In Rotterdam we are prepping for the Men. I’d say any of the top 6 teams could medal. It’s all about who can HIT under pressure. If they all HIT, it will go CHN, JPN and … USA or Russia.
Rotation 1 (of 6) begins with:
Floor – China & Japan
Pommel – USA & Great Britain
Rings – Russia & Germany
Vault – Korea & France
… AND, if there was a Gymnastics God, we’d have 12 Men’s Teams in Finals, and 8 Women’s Teams. … There are more than twice as many strong mens nations as womens, worldwide.
Here’s the lineup … released by USA Gymnastics yesterday:
Floor Exercise: Brandon Wynn, Jonathan Horton, Steven Legendre
Pommel Horse: Danell Leyva, Chris Brooks, Chris Cameron
Rings: Chris Cameron, Jonathan Horton, Brandon Wynn
Vault: Chris Brooks, Jonathan Horton, Steven Legendre
Parallel Bars: Chris Brooks, Jonathan Horton, Danell Leyva
High Bar: Chris Brooks, Jonathan Horton, Danell Leyva
As to my concern whether the too frequent phone calls to judges benefited Russia:
WTC beam supervisor Lyubov Andrianova was on the phone a lot to the D panel judges. But conspiracy theorists might be disappointed. None of the Russians’ beam scores were raised. In fact, two of them were lowered: Mustafina’s from 6.2 to 6.1 and Dementyeva’s from 5.9 to 5.7. Deng Linlin’s D score went down four tenths (6.5 to 6.1) whereas Jiang Yuyuan’s went from 6.2 to 6.0 and back up to 6.2 again before being made official. …
… Leaving out the front layout after her 2 ½ twist proved to be … costly for (Mattie) Larson, and probably cost her team the gold. The missing salto resulted in her missing two requirements – the routine had no acro line with two different saltos pass and no front or side salto. She was initially awarded a 5.1 D score, which was lowered to 4.6 …
Mattie - USAG photo
Finally, check Brigid’s commentary from on the floor of the photo pit last night. Some unique insights, including this one:
…
While Wu Jiani was practical and nervous, either pacing or doing what she could for the girls in terms off massages and finding what they needed, it was Mihai who took the helm with confidence and authority, telling each girl what she needed to hear when the time came. But it was with Alicia and Aly he was most tender, holding Aly by the shoulders with his big bear hands as he told her how great she had been, or giving Alicia what she needed, which was most often, keeping her emotions and power check.
After a nervous vault warm-up, he spoke as she waited like a raging bull at the end of the runway, “Don’t throw yourself at it- just hit it and it will come!” She nodded and did exactly what he said. And exactly what he said happened. And she walked away, nearly in tears from the emotional release, once again bearing the weight of seniority and the knowledge that it was to late. As she was enveloped by her team mates, he turned to her with a pointed fingers and a snarl, “And no tears, we won’t have any tears!”
“Okay,” She shot back with a glare, but did exactly what she was told and instead the team joined together in an embrace. Then he told them, …
“Okay, we pray now.” …
read more and check out her photos on Couch Gymnast.
It was strange not to see Valeri on the Floor with the girls. He’ll be there for the AA Final, I assume.
By far the best write-up on the American silver medal at Worlds I’ve seen was posted by Aunt Joyce:
… There are competitions and then there are finals where medals are on the line. The 6-3-3 Team Final is similar to All-Around Finals and Event Finals in that those who wish to win gold medals need to not only ‘hit’ their routines or stay on, but they need to find the cojones to go for every handstand, take their releases higher and go after stuck landings. While going after the extra amplitude is daunting, most gymnasts tend to make mistakes when they hold back. …
… The European gymnasts are lucky to have the European Championships to experience a pressure situation similar to World Team Finals. Many other teams are not afforded the same opportunities for such experience. …
Canadian coach Dave Brubaker mentioned that some of his team had never been in an important Team meet. When the Canadian lead-off fell on Beam, and on Bars, it put even more pressure on the middle of the line-up.
… The difference between champions and talented elites other comes down to the ability to handle pressure. While Mattie is a charismatic performer and one of the most popular gymnasts around, she has not proven herself to be able to perform at a level that is necessary to win Team or Individual gold medals at international competitions. …
… Many will want to draw comparisons between Mattie and Alicia Sacramone. Ms, Alicia was once in a bit of a pickle when Martha announced that she was “through with her” after she fell at 2004 Nationals. After accepting an invitation to a World Cup event, Alicia earned herself an unlikely spot at the World Cup Finals, where she earned a gold medal and more importantly, respect in the eyes of Martha Karolyi. By the time Alicia reached the 2008 Olympics, she had only missed one routine of the twenty she had competed at World Championships. She was a proven medal winner and attacked her routines with the intensity of an individual event winner. …
More detail on the high tech camera being used at the World Gymnastics Championships.
… the “spidercam” has been tested over four days of podium training at the Ahoy Arena. The evaluation at the end of this trial period resulted in the unanimous decision of both FIG Technical Committee Presidents Adrian Stoica (MTC) and Nellie Kim (WTC), as well as FIG Secretary General André Gueisbuhler and FIG Television Manager Olivier Strebel to allow the use of the silent flying camera, which is attached to four Kevlar ropes over the Field of Play.
Feedback from coaches and gymnasts was taken into consideration, and since no serious concerns were expressed the green light was given. …
What do you think? … Too severe? … Or does the BOSS need to be tough. And let the rest of the team be diplomatic and supportive.
Mattie did miss Floor two meets in a row.
Mattie’s Floor was by far the biggest reason why the USA did not win GOLD.
Alicia was trusted to compete Beam, again. … But I’m not sure we’ll see Mattie Larson on the Worlds team 2011. College gymnastics must be looking pretty inviting right now. Competing for UCLA is FUN.
Nobody but me seems to be griping about the American loss at the World Gymnastics Championships. The girls, including team leader Alicia, are taking it in stride.
Sacramone, who is competing in her fourth World Championships, said, “The silver feels good. Obviously we wanted gold – we always do – but the girls did a really good job. We had a little mistake here and there but I was happy we pulled it together. We went out there and did the best we could. …
Alicia Sacramone, USA shares her silver medal with Tandoori Chicken
…
“This was a very dramatic competition,” said Martha Karolyi, the women’s national team coordinator. “I think the girls did a good job. They were not quite as solid on the beam as they were the other day, but they stayed on. We hit bars and the vault was excellent so I feel good except we had a mistake on floor and we could not make up for that.” …
Gymnastics Coaching.com 