At Japan Cup this summer the infamously weak American pommel team went 15.4 Naddour, 15.35 Orozco and 14.35 Leyva to win the apparatus.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Very good. But I still don’t see that routine making finals in Tokyo.
John Orozco is good too (VIDEO) but missed both routines at VISA Championships. Consistency is still an issue
If the USA gets a strong Pommel team to the Olympics, I predict they’ll be the legitimate #3 team, and not the surprise Bronze medal of the past 2 cycles. Sasha Artemov is no longer essential on this apparatus, finally.
(via Gymnastike)
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In a related post Andy Thornton compares TEAM USA at Rotterdam (276.5) vs TEAM USA 2011 Tokyo (280.15):
… the 2011 U.S. men’s world team appears to be nearly four points stronger than the 2010 U.S. men’s world team, which includes about a 2.5 improvement in difficulty and the rest in execution. …
Universal – Playing the numbers game: U.S. men’s gymnastics team
He took away the American bonus tenths in that comparison, … and acknowledges that execution deductions are more severe at Worlds than at VISA Championships.
Still, I’d say the American men are significantly stronger this year. Germany will need to HIT to beat them.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 