John Cheng for USA Gym
Hello!
I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who stops by my blog. I recently made it over 10,000 hits and the number is growing a lot faster than I expected. I'll attribute it to Olympic Fever! I also have almost 400 followers on twitter (@ArabianPF_blog). Thanks for stopping by, commenting, tweeting, and just making the gymternet a fun place to be :)
As an anniversary post, I'll just do a few of my highs and lows for the Olympics.
Team Canada! Holy smokes! Team Canada made it to 5th in the team finals. That's an amazing feat considering this was also the FIRST time they've made it to team finals. How amazing?! Lows, however, are Victoria Moors not making FX EF and Kristina Vaculik not making AA finals. I'm mad at the judges for Moors on FX because they scored her .5 better in team finals, a score that would have put her 5th in the event finals. Vaculik had a few errors but I'm just glad she finally made it to the Olympics after injury kept her out of Beijing. Dominique Pegg made it to the AA and hit her events - leaving her 12 for 12 at the Olympics! To end on a high note - 2 Canadians, Brittany Rogers and Ellie Black, will be in vault finals tomorrow!
Team USA - I'm thrilled that we won gold. I'm thrilled Gabby won the all around. I'm not happy that 3 per country kept Jordyn Wieber, defending World Champion, out of the running and that a (stupid) tiebreaker kept Aly Raisman from getting bronze. Aly's been saying, "I've been 4th for the last 2 years in a row. I know I can make it to top 3." She had the chance but she didn't make it. It bothers me that Aly definitely had room for improvement - she left out her punch layout and touched the beam. Both of these cost her at least .7 points and a clear shot at bronze. I hope she comes back in floor finals!
Vault - I'm very sad that Giulia Steingruber didn't make VT EF. She fell in prelims on one of her vaults and finished in 9th place, just outside of the top 8 that make it to finals. In my opinion, she had the best chance of challenging the trio - Maroney, Izbasa, and Chusovitna. On a positive note, Steingruber competed in the all around final. From what I saw, she had a great floor routine in qualifications and I recommend that you all check that out at some point!
Uneven Bars are my favorite event. I'm sad that Youna Dufournet didn't make it. She was my hope for France! However, it looks like it will be a true showdown and I'm excited for that! Just to give you an idea of what we have in store:
Elizabeth Tweddle (7.0) - 2006 and 2010 World Uneven Bar Champion, finished 4th place in Beijing, has an exciting routine with 2 moves named after her
He Kexin (7.1) - 2008 Olympic Uneven Bar Gold Medalist, 2009 World Uneven Bar Champion.
Viktoria Komova (7.0) - 2011 World Uneven Bar Champion
Yao Jinnan (6.8) - 2011 World All Around Bronze Medalist
Aliya Mustafina (7.0) - 2010 European Uneven Bar Champion and 2010 World Uneven Bar Silver Medalist
Gabrielle Douglas (6.6) - finalist at 2011 Worlds
Elizabeth Seitz (6.7) - finalist at 2010 Worlds, competes a Def (full twisting Gienger)
Koko Tsurumi (6.6) - 2009 World Bronze Uneven Bar Medalist
Team Russia - I'm sad for the way they performed in team finals. They were all in tears and yet they still managed to win silver. I'm glad they rested Komova on floor. Her floor routine in the AA was really the best I've ever seen her do. It's like she saved herself for the AA final. It's also an amazing feat to go 2-3 in the all around. We'll get to see the Russians in every event final starting with Maria Paseka on vault.
Low - very low - would be NBC's coverage. You'd think that it would be better since it's not live but, instead, NBC has interspersed gymnastics with swimming. I love watching swimming but I wouldn't mind watching one sport followed by another. I imagine they do this to keep us tortured fans, I mean viewers, to raise their ratings. At least we get some coverage, right?
Overall, I'm excited for the event finals to come. Vault should be exciting. Beth Tweddle will have room for 4th place redemption on uneven bars. Balance Beam and Floor Exercise also promise to be exciting finals. Feel free to comment or connect with me on twitter (@ArabianPF_blog). I enjoy my conversations with you all and thanks for visiting my site :)
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Dylan Martinez, REUTERS
My roommate's boyfriend didn't understand all the hype that Gabby was getting after the American Cup. He used every argument known to mankind. "So, what, she's suddenly 'the Great Black Hope?' She wasn't even competing. There was a reason she was the alternate. She didn't really compete. It's only 1 meet!" And the list goes on.
Today, I got a text, "Joy unbounded." Indeed! How many of us thought that the girl who finished 19th of 20 at the 2011 National Championships on balance beam would score the highest score of the Olympics on that very same event? Who thought that same girl would be our 2012 Olympic All Around Champion?
I'm thrilled that Gabby won the all around. Overall, she was the best on the day. She had that fire inside of her and the flame did not go out for the entire night. Gabby stayed strong through all 4 events.
Gabby moved from her family in Virginia Beach, Virginia to live with a host family so she could train with Liang Chow. Chow is the coach of 2008 Silver All Around Medalist Shawn Johnson. It was hard for Gabby to leave her family and live with a host family. She went to a new place and suddenly went from the youngest of 4 siblings to the oldest. Gabby also had demons to face as her dad was in the army and away for most of the time. There were nightmares where she worried her father wouldn't make it back home and one Christmas where Gabby almost returned back with her mother. Instead, she decided to stay in Iowa and fight for her dream. Today, her dream became her reality!
One thing I wanted to talk about is what an honor it must be for Chow to have received such a special gymnast when she was so young. A gymnast, just barely a teenager, that was ready to leave her life and her family behind so she could train with Chow. Gabby liked the way she saw Chow and Shawn at the Olympics and Chow was able to teach Gabby an Amanar when he visited her old gym for a clinic. From that moment on, Gabby knew she wanted Chow to be the coach that took her to the Olympics.
What an honor this must be for a coach! Chow didn't even produce the 2008 all around champion but Gabby saw something in Chow that she wanted. And, boy, did it pay off.
Missy Parton, host mom (left in red), Natalie Hawkins, mom
2nd row left to right John, brother, Arielle and Joyelle Douglas, sisters
Matt Dunham, AP
I'd just like to say thank you to Arielle for telling her mom to put Gabby in gymnastics. Thank you to Natalie Hawkins for being brave and letting your baby girl chase her dream. Thank you to Missy Parton and your family for taking Gabby under your wing. Thank you to Chow for producing the first African-American US team and all-around gold medalist.
And thank you Gabby for dreaming big. I'm sure you've inspired a generation!
source: Gabby: Women's AA Gallery
Today's the day! A new all-around champion will be crowned. Here's a link to the FIG start list, complete with the order after each subdivision: here
Starting on VT: Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Victoria Komova, Vanessa Ferrari, Deng Linlin and Aliya Mustafina
Starting on UB: Huang Qiushuang, Larisa Iordache, Asuka Teramoto, Elisabeth Seitz, Jessica Lopez, Sandra Izbasa
Starting on BB: Hannah Whelan, Ana Sofia Gomez, Rebecca Tunney, Carlotta Ferlito, Celine van Gerner, Dominique Pegg
Starting on FX: Aurelie Malaussena, Emily Little, Giulia Steingruber, Ashleigh Brennan, Rie Tanaka, Marta Pihan-Kulesza
First off, I have to commend Deng Linlin for continuing after the 2008 Olympics and qualifying to the all around in 5th place. Deng was in the shadow of Chinese stars Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin, who earned a bronze in the all around in 2008. It's amazing to come back 4 years later and to be one of China's all around stars.
I feel like the fight will be against the 2 Americans - Douglas and Raisman - and the 2 Russians - Komova and Mustafina. Larisa Iordache and one of the Chinese will also be in the hunt. We'll have to watch for Raisman on bars. In the last 2 World Championships, she's done fine in qualifications but then fell apart in the all around final. She's been pushing through her routine, though, and if she does as well today as she did at qualifications, she has a good chance at a medal. We'll have to wait and see if Aliya Mustafina vaults the Amanar. This will give her an extra .7 in start value although she'll probably sacrifice some in execution. This is where Aliya tore her ACL. Komova will be first up on BB and last up on FX. If she hits, I believe that gold will be hers, especially based on the way judges scored her last error-filled balance beam routine. The order will likely change based on Gabby's BB and Komova's FX. It will also be interesting to see where 2006 World All Around Champion Vanessa Ferrari places as she is in the rotation with the stars (the leaders).
Iordache and the Chinese also have a chance. For the 2 Chinese, consistency will be their key. Huang Qiushang had all kinds of errors for China in the team final. If Larisa comes back with a spark, I think she'll also be in the hunt. Perhaps Larisa could be like Kohei - not in the top rotation but still in the hunt for gold.
This will be an interesting AA final since some of the athletes - like the Chinese and Iordache will be in a different rotation. They will be finishing on vault and may choose to throw more difficult vaults if they have a chance at a medal. This also means that placement of the top 12 athletes will likely change a lot between rotations.
My Wishlist:
- I'm not doing a podium since I feel like I jinxed the US men.
- Fair judging!
- No injuries on Amanars or anything really.
- I'm hoping that Komova doesn't have little tenths on floor that cause her a title again. I hope that Gabby hits beam like she did in TF and Aly hits bars just as she's been doing, especially in qualifications. I hope Iordache comes out and finds her thunder again. In qualifications, she seemed to lose a little of her shine and I hope it comes back.
- I hope Huang Qiushuang doesn't fall.
- If everything goes crazy, I hope that Tunney, Lopez, and Gomez have a shot at a medal :)
- I hope Steingruber finishes Top 20 or so. She didn't qualify to vault finals but is actually a surprisingly steady all arounder. If you have the chance, watch her floor routine! It's a lot more artistic than I expected from one of the best vaulters!
- I'm rooting for Dominique Pegg as the sole representative of Team Canada. She's had an excellent meet thus far and hopefully can continue to perform. (I'm sure the tweet from Justin Bieber helped her too!)
Honestly, I think I'll be happy with any medal podium, provided there is fair judging.
I'll be rooting for gold for whoever isn't wearing hot pink. ;) Let's have blue be the color for the next quad!
[If you've had trouble viewing the meet, I recommend that you check All Chalked Up's Tips For a Better Live Stream. I didn't want to download anything but it's been worth it. The ads don't randomly interrupt anymore and I've been able to have 2 feeds open. I think 2 videos will be important since we have star athletes in 2 rotations.]
Team Italy
source
Asterisk indicates where they are starting. My main reason for pointing out who is doing the AA is so that we can compare scores between qualifications and finals, and also maybe anticipate what's to come in event finals. The teams are in the order they finished during qualifications. USA, China, Great Britain, and Italy will go first on their starting event. They will then alternate with the team listed below them (e.g. USA will start for VT and BB, Russia will start for UB and FX).
USA
*VT: Wieber, Douglas, Maroney
UB: Wieber, Ross, Douglas
BB: Ross, Douglas, Raisman
FX: Douglas, Wieber, Raisman
Comment: The only thing that really changed is that Wieber is out of BB. At trials, she was credited with a 6.3 during Trials but was only was credited with a 6.0 D-score during qualification. Douglas will be doing AA again.
Russia
*VT: Mustafina, Komova, Paseka
UB: Grishina, Mustafina, Komova
BB: Mustafina, Komova, Afanaseva
FX: Mustafina, Grishina, Afanaseva
Comment: Mustafina. Vault. I am scared. [Mustafina tore her ACL doing an
Amanar, the 2.5 twisting Yurchenko, ending her 2011 season. She just
did a double twist in prelims but Alexandrov, Russia's head coach says
that she has to do it in order for them to contest with the Americans
for gold.] Mustafina is doing the all-around which I find interesting. You'd think they'd want to preserve her knee for the all-around but she scored well and Russia wants team gold.
China
VT: Deng Linlin, Huang Qiushuang, Yao Jinnan
*UB: Huang Qiushuang, He Kexin, Yao Jinnan
BB: Deng Linlin, Sui Lu, Huang Qiushuang
FX: Deng Linlin, Huang Qiushuang, Sui Lu
Comment: Interesting that Yao is after He on UB. Thankfully, Yao isn't doing too many leg events. Vault will be tough for her thigh injury but hopefully she's OK. Huang Qiushuang is doing AA.
Romania
VT: Iordache, Ponor, Izbasa
*UB: Bulimar, Chelaru, Iordache
BB: Bulimar, Iordache, Ponor
FX: Bulimar, Ponor, Izbasa
Comment: Glad they're using Bulimar on BB and FX! She needs her time to shine. Part of me is wondering why Iordache is doing vault but maybe it's time for the Amanar to come to fruition!
Great Britain
VT: Cairns, Pinches, Tunney
UB: Whelan, Tunney, Tweddle
*BB: Cairns, Pinches, Whelan
FX: Pinches, Whelan, Tweddle
Comment: No one's doing AA! Also, Cairns has proved to be more useful than just on BB.
Japan
VT: Tsurumi, Tanaka, Teramoto
UB: Teramoto, Tanaka Tsurumi
*BB: Shintake, Minobe, Teramoto
FX: Shintake, Tanaka, Teramoto
Comment: Teramoto will be doing AA again. Tsurumi will only do VT and UB.
Italy
VT: Ferlito, Ferrari, Fasana
UB: Fasana, Ferrari, Campana
BB: Preziosa, Ferrari, Ferlito
*FX: Ferlito, Ferrari, Fasana
Comment: Again, don't understand why Ferrari, who qualified to floor event finals, is before Fasana on that event. Fasana does have a lovely floor, though, so maybe they're hoping Ferrari
will increase Fasana's score. Or, perhaps their getting the judges
ready for an Italian who could be very important in the next quad. I am, however, excited to see Preziosa on beam again! Ferrari will be doing AA.
Canada [first time qualifying to team finals!]
VT: Pegg, Rogers, Black
UB: Moors, Vaculik, Rogers
BB: Black, Pegg, Vaculik
*FX: Black, Pegg, Moors
Comment: No one doing AA. Moors will get a chance for redemption and show that she belonged in the floor finals. Vaculik will get to anchor on beam again hopefully getting a high performance and finishing her Olympics on a positive note.
ALY RAISMAN BEATS JORDYN WIEBER TO OLYMPICS AA FINAL
Defending World Champion, Jordyn Wieber, won't have the chance to go for gold in the All-Around. Wieber had errors on uneven bars in that same area - the clear hip full. She also had a .1 OOB deduction. With scoring being what it was, Jo wasn't able to pass Gabby in the all around. Gabby had a 60.265 to Jo's 60.032. Aly Raisman was up last on floor and gave the performance of her life. Let's not forget the Aly is the United States best floor worker and she proved it today! She scored a 15.326 for a 60.391 all round score, beating Gabby in the process.
Canada started off exceedingly well on UB. They were anchored by Kristina Vaculik (8th-14.366) and Brittany Rogers (6th-14.5). After that, however, Canada had problems on BB. Tori Moors had errors and Vaculik, meant to be the anchor, fell twice losing her chance at BB EF. Moors will not qualify to the all around final nor will she advance to the floor final (14.1). Britt Rogers (14.483) and Ellie Black (14.336) are currently in 3rd and 4th for the vault finals. Vaculik is currently in 19th place with Russia and Romania still to come. Canada is currently in 4th place.
I didn't get to see much of France but Youna Dufournet fell on the uneven bars losing her chance at event finals and an uneven bar medal for France. France is in 7th place. Aurelie Malaussena is in 13th with a 54.399 and Anne Kujm is in 16th with a 54.098 for the all around final.
Great Britain pleased the home crowd!They are in 2nd place to the US (170.656). Hannah Whelan had a floor on the balance beam and will not make event finals. Rebecca Tunney had an excellent all around performance. She's currently in 5th on UB (4th with the 2 per country rule) with a 14.825.
