Day 1 for media, that is. Some teams have been in Tokyo for over a week.
First, it’s an honour to be here watching the very best in the world. Under current FIG rules, only the toughest and most determined athletes survive.
e.g. Vanessa Ferrari – the 4ft 8in former world champion, now age-20, is still rocking the double double on Floor. And can land what has to be called the fugliest DTY ever thrown. She’s unstoppable. The rest of the Italian team does some brilliant gymnastics. And has some serious troubles.
Second, I’m very thankful that FIG kept the meet in Japan. After everything this nation has been through, many of us welcome the chance to help return the country to normalcy.
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We saw most teams do some sort of training, but not every country.
• Chinese girls required to run on concrete around the arena after training. I cannot fathom any possible way that could help their performance a week from now. Was it some sort of (antiquated) punishment?
• Men generally looked good, far stronger and better able to compete FIG rules than the ladies. Of the women, only USA looked extremely disciplined and organized. Every other WAG nation I watched had significant problems: form and/or consistency and/or landings.
On the other hand, the men did much less training than the girls. As usual, I felt the women did too much on podium, the men too little. Many of the girls are used to landing on mats in a pit — how many hard landings on competition mats are they going to endure before sustaining minor leg injury?
Happily, we saw no gymnast leave the arena on a stretcher.
Most teams are planning to do the more intense training at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, site of the competition. Today we were in a different arena, but on identical equipment. The Canadian men told me that Japanese apparatus, overall, is the best in the world.
• As Blythe Lawrence pointed out, Russia looked better today than the same Day 1 a year ago in Rotterdam. Nabieva, in particular, looks more mature, a leader. She’s very much grown up. And in every way. Her vault looks far cleaner than in the past. I didn’t see her do an Amanar today, though. Brigid called her Bars “shambolic“.
photo via Brigid Couch Gymnast McCarthy on Facebook. Friend.
• there are girls at Worlds still warming up Vault with round-off backward layout over the horse. Including some of the best gymnasts in the world. I don’t like the drill — it encourages too high preflight.
• the most important goal for nations who qualified a full team to Tokyo is finishing in the top 8 and guaranteeing themselves a spot in the Olympics
Best bets WAG: USA … CHN … ROM … RUS … GBR … JPN … GER … (KOR?) … (AUSTRALIA?) … (SPAIN?)
~ Spain (18th last yr) may be the most improved major nation. France, Netherlands, Brazil, Canada all had problems. Australia and the Dutch have a bad draw. France is in the last subdivision, but is Duforunet competing AA?
Best bets MAG: CHN … JPN … GBR … USA … GER … RUS …
~ I didn’t watch Germany, however.
Great Britain men looked “Great”. Very clean. And still improving. Jon Horton liked the USA training today. Pommel Horse, not so much.
On the men’s side there are at least a dozen other teams who could finish in the top 8. Puerto Rico could be 8th or 18th. It’s all going to depend on who has “the day” when it counts during prelims.
The lineup is healthy: Nathan Gafuik, Ken Ikeda, Brandon O’Neill, Jayd Lukenchuk, Kevin Lytwyn and Jackson Payne. This is what we coaches like to call a “nice blend of youth and experience”. Recall that Gafuik was 3rd AA at Universiade and didn’t miss a routine over 3 days.
Here are the best links for the day:
• Examiner LIVE blog 1 and LIVE blog 2
• Couch Gymnast – Training in Tokyo- Day One
• Gymnastike Worlds page
On a final note, the Japanese are welcoming hosts and gracious. So gracious. But we felt badly today for the volunteers. They really were not ready. Perhaps more volunteers were needed. And more international volunteers.
No doubt they will scramble and match the Rotterdam organizing committee’s excellent work of 2010 by the time the competition itself starts.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 