, she'll scrape in if there aren't major errors from most of the big players. I don't think anyone qualified below Kyla will be able to make it if there isn't mass hysteria, which is sad, because there's a lot of good work there. China, Great Britain, Germany, and Australia should all have heavy hitters, and North Korea has some nice bar workers in the mix too. This final could have fifteen spots and it would still be exciting!

• Poor Maddie. I don't think I've ever seen that happen on an inbar before.
• Why can't Russia's qualification have just stopped after bars? So perfect then.
• I wonder what Aliya will actually whip out in finals.
• Where the heck did Adlerteg's score come from? That was a great routine!
• I know some people find Ashton's routine uninspiring, but I just love that opening connection!
• Why can't there be more videos?!!?

Beam

This one should be another nail-biter, if only because there's such parity once you get past the top two, one of whom is now out. With China and Romania coming up, we can definitely expect some change in the lineup, though the judges have been merciless on Shang again this season. And then Becky Downie definitely has a shot if she hits to the best of her ability. Simone should definitely be in the final, and I'd be surprised if Ellie isn't too. Kyla and Aliya are both on the periphery and are vulnerable right now. I'd doubt anyone ranked lower will make the final, but this is beam, so who the heck really knows.

• Yes! Ellie is definitely in good standing!
• Sanne is in the top eight after one day! It's an irrational hope of mine that she wins a World beam medal in her career. Don't you dare bring up how it's unlikely she'll make it- LET ME HAVE MY DELUSIONS!
• MASHA!!!! You could have won!!!!
• This was literally my thought process before/during Maria's beam: Okay, Maria, oh please let her hit, Maria's a holy name, Catholics pray to Mary and it's Maria in Latin, I mean I'm a Protestant but whatever, DANG IT!!!!
• What the heck is up with Kyla's D score? How did she lose four tenths when she only broke one connection?
• Two Swedes in the top eight after one day? Awesome!
• Thank goodness Simone took out that godforsaken wolf hop.
• No Ana why did you only score in the 12s?

Floor

The top three right now are definitely favorites to make the final. I think this one might be a bit tepid in comparison to the drama of the others, especially with one of the top favorites to qualify out. I love the group of women who are in qualifying contention right now, though, and I think it will be entertaining even if it isn't hair-tear-out-inducing suspenseful. Vanessa, Larisa, and Claudia are all obvious picks to make the final. I don't think there's anyone else really in the mix, but there are always surprises!

• ELLIE!!!! GIULIA!!!! WHAT HAPPENED??????
• On the other hand, Julie and Elsa YAS!
• Mustafina outscored Roxi. Let's just let that sink in.
• Again, I don't get where Kyla lost her D score?
• That was the best Moors I've ever seen.
• Simone scored less than four tenths below her Classics floor score (minus the stick bonus) with an effort not quite as strong. Seems a bit less preposterous now, no?
• Marta, I wanted you in the final! I thought you could make it! That save is life-giving, though.
• Love the tripley and the smile after from Aliya!
• Apparently the Uzbek gymnast completed it as well, so no name. On a side note, since her last name ends in "baeva" I always immediately associate her with Alina Kabaeva.
• Yes Pavs you deliver that glorious performance!!
• Ilaria Kaeslin is perfect and she needs the Elegance Award. Shared with JLo.

All Around

• Simone would be in the lead all around by almost a point after that kind of error on bars. Everyone else can just go home.
• I'm still kind of depressed Kram wasn't able to qualify for the all around. I went from not even being a fan of hers to going gaga over her in about one month.
• How did this happen with Noemi Makra? She was in better standing last year, wasn't she?
• I'm super excited Marta, Ellie, Giulia, and Elsa all are right next to each other in spots 6-9 (not counting ousted two-pers)!
• I'm just happy Elsa did so nicely!
• *Sigh* Pavs.....
• No Ilaria what happened? I guess this means no Longines Prize..... It's only those in the AA final, right?
• But Ana, you're so talented, why are you not going to make the all around final?

Team

• Canada, what happened? I just can't help wondering about Tori...
• Belgium ahead of Canada. No one would have expected this two years ago.
• I just can't get past this. But well done Belgium, Julie is a gift to this world.
• I'm super happy to see the Netherlands so well up the standings. They're a great team!
• Azerbaijan in sixteenth- is it too much to hope they can make the top twenty-four? Probably.
• It's really just sad what happened to Ukraine. They were such a great team.

Worlds Predictions

Alright, Worlds is around the corner, it's that time of year again to make predictions!

Team
Finalists:
USA
China
Russia
Romania
Great Britain
Italy
Japan
Germany

Podium:
1. USA
2. China
3. GB

The USA is the only team to have three strong routines on each event. China's bars will be a huge asset for them, but their vault and especially floor will provide problems. I was feeling GB even before the announcement over Paseka's injury was made, but now Russia is even farther in the hole. A strong Gabby Jupp should help the team out a fair bit, especially on beam, and it's pretty strong all over. Italy could also surprise, though- they looked great at Novara and Golden League.


All Around
Podium:
1. Simone Biles
2. Aliya Mustafina
3. Larisa Iordache

Simone on top is pretty obvious. I'm feeling Aliya in second after how great she looked at Russian Cup- that beam especially is amazing. I kept going back and forth on bronze between Larisa, Kyla Ross, and Yao Jinnan. I think Larisa and Yao both beat Kyla in ability, but Kyla is a rock. It should be a great fight.


Vault
Finalists:
Simone Biles
Mykayla Skinner
Hong Un Jong
Guilia Steingruber
Oksana Chusovitina
Ellie Black
Anna Pavlova
Dipa Karmakar

Podium:
1. Simone Biles
2. Giulia Steingruber
3. Mykayla Skinner

This one is fairly difficult as we haven't seen some of the big contenders (Hong Un Jong, Oksana Chusovitina, Phan Thi Ha Than) in a long time, so this might have to be adapted after the Asian Games. Figuring out places 2-4 is a bit difficult. If Mykayla does her vaults like day two of P&Gs, I might give her the slight edge over Giulia. And then she could also block like at Classics and be slaughtered. Hong Un Jong hasn't competed much this year, and so the Asian Games should provide more clarity where she's concerned. I'm rooting for Dipa out of all the Prods, and Pavlova got the silver at Europeans, so hopefully that's a good sign.


Uneven Bars
Finalists:
Yao Jinnan
Huang Huidan
Aliya Mustafina
Daria Spridinova
Becky Downie
Ashton Locklear
Madison Kocian
Larissa Miller

Podium:
1. Yao Jinna
2. Huang Huidan
3. Becky Downie

Ugh, why can't this final be open to more gymnasts? It's stacked! I'm feeling the Chinese going 1-2. Huang could potentially be replaced by Shang, but I'd still have her in silver. The big question make is Aliya's bars, seeing as we don't know what her routine will actually look like. She could also definitely medal. Really, anyone in this final could medal if things go their way. And of course, we can't count the Germans out to qualify. I'm excited!!


Beam
Finalists:
Kyla Ross
Simone Biles
Aliya Mustafina
Maria Kharenkova
Larisa Iordache
Andreea Munteanu
Shang Chunsong
Bai Yawen

Podium:
1. Shang Chunsong
2. Maria Kharenkova
3. Larisa Iordache

This one's near impossible to predict. Shang Chunsong has looked pretty steady this year, where as Larisa and Maria have both had some issues, but her scores were also merciless last year. But then again she's competing at home this year. Maria and Larisa are both obvious picks, but can definitely be inconsistent. Kyla, on the other hand, is very consistent, but her difficulty puts her down in the favorites list. Simone's new beam could definitely put her on the podium if she has a solid effort, but she really should take out that wolf hop. It does her no favors. We of course have no idea what incarnation of her routine Aliya will bring to the table, but the reigning champion (I still can't get over this) can't be counted out. Andreea Munteanu and Bai Yawen both can't be counted out either with good difficulty and beautiful execution. And then of course, there are the Lauren Mitchells and Ellie Blacks who could sneak into the final. This one's incredibly wide open, and basically any combination of gymnasts who can be expected to final would be a conceivable podium.


Floor
Finalists:
Simone Biles
Mykayla Skinner
Giulia Steingruber
Vanessa Ferrari
Larisa Iordache
Claudia Fragapane
Marta Pihan-Kulesza
Shang Chunsong

Podium:
1. Simone Biles
2. Larisa Iordache
3. Vanessa Ferrari

The first six on the list are almost certain to qualify, and the last two spots are fairly open. Lauren Mitchell might be able to snag a spot, Aliya did well in the floor final at Russian Cup, and in my dreams Ellie Black makes it into the finals again. Unfortunately, Mai Murakami doesn't look like she has good enough tumbling this year for the final. Simone winning is another obvious choice. Larisa's been super confident on floor this year and scoring consistently in the high 14s. Vanessa has also been strong and consistent, and word is going around that apparently she's upgrading, which could put her in favor over Larisa. I would cry tears of joy if Claudia were to medal.

US Worlds Team

In case you somehow have managed to miss out on the official announcement but have stumbled upon my humble little blog, the US Worlds team was named earlier this evening. The seven gymnasts named were Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, Mykayla Skinner, Alyssa Baumann, Ashton Locklear, Madison Kocian, and Madison Desch, with an alternate to be named later, with Brenna Dowell the non-traveling alternate.

Of course, there has been a bit of a collective emotional breakdown in the gymternet at the naming of Madison Desch over Brenna Dowell. And while I obviously, along with the rest of the gymternet, was pulling for Brenna with all my heart, I do believe the outrage seems a bit disproportionate. Desch was the alternate named on the nominative list, so it's not like we had no idea Martha's mine was in that thought process. Also, though we have no idea what went down at camp, Desch has been able to hit more than one routine this season. While I was hoping against hope until the very last second before I saw the selection that Brenna would be named and back to full capacity, I can't say I was shocked or even highly surprised. Unfortunately, the cards have not been stacked in her favor this year.

Now, again, I claim no knowledge of what happened at camp. If Brenna was vaulting consistent Amanars, I would say that she was the gymnast who should have been chosen and the US should have swallowed the very small sacrifice of putting Simone on bars. But I don't know that she was, though I was so hoping she was over the past two days. Martha has named the best teams in times the gymternet doubted her judgement. And really, Maddie will be the alternate, and when have we actually used the alternate anyway?

However, even in light of this disappointment, this team still looks very strong and poised to defend their title. Simone obviously needs no explanation, so I won't even bother with her. Kyla's consistency, level-headed approach to competition, execution, and specialty on bars and beam make her a great member, and she is good enough for the team lineup everywhere. She is a team player but also a standout individual, which will be great for this team. Mykayla was also becoming more and more of an obvious choice as the season went on. Her super high difficulty on vault and floor means she can bring in high scores, even if her execution has been the cause of scorn among the gymternet. I do think she has cleaned up in this area, though, and her form in the air in generally pretty decent, especially on vault. Alyssa Baumann is being brought for her great beam, an unusual weakness for the US, and floor, where she will likely be used as the table-setter. Ashton Locklear and Maddie K are both bars specialists with great D scores and good swing. Ashton has a talent for sticking her dismounts, and Maddie K apparently showed all four events at camp, helping clear any doubts about qualification lineups with this team.

Ultimately, I found this decision a disappointing one, but not a surprise. Brenna had a rough season and her camp clearly wasn't enough to make up for it. Maddie Desch certainly hasn't been perfect this year, but she has been decent overall and is an all arounder, which is what an alternate really needs to be. This team is still the favorite for the title, and Martha knows what she's doing.

Deanna Soza Health Scare

Arete posted on Facebook today that their lovely rising junior star, Deanne Soza, has contracted a rare eye infection. This post also said she is not even able to sleep and has to be treated hourly. The most alarming aspect of this is there is the possibility she could lose her sight.

Of course, the gymternet wishes Deanne the best and wants her to make a full recovery to health speedily and safely. Please keep Deanne and her family in your thoughts and prayers. If you were for some reason unaware, Spanny Tampson is collecting pictures/drawings/digital images the gymternet create to send in a well-wishing card, so if you want to contribute, please send your creation to spannytampson@gmail.com. We want Deanne to know she is supported!

I remember writing on here in the US season that Deanne has all the grit needed for beam. I am sure that grit she has on beam she will also display in a well-fought treatment and recovery process. Please be sure to show your support for Deanne in whatever way you can.

My Junior Crushes: Ragan Smith and Christina Desiderio

The US, of course, has a fair army of talented young ones, but of course there are those you just notice the first time you watch and you can't keep your eye off of. For me, there are two of these gymnasts in the ranks of American juniors: Ragan Smith and Christina Desiderio.

Ragan Smith
For all the gymnasts who have been compared to Shawn Johnson since 2009, Ragan is the only one who actually evokes that comparison to me. Ragan is just totally adorable but also has the power in her skills and is especially strong on beam and floor. Her switch to Texas Dreams this year has proven beneficial in many ways, and I really think she has the potential to be a very successful and balanced all arounder.

I first came across Ragan after Classics last year when the gymternet's collective ears pricked up at the sound of the "Puttin' on the Ritz" cut formerly used by Ksenia Semenova and we dug up her floor from the endless posted videos.

Admittedly, it wasn't a love-at-first-sight reaction for me. I thought she was cute, but I didn't think she was too much of anything special. But something about her kept her name niggling at the back of my mind, and the more I watched, the more I enjoyed what I saw.

Bars is definitely her weakest event, but Ragan has made great strides here and I really think she has it in her to have bars viable for strong all around performances. Her bars last year had a LOT that had to be worked on, most prominently very labored swing and dead hangs. She also was unable to make it through a set without some sort of major errors in the US elite season.

While bars is still a problem area for Ragan, she's had some great improvement this year. Her swing has improved by leaps and bounds, and KZB has done a great job of capitalizing on her better work with Stalder variations. I'd like to hope she can add Chow and/or Maloney variations in her work. She still had big problems at P&Gs, but at Classics she had a clean set which was able to bring in a 13.650, her best bars score of her elite career (so far).

Vault saw a big upgrade for Ragan this year as she began vaulting a DTY. Her FTY from last year was certainly problematic, with loss of leg form and piking at her hips.

Her DTY was chucked at Classics and she fell to her knees, but at P&Gs definitely saw improvement. Day one was still fairly scary with it barely brought around, but day two's was much improved. That 9.00 E score was still fairly fishy, but her position in the air, leg form, and chest position on landing were all much improved. I'd like to see more attention given to that block, but I trust KZB with this one.

Beam is one of Ragan's specialty events and she could do great things. Her beam from Classics last year was incredibly steady and she had power and ability oozing out the entire routine. She lacked some amplitude in her dance skills, but she had nice position. She lacked some refinement everywhere, but she had all the goods for great beam work. She did well enough to score over 14.000.

Under KZB, Ragan's beam has only improved. She gained a lot of that polish she lacked last year while still having all the risk. Her beam followed Ragan's trend of improving throughout the season to earn a career high on day two, 14.550. She still had great confidence and steadiness, but her new skills provided some blips for her. I would like for her to go back to her nice switch half instead of the switch ring. Her sheep jump had definitely improved, though, and I am looking forward to her future beam work.

Floor is where Ragan really sparkles. I personally prefer her interpretation to Semenova's, but Semenova did compete in the 10-skills-count-for-your-D-score era. Her floor has very creative and engaging choreography and it suits her perfectly. As I said above, floor was where Ragan first slipped into my radar in 2013. The best performance of this routine last year was P&Gs day one, when she received 13.800 and had a very strong performance. Her tumbling lacked air time and amplitude, but her power was evident.

Day two of 2014 P&Gs was the best performance of her floor routine. She scored 14.650 for her dazzling routine which had great tumbling and musicality. Her performance has improved by leaps and bounds since last year. She's also done some big upgrading and has been able to harness that power into big tumbling with great amplitude.

Ragan is a tiny little pocket rocket but also has some really nice style. Texas Dreams has really helped channel her talent more efficiently into great skills and routines. Ragan's cuteness is what caught my eye at first, but she has a ton of talent and potential. Her charisma and charm makes her a fan favorite, and her power makes her a standout. Beam and floor are incredible for her, her vault can be great for her, and I know she has bars in her if she can keep working with her strengths. Ragan just has to keep cleaning up and she could be something incredible.

Christina Desiderio
In case you haven't been able to tell by the way I bring her up whenever US juniors are the topic, Christina is one of my favorite. In terms of pure ability, Christina is right at the top of the sizable junior pack. She has power, swing, and a great arsenal of skills. The one problem that clouds Christina's performance is her mind. She is wildly inconsistent, which culminated in her heartbreaking bars routine on day two of P&Gs. If she can get her mind under control, Christina will be a force to be reckoned with. Plus, she trains at one of the nation's top gyms!

Christina first slipped onto my radar last summer when I was watching videos of the juniors from the US season looking to scope out the talent, if you will. It was a much more love-at-first-sight reaction than I had for Ragan, and I knew I'd found a special gymnast.

Beam was where Christina first caught my eye. Unfortunately, Christina had issues with that event every competition in the season this year. She fell every time she competed in Classics and P&Gs, on her layout, sheep jump, and switch ring.

However, she still has some great skills and lots of good work. Beam is definitely her strong spot in terms of skill, and she could be absolutely great.
Her beam from Classics last year was unbelievable. She had impressive difficulty and nary a waver in sight, which shows she does have the confidence she needs, she just has to find it. Her work is beautiful and light- her jump series especially looks like she's being pulled up from the beam by strings. And her wolf turn work is some of the best!

Bars is generally Christina's lowest-scoring event, and unfortunately she is largely remembered there for her disastrous final routine of P&Gs this year which left her visibly devastated, but she has some good work there, especially her super high Tkatchev. She needs a good deal of cleaning up and has been unable to score higher than the low 13s, but Parkettes does have a pretty good record on bars.

Her bars day one of P&Gs this year definitely looked to be the best she's done so far to me. Her Tkatchev, if anything, looked higher and her form looked better than last year as well. Her only real problem was a flat transfer to the high bar, but it certainly didn't result in a dead hang. Her difficulty is a bit low, and I definitely think there is room to upgrade. I trust that she can put up solid bars routines next year and that what happened day two of P&Gs isn't representative of her typical bar work.

Vault saw a big upgrade for Christina this year when she joined the Junior DTY club. Christina had a really nice FTY which was nicely flighted. Her form wasn't perfect and had some leg separation and a little bit of piking, but it was a very solid vault and there were no major issues.

Her DTY definitely looks serviceable and I think she has good vaulting in her future. Her first two attempts were fairly underrotated and she landed with a very low chest. On day two of P&Gs, she fixed that problem well and in fact overrotated a bit. She just needs to figure out the right amount of power she needs to give her vault.

Like Ragan, Christina has lots of charisma on floor. She also has a really good amount of power, and her tumbling shows it. Her floor last year was relatively unexceptional in terms of skill level, but she still had a long three years before becoming a senior. All of her tumbling was good and powerful and clean, and she really enjoyed her performance. Also, while I HATE that a random aerial can fulfill the tumbling requirement, hers looks really cool.

This years floor routine is one big party. I love it! She also has done some good upgrading, including a big double layout! Her form is really good except for her 2 1/2 twist. She also has great amplitude on her leaps and a beautiful double turn. Her best performance of her new routine was day two of P&Gs, where she scored a super 14.450. Her routine is really entertaining, and it fits Christina so well!

I'm still weeping inside for that bars routine, because she was doing her best of 2014 all the rest of day two. Christina has what it takes, I know it! Confidence is all she needs. Her power is great, and her swing on bars is right where it needs to be. All her work is light and beautiful, but she's really powerful too, which is great. Her form is generally lovely, and she can work a crowd. Christina is a total package gymnast, and I only hope next year will see her stronger than ever!