Olympic AA Final and Wishlist

Today's the day! A new all-around champion will be crowned. Here's a link to the FIG start list, complete with the order after each subdivision: here

Starting on VT: Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Victoria Komova, Vanessa Ferrari, Deng Linlin and Aliya Mustafina

Starting on UB: Huang Qiushuang, Larisa Iordache, Asuka Teramoto, Elisabeth Seitz, Jessica Lopez, Sandra Izbasa

Starting on BB: Hannah Whelan, Ana Sofia Gomez, Rebecca Tunney, Carlotta Ferlito, Celine van Gerner, Dominique Pegg

Starting on FX: Aurelie Malaussena, Emily Little, Giulia Steingruber, Ashleigh Brennan, Rie Tanaka, Marta Pihan-Kulesza

First off, I have to commend Deng Linlin for continuing after the 2008 Olympics and qualifying to the all around in 5th place. Deng was in the shadow of Chinese stars Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin, who earned a bronze in the all around in 2008. It's amazing to come back 4 years later and to be one of China's all around stars.

I feel like the fight will be against the 2 Americans - Douglas and Raisman - and the 2 Russians - Komova and Mustafina. Larisa Iordache and one of the Chinese will also be in the hunt. We'll have to watch for Raisman on bars. In the last 2 World Championships, she's done fine in qualifications but then fell apart in the all around final. She's been pushing through her routine, though, and if she does as well today as she did at qualifications, she has a good chance at a medal. We'll have to wait and see if Aliya Mustafina vaults the Amanar. This will give her an extra .7 in start value although she'll probably sacrifice some in execution. This is where Aliya tore her ACL. Komova will be first up on BB and last up on FX. If she hits, I believe that gold will be hers, especially based on the way judges scored her last error-filled balance beam routine. The order will likely change based on Gabby's BB and Komova's FX. It will also be interesting to see where 2006 World All Around Champion Vanessa Ferrari places as she is in the rotation with the stars (the leaders).

Iordache and the Chinese also have a chance. For the 2 Chinese, consistency will be their key. Huang Qiushang had all kinds of errors for China in the team final. If Larisa comes back with a spark, I think she'll also be in the hunt. Perhaps Larisa could be like Kohei - not in the top rotation but still in the hunt for gold.

This will be an interesting AA final since some of the athletes - like the Chinese and Iordache will be in a different rotation. They will be finishing on vault and may choose to throw more difficult vaults if they have a chance at a medal. This also means that placement of the top 12 athletes will likely change a lot between rotations.

My Wishlist:
- I'm not doing a podium since I feel like I jinxed the US men.

- Fair judging!

- No injuries on Amanars or anything really.

- I'm hoping that Komova doesn't have little tenths on floor that cause her a title again. I hope that Gabby hits beam like she did in TF and Aly hits bars just as she's been doing, especially in qualifications. I hope Iordache comes out and finds her thunder again. In qualifications, she seemed to lose a little of her shine and I hope it comes back.

- I hope Huang Qiushuang doesn't fall.

- If everything goes crazy, I hope that Tunney, Lopez, and Gomez have a shot at a medal :)

- I hope Steingruber finishes Top 20 or so. She didn't qualify to vault finals but is actually a surprisingly steady all arounder. If you have the chance, watch her floor routine! It's a lot more artistic than I expected from one of the best vaulters!

- I'm rooting for Dominique Pegg as the sole representative of Team Canada. She's had an excellent meet thus far and hopefully can continue to perform. (I'm sure the tweet from Justin Bieber helped her too!)

Honestly, I think I'll be happy with any medal podium, provided there is fair judging.

I'll be rooting for gold for whoever isn't wearing hot pink. ;) Let's have blue be the color for the next quad!

[If you've had trouble viewing the meet, I recommend that you check All Chalked Up's Tips For a Better Live Stream. I didn't want to download anything but it's been worth it. The ads don't randomly interrupt anymore and I've been able to have 2 feeds open. I think 2 videos will be important since we have star athletes in 2 rotations.]