Showing posts with label giulia steingruber. Show all posts

My World Championships 2017

Photo by Alexandra Leask for thegymter.net



Being able to attend the 2017 World Gymnastics Championships in Montreal will be an experience that I will never forget. This post will be a bit of fan perspective with gym thoughts throughout.

I've been to Montreal twice before, all centered around gymnastics. Once was to go to the 2015 Canadian National Championships and the second was to prepare a documentary on Rose and Victoria Woo. Again, gymnastics brought me to Montreal. Thankfully, I'm driving distance from Montreal. I wasn't able to get the whole week off but I could get a weekend off which gave me the opportunity to attend the event finals. We drove up on Friday night which meant my boyfriend was reading live blogs and twitter feeds to me. [He started slowing down near the end, speaking really slowly, and I've never been so antsy in my life!]

We were lucky enough to stay in the Olympic Village. This now apartment/condo complex was used as the village for the 1976 Olympics, the very Olympics where gymnastics Queen Nadia Comaneci scored her first perfect 10. We had a great view of the Olympic stadium and the way it lights up at night. We were about 2 train stops away or a 20 minute walk.





The first day, we walked there and I was so freakin' excited!! Think my boyfriend thought I was insane but, oh well, now he knows. We got inside and took a picture in front of one of the #MTL2017GYM signs. I wanted to do a handstand but he said he wouldn't support me. Lame... Not sure if we'll make it to this sickness and in health thing...



We got there in time to see some of warmups. Nothing too interesting happened.

Since we were driving the night before and I was working through parts of qualifications, I went into event finals blind, not fully knowing who was in and who was out. For example, I still thought Georgia-Mae Fenton had made it into uneven bars final.

The men started us off on floor. The craziest thing is just how far above the rest Kenzo Shirai is. His twisting form is impeccable and it's like he has this uncanny sense of how exactly to punch the floor to get maximum benefit from it. Yul Muldouer was also super impressive. Crazy that he beat out one of the floor specialists to make the finals and beat out the second one for a medal. He has crazy clean gymnastics and my guess is that he's even more motivated after his first World Championships. With a veteran team, he was the only one to walk away with a medal. Sorry, TWO medals. Manrique is just as beautiful to watch as I had hoped. Sad that he walked away without a medal, same for Leru, but we'll get there.

I was so excited to watch a high level vault finals. Vault and uneven bars are my favorite women's events and the finals didn't disappoint. Giulia Steingruber, my one true love, was first up and I was just as in awe of her as I was before.The height she gets on her Rudi is out of this world. I was nervous before the double twisting Yurchenko because it's not her strongest but she hit it well. And then we waited.

I got on twitter and saw the Shallon Olsen was going to attempt a triple twisting Yurchenko and was so confused on why anyone thought this was a good idea. From what I gathered, she had been training it for sometime and decided to submit it. However, during warmup, she didn't hit any of them so she opted for the Amanar. From what I saw, before she went, she was terrified. She fell forward but, thankfully, wasn't injured. I'm amazed her Cheng went relatively well for how scary the Amanar was and how upset she was afterwards. But Shallon picked herself back up.

Then oh Paseka... The disappointment is real. She seemed relatively comfortable with her Cheng and lo and behold, it's one of the worse Cheng's she's done in awhile. Her Amanar, on the other hand, was one of the best she's done. Paseka, I don't know what to do with you anymore.



I know we talk so much about the #goworld going around this worlds but I truly loved how the athletes AND coaches had such respect for each other. Many of them have been in multiple event finals together but it was really great to see how supportive they were or how they went to every gymnast even if it wasn't their teammate or their own athlete.

When Jade went up, I was truly hoping that she would have enough to knock Paseka from the gold medal position but with the big step on the Amanar, I wasn't sure it would be enough. She gets great height and has good form but I agree with most: imagine what she could do with more time with those vaults. Maroney was competing her Amanar for quite some time before having to hit in a big international competition. Jade literally became an elite for this meet. Her accomplishments are amazing.

Pommels was pommels. Confession. Pommels and still rings are my least favorite so I went to the bathroom, came back, decided to see if the boo was feeling it and he wasn't, so we went to grab food. Thankfully in the area, they had broadcasts throughout the concessions so you were still able to watch even if you weren't at your seat.

Bars finals. So like I mentioned, I went into things a little cold. I think I subconsciously knew Diana Varinska made it more because of the "Ukrainian gymnastics isn't dead!" posts but I was still surprised. I'm glad that she hit. I was so glad to see my girl, Nina D. It was hard watching her wait to see if/what color medal she would get but I'm still so happy for her. Seeing Eremina's routine was great. A NABIEVA IN REAL LIFE!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! Then the shocker moment. I really can't believe Fan Yilin won. There was that one pirouette that was super late and muscled. I thought it wouldn't be enough but in true 4-way world champ, she shocked me! I'm sad and don't understand what happened to Ashton. She had one job which was to hit. She's still a beautiful bar worker so we'll see if this affects her for future teams.



I'm writing the rest of this way later so it will just be bullet points. I apologize. I'll take notes next time! But still rings was impressive to have such a star studded final. There was also a very knowledgeable group. everyone was ecstatic for Samir Ait Said when he landed. And I blame Zanetti, I think, for the crosses with the hand out (or is it Petrounias?). But then Liu went further with his little neck game. Way to try and make still rings more interesting.

Boo thang and I walked around for a bit. I wanted to look for the mini olympic Museum (that's not what it's called). But I know last time I was there, there was info on the stadium and it's design and previous Olympics. As we went to fnd it, turned out we were in the area where the athletes got on the bus to their various hotels. So I got a picture with Tutya, told her I loved her and her Olympic beam and how amazing it was. I got a picture with Nagornyy and then a group of like 20 8 year old girls bombarded him after haha. Whoops. Sorry! Before we left the area, Khorkina was there and we got a picture with her too! Cray!






Oh yeah, then we were walking around town and bumped into eventual floor world champ on our way to exchange some money. More cray!!



Man vaults are cool. Crazy to see Dragulescu vaulting the Dragulescu in person. There were some real judging issues - your knees almost touch, maybe could be counted as a fall, and your E is like 8+. Alrighty then.

I don't have much to say about beam other than I'm very happy for Alt and Schafer, her little voodoo skill is cool. Obviously, I'm happy for Morgan too but I think these days, as long as the American hits, they'll medal. Beam scoring was still weird with only Schafer getting the only 8.0 E but still.

PBars. Heart broken for manrique. Again. Oleg is beautiful to watch.

Mai was up first for floor and I didn't know she was seeded first. She hit her routine beautifully with excellent difficulty and clean skills. Brookyln Moors was just as amazing to watch as you would expect. Jade Carey reminds me SO much of Brenna Dowell. Excellent tumbling but with some work to do on the dance. The biggest surprise was how excellent Claudia Fragapane was. Honestly. Her presentation was great. When Tyra walks about H2T, head to toe, modeling, Fragapane embodies H2T dancing. It truly was a joy to watch.

Also, sad times to ending with Ferrari's injury. That was heartbreaking.

High bar. What a freakin hilarious mess. Bart goes up. So so routine. Epke has his huge ass error. We were shocked the first time. Shocked with every slow mo. Then the way the scores went up, shocked to see him pass the medals and for so long. SO SO sad for Leru!! The only thing that made it tolerable was the fact that adding the point back didn't get him a medal. More mistakes. The one hit routine! Goodness gracious it's enough for gold. That final was a wild ride. The skills are enough to make it crazy. High bar is truly a great way to finish meets. The releases are heart stopping. You're constantly on your toes wondering if people will catch releases, how many can be connected, crazy German giants, crazy dismounts. It's just non stop excitement!

I have to mention the scoring. I should've mentioned this earlier. On the board, they would show Bart Duerloo, let's say. He was on first and they'd put his score on a sort of bar graph. then on the right was Epke Zonderland. And as his score went in the bar would raise. So there were quite a few things where you stood with bated breath (Jade vs Paseka for example) waiting to see if the bar would surpass the other person. It added to the crowd's anticipation, excitement, and involvement. We screamed a lot haha.

It was my first World Championships and was such an amazing experience. Hope I get to go to another major international meet again!

Remembering the Road to Rio


For as long as we can remember, the slogan/hashtag for Rio was Road to Rio. Great Britain's hashtag was #everyroadtorio and for the longest time, I couldn't understand it. It wasn't until I saw each gymnast compete at this Games and had time to reflect that I realized what it meant. Every gymnast, or athlete for that matter, has had a different path that brought them to the Rio Olympic Games. For some, their arrival at the Olympic Games seemed inevitable. For others, it was a fight to the last minute to earn their federation's spot. Some were returning Olympians, some were first time Olympians. They all ended up in the same place but each journey was different. I just wanted to take a moment to remember some of these athletes and their magnificent journey to Rio.


I'm not quite sure when I first noticed Giulia Steingruber but I did and I'm glad. She became a senior in 2011 and made event finals on vault at both the European and World Championships. At the time, she was vaulting a Rudi (front handspring 1.5) and a Tsukahara full. She finished 5th in vault event finals. Steingruber was selected as Switzerland's sole representative in London 2012 and knew she needed to hit big vaults to make the vault event finals and have a shot at a medal. She upgraded her second vault to a Tsukahara double twist which she unfortunately fell on and finished 9th, just outside of the top eight spots that make an event final.

But, yes, you read that right. A Tsukahara double twist. That vault was quickly abandoned and for 2013 worlds, Steingruber was back with a new vault. A double twisting Yurchenko. This vault is the favored vault of most gymnasts and if able, gymnasts can upgrade to the ever elusive Amanar or two and a half twisting Yurchenko. However, shortly after learning that, Steingruber suffered from a case of the "twisties." For unknown reason, gymnasts (and other athletes like cheerleaders or divers) develop this fear of twisting and loss of air awareness. Hoping for a few international vault medals, Steingruber was suddenly held back by this mental block. She would vault again but downgrade to a full twisting Yurchenko and suffered a few injuries at competitions sustained on vault.

With divine healing power and fighting spirit, Steingruber was back and dominant. She was training a new vault - a handspring double twist which is not currently in the Code of Points. Steingruber was also rapidly upgrading floor exercise to a difficult routine that would hopefully challenge for a medal.

Steingruber came to Rio with a solid chance for a high all around finish, and a possible vault and floor exercise medal. She decided not to show the new vault and made the vault final anyway. Even better, she showed two clean vaults, a Rudi and a solid DTY that has challenged her time and time again to earn the bronze medal. This was the first ever women's artistic gymnastics Olympic medal for Switzerland. It was a long road from upgrading vaults to switching vault families, having to deal with injuries and mental blocks, but Steingruber did it and has the medal to show for it.


Ellie Black is one of the returning Olympians from London 2012. She turned senior in 2011 and has just continued to improve since then. in 2012, she was given one of the largely contested spots for Team Canada. Her vault and beam routines are what helped her most compliment her teammates and earn that spot. In London, Black qualified to the vault final and helped Team Canada to their highest finish ever - 5th place. She later got injured after doing her first vault in the event final. Since then, Black has just continued to improve. She's attended Universiade Games, Pacific Rim and Pan American Championships, numerous World and Challenge Cups, and has steadily built her name to where it is now. In Rio, the team just missed out on the team final but Black was able to finish the all around final, which she did not make in 2012, in 5th place, the highest ever for a Canadian woman.



 Sanne Wevers turned senior in 2007. Yep, 2007! She was eligible for the Beijing and London Olympics but missed out in 2008 and had injuries that essentially kept her out of the running in 2012. Sanne Wevers was always known as a great beamer. In 2013, she had one of the top scores on beam and was a hopeful to make the beam final at worlds. Unfortunately, she fell immediately on her round off full twisting back handspring mount and had several errors afterwards and did not qualify for the event final.

From there, the troubles continued. She remained one of the best beam workers in the Netherlands and in the world but was either unable to make finals due to poor performances or then fell in finals to miss out on medals at both European Championships and World Championships. The end of 2015 is when Wevers' luck seemed to change. At the World Championships, she won the silver medal on balance beam. She continued in 2016 with an upgraded routine that she was able to hit more often than not, both domestically and internationally. At the recent Olympic Games, to the delight of many, Wevers' won the gold medal on balance beam.

What an accomplishment for Sanne Wevers! She went from missing out on 2 Olympics to helping to qualify a team to the 2016 Games and winning the Netherlands first individual women's artistic medal.





There were a few 2014 Youth Olympians that are now 2016 Olympians. Flavia Saraiva, Wang Yan, Ellie Downie, Sae Miyakawa, Seda Tutkhalyan, and Tutya Yilmaz all had a great showing at these Olympic Games.

Tutya Yilmaz of Turkey finished 10th in the all around at the Youth Olympic Games. She also made the vault and floor finals. If you've followed me, you know that I consider Yilmaz the gymnastics love child of Aly Raisman and Alicia Sacramone. She has that same level of attack and poise when competing and has very difficult skills, the highlight being her back handspring layout full on beam. I've wanted to send her to Brestyan's for training camp to work on her consistency but maybe she doesn't need it. After a long wait in preliminaries, Yilmaz had the beam performance of her life with all eyes on her. She nailed every single skill and dismounted with the approval of a roaring crowd. She finished with a 14.5 (6.3 D) and in 13th place on balance beam.

Seda Tutkhalyan was the all around winner at the Youth Olympic Games. She has since continued to show great potential but struggled with consistency. Tutkhalyan was initially not on the provisional Olympic team but with the confirmed absence of Ksenia Afanasyeva, Tutkhalyan was able to fill the hole. Despite earlier worries of consistency, Tutkhalyan managed to beat out Angelina Melnikova for the all around spot, coming in ahead of teammate Aliya Mustafina as well. She performed well again in the team final. Tragedy didn't strike until the all around final where Tutkhalyan, with a real chance at a medal, fell on her balance beam dismount and twice on floor. Despite the heartbreaking performance there, it is important to remember that Tutkhalyan was a rock for the team for both qualifying and the team finals, helping Russia to just beat out China for the bronze medal.




Wang Yan did well in 2015 but then had a very rough start to her 2016 competitive season. She was always on China's team for her strong floor and vaults though it seemed like event finals were out of the question. After some rest and refocusing, a strong and sturdy Wang Yan returned and proved to be one of the rocks for Team China. She made both the vault and floor finals where she finished 5th and helped China earn a bronze medal in the team final.

Ellie Downie has been a trailblazer for Team Great Britain. In 2015, she earned Team GB their first individual AA medal at the European Championships. At the 2015 World Championships, she helped the team to an historic bronze medal. At the Olympics, Downie was a favorite for the all around final and possible a few event finals. Unfortunately, Downie had a scary fall on floor exercise which took her out of the floor final. She then returned to the arena to finish on vault. Downie had done enough to make the all around final but just didn't have the best day. She did show an upgraded routine with a Patterson dismount on beam but fell. As the sole qualifier to the all around final for Team GB and after such a scary fall, Downie did an excellent job fighting for herself but also for her team. She finished in 13th place.


Flavia Saraiva helped Brazil to an 8th place team finish and earned a spot in both the all around and beam event finals. She withdrew from the all around to focus on beam where she finished 5th. In the team final, Saraiva contributed on both beam and floor helping her to become one of the darlings of this home Olympic Games.


Sae Miyakawa was a vault medalist at the 2014 YOG. She made the Japanese worlds team and helped the team to a fifth place finish. She also competed in the floor final where she tied for 4th. Miyakawa is known for her very difficult floor routine with tumbling difficulty that can rival that of Simone Biles. Due to an error, Miyakawa did not make the floor final. However, she did help Japan to a 4th place finish. Their highest finish in nearly 50 years.


Every athlete has had a different road to Rio, all worthy of celebration. Whose career have you reflected on after watching the Olympic Games?

2016 European Championships WAG Senior Preview



The European Championships will take place from in Bern, Switzerland. It will be held in the Olympic format with 5 athletes on each team. In qualifications and finals, 3 will compete on each event with all 3 scores counting. There will not be an all around competition for the seniors so the primary focus is the team medal, and, of course, trying out new skills on the lead up to the Rio Olympic Games.
(Corrected: Format is not 5-4-3 for seniors, but will be 5-4-3 in quals for juniors)

The two teams most likely to battle for the title are Russia and Great Britain. The Russian team has new senior and Russian 2016 All Around Champion Angelina Melnikova. Melnikova has been one of the stars as a junior and, thus far, this has transitioned well to her senior career. She is joined by Olympians Ksenia Afanasyeva and Aliya Mustafina and worlds team members Daria Spiridonova and Seda Tutkhalyan. Tutkhalyan was a substitution for injured vaulter Maria Paseka. Her position may change prior to the actual competition.

This team has many strengths, the top being experience. On vault, they'll have three double twisting Yurchenkos in Afanasyeva, Tutkhalyan, Melnikova. On uneven bars, Russia boasts a great lineup, with Olympic Champion Aliya Mustafina and World Champion Daria Spiridonova. Beam, as always, is where things get interesting for Russia. Melnikova and Mustafina, who has struggled to find a suitable acrobatic series, will most likely do beam. The other spot is open to either Tutkhalyan or Afanasyeva. Though Afanasyeva has not competed beam recently, the veteran has often competed beam in team finals situation for Russia along with making multiple international event finals. Tutkhalyan boasts high difficulty on that event though her consistency leaves her spot in question, a large part of why she was initially not named to the team. Russia will have no problem staying competitive on floor.

Russia will battle for gold with Great Britain. Team GB will send an entirely veteran team. The good thing is that we don't have to worry about all around performers - Fragapane will not have to compete on uneven bars, this is the way it is listed in the nominative list. On vault, GB has 3 solid DTYs in Claudia Fragapane, Ellie Downie, and Ruby Harrold. Rumor is that Becky Downie has started working vault again and even a serviceable FTY from her or Gabby Jupp, if able, would ease the stress of not having a 4th score in prelims. On uneven bars, GB boasts a great lineup, similar to Russia in capabilities but with a very different routine composition (#shaposh4lyfe). Beam will likely be a toss up between Harrold and Jupp for the 4th spot. While floor exercise will likely consist of everyone but Jupp. This will serve as a great test - international test for Double Downies and Fragapane who's errors cost them placement in event finals at 2015 worlds - and a test for Harrold and Jupp, especially once Tinkler is added back to the possibilities list.

Rounding out the podium will be difficult to assess. The next few teams from Worlds - Italy, Netherlands, France, and Belgium will not be sending an A-team. Here's what to look for in each of them.

Italy will be without their F trio - Ferrari, Ferlito, Fasana. Their team consists of Enus Mariani, Elisa Meneghini, Lara Mori, Martina Rizzelli, and Sofia Busato. Sofia Busato is a first year senior that has been dealing with injuries for quite sometime. As a junior, she had a lovely floor exercise that started with an intricate headstand double stag pose. She hasn't competed much but vault so look for her to compete a solid DTY and floor. It will be important to see how the Mariani, Meneghini, and Rizzelli fare on UB. Rizzelli boasts a DTY which be useful for Team Italy in Rio but as one of the strongest uneven bar workers, she would need to show good execution and consistency to keep herself in contention. Mariani and Meneghini are fighting for much the same UB/BB spot and seem to switch competition to competition in terms of rank so look to see who hits and makes any event finals. (Note: On the initial start list, Meneghini is not listed on UB but this may change with the addition of Busato in place of Erika Fasana.) Lara Mori has a strong all around score but a strong performance on uneven bars and floor would be crucial for her.

France's team is middle of the road. Look for strong performances from Boyer, Brevet, and His, particularly on uneven bars and balance beam. Allison Lepin is replacing Louise Vanhille so look to see where she can hit as she has not competed much in 2016.

Like some of the teams mentioned before, Belgium is not sending an A-team. They recently competed at the Test Event and are using the European Championship as a chance to test out other athletes. Nina Derwael is recovering from a hand injury so how she performs on bars will be crucial.

The Netherlands is not sending any athletes in contention for an Olympic spot (though with Top down with an ACL tear, this may change). Tisha Volleman competed at the American Cup earlier this year. Mara Titarsolej is a very even all arounder and capable of 55+. Watch her on balance beam and floor exercise.


Germany's team will be led by Kim Bui who recently returned from ACL tear.  Look for a strong all around performance from her and a possible uneven bar event final.

Americans Kylie Dickson and Alaina Kwan will be joining Belarusian teammates at Euros. This includes Sviatlana Lifenka and first-year senior Dziyana Hramko. Dickson earned the Olympic spot at the Test Event so look for improvements on all events from her.

Switzerland just missed out on a shot at sending a team for the Olympics. Look for them to fight for a spot in team finals and possibly on the podium. Led by Giulia Steingruber, look for her to make vault and floor finals with a possible medal in either... or both Also look for Ilaria Kaeslin on balance beam and floor exercise.

Spain's team will include future Olympian Ana Perez. A favorite of mine is Cintia Rodriguez who is known for her beautiful lines. Look for her to possibly compete her original skill - a stalder full shoot to the high bar. She has also worked a double Y turn on beam.

Greece will be led by veteran Vasiliki Millousi. Watch for a spectacular beam performance from her but also look out for Argyro Afrati who is more than ready to take the lead, especially in the all around.

Hungary has a powerful trio of gymnasts but only one could be named to the Olympic Games. At the moment, it seems that spot will go to Zsofia Kovacs who had a higher placement at the Test Event. However, watch for strong performances from Noemi Makra, particularly on uneven bars, and veteran Dorina Boczogo on beam and floor.

I wrote this entire thing and then realized I left out Romania. Romania still has not named their Olympian so keep your eyes open. Of the athletes going to Bern, Ponor seems to be highest in the ranking to go to Rio. Watch all her performances closely. We'll see if she debuts bars for the first time in nearly 8 years. We'll also see if she competes her piked full in dismount off beam and her full twisting double layout on floor. She's also been training a DTY again so we'll see if she shows that. Ocolisan is basically next in line to look to see where she ranks in the hypothetical all around (if she competes all 4). (Corrected: Bulimar will not be competing due to Achilles tear.)


Who are you most excited to see compete?

The Stars of the First European Games

Photo Credit: sportgymrus.ru
Edited by me

The 1st European Games were held in Baku, Azerbijan in an arena that was specifically constructed with the success of future Azeri gymnasts in mind. The format of the meet was different than any other major international meet - three were able to represent a country, 2 scores counted in the team final, and only one gymnast per country was allowed in event finals for a total of 6 finalists in event finals and 18 in the all around. Overall, there are quite a few topics to discuss about the meet, but let's start with the most important - the competitors.

This meet proved to be really exciting in my opinion! While many countries opted to send an A- team or B team, there were quite a few accomplished athletes or new seniors who were able to get experience on the international stage. The timing of the meet was difficult with the European Championships just a little over two month ago but the final roster, and final outcomes, proved to be very exciting.

First and foremost, we have the comeback of Olympic All Around Silver Medalist Viktoria Komova. She had competed at a gala in Mexico and at a smaller competition in Hungary but was nowhere near full difficulty. This was Komova's first meet at full strength and with all eyes on her and she fared amazingly well. Due to the one per country format, Komova did not make any finals but there were still excellent results from her first time back. In the all around, she scored an admirable 56.965 with .4 worth of neutral deductions for an out of bounds on vault and floor. Her bars score was also deducted for hitting the low bar. Like fellow Russians Mustafina and Spiridonova, Komova has the Maloney to Pak to van Leeuwen combination and it was on that last transition that she hit the low bar as she reached for the high bar. Her beam showed a lot of promise and she fought for every skill and her floor exercise showed a new double layout. I was impressed to see such an upgrade from a gymnast who has fought so long just to come back to competition. The qualification proved to be a highlight of the meet for me simply because we got to see a happy and healthy and competing Viktoria Komova.



Aliya Mustafina also made a comeback of sorts after receiving treatment for her back and staying out of competition since December. In that time, Mustafina has found a new coach in Sergei Starkin. For the most part, things seem to be going well. Her block on vault is much improved and she often finds the stick on her double twisting Yurchenko. The pair have mentioned in interviews that Mustafina plans to upgrade vault - whether that means an Amanar or the return of her second vault, we'll have to wait and see. On uneven bars, she showed a solid routine, downgraded from her maximum but appropriate for this time of year with one year still to go to Rio. Her D score was a 6.5 without her signature Mustafina dismount. Her piked Jaeger seems to be doing weird things with a slight straddle at the onset, but we'll see if that returns to it's normal lovely height and position.

Then we get to beam and floor which prove to be her... interesting pieces. Mustafina's D on beam is 6.1 but the flow of the routine seems off and she seemed to miss many connections. In qualifications, it seemed like she would get ready for a connection but then change her mind. In the all around final, it seemed choppier still. But the difficulty is there and in this world where difficulty and execution matter, this routine proves to be competitive. On floor, Mustafina too has a new double layout which I thought we would never see. Her new music is to "My Way" by Frank Sinatra. Personally, I love the piece of music. I think it says a lot about Aliya and what she has done to get to this point - after her ACL tear, after losing her coach, etc. She has done this, largely, her way. I also feel like it's a nice little slap in the face to Valentina Rodionenko who has called Aliya fat and stubborn, the gymnast who went on to be Russia's most decorated athlete at the 2012 London Olympic Games. Ok, Valentina. I digress... I love the music but Aliya has no connection to it. She has four passes this time compared to the three she had at Worlds in 2014 - the new double layout, 2.5 to front full, back 1.5 to front 1.5, and double tuck. With this extra pass, she has less time for actual dance (like everyone else). The music rises just as she does her down to the floor part but she basically rolls and stands up. There is nothing captivating in the choreo like in her past routines.

Aliya's floor at 3:40


I'm not too concerned though. Mustafina is a gymnast that often changes her routine prior to the major competition she actually cares about. If we don't see a change in the music, I'm sure at the very least we'll see a choreography change. She's struggling with her dance elements - her Mustafina is going well and she has a (new?) Gomez (quad turn). She's working on a new attitude turn to Memmel turn but it doesn't seem to be going well. I'm sure that connection will change, or get better if we look at the initial struggle but current consistency on her Mustafina as an example. The other question was whether her whips through to double arabian to stag will return and I certainly hope it does. Is it gone because of inconsistency or because of her back? It remains to be seen.

One of the other stars was Giulia Steingruber. There's no secret story behind Steingruber other than a story of great gymnastics. At European Championships, some discounted her medals because competition like Iordache and Mustafina were not present. Here, Steingruber proved that she can hold her own and compete against the best and, most importantly, win. In the all around, she came second to Mustafina as "expected" but errors on beam almost cost her that medal. On vault, she showed a phenomenal Rudi. Really superb and near stick! Someone on tumblr mentioned that the Steingruber may be coming soon and I had forgotten - maybe the front handspring 2/1 will be real! She kept the full twisting Yurchenko as her second vault and it had amazing height and distance. Her uneven bars construction is very smart in my opinion, maximizing connections and minimizing time on the bars. She has some issues with flexed feet, a low catch on her Markhelov/Khorkina, and the cowboying in her double front but it gets her through the event and keeps her in the all around hunt.



Floor is where Steingruber really shines. Her tumbling is out of this world and it makes you wonder if her difficulty can approach the heights of someone like Simone Biles. Steingruber has a full twisting double layout and a double layout that meets her Rudi up in the rafters. She ends with a double tuck and double pike which are too easy so she often can't control the landing and hops out of bounds. An out of bounds in the floor final nearly cost her the gold medal but didn't because the interior of her routine was solid. One hopes that there are upgrades for the last 2 passes - possibly a full in for one of them.

Maybe I saved the best for last, certainly the most surprising. The most decorated female gymnasts of the Games were Aliya Mustafina, Giulia Steingruber, and Dutch gymnast Lieke Wevers. Wevers is the twin sister of Sanne Wevers who recently won bronze on uneven bars at the European Championships. The two are coached by their father so gymnastics is truly a family affair. Wevers had a phenomenal competition helping the Dutch team to bronze. She made the all around final and earned the bronze medal after a clean competition and also won the bronze on floor and with the team. The real highlight came on balance beam where Wevers has a routine unlike any other - full of wonderfully connected turns and a neat side aerial to side aerial combination. My favorite parts are rather simple things like how she does choreography right into her back handspring and continues choreography right out of it. Sometimes, it's the little things.



All-Around
1. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 58.566
2. Giulia Steingruber SUI 56.699
3. Lieke Wevers NED 55.065
4. Sophie Scheder GER 54.932

Vault
1. Giulia Steingruber (SUI) (15.566, 14.433) 14.999
2. Seda Tutkhalyan (RUS) (14.833, 14.533) 14.683
3. Lisa Top (NED) (14.133, 13.900) 14.016

Bars
1. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 15.400
2. Sophie Scheder (GER) 15.200
3. Andreea Iridon (ROU) 12.800

Beam
1. Lieke Wevers (NED) 14.200
2. Andreea Iridon (ROU) 14.000
3. Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 13.700

Floor
1. Giulia Steingruber (SUI) 14.266
2. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 14.200
3. Lieke Wevers (NED) 13.800

Complete results for MAG/WAG and Rhythmic can be found here.
Stay tuned for an additional recap talking about the competition format, the Romanians, and more.

This Week in Training: Before the Holidays

Simone Biles edit by jordynslefteyebrow
More christmas icons here


I keep forgetting to include this gymnast so I'm not forgetting this week! Margzetta Frazier of Parkettes is working a whip through to triple. You should also check her instagram for some pretty neat bars upgrades (stalder-pak-stalder-Chow here). IG: margzetta
A video posted by Margzetta Frazier (@margzetta) on

After her knee injury, Maggie Nichols is working hard on the uneven bars. She shows both a Chow (which I believe is new) and Maloney.
A video posted by Maggie Nichols (@swaggiemaggie2016) on


Simone Biles posted a video on instagram of her double twisting double layout, named after fellow American Cup competitor Victoria Moors. Simone has such ease with her tumbling and her double double is finished so high that it was only a matter of time until the Moors came to be. I am glad.


Youna Dufournet is working a new balance beam mount. She has chosen to work the round off - layout step out onto the beam. Very few gymnasts choose to do difficult mounts. Vasiliki Millousi competes this mount and Natsumi Sasada does round off - layout full onto the beam. Youna posted video afterwards of her Def!!! I'm amazed because it was in connection.


Marine Brevet's account is set to private but she is working a full twisting layout.

Nia Dennis' piked Tkatchev is back! Scratch that. Nia Dennis has a Church (toe on piked Tkatchev). The teammate of Gabby Douglas is hard at work.
A video posted by 💋Nia💋 (@niaadennis) on

2014 World Bronze Medalist on Vault, Mykayla Skinner continues to work bars and keep her name in the USA all around discussion. She shows a new section with Maloney (toe on Shaposhnikova) to Pak salto, and also a Van Leeuwen (toe on Shaposhnikova with 1/2 turn). That might just be her new beginning (not metaphorically, literally).

Giulia Steingruber posted video of her working a new skill - a Church (toe on piked Tkatchev). I'm curious to see where this will go as she currently has a Shushunova (full twisting Tkatchev) that lacks some height. Will she swap the two or make some new connection? This is from her facebook page where she also shows her bhs-layout.


Post by Giulia Steingruber.


In Italy, two stars are working different dance skills. Vanessa Ferrari is working a switch ring on the low beam. For some reason, I thought she already had one but I guess not. Enus Mariani, known for her dance and flexibility, is working a Mustafina on floor - the triple Y turn.

June Montage: This Is Your Heart

Becky Downie
Thank you @gwen_sullivan for the edit! Go follow her!

2014 European Gymnastics Championships
This is your heart. It's alive. It's pumping blood.
Great recap of the senior competition. My favorite part is the ending for two reasons. First off, there are comparison parts of different release moves and dismounts on even bars, and different passes on floor exercise. Secondly, the reactions at the end like Becky Downie finding out she won and the Russian federation congratulating their medalists. I also love when there choreography matches the music which is also a part of this montage.
Watch here or below:





Team Great Britain || Divenire
The music used is the one from the Thank You Mom P&G commercial during the Olympics. This montage features both the British juniors and seniors and highlights their success at the recent European Championships. It's nice to see both the improvements in difficulty score and the attention to execution and detail. The future is looking bright for Team GB.
Watch here or below:



The third video is Anna Pavlova. There's a lot of editing in this one, some I like, some I don't but it's a great recap of Pavlova's career since changing nationalities to Azerbijan. Watch here.

Artistic Gymnastics European Championships 2014. A fourth video was just added to the playlist made by professionals for the UEG, the organizing body of European gymnastics. I'm not one for montages with photos but this one has cool perspective photos and attaches the shots together to look like stop motion gymnastics. It features WAG and MAG, including some epic tattoo shots.Watch here.

Which montage was your favorite?

If you would like to share your montages or any you've viewed on youtube, vimeo, etc., feel free to reach me via twitter @arabianpf_blog or by commenting below. I'll be more than happy to watch.

Montage Monday: The Montage That Mattered

Keystone for blick.ch

I've been sharing montages since the start of this blog and can never get a feel of whether or not people actually enjoy it as much as I do. I love how a 3 minute video can capture the emotion of an athlete, the triumphs and downfalls of a meet, and the beauty that is gymnastics. Maybe I'm alone in this passion. Maybe not. But something exciting happened for one video editor.

Mustafinauniverse made a montage called "Giulia Steingruber - Champion." I was just searching through youtube for montages and started with Steingruber. I decided to click on this montage even though I already shared it after European Championships because all I saw was "Edit: I'm kind of freaking out..."

Edit: I'm kind of freaking out right now...

Giulia has seen this montage! I kik'd it to her and she saw it :)

Edit: Giulia kik'd me again asking for the name of the music
and now this song is her floor music...

Song: Love and Loss - Two Steps From Hell

Wow! What are the chances?! It's one thing for an athlete to share the montage, it's another for them to decide to use the audio for their floor music. Great work, mustafinauniverse!

Here it is again in case you missed it in an earlier Montage Monday.

Montage Monday: The Underdogs



I'm excited for this week's Montage Monday! It doesn't feature any of the US gymnasts nor does it feature gymnast of the moment Aliya Mustafina. Shocked? I was at first too but these gymnasts deserve the spotlight too.

Giulia Steingruber || How Am I Supposed to Die?
SuperGymmie/@SuperGymmie


Victoria Moors || Shattered
SuperGymmie/@SuperGymmie
Moors saw this and shared it. The video shows her journey from her senior debut to the naming of the laid out double double.

World Championships 2013: Sit Back and Relax Edition

saratre3 edit on tumblr


Here are some of my favorite videos from the World Championships 2013 help in Antwerp, Belgium this past week.


Cintia Rodriguez - she came highly recommended by Rick at gymnasticscoaching.com. If you're one who gets angry at every floor finalist who isn't trained in ballet, this is for you. If you want to be amazed by good toe point and body position and carriage, this is for you. I love routines that make me forget about the tumbling and this is one of them.


Karla Amaranta Torres - after injury kept Alexa Moreno out of Worlds and coaching drama kept ladies like Elsa Garcia out, Karla Torres came to save the day. Blythe said that she is what we've come to expect from Mexico - it may not be the most difficult but it is beautiful and enjoyable to watch. Here she is on beam. Her construction isn't difficult but you can start to appreciate her lines.

The Scary State of Vaulting

I just don't know what to think anymore.

As most of you know, I love some good vaulting. I was most excited for the vault finals this year. Quite a few things didn't pan out - Alexa Moreno missed Worlds due to injury, Ellie Black just missed qualifications landing in 9th, and Noel van Klaveren had landing errors that caused her a spot in the finals despite upgrades. The pleasant surprise was Chantysha Netteb qualifying to VT finals after upgrading to a double twisting Yurchenko, something she attempted unsuccessfully at the European Championships.

The finals itself had some expected components. Yamilet Pena fell on her Produnova. Phan Thi Ha Thanh's Rudi was questionable. McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles hit both of their vaults.

There were lots of downsides too. After qualifying with her DTY, Netteb attempted the same vault but quickly fell to the grown grabbing her knee. The slow motion replay looked horribly reminiscent of Aliya Mustafina's ACL tear at Euros 2013. Yamilet Pena attempted her Produnova and did a "better" job by not rolling out of it but still landed on her backside, albeit feet first so she was awarded more than a 0. What disturbed me the most was seeing the 6.3 next to Phan Thi Ha Thanh as she ran to do what is usually a DTY. The problem was that it was a DTY with an attempt to continue twisting when she had already landed. She fell to the ground without any visible injury.

We were lucky that Hong Un Jong did not attempt the triple twisting Yurchenko. Her Amanar can be all over the place but I will say that when it's clean, it's actually pretty nice. Her Cheng is another story. She was deducted enough that this placed her behind Biles who had an easier 2nd vault. Appropriate, I'd say.



What about Giulia Steingruber who probably executed 2 of the nicest vaults of the entire final?


Steingruber's E scores were 9.3 and 9.166. Hong's were 9.266 and 9.0. Steingruber was up first which is always a tough position to be in since scores typically escalate throughout the competition. Her Rudi was beautiful. The deductions I see are the pike coming off the horse and lack of distance. On the DTY, again there was a pike for the landing and perhaps a low chest deduction too. Hong's Amanar, from what I could see, had the landing deductions. Her second vault, however, was a hot mess in the air. Pike throughout the vault (with some tucking at the knees too), crossed legs, low chest on landing, and step back.

I think it's near impossible for the judges not to reward difficulty of the vault in the execution score. I feel like things are missed or benefit of the doubt is given when it shouldn't be. I do think Steingruber was unlucky by going first, however, I can't explain the above 9 execution on Hong's Cheng.

Scarier than this was Phan Thi Ha Thanh attempting the Amanar. What in the world?! Phan and Steingruber have the same vaults. (Honestly, I think Phan typically does a piked Rudi but just puts up a laid out Rudi and gets credit for it but that's a story for another time.) Her only way of surpassing Giulia who has cleaner execution on the Rudi but typically comparable on the DTY is to do the Amanar. Phan has not been one of those girls that you wonder when she will upgrade because of the height she gets or room she has for landing. Instead, the Amanar she did was a DTY where she continued turning and hoped she didn't fall. It was a dangerous hot mess.



With the triple twisting Yurchenko on it's way, I worry for the state of vaulting. We have gymnasts landing Produnovas to their heads (or to forward roll would be the nice way of saying it). We have gymnasts competing underrotated Amanars (think Shawn Johnson to Maria Paseka). We have gymnasts getting credit for laid out Podkopayeva's (Yurchenko 1/2 on pike half off) when they are indeed piked. And now, joining the group of not-yet-ready-to-land Produnovas, we have gymnasts creating a new group of not-yet-ready-to-land Amanars. The same way Pena seems safer than Mahmoud, we're entering a world where Paseka seems safer than Phan. Yay?

I'm not a fan of banning things. My proposal is that these difficult vaults, like triple twisting Yurchenkos and Produnovas need to be submitted before competition to the FIG showing readiness. What would that mean? Take a video of you doing this vault successfully on competition mats to the FIG and then you can perform it at an actual meet. These vaults are so dangerous that we shouldn't hope that the podium helps you finally land it. We shouldn't count butt-slamming rebounds as a proper landing (Pena at Zibo). I don't know what the best solution is but something needs to be done.

We can start by taking proper execution scores and properly downgrading vaults. The latter has already been done at this World Championships - both Tatiana Nabieva and Maegan Chant had vaults downgraded due to body position and under-rotation, respectively.

I guess Pena has already "passed" but neither Hong nor Maroney nor Biles should be allowed to compete the TTY without showing that they can walk afterwards too.


The entire vault final can be watched here (TVR). Results can be found here.

What do you think of Steingruber vs. Hong? What do you think of the state of vaulting?

As We Wait for Worlds - Vault Part 2

Giulia Steingruber (SUI), Unknown Source


We're a little under 2 weeks until the official start of the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. Most of the teams have been officially announced although it's subject to change as the injury list is getting longer and longer. Vault finals was shaping to be a very exciting final but we've lost a number of gymnasts to injury. Things are still exciting as athletes like Noel van Klaveren shows an upgrade and Giulia Steingruber shows an entirely different family of vault. There's still reason to be excited for the vault event final.

Noel van Klaveren - DTY and Tsuk 1.5


These are the athletes that should be present at Worlds as of September 18th.

Athlete SV 1 Name VT1 SV 2 Name VT2 Average
1. Hong Un Jong 6.3 Amanar 6.4 Cheng 6.35
2. McKayla Maroney 6.3 Amanar 6.0 Y1/2 on, 1/1 off 6.15
3. Fadwa Mahmoud 7.0 Produnova 5.2 ? Tsuk 1/1 6.1
3. Ellie Black 6.2 Rudi 6.0 Tsuk 2/1 6.1
5. Phan Thi Ha Thanh 5.8 DTY 6.2 Rudi 6.0
6. Simone Biles 6.3 Amanar 5.6 Lopez 5.95
6. Maria Paseka 6.3 Amanar 5.6 Lopez 5.95
8. Giulia Steingruber* 6.2 Rudi 5.2 Tsuk 1/1 5.7
9. Noel van Klaveren 5.8 DTY 5.5 Tsuk 1.5 5.65
9. Oksana Chusovitna* 5.8 FHS 1/1 5.5 Tsuk 1.5 5.65
11. Giulia Steingruber* 6.2 Rudi 5.0 FTY 5.6
12. Larisa Iordache 5.8 DTY 5.2 Tsuk 1/1 5.5
13. Yamilet Pena* 5.8 DTY 5.0 FHS front 5.4
14. Maegan Chant 5.2 Tsuk 1/1 5.4 FHS 1/2 5.3
Athlete SV 1 Name VT1 SV 2 Name VT2 Total SV
Yamilet Pena* 7.0 Produnova 5.8 DTY 6.6
Giulia Steingruber* 6.2 Rudi 6.0 Tsuk 2/1 6.1
Giulia Steingruber* 6.2 Rudi 5.8 DTY 6.0
Sandra Izbasa* 6.0 "Mustafina" 5.8 DTY 6.0
Oksana Chusovitna* 6.2 Rudi 5.5 Tsuk 1.5 5.85

We've lost a few vaulters along the way. Ksenia Afansyeva (5.95D) recently had surgery on her ankle and Jade Barbosa is recovering from an injury (5.7D). Janine Berger was not selected to go to Worlds since she has not been able to get back her Olympic level vaults (6.1D) due to a knee injury. Alexa Moreno was not selected to be on the team although the reason is not entirely known - perhaps political, perhaps injury. North Korea is only sending one gymnast and Ri Un Ha (6.1D) was not chosen.

I started to include athletes with D-scores below 5.3 but then I'd have to include everyone. There are rumors of Maegan Chant upgrading which is entirely possible since her current vaults are clean and seem too easy for her. Athletes like Ofir Nezir (ISR), Chantysha Netteb (NED), and Makarena Pinto and Martina Castro (CHI) are just a few of the athletes around the 5.2 range and could all sneak into the finals.

Has anyone else noticed that Phan Thi Ha Thanh tends to do an easier vault in qualifications than in finals? At Worlds 2011, she qualified with 5.9 (FHS pike 1.5) and 5.3 in vault difficulty, the second of which was upgraded to a 5.8. At the 2012 Olympics in London, she went qualified with a 5.3 and 6.3 in difficulty - the first we saw of her Rudi. Recently, at Osijek, she qualified with a 5.8 and 5.0 D-score. This second vault looks like it was a balked attempt since she had 1.1 in neutral deductions and probably decided to do a front handspring layout front. Her DTY was devalued by the judges to a 1.5TY in finals and she competed her Rudi.

Why is Steingruber on this list 4 times?! Steingruber competed the Rudi and Tsuk 2/1 vaults at the Olympics but fell on the Tsukahara and has not competed the double twist since. She competed a clean Tsuk 1/1 at European Championships where she earned gold and talked about upgrading again in an interview with GymNewstics. At Swiss Nationals, she showed a new FTY and is rumoured to be working a DTY for Worlds. Her Rudi is set but it remains to be seen what her second vault will be. Steingruber FTY here

Steingruber Rudi here or below
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* Explained:
- Pena has not competed the Produnova vault since the Olympics.
- Izbasa has not competed 2 vaults since the Olympics. According to Alex Mladinescu, it's unlikely that we'll see her perform 2 vaults here.
- Chusovitna has competed a front handspring full twist with a 5.8 D-score as her 1st vault but has not competed her Rudi this year.



The list was compiled with help of Uncle Tim's UTRS (9/9) as well as my Explaining VT EF from the Olympics.

Who are you thinking will make the VT podium?

As We Wait for Worlds - Vault

The Universiade Games proved to be an excellent preview for the gymnasts we might see in the 2013 Vault Finals. Of the 8 finalists, there were 6 with a chance of earning a medal. Maria Paseka delivered her cleanest Amanar vault yet and Russian teammate Ksenia Afansyeva surprised us further with another Amanar and somewhat better execution. We saw the 2008 Olympic Vault Champion Hong Un Jong return to competition and land two of the hardest vaults being competed.

You can watch the entire VT EF here or below:


In recent years, vault has been one of the best chances at a medal for countries outside of the Big 4 - USA, Russia, Romania, and China. However, the Big 4 has caught on and will return to the World Championships with more athletes competing 2 vaults. Afansyeva is an addition to Paseka for Russia, and Alla Sosnitskaya is waiting in the wings. Olympic Champion Sandra Izbasa is now joined by teammate Larisa Iordache. There are multiple Americans training 2 vaults alongside silver medalist McKayla Maroney. This includes Simone Biles, Elizabeth Price, Lexie Priessman, and Mykayla Skinner. While we haven't seen Priessman and Price's second vaults, Skinner proves to be competitive with the high difficulty combination of an Amanar and a Cheng. It will be interesting to see who makes the Worlds team and who continues to train 2 vaults throughout the quadrennium since it takes valuable time from training on the other events - most important for strong all-arounders like Larisa Iordache.

Here's a list of the vaulters with a chance of making finals at the 2013 World Championships. For those who have mocked vault finals previously, this is shaping up to be a very competitive final!

Montage Monday: More European Championships

Giulia Steingruber - Champion
I am thrilled that people are now on the Steingruber bandwagon! It's hard to find a montage about gymnasts that aren't from the USA, Russia, or Romania (we'll talk about men's gymnastics another time). Steingruber is known for her vaulting, which has been progressively getting cleaner and cleaner. She has a lovely floor routine to Carmen and debuted a full twisting double layout at European Championships. She finished 4th in the AA with the help of a steady beam routine and a new Markelov release on uneven bars. The hazy editing isn't my favorite, but, alas, a Steingruber montage is a montage worth watching!


2013 Euros AA Montage - I Still Have a Soul
For those of you that loved the Beauty of Gymnastics montage, this is a montage for you. Lots of the slow motion clips from the European Championships are used here and as the music picks up, so does the intensity of the gymnastics that we watch.


What was your favorite moment at the European Championships?

If you have a montage that you would like to share, feel free to email me at arabianpunchfront[@]gmail.com or contact me online on facebook or twitter (@ArabianPF_blog).

GymFan Apr 17: European Champs & NCAA Edition

We just did our first #gymfan night. Hope you enjoyed it! This was done on April 17, the evening we learned the qualifiers for AA and EF at European Championships and the night before NCAA Women's Gymnastics National Championships. Read a few responses below and check out the related video! This doesn't include all of the responses but I tried to include at least one per person.

Q1: Rank the 4 WAG events in order from favorite to least favorite (ties allowed) and why
@ArabianPF_blog: UB - breathtaking to watch, VT - amazing when done well, falls change things quickly; FX(3rd) - some interesting choreo (sometimes) and mindblowing tumbling, BB (4th) - boring, everyone does the same thing

@DoubleDoubleGymBlog: beam- it's awesome to see their confidence, floor, you get to see their personality, vault, such an adrenaline rush, and I hate bars [We were complete opposites!!]

@elliemdi: speaking as a gymnast: beam, floor, bars, vault! speaking as a #gymfan: bars, floor, vault, beam.

Q2: Name 2 routines from European Championships that you will be most excited to watch once video becomes available
@ArabianPF_blog: Steingruber's VTs and I actually have no idea for the 2nd one. Maybe her FX since she did a full twisting double layout.

@MrsMcLean11 1. Ruby Harrold bars love the routine 2. Afan floor love her artistry

candycoateddoom (tumblr): Didi’s floor in EF and… let’s go with Lari’s beam in AA and EF.

@AllFlippedOut This may sound bad but Mustafina's two beam falls… curious to see what went wrong.

Mustafina on BB in Qualifications - user has link to Russians in qualifications but currently unlabelled

Routines to Watch: Doha and Cottbus

Of course, the moment I have finals is when the elite season really picked up. Here are a few routines to watch from the World Cup meets.

Giulia Steingruber is back with a vengeance claiming many vault titles. Along the way, Steingruber revealed a new routine, I think, on uneven bars where she debuted a Markelov. She definitely competes uneven bars in attack mode and the Markelov can be improved but I think Steingruber shows good potential as an all-arounder.
Not sure if this routine is qualifications (5.9/13.7) or event finals (5.9/13.825).

On The Rise: Switzerland

A new series looking at countries that are On The Rise and may be able to challenge the countries at the top, mainly the "Big 4" - USA, Russia, Romania, China - at the team or individual level.


Ilaria Käslin



Switzerland is a country that has recently made a name for herself with Ariella Kaeslin. After her retirement, the legacy of great vaulters continued with 2012 European Bronze Medalist Giulia Steingruber. Steingruber has proven to be an excellent all-arounder after placing 14th in the Olympic all-around final. The Swiss have great things to look forward to in continued representation from Steingruber and the rise of some junior stars. As a team, Switzerland placed 11th in the senior team competition and 13th in the junior team competition at the 2012 European Championships. In this profile, we'll look at Steingruber along with 2 juniors, Ilaria Käslin and Laura Schulte who should help to contribute to the rise of Switzerland in this quadrennium.

Giulia Steingruber
Starting off this series with a personal and surprise favorite, Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland. Steingruber is most known for her vaulting ability. Sadly, she fell in qualifications and was in the terrible 9th place just missing out on making the vault event finals. Otherwise, she had a shot of landing on the podium in the Olympic Vault Event Finals with a Rudi (handspring on, 1.5 twist off - 6.3 D). She upgraded her 2nd vault to a Tsuk double full for the 6.0 start value, an increase from the 5.2 D-score of a Tsuk full that she usually competed, but fell.
Accomplishments: 3rd place VT, 4th AA 2012 European Championships, 9th place VT Olympic qualifications, 14th Olympic AA, 5th place VT 2012 Test Event
Skills: VT - Rudi (front handspring on, 1.5 twist off - now a 6.2),  and Tsuk double (6.0), beam - switch split-side somi, floor - double layout, BB - The Steingruber - a gainer full off the beam
FX:


VT:

Olympic Wrap Up Part 2: Why The Olympics Made My Summer


source


London 2012, overall, was pretty amazing. It was my first major competition as a blogger and it was fun to share it all with you.

Social Media
Social media is a big part of why the Olympics DID feel like the Olympics. Social media was a blessing and a curse all at the same time. It's great because we got to see so much of what goes on in Olympic village, continue our little ice bucket fiasco, and keep a checklist of who the athletes had met. Ryan Lochte (swimmer). Check. Carmelo Anthony (basketball). Check. Usain Bolt (track)... still in progress. We also got to see some pretty amazing tweets. Justin Timberlake tweeted Aly Raisman, Pitbull tweeted Gabby saying thanks for using my music, dale. Missy Elliott, another Virginia native, tweeted Gabby as well. Missy Elliott has a song, We Run This, on the soundtrack for our beloved movie Stick It and Dominique Dawes is featured in the music video as a coach (video here, the recognizable part at 1:12, and some clips from Stick It near the end). Maybe Gabby will be next.

The only reason I say it's a curse is because now we want more. It has only fed our addiction further. If there isn't gymnastics, we search for the instagram photos, wait for Kellogg's boxes to come to our remote parts of the USA, and watch 10 minute long videos in Russian without a translation, and wait.

 Team Finals
McKayla had an AMAZING vault. That vault should definitely go down in history as one of the best vaults of all time. I really wish the judges had given her a 10. Maybe the vault didn't seem perfect to you but it seemed pretty darn close to me and many others. I also think it would have done a lot for the sport, and those who hate the open-ended code, to show that the 10 isn't dead. Perfection is possible. Kyla Ross was amazing and did exactly what the US was hoping for. She had a lovely bars set and was her usual solid self on beam. After she dismounted with her double tuck that she went to her coach, Jenny Zhang, and started crying was probably one of my favorite moments.

Canada coming in 5th. I'm not sure there are words for how thrilled I am. I was concerned for Canada with the loss of Peng Peng Lee due to injury but I didn't have to be. Kristina Vaculik did an excellent job leading the team, making her Olympic dream come true. Dominique Pegg was the only Canadian to make the all around finals and placed 15th. Ellie Black and Brittany Rogers both made vault event finals. I think the live coverage showed Victoria Moors on floor in team finals and I was just filled with joy. Her routine was amazing and I wish it could have made event finals. Canada placed the highest in their history as a team in this Olympic Games. What an amazing accomplishment!


All-Around
The AA was a good battle to the end. It really was neck and neck event after event for 1st and 2nd, then 3rd and 4th. My surprise was Sandra Izbasa. I didn't think she would make top 5 let alone try for the all around given her injuries in the past year. She proved me wrong. Jessica Lopez qualified for the 2008 Olympics and finally qualified to the all-around final this year. Unfortunately, she took out her release move on bars and lost at least .5 in D-score.

One AA finalist that I'm probably the happiest for is Marta Pihan-Kulesza. She also went to the Olympics in 2008 and qualified to the all around final in 2012. She is one that we've seen a lot on the World Cup circuit and she's very steady. She may not have the high difficulty of the Big 4 countries but she's original and pretty clean. You may know her as the girl with the braids and the glitter. Wear all the glitter and braids you want, as long as you keep doing your original gymnastics.

Another one who makes me very happy is Giulia Steingruber. We all know her as a vaulter but when I did the post on athletes competing as individuals, I realized that she's actually a pretty good all arounder. With D-scores of 6.3/5.2 on vault, 5.7 on uneven bars, 5.6 on beam, and 5.5 on floor, she's doing amazing. Her chances for a vault medal were dashed when she fell in qualifying to finish in 9th place, but she finished the all around in 14th place, just behind Great Britain's Rebecca Tunney. I also really enjoy her floor exercise with a big opening double layout and mature choreography to Carmen. Watch her floor from the Test Event here or below:


Vault
It's interesting to see the direction that vault will go in given the changes to D score. Perhaps we saw the last of Chusovitna, perhaps we did not. However, I think we saw the new face of German gymnastics or at least German vaulting. Janine Berger had the 2nd highest difficulty after McKayla Maroney with a Rudi and Tsukahara double twist and pretty decent execution. I imagine these 2 vaults will only get better and more precise with time. I hope we see more of the girl who calls Chusovitna her idol and now Olympic teammate. Also, vault is the most diverse event with 6 different countries being represented.

UB
I'm happy for Aliya and I'm happy for Beth Tweddle although that step did scare me for her medal chances. But, to be entirely honest, I am happiest for He Kexin. Her gold in 2008 was questioned because of the tie break and many were even saying that Yang Yilin deserved the gold over both He Kexin and Nastia Liukin. She has struggled a lot since then. She won bars gold at 2009 World Championships. In 2010, she fell during event finals and, therefore, didn't medal. In 2011, she fell during qualifications and wasn't even used in team finals on bars. She has traveled a rough road and overcame a growth spurt and injuries to make the Olympic Team. If you think about, He Kexin went from almost an alternate to Olympic silver medalist. That's pretty amazing to me.

Also, an honorable mention goes to Celine van Gerner of the Netherlands who placed 10th and was in 1st reserve spot. I look forward to seeing more of her and the team from the Netherlands on the international stage.

BB and FX are actually hard for me to write about because of the tie breaks. I will attempt to highlight the positive though.

BB
I'm glad Deng Linlin won. Honestly, I don't see the minutia of differences between Sui Lu and Deng Linlin's routines. It was left in the judges hands and they chose the winner. This is another amazing victory for China and gymnastics. If I had a list of 2008 Olympians to potentially make their countries' team, Deng would not have been on my list or she would have been dead last. She proved me wrong winning Chinese Nationals and leaving the Olympics as a gold medalist.

Although I'm angry that Diana Bulimar did not represent Romania in the balance beam finals, I do have to admire Larisa Iordache for competing through the pain in order to have a shot at a medal and make her country proud.

Fun fact about balance beam: the top fourteen spots after qualifications were taken by the big 4 countries - 2 from China, 4 from each USA, Russia, and Romania.

FX
I'm thrilled for Aly and I think the routine played to her strong suits and to the current code of points. I'm glad Catalina won a medal, especially after what happened on balance beam. Her routine is choreographed so well to an amazing song. Catalina Ponor, at 24 years old (now 25), has such a maturity and air around her that adds to her performance. Aliya was a shocking medalist for me. I thought that she would not make floor finals due to her knee injury. She has proved me wrong.

Fun fact about floor: floor and vault were the only 2 events that did not have to use the 2 per country rule. Honorable mention to Lauren Mitchell of Australia who competed on an injury and still performed well despite it.

So, the Olympics are over and now we wait.

Read Olympic Wrap-up Part 1: Why The Olympics Didn't Feel Like the Olympics
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