Author: Rick Mc

Career gymnastics coach who loves the outdoors, and the internet.

Nina & Beth

Many compare 2018 World Champion Nina Derwael with the great Beth Tweddle who won Bars at 2006 and 2010 Worlds.

Both competed the most connected releases of the day. Both were astonishingly consistent.

Beth did many different routines.

Click PLAY or watch her 2012 Olympics set on YouTube. Fantastic. If only she’d stuck the dismount.

Nina is still improving. Having won Worlds I’m guessing she’ll be training upgrades in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. She’ll certainly be able to qualify in the AA even if Belgium does not get there as a team.

World Champs Ri Se Gwang, Zou Jingyuan & EPKE

Vault
1. Ri Se Gwang PRK 14.933
2. Dalaloyan Artur RUS 14.883
3. Shirai Kenzo JPN 14.675
results

Some felt Dom Cunningham who finished 4th could have deserved Bronze. Kenzo was not deducted for stepping over the line on his stuck landing vault 2. There’s no deduction for landing ON the line.

P Bars
1. Zou Jingyuan CHN 16.433
2. Verniaiev Oleg UKR 15.591
3. Dalaloyan Artur RUS 15.366
results

Zou’s P Bars was the single best routine of the competition. I had him at 9.8 E-score.

Some, including myself, would have been happier if the Bronze had gone to Sam Mikulak 15.233.

H Bar
1. Zonderland Epke NED 15.100 (Exe. 8.300)
2. Uchimura Kohei JPN JPN 14.800 (Exe. 8.400)
3. Mikulak Samuel USA USA 14.533 (Exe. 8.433)
results

Jon Horton and others point out that the E score panel did not do their job. Though Epke deserved to win, there’s no way his E-score should be close to Kohei or Sam.

Sam’s 1st Worlds medal

He’s had far too many 4th place finishes.

🥇 Epke Zonderland USA 15.100
🥈 Kohei Uchimura JPN 14.800
🥉 Samuel Mikulak USA 14.533

Click PLAY or watch TumblingOOB celebration video on Twitter.

Ana Padurariu’s silver medal

The whole world knows Ana Padurariu now. Like Shallon on Vault, Ana competed without her personal coach at this meet.

click for larger version

Click PLAY or watch the interview on Twitter. Mind blown.

And click PLAY or watch interview part 2. Ellie really helped the whole team.

Recall Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs was Bronze on Beam at the 2006 Worlds with coach Carol Angela Orchard.

World Champs Liu Tingting & Simone Biles

Beam
1. LIU Tingting CHN 14.533
2. PADURARIU Ana CAN 14.100
3. BILES Simone USA 13.600
results

Disappointing final. Only Tingting and Ana hit close to their best routines.

Floor
1. Biles Simone USA 14.933
2. Hurd Morgan USA 13.933
3. Murakami Mai JPN 13.866
results

The most controversial final. Some felt Angelina Melnikova 13.833 should have been in the medals. Some felt Flavia Saraiva 13.766 should have been top 3.

Day 1 Finals recap

Spencer things:

Kenzo didn’t win!?!

CARLOS YULO, our new favorite Filipino hummingbird, took bronze, the first medal ever for the Philippines

Alexa Moreno took bronze! Her Rudi and Tsuk 2/1 showed the second-best execution of the final, enough for Mexico’s first ever WAG medal

gold medal to Xiao Ruoteng over Max Whitlock

Hooray for Lee Chih-Kai! … It’s a bronze medal for everyone’s favorite flair monster

Nina things

With a silver medal, Simone has now completed the gym slam, with a worlds medal on every event

Elisabeth Seitz getting her medal on bars—finally a bronze

And, like, rings was a thing

Bebop and Rocksteady took first and second place, as expected

JUST THE GOOD STUFF: EVENT FINALS DAY 1

Stuttgart World tickets selling out

October 4-13, 2019

Though tickets are expensive, organizers expect 80,000 spectators for the final Olympic team trial.

Check what is left available.

via GymCastic

new Nile Wilson book in November

To be published Nov 30, 2018. Preorder price £13.50.

Nile has over a million subscribers for his vlog on YouTube so should have a natural market for Christmas presents.

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