Author: Rick Mc

A HUGE surprise. Especially since many felt she hadn’t truly deserved to qualify to the Final.

The Beam panel was the most criticized in Antwerp, Vault the least.

GNN: First off congratulations on your gold medal on beam. How excited are you?

Aliya Mustafina: Thank you!!!! I am completely amazed and happy. I never expected this, this is amazing! Finally a gold at my weakest event. Must be my greatest glory. …

Gymnastics News Network – Aliya Mustafina: “Gold at my weakest event is my greatest glory!”

Click PLAY or watch her qualifying routine on YouTube.

14.133 = D score : 6.00, E score : 8.133

Click PLAY or watch her Gold medal final routine on YouTube.

14.900 = 6.0, 8.900

Careful. Smart. … Not one of the great Gold medal routines of history, however.

Aliya did seem to get stronger and stronger as the meet progressed.

related – Never shy Carlotta Ferlito was unhappy with the Beam judging, as well.

All Results.

Watch the entire Beam Final.

It was a great honour and privilege to attend World Championships. Truly the most incredible athletes of any sport.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The ladies of the USA truly are the strongest in the world as of 2013.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Of course they’ve had plenty of Russian, Romanian and Chinese coaching help. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Unique style. Some self-invented skillz.

Watch it on YouTube.

Embedding disabled by request

Thank Dave Adlard for the link.

Another fantastic edit from the FIG.

… 12 Gold medals, 10 World Gold gymnasts : Simone Biles (USA), McKayla Maroney (USA), Huang Huidan (CHN), Aliya Mustafina (RUS), Kohei Uchimura (JPN), Kenzo Shirai (JPN), Kohei Kameyama (JPN), Arthur Nabarrete Zanetti (BRA), Yang Hak Seon (KOR), Lin Chaopan (CHN), Epke Zonderland (NED). …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

FIG:

After Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin in 2005 and Bridget Sloan and Rebecca Ross in 2009 this was the third time in history that the USA have won the Gold and Silver All-around medals at a World Championships. Sixteen-year-old Simone Biles (USA), who qualified in top position, won ahead of her teammate Kyla Ross and Russia’s Aliya Mustafina. We introduce you the Top 8 of this exciting competition. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The Hard Way To Success – Episode 8 – Brinn Bevan

Brin scored 84.75 at the European Youth Olympic Festival. 1st AA.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (20min)

Brinn scored 84.800 at Japan Jr, 3rd AA. And brought home a couple of Apparatus Finals medals, as well.

… I started swim and gym when I was 3 years old and my teacher was Gary Dove. On his advice my mum took me to South Essex Gym Club in Basildon, Essex. I was 5 or 6 years old and was invited to join their development squad coached by Matt Jackson. Since 2005/6 I have trained with Scott Hann in his Top Squad. …

BrinnBevan.com

I feared the The Hard Way To Success video series was something put together especially for the World Championships in Antwerp.

Happily, sports2visuals out of the Netherlands confirms that they plan to continue into the future. 🙂

That’s Lisa Deen and Carolien Visser.

DVORA MEYERS on Dead Spin:

One year and three leg surgeries after London, McKayla Maroney has returned to competition on the vault. And from a performance standpoint, not much has changed. She does the two-and-a-half twister that made her famous (before the meme made her even more famous) just as well as she did at the Olympics. She even managed to stick a vault that was better than the one she did in the London team finals …

read more …

I’m quoted:

“Nobody is working towards an Amanar any longer. The value is too low for the difficulty”

Kasamatsu and Handspring twists are the way to go in this cycle.

The only girls left training it are those who were close last cycle. It’s undervalued now.

Jessica Lopez had a sore Achilles tendon after prelims. Did not want to risk competing in the AA Final.

She was replaced by Vasiliki Millousi, first alternate.

Click PLAY or watch some of her Bars training on YouTube.

(via gimnasialatina)

I would love to see how high Jessica could place in the AA if she hit 4/4.

Victoria Moors, too. 🙂