The annual Top Gym competition took place last weekend in Charleroi, Belgium. It's a junior competition that proves to caattract some future stars. Past attendees include Jordyn Wieber, Amy Tinkler, Jonna Adlerteg, Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar, and Axelle Klinckaert to name a few.
Naomi Visser of the Netherlands finished in 2nd with a 51.699. She will join the senior ranks in 2017. Her best scores were on vault and floor exercise where she showed that the Dutch philosophy of lower difficulty with clean execution and excellent performance value is alive and well.
Olivia Cimpian of Romania, senior in 2017, has been making a name for herself recently and is one of the hopes for Romania next quadrennium. She had multiple falls on balance beam which cost her the gold medal but earned her a bronze. In event finals, she won vault and floor gold with silvers on bars and beam. I realized that she seems to be the gymnastics love child of Ana Porgras and Larisa Iordache making her floor enjoyable to watch with the highest difficulty of the competition. She shows both a piked and tucked full in during this routine. 13.550/5.4D for the routine below
Other notable mentions goes to Adela and Vendula Merkova. Vendula finished the all around in 4th place and earned the bronze medal on uneven bars. Her sister, Adela, earned an individual medal on floor where she finished in 3rd place. The Czech team shows a lot of potential for the coming quadrennium. On floor, they seem to be a bit like the Netherlands with lower difficulty but eye catching, sometimes tear jerking, choreography. They also turn senior in 2017.
Honorable mention for the meet goes to France's Alisson Lapp who has a lovely floor exercise. Between the French performance here and at Massilia, it is a reminder that French creativity and flair is alive and well. Lapp will be a senior in 2018. She earned the bronze medal on floor for this exercise with a 12.850/5.1D.
Additional video can be found at Belgian Gymnastics
Follow @belgiangym for news on Team Belgium
The Rio Test Event team competition finishing over the weekend and what a competition it was! There was lots of excitement and heartbreak when the chalk finally settled. On the men's side, Germany was able to ward off evil pommel spirits (that landed them at the Test Event in the first place) to finish in gold medal position. They were followed by Ukraine who went from nearly 3rd in 2012 to nearly not in the Olympics in 2016. The team was able to rally led by a strong all around performance by Oleg Verniaiev. The Netherlands and France completed the list of teams that qualified a 5-member team to the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The women's competition was full of drama. To the surprise of no one and to the elation of the home crowd, Brazil finished in first place. They were followed by Germany, Belgium, and France who will all get the chance to bring a team to the Olympics. The great surge in this group of finalists has to go to Team Belgium and Team Switzerland. Belgium just missed on qualifying a team to the Olympics in 2012 and now they come with strong all arounders and event final worthy athletes. To top it off, they were missing some members of their team due to injury or forced medical retirement. Switzerland, though they finished in 6th, also deserves praise for nearly making it. They were one of the teams that most people ignored and they surprised with their performance and how close they were to qualifying.
There was a lot of sadness in this final. Australia finished in 5th place with a 218.428, 2.441 points behind France and a team spot at the Olympics. This score was an improvement from their score at Pacific Rims but still wasn't enough to qualify a team. Romania finished in 7th place with a 216.569, which was actually less than their Glasgow 2015 qualifying score. One could argue the worlds team contained Larisa Iordache and Laura Jurca and the test event team had Catalina Ponor and Ana Maria Ocolisan but was missing Iordache and Jurca. Who knows if that would have made a difference or if it would have been enough to qualify. We could hypothesize forever.
Now comes the tricky part: Australia, Switzerland, Romania, and Korea can send 1 gymnast to the Olympics. For South Korea, 2 of their star gymnasts were injured and it's unclear if they'll be back in time for Rio. Switzerland will most likely send Giulia Steingruber. Australia and Romania are in tough situations. Romania will most likely choose between Larisa Iordache and Catalina Ponor - both with hopes of balance beam and floor exercise finals. Iordache has the benefit of an all around final and chance at the podium though we don't know the extent of her injury and when she can be back to full training. Australia will basically have a battle of former Olympians. In my opinion, it will be between Larrissa Miller (FX), Georgia-Rose Brown (AA), Emily Little (AA, potentially VT though they likely won't make event finals if not upgraded). AA athletes Kiara Munteanu and Emma Nedov also deserve a shout out for finishing first of the Australians at Pacific Rim and the Test Event, respectively. And these are just the athletes we've seen. Lauren Mitchell is recovering from ACL surgery and is back training. She's been well enough to attend recent national team camps. Olivia Vivian also seems to be training (though I'm honestly still not 100% sure). They actually have a ton of options for who to send to Rio.
Both teams will need to really look at their systems. Both have had star juniors that haven't quite made it at the senior ranks. For Australia, it seems mostly to be due to injury. For Romania, there is an injury component but also "lack of motivation" and former stars and European medalists being exiled to Romanian gymnastics Siberia. Romania is truly lacking in depth, as evidenced by 2 injuries, Iordache and Jurca, collapsing the entire team structure.
Then there are coaching issues. For Australia, I really can't decide how to feel about Peggy Liddick. The Australians have accomplished some great things during her reign, Lauren Mitchell's floor exercise gold, Larrissa Miller making floor event finals at 2014 worlds. But they've also declined to the point of not making the Olympics. We typically think of Romania but the Aussies are also a team that relies on their veterans. There's nothing wrong with relying on your veterans, it's just a problem when there isn't much depth to replace them.
The Romanian coaching situation is a disaster. If anyone wants to update me on why Nicolai Forminte left in 2010, I'd love to hear it. Maybe I wasn't totally attuned to what was going on but I remember thinking it was weird they fired him. Sorry, we have a 2008 team and floor exercise medal, some worlds and European medals, but you're done. Thank you! It just really didn't make sense. Now he's back coaching the juniors and they're showing promise. Belu and Bitang are basically having an on-again off-again relationship with their coaching role. Apparently the girls asked for them back but then were injured so they did not get to coach much. It bothers me most that they resigned just before the girls left for Rio. I thought this was weird. I didn't think it was because they had very little faith in the athletes they were trying to coach to the Olympics.
The biggest comment that has resonated with me about this whole Romanian situation was on rightful 2004 Olympic AA Champion Andreea Raducan's facebook. "...We could have the fate of Ukraine." She reminds us of the greats Lilia Podkopayeva and Viktoria Karpenko. A country that once had such pride and talent that is no longer on the gymnastics map. That really struck a chord. Will Romania be the next Ukraine or will there be changes made? There's a lot of finger pointing now but I hope that the RGF and the coaches come up with a plan to develop the program otherwise this disaster is only just beginning.
The first meet of the Canadian elite season has just wrapped up. Elite Canada had some surprises with a few returns and the addition of a few Rio-eligible juniors to senior ranks. Canadian women's national team direction Dave Brubaker said, "I asked all of the athletes eligible for the next Olympic Games to become seniors this year because they need the experience. It’s certainly nice to know we've got more girls coming into the mix."
Rose-Kaying Woo is one of the juniors asked to join the senior ranks early and she ended up winning the competition over 2014 World Team and Commonwealth Games Team member Isabela Onyshko. Shallon Olsen was the other junior asked to move up early. She first made a splash as a 12 year old with a very impressive double twisting Yurchenko. She finished the all around competition in 6th but went on to win the vault event final and earn the bronze medal on the floor final. Youth Olympic Games competitor Sydney Townsend made her senior debut and finished tied for 4th place in the all around.
Athletes returning to competition was a highlight of the meet. Victoria Moors, who abruptly left the 2014 Commonwealth Games came back to competition on vault and floor. Ella Douglas is back from multiple injuries and rehabilitation on the uneven bars. Sabrina Gill, who recently committed to Oregon State University, was back on the uneven bars and ended up winning the event final with a 5.9D/14.250 routine.
Missing from the competition were World Team members Aleeza Yu and Jordyn Pedersen who are both recovering from injuries. Ellie Black compete on just the balance beam which she won in the event finals with a 6.4D. Victoria-Kayen Woo, older sister to the all around champion, was also present and went into the uneven bar finals in first but had some mistakes that left her off the podium. Maegan Chant was also present but did not have a strong competition.
Live blog of the Central American Games Day 1 of EF featuring uneven bars and vault.
VAULT Elsa Garcia (MEX)
VT1: 1.5TY. Straight down the middle. She like floats in the air. It's kinda insane. Loss of form in the last half turn, very evident in slow motion. 5.3/14.4
VT2: Yurchenko 1/2 on, front pike off. Lands a little lock legged and jolts forward but she seems ok.
14.062 average
Paula Mejias (PUR)
VT1: whoa! Was that a Tsuk 2/1? She twists the last one around super quickly. Maybe landed with one over the line but hops in. Low chest. It's an impressive vault for sure. 14.625 - didn't see breakdown
VT2: FHS tuck 1.5. Think she landed midline but then hopped OOB and off the mat. Not bad in the air though.
Yamilet Pena (DOM)
VT1: DTY - she twisted a little early so she didn't get a good block. Lands with chest low. She definitely has better DTYs than that one. 14.150
VT2: Rudi - she slapped her legs so I thought she would do the Prod but instead she debuted a Rudi. Didn't get great height. Landed lock legged. Chest low. Saluted quickly and limped off the podium. Looked like they were massaging her quad as opposed to knee issue so we'll see
Nicolle Vasquez (PUR)
VT1: DTY - looked good. Not too much to say. Dead center. She could maybe get more height?
VT2: FHS 1/2 - Looked good! She's thrilled as is her coach!
Dovelis Torres (CUB)
VT1: DTY - bent arms on block, flexed feet but pretty good body position, 1 foot OOB after landing I think. 14.575
VT2: FHS tuck 1/1 - I'm not used to seeing them so tucked FHS always shock me. Looked good though. Good landing.
Yesenia Ferrera (CUB)
VT1: Rudi - yikes. I want ASac back. Bent arms on block has to whip the twists around. Deep landing and takes a step back.
VT2: Tsuk 2/1 - small step back. But otherwise was fine. Coaches are happy. Teammate is in 1st right now but I'm guessing this should take it.
Diana Ardila (COL)
VT1: 1.5TY think landing surprised her. She runs forward. She wiped the horse off so think she didn't get the block she needed. She's in the YJN UB leo. In slow mo, you see her hands slip towards each other so super narrow block.
VT2: Tsuk 1/1 no major issues that I saw.
Catalina Escobar (COL)
VT1: DTY not too bad in the air. Lands a little off center so small hop to save it. 14.725.
VT2: Yurchenko 1/2 on front pike off - little hop to side and quickly salutes.
Overally, pretty decent vault final! Lots of DTYs but nice 2nd vaults - some Tsukaharas, some Rudis, a few FHS tucks. Not too shabby! Also, the girls were ALL amazingly smack dab in the center. Think only 2 vaults weren't dead center.
RESULTS
1st
Yesenia Ferrera (CUB)
14.950/16.200
14.825/16.000
14.887
2nd
Dovelis Torres (CUB)
14.575/15.800 (-0.1)
14.275/15.300
14.425
3rd
Nicolle Vasquez (CUB)
14.725/15.800
13.875/15.000
14.300
Uneven Bars Elsa Garcia (MEX) - low bar, stalder 1/1, toe on 1/2 shoot to high; 1.5 to jaeger, think she hit her feet but caught; tkatchev, toe 1/1, to bail falls over but saves it. shoot to high. double front dismount! Definitely not her best routine but she made it through. 5.8/13.200 Bibiana Velez (COL) - giant full to Gienger, hop change to Jaeger; bail, straddle shoot to high has to muscle up, double arabian dismount. Fist pump afterwards. She's happy. 5.6/13.350
Ana Sofia Gomez (GUA) - low bar, Maloney immediate uprise to Church bail, shoot to high, toe 1/1 to Gienger, toe 1/2 to Jaeger lacking a little height. Full in dismount. Decent routine just missing a little swing. 5.7/13.500
Ivet Rojas (VEN) - high bar 1.5 pirouette to piked Jaeger; giant 1/1 to bail, toe giant, toe shoot to high (Weird technique), giant half to double front. The fans in the crowd are happy. She's limping a bit. [By weird technique - she does the step down toe-on technique but also kinda whips herself down.] 5.2/13.2 Best e-score so far which I think is actually accurate
Melba Avendano (COL) - shaposh, jaeger, hindorff; bail little foot form issues, shoot; giant 1/1, winds up, half in half out dismount. Decent routine. I feel like it just needs some connections to be competitive and cleaning up some foot form issues.
Alexa Moreno (MEX) - clear hip, shaposh 1/2; think she fell over on a handstand and is improvising. Goes to low bar and back up. Alexa does Deltchev then kinda catches the bar so she ends up in a German giant position?! Hops off. Double layout dismount. 4.6/11.025
Dovelis Torres (CUB) - shaposh; clear hip 1/2 doesn't make it over so hops off. bail, toe shoot to high; super flighty Tkatchev (a little crooked); giant 1/1; double pike (she grabbed her thighs) 5.0/11.475
Jessica Lopez (VEN) - piked tkatchev to pak; misses low bar handstand; shaposh immediate uprise 1/1 to straddled tkatchev to in bar gienger; giant 1/2 to jaeger; giant 1/2 double front with a few steps back. 6.1/14.100
Open Massilia Team Medalists PC: Elite Gym Massilia Facebook
Elite Gym Massilia is one of the post-Worlds competitions that usually attracts a good crowd of gymnasts from around the world. This year's competition featured Olympians Youna Dufournet and Maria Paseka along with multiple World Championship attendees and European medalists.
The Open Massilia competition was won by the 2nd Belgian team with a score of 159.033 closely followed by Canada's 158.767. In 3rd was the German team closely followed by the Swiss team who finished 4th. The all around competition in the Open meet, was won by Giada Grisetti of Switzerland. Rose-Kaying Woo of Canada was 2nd followed by Germany's Florine Harder. With an honorable mention, Eythora Thorsdottir has successfully returned from a back injury to compete all around in this meet which landed her in 4th place. European medalist Noel van Klaveren also competed in this division in the all around. This is her first major competition after taking some time off of gymnastics for family matters. She returned with 2 vaults and a strong floor with one of her best double layout mounts.
The most surprising matter of the competition was Belgium's team beating Canada. Canada sent their best juniors, all Rio hopefuls so it will be interesting to see where Belgium places for the 2015 World Championships which will determine which teams even have the opportunity to qualify a full team to Rio.
Open Massilia Team
1.
Belgium 2
159.033
2.
Canada
158.767
3.
Germany
156.100
Open Massilia All Around
1.
Giada Grisetti (SUI)
53.767
2.
Rose-Kaying Woo (CAN)
53.200
3.
Florine Harder (GER)
53.167
The Master Massilia competition took place on Saturday. The top 3 teams were Italy with a 162.067, Russia with a 161.900 and Belgium again with a 160.867. Italy and Russia both had mixed level teams. Italy's team consisted of Olympians Giorgia Campana and Carlotta Ferlito, World team member Lara Mori, and Sofia Bonistalli (who has one of Italy's few DTYs). Russia's team consisted of Maria Paseka, Daria Spiridonova who has won several competitions individually in the post-Worlds season, Polina Federova, Russia's alternate at this year's World Championship, and Liliya Akhaimova. Spiridonova won the all around followed by Giorgia Campana and Belgium's Nina Derwael. She is a junior that turns senior in 2016. She was the highest ranked junior of the competition and even came ahead of solid all arounder Carlotta Ferlito, who was 4th.
Master Massilia Team
1.
Italy
162.067
2.
Russia
161.900
3.
Belgium
160.867
Master Massilia All Around
1.
Daria Spiridonova (RUS)
54.167
2.
Giorgia Campana (ITA)
53.833
3.
Nina Derwael (BEL '16)
53.700
Derwael on UB 5.6/13.933
The final competition of the weekend was the Top Massilia which features the event finalists. The top 6 athletes were invited with the committee able of adding 2 additional athletes. (Junior vault rules were in effect)
Continuing Predictions vs Reality with my take on the individual event finals. You can read part 1 ft Team Final and All Around Final here
Vault
Predictions: Simone Biles, Hong Un Jong, Mykayla Skinner
Reality: Hong Un Jong, Simone Biles, Mykayla Skinner
I had the right 3, just in the wrong order. I'm actually still a little surprised that Biles didn't win but I think that's just a testament to how much Hong's Amanar has improved. Hong's Amanar is Maroney status - square on contact with horse, head squeezed between arms, arms not bent at all, good height on block and with an even tighter layout position. Impressive. Her Cheng still needs work but clearly that change in Amanar execution was enough. Biles' score is very admirable especially when you consider her D average is 5.95 compared to Hong's 6.35. Once I found out that Giulia was having twisting issues and that Alla had her Cheng, I figured it would come down to Sosnitskaya and Skinner for the bronze medal. Skinner has the better execution overall compared to Sosnitskaya so I think the placements were correct.
Can we just appreciate the difficulty in this vault final?! Sure Steingruber did a FTY but we otherwise had some great vaults - FTY and DTY, Lopez and Cheng (Yurchenko 1/2 on, layout 1/2 and layout 1 1/2 off), Rudi (technically a Chusovitina), and a Zamolodchikova (Tsuk 2/1). Great job, ladies!
In terms of predictions, UB and BB were the hardest for me to predict just because I had no idea who would even make the finals. For UB, I had Yao and Huang (or another set of 2 Chinese), Daria and Aliya, Ashton and Kyla, maybe Becky and Ruby, maybe at least 1 German (was not expecting Lisa but thrilled for her all the same), maybe Youna if she was hiding some upgrades. Overall, I loved the gymnasts that made the final. They all have great swing and good level of precision. Sure you could fight about flexed feet, sickled feet, whatever you want but, as a whole, this was a phenomenal group of the best uneven bar workers in the world.
I agree with the final placements. Based on our view, Aliya had a few minor errors while Daria just had one missed moment before her dismount. Huang's pirouetting style seemed really labored while Yao has the low Tkatchev. Everyone talks about Yao's construction but I actually do really like Huang's, if only she could fix her pirouetting technique. Lisa had a few handstand issues and sickles her feet in a way that is more noticeable based on her knee alignment. Either way, she is one of Germany's top bar workers and I'm glad she had the chance to show it off. Becky and Ruby both have immensely unique routines which Ruby was not able to complete successfully. Becky did not medal in her final but did manage to have a solid routine. One of the things that has been important for Becky Downie is her ability to hit routine after routine. Becky should be very proud of her successful year, making the World Championship event finals and successfully competing in said finals.
In terms of performance, this might have been my favorite final.
Looking back now this prediction is funny... or unforunate. Depends on how you look at it. Definitely unfortunate for Kharenkova and Iordache. With Kharenkova out, it was almost surely Iordache's to lose and unfortunately, she did just that. We were all worried about the layout full when, in the end, it was her tuck full that took her out of contention. I was a bit disappointed that of the 8 finalists, only 5 had routines without falls. Alas, such is the balance beam.
I don't know why I didn't have Biles on the podium. Maybe I thought she would wobble. Maybe I thought others would just be better. Clearly I thought wrong.
On Bai Yawen, just a thought. I do enjoy her balance beam but I wonder if China gets the "artistry" deduction. In their exactness, they lose a lot of the fluidity. Bai is probably the least offensive compared to, say, Shang Chunsong. For her specifically, however, she does seem to have excessive preparation on her skills. I might sound like I'm picking on her, I'm just trying to understand her E score in relation to other athletes. I did enjoy her routine, however.
I'm probably most bummed about the third place medal. I did see Teramoto's missed connections and wobbles that caused the deductions, it's just unfortunate. Le sigh.
My predictions went a bit further - Biles, Iordache, and if anyone was on the podium other than Ferrari, it would be Skinner. Boy was I wrong.
Words cannot explain how much I love Iordache's floor routine. It makes me so happy. Again, like in the AA, I was glad she did her upgraded routine. She's gotten 6.5D before so I'm curious what she wasn't credited or didn't do (quad turn? leaps?).
Once Mustafina upgraded per twitter, I figured she would get it. There was just too much in the "name of artistic gymnastics" and Nellie Kim and Bruno Grandi for Skinner to win. I'm not necessarily boycotting or anything, I'm just still angry about balance beam...
To end on a positive note, Larissa Miller's double arabian to stag is what dreams are made of. After Kyla falling earlier in the season and Aliya falling at Worlds, this was just the thing I needed to see to remember how beautiful of a skill the double arabian is and how lovely it can be when connected to stag. The form was great, the height she got was amazing. It was just one of those jaw droppingly beautiful moments in gymnastics.
The German Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held last weekend. German star Elisabeth Seitz withdrew earlier in the week announcing that a foot injury will keep her out of competition for some time, including Worlds. Fellow Olympian Janine Berger suffered an ACL tear during the vault event finals after attempting her Tsukahara double twist. We wish her a healthy and speedy recovery!
At 25 years old, Kim Bui continues to be a standout in German gymnastics. She won the AA title handily with a 56.550. She also won the floor title with a new routine. It's hard to hear the music on this video but most impressively, she continues to upgrade! Her floor routine has a double layout and a whip into double tuck that makes me think that there's more she's hiding.
I've taken a particular interest in German uneven bar routines because a lot is going on. Eli Seitz had been the reigning German bar Queen with Kim Bui knocking on the door. In recent years, Sophie Scheder and Lisa Katherina Hill have surpassed them taking the new 1-2 ranking in 2013. We've seen Scheder internationally at the American Cup and at the 2013 European Championships where she placed 4th on uneven bars. We have not seen much of Hill in international competition as she has been named alternate multiple times but strong and steady wins the race! Hill was crowned Uneven Bar champion with a 14.600/6.5 D-score. With Worlds being a team competition with 6 spots, she should be able to earn this spot for her uneven bar work in addition to being a strong all arounder for Germany.
Honorable mention goes out to all around silver medalist Pauline Schafer who has a pretty nice floor routine. Her second pass is a front layout connected to double front that was landed beautifully. She also does a very impressive triple turn and may be working on a quad.
Russian National Championships are currently taking place. Here are results from the senior all around competition. The senior team final will take place tomorrow (Saturday) and the junior and senior event finals will take place on Sunday. Click on the score for links to video.
Of note from the above 3, Grishina had some difficulty on the UB competing a "tucked" Tkatchev. Mustafina competed a new FX with three excellent turns - a triple Y turn, a quad spin, and a double Y connected to a full turn.
Other notable scores and routines
Viktoria Komova VT (FTY) 14.257 / UB 14.9
Tatiana Nabieva UB 13.993
Dariya Spiridonova UB 15.133
Ksenia Afansyeva VT / FX 13.000
Here is the remaining schedule for the competition. Saturday 5 April
11:00 - 13:00 Senior Team Final
Sunday 6 April
11:00 - 13:00 Junior & Senior Event Finals Times are GMT+4, competitions start at 3am EST.
The Abierto Mexicano de Gimnasia/Mexican Open will be held this weekend! It features a star studded lineup. There will be both a junior and senior competition. Times in Acapulco, Mexico are CST (add 1 hr for EST).
Thursday, Nov 28
18:00-21:00 (7-10PM ET)
II Pegaso International Junior Mexican Cup (AA & Team)
Official schedule can be found here
Photos from Abierto de Gimnasia Facebook
More info: abiertodegimnasia.com
Last year, a live stream was available through that webpage but it may require a Mexican IP and we're unsure of which days of competition it will show. Check back here for updates!
The Elite Massilia competition held in France was off to an excellent start yesterday with the Open Division and continued today with the Master Division. Results and links to videos are posted below. The competition continues tomorrow at 3pm local time (9am ET) with apparatus finals. Of note, the juniors and under were given some bonus.
We have three exciting events going on in the world of gymnastics this weekend!
Gala Gimnastica Internacional
Mexico Website
November 15 7pm and 16th 6pm
Athletes: Catalina Ponor will be present along with boyfriend Tommy Ramos of Puerto Rico. Arabian Punch Front personal favorites Giulia Steingruber will be present along with Elsa Garcia, who missed the World Championships due to coaching drama. Daniel Corral, the first Mexican gymnast to earn a World Championship medal will also be there.
More info: This is a gala so it's a bit unclear what level of performance we'll see. The USA is sending Josh Dixon and I imagine he's "competition ready." Please note that this is different than the Abierto meet in Mexico Nov 28-30.
(Thank you, Carolina, for the link)
Elite Gym Massilia
France Website
Athletes: Most exciting is probably that British Olympian Rebecca Downie is joined by little sister Ellie Downie who is really starting to make a name for herself on the junior team and in British gymnastics. This is the first time the 2 sisters will compete together internationally! Basically, all of Canada will be competing - the Woo sisters will be there, along with star Shallon Olsen. Of note, Heaven Latimer is missing. France is sending a strong team with Anne Kuhm returning to competition after a post Olympic break. Region 7 in the USA will be attending, including standouts Alex McMurty and Alicia Boren. WOGA has also sent Samantha Ogden and Lauren Farley. Pictures show that Irina Alexeeava will also be there.
More info: November 16th at 16h (10am ET) and November 17th at 15h (9am ET).
facebook @GymMassilia twitter
17th Bolivarian Games
Peru Website (Concourse 1 and 2 are just subdivisions. No juniors will be present)
Athletes: Ana Sofia Gomez Porras should be present. She was not at Worlds for what I believe was a technicality (the federation didn't sign appropriate papers or something along those lines). Gomez has been training at WOGA and learned a new UB routine, Shaposhnikova's and everything. Hoppefully, she competes that new routine. Jessica Lopez will also be present but will only compete on bars and beam. Her ankle is still not healed from her injury sustained during the World Championship and she will need surgery afterwards. source
More info: For WAG:
AA & TF Nov 20th, 2:50pm (Peruvian Time = ET)
VT and UB on Nov 21st at 4:50pm
BB and FX on Nov 22nd at 4:50pm.
(Thank you, @cristygen, for the help)
The first qualification for the Dutch World team was held this weekend. Six gymnasts participated with two important absences. Olympian Celine van Gerner is out of the selection process due to a right ankle injury that needed surgeru and Wyomi Masela has an elbow strain that kept her out of this competition but she hopes to rejoin in the next qualification meet.
Noel van Klaveren easily won the all-around. Of not, she did a Yurchenko double full (5.8D) along with a Tsuk 1.5 (5.5D). Van Klaveren is the European silver medalist on vault and this increase in difficulty helps give her a good chance of making the vault event finals. She has also been seen training an Amanar but it's unknown if that vault is competition ready. After a fall on the new Tsuk 1.5, one cannot be sure that this beautiful gymnast will attempt a more difficult first vault at her next competition.
Chantysha Netteb and Vera van Pol seem to be fighting for the 2nd all around position. Van Pol gained notoriety after becoming the 2013 Dutch Champion. Netteb had great success as a junior but has had some unfortunate injuries. I'm curious who will end up on top in the next qualification meet. Vera van Pol is coming into her own and scoring well in internal competitions. Netteb has the ability to outscore her but mistakes seem to be a problem. Netteb did finish in 2nd at this meet but fell to her head on her beam dismount. As much as I would love for Netteb to compete in the all around, I would see her losing the all-around spot as a safety precuation rather than anything else.
Sanne Wevers, like many of her fellow countrywomen, recently finished a training camp at Flicka Gymnastics in Canada. Sanne worked on lots of different skills while training. It seems like she's shooting for the UB/BB spot and has a good chance since she boasts a 5.8 D-score on beam. Consistency on this event will be key for her.
Funny blooper of Wevers training in Canada from her facebook page
Julia Bombach only competed on bars. There is mention of her training a clear hip piked Tkatchev, a skill that is not yet in the Code of Points. It is believed to be an F rated skill making Bombach one of the first Dutch gymnasts to compete a skill of such high difficulty on the uneven bars.
Wyomi Masela is the gymnast who complicates things for the Netherlands. She is a good all around gymnast and placed above Netteb and van Gerner at the Dutch Championships. However, she is not likely to take one of the all around spots and, like Netteb, is more of a VT/FX specialist making her spot on the team questionable with 2 already strong vaulters and another spot taken for an AA gymnast. Like Wevers, Masela recently returned from training in Canada. She was at the same gym as Olympian Dominique Pegg where she learned a Canadian choreographed floor routine and a new vault. Her floor opens with a nice double layout (below) and she now performs a FTY (here) and a round 1/2 half on, layout 1/2 off (here). She did have a DTY and front handspring front pike 1/2 in 2012.
Wyomi Masela FX
For the Osijek Challenge Cup, the Netherlands has submitted a team that seems entirely possible for the World Championships.
Noel van Klaveren - VT, FX
Chantysha Netteb - UB, FX
Vera van Pol - UB, FX
Wyomi Masela - VT, BB
The obvious problems are that there are no all around gymnasts and Netteb is not listed on vault. I think the Netherlands should adopt the same team that I have in my head for Russia. Van Pol (or Nabieva) should not compete in the all around so that the 3 vaulters are able to vault - in this case, van Klaveren, Netteb, and Masela and Mustafina (for AA), Paseka, and Afanasyeva for Russia.
My idea:
Noel van Klaveren - AA
Chantysha Netteb - VT, UB, FX, (BB)
Vera van Pol - UB, BB, (FX)
Wyomi Masela - VT, FX, (BB)
The other option is to have Sanne Wevers on the team who complement Netteb well - van Klaveren and van Pol would do AA, Netteb - VT, UB, FX, and Wevers - BB (or UB in place of Netteb).
A lot will depend on how all the athletes hit at the Friendly meet in Alphen aan den Rijn, NED August 31 - Sep 1 and if Masela or any of the other gymnasts decide to compete in additional events.
