Category: bars

Read the FIG summing-up:

Minamino and Dukhno grab Junior World All-Around titles on a night of surprises in the Philippines

It looked to be a coronation for Elena Colas — but she had problems on Bars after warming-up perfectly. A shocker for me. And a major deduction on Beam.

Manamino Yume had a terrific meeting to improve her qualifications score by 0.30 to total 53.632. Silver Elena Colas of France (53.298). Bronze Nishiyama Misa of Japan (53.066).

Both Japanese gymnasts are coached by two-time World Floor Exercise champion Murakami Mai, who said that her new dream in gymnastics is to see her protégées on World and Olympic podiums.

1. Manamino Yume JPB 53.632
2. Elena Colas FRA 53.298
3. Nishiyama Misa JPN 53.066
4. Lavi Crain USA 52.399
5. Caroline Moreau USA 51.599
6. Milana Kaiumova AIN 51.332
7. Maiana Prat FRA 51.232
8. Jiang Shuting CHN 51.165
9. Sofia Shtykhetskaya AIN 50.899
10. Lucia Piliarova SVK 50.766

Full results.

A few notes from the 2025 Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Women’s All-around FINAL.

• Surprisingly, BEAM was the most impressive apparatus. Japan puts on a clinic. China has even more difficulty and even better quality — but their gymnasts often fall. Somehow Japan usually hits in recent years.
• BARS was the weakest, overall. Many of these short gymnasts have not yet mastered Maloney, making FIG routine construction challenging.
• Choreography on Floor was mostly good. Routines much more entertaining than in the past.
• FIG WTC obviously cares about “artistry“. But they still require artists to pin on a number that flops around during competition. Can you imagine a Cirque performer or dancer putting up with that crap?
• Winner of the Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2023 in Antalya, Turkey, was Nakamura Haruka, an Olympian a year later.
• Winner of the Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships 2019 in Győr, Hungary, was Viktoria Listunova, the best Junior of all-time, I’d argue.
• BUT ➙ Many of the TOP senior gymnasts in the world in 2025 today did NOT do well at previous Jr Worlds. It’s one meet. And not all that great a predictor of future Gymnastics success.
• Helena FINC (GBR) is a great gymnast already with potential for their Senior team
• Lavi Crain (USA) has true AA potential as a Senior, as well
• Lucia PILIAROVA. Beautiful Bars worker. Study her line.
• there were few dangerous looking vaults, skills, etc. Coaches were smart enough to have their gymnasts use simple dismounts if the intended one was not ready
• MINAMINO Yume showed a TRUE Geinger between the rails, not the “cheater” 1/4 twist used by everyone else. Respect. Not to mention Jam to Jaeger layout 1/1.
• Caroline MOREAU and a few others I admire for being confident enough to compete a Bar routine without a coach running around underneath.
• volume way too high in that small hotel ballroom. My noise cancelling headphones helped.
• I’m wondering if we need announce every inquiry to the arena audience. Better would be to announce ONLY those scores that change. It was definitely a distraction. Also, why are the judges changing so many D-scores? Get it right in the first place.
• did Sofia SHTYKHETSKAYA keep her knees straight on that over-bar Giant tap before dismount? It’s normally a built-in -0.3 deduction. And unnecessary.

Related:

• International Gymnast magazine – AIN Arsenii Dukhno, Japan’s Manamino Yume crowned all-around winners at Junior World Championships