Zhang (Long) Chenglong – H Bar

The reigning World Champ in podium training.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/OTY4NTA5MzMw?related=1

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

His is the only Chinese routine I like. Big swing.

Still, he shouldn’t have won last year. And shouldn’t medal this year. There are many better routines. Hambuchen, for one. (VIDEO)

P Bars – straddle front to long hang

Sergio Sasaki from Brazil.

Click PLAY or watch it on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/MjIyNTA5MjQ0?related=1

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

Tomi Tuuha – Finland – Vault

A unique and pretty forward layout position. Very straight.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Tomi was European Champion on vault in 2010.

Larissa MILLER (AUS) – Bars

Qualifications, Uneven Bars. … gymnast of Brisbane was impressive on Uneven Bars : 14.300, presently best score on this apparatus.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Ponor 15.00 to Beam final

She should qualify with a 15.00 in prelims, the highest score so far. Lauren Mitchell fell on to the Beam.

Click PLAY or watch Catalina on YouTube.

Catalina Ponor, age-24, was 2004 Olympic Beam Champion.

The defending World Champion, Ana PORGRAS slipped on Ring: 14.400 (VIDEO). She won’t qualify to the final on beam as two other Romanians have higher scores.

Michael Zapp sells ArtSports World

The latest update in the Doug Boger story:

The owner of ArtSports World, a convicted sex offender, will no longer be coaching and plans to sell his gym. …

“I am officially in charge of everything in here. Mr. (Michael) Zapp is now out,” said Richard ‘Tex’ Womak. “That was the ultimate, it had to be done.”

Womak said since this story surfaced the group has taken a bit public relations hit but added that steps are in place to make sure this kind of situation never happens again anywhere in the country.

“I got word from USA Gymnastics that it was changing anyway and the loophole that allowed anyone with any background, negative background especially with kids, would change and it would either change by December or sooner,” said Womak. …

read more – KRDO

Zapp denies any wrongdoing:

… TARGET 13 Investigates talked to Zapp on Sunday about his conviction. He said there was never any misconduct on his part, and suggested the claim had to do with a group of parents who owed him a lot of money.

“You don’t have to have much anymore for something like this, for any accusation, to cause you to go through this horrible experience,” said Zapp. …

Sacramone Achilles surgery Monday

In the States.

Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, tore her Achilles tendon yesterday during a tumbling pass at a training session. …

IG2 – SACRAMONE TO HAVE SURGERY MONDAY

It’s possible to recover in time. But won’t be easy. She needs to pull a Kupets.

Romania & subdivision 2 highlights

In Tokyo I’m still mainly following the meet online: LIVE scores, Facebook, LIVE blogs.

But Twitter is down right now. Its back. Truly an unreliable service. I wish Google would buy the company and fix their many problems. (Not likely now that they launched Google+)

ROM, VEN, CRO, POR, FIN, DEN

A few highlights:

Porgras out of beam finals. Racea and Ponor higher scores. Need to wait to see if the Romanians make Finals. It would be a first if they didn’t.

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Jessica López (VEN) UB – Hit routine. I hope 13.966 gets her into Finals. … She hit Beam, too, looking determined. Big wobble on side somi save.

Whip triple twist on Floor. Clean routine. Vault 13.566 for Yurchenko 1/1.

She finishes with 54.731. Can Jessica improve her 10th AA (56.298) from Worlds 2010?

She was playing it safe today for the team. Upgrades are planned for AA on Vault and Beam.

Click PLAY or watch a post-competition interview on Gymnastike.

http://www.gymnastike.org/embed/NzY0NTA5Mzk0?related=1

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

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Quite a few double twisting flyaways today. Nice. I love that dismount. … Triple twisting flyaway should be an option for many good twisters — yet it isn’t yet in 2011.

Annica Urvikko of Finland hit Bars. Nice. Very unusual technique on Blind change skills. She arrives short of hanstand, then does a fast, late twist.

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Romanian not perfect on Beam and Floor, yet still very very good. They’ll be one of the top teams on those two apparatus.

In white, they remind me of great Romanian teams of old.

Everyone calmly hits Vault. Some good landings, too.

Overall, I’m impressed with Romania. They are good competitors. Room to improve in team finals.

But Bars … when will they improve Bars?

Two falls today: Bulimar (Shaposhnikova) and Porgras, under-rotating dismount.

Certainly Romania should address the Bars problem with their young gymnasts, bringing in a new coach.

Rule #1 — When you’re in a hole, stop digging.

… so far is: 1. Haidu ROM–56.465, 2. Porgras ROM-54.832, 3. Lopez VEN-54.731, 4. Maksiuta ISR-52.915

In bold are the scores from prelims last year:

Russia- 234.521
China- 233.778
USA- 233.643
Romania- 228.495

Romania 2011- 227.228 …
Great Britain- 224.921
Australia- 224.785
Italy- 219.179
Japan- 218.895

I thought they’d be reasonably happy to get throught that — and move on. But one reliable sources says Romania is pissed.