Lets look again at the controversial finals Horizontal Bar routine of Alexi Nemov from Athens 2004.
Click PLAY or watch the video on YouTube.
I spoke to one of the judges who felt strongly this routine could not have finished higher than 5th no matter how many times you watch the replay. There are definite deductions.
Nemov is a crowd favourite with fantastic style, amplitude and artistry. Everyone wanted him to finish with a medal — but he made errors.
This type of routine with multiple connected release parts is what should be winning the 2006 World Championships. I look forward to seeing what happens with the new code.
Nemov is a class guy who handled Athens with aplomb. Certainly one of my favourite gymnasts of all time.
UPDATE – some good comments on the Yin blog
5 comments ↓
Errors or not, it still upsets me. I’ve been watching Jonathan Horton’s routine for a year now thinking, “wow, this is my favorite routine! Look at that!” But still, watching Nemov again I can’t help but thinking THAT is what I think High Bar should look like. With all the changes in the scoring system, why don’t we just add a third score labeled “Style.” Some of our favorites might have a chance then.
there is a chinese gymnast by the name of xiao tingting who does six release moves on the unevan bars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y53f8RuDVk
Wow. Thanks Jess. Just posted it:
http://gymnasticscoaching.com/?p=475
[...] Public criticism of Nemov’s horizontal bar score in Athens was as much as anything else the impetus for the new code of points where the scoring is virtually open-ended. [...]
[...] FIG still has the regulations wrong on the most spectacular men’s event. Everyone wants multiple release skills in series (like Nemov and Paul Hamm). But what we got at Worlds was mostly complex pirouettes — difficult to evaluate. And not exciting for the general public. [...]
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