Longines Prize for Elegance

denn333 suggests they award the prize to the AA gymnast with the highest E scores from the AA competition. I’d go for that.

Who picked the photo for their website?

… In association with the International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG), Longines awards the Longines Prize for Elegance at each Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships. Prize-winners receive a trophy, a cheque and a Longines watch. …

details

frustrated by Universal?

I won’t link to Universal videos.

Rich Zuckerman, Multimedia Producer, UniversalSports.com via email:

These are viewable in the U.S. & territories, China, and most of South Asian and South America (a bit of a hodgepodge of nations, I know, though the vast majority of our viewership obviously comes from the U.S. & territories).

In terms of Silverlight, there is a possibility that we could eventually move away from it, but there are no immediate plans for a change.

But YOU should go find them if geographically eligible. Universal has been posting very quickly. (Or if you have a proxy hack.)

I will link to YouTube videos. Click PLAY or watch Jordyn’s Floor (with O.B.) on YouTube.

More individual routine videos via Full Twist.

Peng Peng – the interview

Fall on Beam in the final rotation prevented Christine Lee from finishing the highest Canadian ever at World Championships.

Yet she looks very enthusiastic for the future. Canada believes they will qualify a full team to the Olympics at the test meet in January.

Click PLAY or watch her on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NDU0NTEwMTU5?related=1

Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org

… “I didn’t know if I was going to do gymnastics again so coming to the world championships has been amazing.” …

Gymnastics Canada – Toronto gymnast Peng Peng Lee caps comeback with solid performance at world gymnastics championships

full AA results

Grace Chiu photos

Hannah Whelan GBR 9th AA

Hannah did a fantastic job in the all-around finals. Congratulations.

… Whelan’s result is the third best in British women’s gymnastics history, and the best since Beth Tweddle’s eighth place at the World Championships in 2006. …

Ollie Williams – BBC

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NjY1NTEwMTU3?related=1

Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org

full AA results

Komova v Wieber – Bars – AA Final

I’m only very slowly coming around to believing that Jordyn Wieber truly did win the meet tonight. She was better than Komova on 3 apparatus — worse on Bars.

But how much worse?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch Jordyn on YouTube.

Thanks for finding these so quickly, Brigid.

Though some in Tokyo are able to watch Universal coverage via a “proxy”, for most YouTube is simply easier.

busiest intersection in the world

… earlier today

A highlight in Tokyo, is the pedestrian scramble at Hachiko Square in Shibuya. Up to a million people a day, up to 10,000 crossing at a time.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/MjI4NTEwMTQ5?related=1

Watch more videos on Gymnastike

Check out John Macready’s take on that intersection. (VIDEO)

Jordyn Wieber is World Champion

Congratulations to the 2011 World Gymnastics Champion.

Jordyn Wieber of the United States overtook Komova in the last rotation of tonight’s competition at the 2011 World Championships of the Women’s All-Around competition.

Top qualifier Victoria Komova of Russia squared off against teammate Ksenia Afanaseva and the American dynamic duo of Jordyn Wieber and Aly Raisman. China’s Yao Jinnan and Huang Quishuang were also among the top qualifiers.

GOLD: Jordyn Wieber (USA) – 59.382
SILVER: Victoria Komova (RUS) – 59.349
BRONZE: Yao Jinnan (CHN) – 59.382

read more on Inside Gymnastics

____

I’m getting a fair bit of (deserved) grief for posting this during the competition

— Komova should be World Champion

… that’s certainly how I felt at the time. High in the Press gallery, there was nobody around me not shocked when the scores went up. We all thought Vika had done enough on Floor to win it.

But in a subjective sport, a win’s a win. And the scores on Floor don’t look “wrong”.

Jordyn is World Champion.

Men’s AA Final coming up …

It’s possible — I guess — that some sort of judging system would have Komova 2nd, Wieber 1st.

The Floor scores actually don’t look all that whack:

Wieber 6.0D + 8.9 E with .1 O.B. deduction for 14.8; Komova 5.7D + 8.633 E for 14.333

But rather than stew on that possible miscarriage of justice, let’s look forward to the Men’s AA, Uchimura the huge favourite. But many, many challengers

Click PLAY or watch CHINA highlights from Team on YouTube.

They won mainly due to Rings and P Bars Pommels and H Bar. Full team results (PDF).

Komova should be World Champion

But isn’t.

Judges awarded 14.333 (5.70/8.633) on Floor leaving her in second place.

I don’t get that.

… yet scores do look reasonably correct, relative to one another:

Wieber 6.0D + 8.9E with .1 out-of-bounds = 14.8
Komova 5.7D + 8.633 E for 14.333

I’m too old, perhaps, thinking that the winner of a major meet should be the top athlete with the fewest errors. It certainly felt like Komova won this meet.

I’ll link to others who think judges got it right.

Komova is the favourite for Olympics, I reckon. She’ll be VERY motivated now.

related:

• Rewriting Russian Gymnastics – This means War

• Couch Gymnast – Rodionenko: “The Winner has Mistakes. That’s not Gymnastics.”