USA, Russia, Italy

1. United States 172.330
2. Russia 166.529
3. Italy 164.796

4. China 164.230
5. France 163.628
6. Great Britain 161.495
7. Canada 160.563
8. Netherlands 159.427

Pundits that called the new look Italian team ready to medal at Worlds were right. Recall ITA qualified in 8th.

Giorgia Villa, at her first Worlds, already looks like a veteran. No panic, not even when this happened.

Every team had falls. Nick Ruddock counted 19 total. Italy only had one. Performances qualifying were much better than what we saw here.

Though there is no AA award at this meet …

Biles – 59.766
Melnikova – 56.532
Villa – 55.832
DJDS – 55.498 (with a fall)
Black – 55.032

USA

passion in Men’s Gymnastics

These guys train years. Suffer much. All for the chance to try for Olympic qualification.

Here’s team Italy cheering Carlo Macchini’s H Bar routine in the qualification round.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

fan favourite Sofus Heggemsnes (NOR)

Joyful on the competition floor.

No falls over 6 apparatus. And he was very happy with team performance, too.

I felt Norway was one of the teams best prepared to HIT.

Click PLAY or watch an interview on YouTube.

Melnikova, Hurd, Chen Yile – part 3

The third episode in the documentary series is LIVE.

I can only watch it in an incognito browser window.

Click through via Facebook.

Simone will add another medal today

I feel lucky to be alive in the era of Simone.

She … and some other gymnasts 😀 compete today in the Team Final.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Summing up Men’s World PRELIMS

The QUALIFYING competition is the most interesting, most entertaining day.

Here’s where the majority of Olympic qualifiers are named.

Personally I enjoy watching the small nations trying to compete against China. It’s like me challenging one of the Toronto Raptors to one-on-one. Entertaining.

We have strong medal contenders from TPE, Ireland, Philippines and Croatia this year, for example.

As is often the case, the Men’s competition was wild and unpredictable from start to finish.

  • In the 8th and final session, both Netherlands and Switzerland knew what they needed. Both started with a strong first apparatus. Switzerland got it done. Netherlands did not.

1. Russia
2. China
3. Japan
4. Ukraine
5. GBR
6. Switzerland
7. USA
8. Chinese Taipei TPE Taiwan
9. Korea
10. Brazil
11. Spain
12. Germany

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

There were at least 20 teams who could have finished top 12 by hitting their best routines. Turkey has defeated teams on that list recently, for example. Australia is low on the list, but really impressed. Norway was one of my favourite squads. The depth of men’s Gymnastics worldwide is amazing.

  • Great Britain were GREAT. Even without Nile Wilson who was out with injury.
  • Ukraine is back as a contender for a team medal. I’m still pissed that they were ripped off at the London Olympics. Go for it, Oleg!
  • Proposed NEW deduction? Wearing white socks with coloured pants. Normally a bad idea.
  • Max Whitlock hit and stuck 3/3 routines. And is leading Pommels into the Final.
  • James Bacueti from Australia added half a twist to the hardest Kasamatsu vaults competed by anyone else.
  • There were several triple backs from H Bar and Rings. Fans love them. Don’t do that. It’s tough to land consistently. And they are undervalued in the Code.
  • USA / Sam Makulak had a bad qualifying round. Surprising as they have been so consistent in the lead-up to Worlds. Sam was lucky to even qualify to the AA Final.
  • Ri Se Gwang (PRK) is the Olympic Vault Champ. Didn’t qualify. Nor did Zou Jingyuan (CHN) on P Bars nor Epke on H Bar.
  • Judging was better than WAG. Rings in particular seemed low, but consistent. The only complaints I heard were E-score on Floor — the clean twisters gained no advantage over helicopter legs competitors.

Women’s TEAM Final begins

Vault USA & China
Bars  Russia & France
Beam Canada & Netherlands 
Floor GBR & Italy 

I’ll be commenting LIVE via Twitter @GymCoaching. And partnering this year with @kensleyanne Kensley Behel. We both will be guest MAG pundits on the GymCastic podcasts this week.

More LIVE coverage:

Related:

UNOFFICIAL – Men’s AA Olympic qualifiers

UPDATE – The first 12 are official.

1 YULO Carlos Edriel PHI
2 LARDUET Manrique CUB
3 EDALLI Ludovico ITA
4 KARIMI Milad KAZ
5 FRASCA Loris FRA
6 TVOROGAL Robert LTU
7 SHATILOV Alexander ISR
8 ARICAN Ferhat TUR
9 DAVTYAN Artur ARM
10 HUDDLESTON David BUL
11 DEURLOO Bart NED
12 CORRAL Daniel MEX

Absolutely do not book your flights to Tokyo until FIG names the rest.

But here’s who Lauren Hopkins thinks will eventually be named.

René Cournoyer – Canada

Men’s apparatus finalists

UNOFFICIAL – From International Gymnast Magazine on Facebook, which you should definitely follow if you want to know what’s happening at Worlds.

Floor
1. Artem Dolgopyat ISR 15.033
2. Lin Chaopan CHN 14.933
3. Nikita Nagornyy RUS 14.900
4. Xiao Ruoteng CHN 14.833
5. Artur Dalaloyan RUS 14.733
6. Kim Hansol KOR 14.666
7. Carlos Yulo PHI 14.633
8. Dominick Cunningham GBR 14.600

Alt- Nicolau Mir ESP 14.533

Pommels
1. Max Whitlock GBR 15.266
2. Rhys McClenaghan IRL 15.200
3. Lee Chih Kai TPE 14.966
4. Zou Jinyuan CHN 14.958
5. Daiki Hashimoto JPN 14.883
6. Shiao Yu-Jan TPE 14.683
7. Cyril Tommasone FRA 14.666
8. (tie) Kaya Kazuma JPN 14.633
8. (tie) David Belyavskiy RUS 14.633

Alt – Oleg Verniaiev UKR 14.600

Seligman fell twice. Walked off the podium without finishing his routine.

Rings
1. Ibrahim Colak TUR 14.858
2. Arthur Zanetti BRA 14.700
3. Samir Ait Said FRA 14.700
4. Eleftherios Petrounias GRE 14.700
5. Marco Lodadio ITA 14.666
6. Denis Abliazin RUS 14.600
7. Nick Klessing GER 14.566
8. Artur Tovmasyan ARM 14.566

Alt – Igor Radivilov UKR 14.533

Vault
1. Yang Hakseon KOR 14.933
2. Artur Dalaloyan RUS 14.716
3. Shek Wai Hung HKG 14.666
4. Igor Radivilov UKR 14.666
5. Le Thanh Tung VIE 14.633
6. Marian Dragulescu ROU 14.624
7. Nikita Nagornyy RUS 14.616
8. Dominick Cunningham GBR 14.566

Alt – Kim Hansol KOR 14.483

Yang Hakseon is back with the Handspring layout front with triple twist. Awesome.

And who’s this guy Marian Dragulescu? I’ve heard the name somewhere.

P Bars
1. Lukas Dauser GER 15.033
2. Petro Pakhniuk UKR 15.033
3. Joe Fraser GBR 15.000
4. Xiao Ruoteng CHN 14.966
5. Arican Ferhat TUR 14.933
6. (tie) Sun Wei CHN 14.800
6. (tie) Ahmet Onder TUR 14.800
8. Kaya kAZUMA JPN 14.800

Alt – Nikita Nagornyy RUS 14.800

Missing the final were Oleg and the greatest P Bar man in the history of the Universe — Zou Jingyuan, who fell on Tippelt. We’ll see them in the Team Final, however.

Ahmet Onder – Turkey

H Bar
1. Tang Chia-Hung TPE 14.933
2. Sam Mikulak USA 14.866
3. Tin Srbic CRO 14.833
4. Arthur Mariano BRA 14.600
5. Artur Dalaloyan RUS 14.433
6. Lin Chaopan CHN 14.433
7. Bull Tyson AUS 14.366
8. Daiki Hashimoto JPN 14.366

Alt – Oliver Hegi SUI 14.366

Click PLAY or watch Tin on Twitter.