With an escalation in the Japanese Nuclear crisis, I fully expect FIG to move the World Championships, almost certainly to Moscow, .
Perhaps the world will rally around Tokyo’s bid for the 2020 Olympics, instead.
Russia successfully hosted the 2010 Rhythmic Worlds. And would love to host Artistic, too.
Russia’s literally throwing money at sport right now – $1.44 billion if Russia wins the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dagestan, for example.
What can we look forward to IN MOSCOW and at the Olympics?
Blythe on Gymnastics Examiner from Europeans:
… Perhaps no team can benefit more from three up, three down on each event than the German men. They have not had the depth in the past, but with Fabian Hambuechen and Matthias Fahrig back in the mix, they will be very, very dangerous in London.
Skill of the meet: Nguyen’s wonderful full twisting double back off (parallel bars). So hard, so rare, and so well done. …
I love the 3 up, 3 count sudden victory Team Final. There’s a delicious uncertainty, more drama, when one balked Vault could drop your team to last place.
It helps a team like Germany (with less depth) challenge a team like the USA for a Team medal. Russia, too, could HIT 3 up, 3 count.
The rules change for World’s 2011, Olympics too.
With one fewer gymnast on the “team”, no longer can most afford to carry an athlete who has a chance to medal on just one apparatus. Hungary’s Krisztian Berki, the World #1 on Pommel, is now competing Vault, as one example.
AJ clarifies:
Teams will still be six gymnasts at Worlds this year – it’s five only for the Olympics.
You’re right that the five-member teams will have to be structured differently and a lot of teams won’t be able to afford a one-event specialist.
… in Berki’s case, my guess is he’s doing vault (and high bar) because of qualifying rules for individual event medalists: all medalists whose teams do not qualify to London will qualify, but have to have competed at least two other events (one more for WAG) with a score on the best two additional events that is 85% of the average of all scores on that event.
hmm …
It will be interesting to see the strategy taken by each nation.
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