Category: Gymnastics

who will win P Bars at Jakarta Worlds?

Everyone assumes they are fighting for silver behind G.O.A.T. Zou Jingyuan. But he didn’t look amazing in the training Gym.

Ferhat looks to be psyched and in great shape. Don’t count him out for podium.

Magnastics – 2025 World Championships Apparatus Preview 2- Vault, Parallel Bars, High Bar

Félix Dolci on adding Triple Pike

Félix Dolci explains how most of the guys approach Podium training.

And why he’s going to gamble on adding the Triple Pike dismount on H Bar.

Women’s Podium Training Jakarta Worlds

I love the first World Championships of the quadrennial. It’s fun to see all the new Worlds competitors and start speculating on which will qualify for L.A. Olympics 2028.

Gymnastics Now has a Podium training page.

Here are some of my thoughts on WAG …

The BIG story of Podium is AIN 1 (Russia). I’m predicting they win the most medals of any nation. They look great. And have much to prove after being banned for so many months.

Personally, I support banning dictator-for-life Putin’s nation. His war killed over 1 million people already. BUT since Russia was allowed to compete Jakarta, fans can enjoy some excellent Gymnastics.

Second biggest story is Kaylia Nemour. Our Bars Olympic champ is an AA podium contender. A Worlds medal for Algeria would be a huge accomplishment in our sport.

USA is just another of the top teams here in 2025. Trying to qualify to apparatus finals in order to get a chance at a medal.

The U.S. have won at least one gold at every Worlds since 2006, and the All-Around champion has been an American in all but two of those years.

FIG – ‘There were many moments when I thought I wouldn’t make it’: Notes from Saturday podium training at Jakarta Worlds

Random notes:

  • Some good skills and difficulty from around the world. Disappointingly few have excellent execution, however. This means the Code rewards difficulty more than quality. Too bad. It’s less impressive to watch for the general public. And we risk more serious injuries.
  • Impressive skill ➙ Def from Haruka Nakamura. Respect. Not easy on Bars. AND Piked Deltchev. AND Bhardwaj. … I’d say hers is the most difficult routine, irrespective of D-score.
  • The Japanese gymnasts in this Bars line-up all have high, floaty Paks with good form. As good as anyone in the competition.
  • Ellie Black won’t do the AA here. She’s pacing herself, wanting to continue to her 5th Olympics in L.A. 2028.
  • Hwang Seohyun from South Korea is the smallest competitor, I believe. Born 2009. She won Asian Championships on Beam. You can see why.
  • South Korea is the top team that deserves more attention online. They’ve been under-appreciated for years.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

  • Like previous international meets, I like the Korean spotting. A soft touch. Doing the absolute minimum possible.
  • Impressed with the tumbling of Kaia Tanskanen representing Finland. She’s improved & upgraded since the World Cup in Paris.
  • Our Olympic Bars champion, Kaylia Nemour, upgrading to YDT and hitting a fantastic Bar routine.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

  • It feels like women’s Gymnastics is getting more like MAG in that there’s more parity. USA is not so dominant without Simone. I hope this trend continues.
  • Ruby Evans is a legit Vault medal contender. I won’t be surprised if she tries Amanar in the Final.
  • Looking at power for tumbling and vault, I’d say Joscelyn Roberson is #1
  • I vote for a bonus 0.1 for any gymnast who can keep legs together on Maloney Bars skills. 😀
  • Many are complaining about execution of Cheng vaults here. I’d agree. Many are terrible. The code is obviously valuing them too high compared with alternative Vaults. That should be fixed by WTC. E-score evaluation on all vaults should be fixed, as well. Perhaps doubling the current deductions.
  • VERY COOL. Weiler direct to Jaeger ➙ Thelma Adalsteinsdottir. Love it. VIDEO.
  • Celia Serber has terrific potential on Bars.
  • Romania still MUST WATCH for Beam. A fantastic history and legacy on this apparatus.
  • Twin sisters Nathalie and Emelie Westlund compete for Sweden
  • Best true Tkachev ➙ Kate McDonald VIDEO. What turnover!
  • Marta Pihan-Kulesza is back at Worlds. 38-years-young.
  • Flavia balked on one Floor tumbling line. She was fine. Laughed it off. But at the time it looked like an Achilles injury on take-off.
  • AIN (Russia) is back. Lyudmila Roshchina and Angelina Melnikova both warm-up piked (in-bar) Stalders first Touch Bars. Both definitely medal contenders. Super Bars aside from the awful bent knee Giant over the low bar before dismount. Anne-Leen Thorburn from Namibia is rotating with them. Great experience for her.
  • Russia looks great on Beam, as well as Bars. Finalist(s) if they hit. Falls in Podium, however.
  • I’m happy to see CAMEROON at Worlds. But gymnasts who can just barely Kip should not be on Bars. A minimal level should be required.
  • Russia super clean and powerful tumbling, as well. It looks to me like the many, many months out of international competition have not resulted in the anticipated problems. No rust.
  • REALLY like Angelina’s Floor. Age-25 now.
  • I haven’t seen much of China. Zhou Yaqin and Zhang Qingying (the all-arounder this week) are doing Beam. Vault specialist Deng Yalan is a contender. Great Bars, as usual.

RELATED:

FIG – Notes from Friday podium training at Jakarta Worlds

Gymnasts interviewed at Worlds

Here’s a refreshingly unscripted video with gymnasts of many different levels, all with different goals at the World Championships.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

who will win Pommels at Worlds ’25?

I’m glad I’m not on this judging panel.

Hamlet should get the highest E-score, I’m thinking.

Magnastics has a great post reviewing the top contenders on Floor, Pommels, and Rings.

Kameron Nelson – podium training Floor

Highest difficulty score at Worlds.

… I love the thumbnail for this video. 😀 Triple Back ain’t easy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Kaylia Nemour – Vault & Bars

With YDT on Vault, Kaylia moves into the top group of women who could win an AA medal.

This was the greatest Bars routine I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. Unbelievable. It does look much better from the side — judges angle — however.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

PODIUM training World Gymnastics Championships 2025 Jakarta. 

Ellie Black – podium Beam

Pacing herself for a 5th Olympics in L.A. 2028, Ellie decided to compete only Beam and Bars in Jakarta. These are her 9th Wold championships.

One of the most consistent Beam workers, she’s got a good shot at qualifying for yet another Worlds Beam final.

Click PLAY or watch it on Instagram.

who will win Rings at Worlds 2025?

Men’s Podium Training, Jakarta Worlds

I’m posting LIVE on @GymCoaching.

Gymnastics Now has LIVE MAG Podium highlights:

Podium training at the 2025 World Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta

Here are some of my observations from both Podium Training & the training Gym.

I’ve seen perhaps 3/4 of the gymnasts, so far, over 2 days.

In Men’s Gymnastics, Podium Training is often a poor indicator of how gymnasts will compete. By this level, many of the guys have learned to save their best efforts until in front of judges. Podium may be used to get over jet-lag and get used to the TaiShan equipment.

Nobody wants to win the warm-up.

  • Fewer bad falls that I anticipated with the dismount bonus in effect. Still — one gymnast from France left with an injury. And there was another in the training Gym who medics took out after a bad H Bar dismount landing.
  • China is fantastic, of course, but somehow looks … vincible. Of course they often look bad early on at Worlds — then HIT perfectly when it actually counts. Good peaking, perhaps.
  • Japan looks great to me. I expect Oka Shinnosuke and Hashimoto Daiki to both HIT. Top 2 in the AA.
  • Japan strong on H Bar. All 3 routines include Liukin.
  • Noah Kuavita (Belgium) showed the best triple dismount I’ve seen, so far. Triple Pike at the end of an excellent H Bar routine. Félix Dolci 2nd best Triple Pike. Stuck.
  • GBR is the best Floor team in the world right now. Hepworth, Whitehouse, Jarman. Crazy good. Any of the 3 could medal on Floor here. But maximum two can make the Final.
  • As always, there are great gymnasts from unexpected nations all over the world.
  • Gymnasts told me there was a problem with a Horizontal Bar in the training gym. The cable attached at the top somehow got loose. I saw Taishan guys pounding those H Bars. Making sure it doesn’t happen again.
  • USA puts a higher priority on HITTING routines than any other nation. They are looking great.
  • There are MANY good H Bar routines. Must hit high difficulty just to make the Final. HIT clean and STICK likely needed to win. Triple backs are difficult to stick, by the way.
  • Brody Malone and others are finding the white mats difficult for spotting landings. Brody also said he finds the mats hard.

I’m cheering for Kam Nelson. Hoping he lands safely and stays inbounds on Floor.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

  • H Bar is much less ugly under the new code with fewer Rybalko skills. 😀
  • Floor is more artistic. Check our Olympic champion between tumbling passes.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

  • Yulo will only compete Floor and Vault here as he has a sore wrist. Too bad since his goal is the AA in the L.A. Olympics.
  • sounds like tickets for Rotterdam Worlds 2026 may already be sold out
  • Heath Thorpe was super clean on H Bar. He should have one of the highest E-scores.
  • Félix Dolci is wanting to add difficulty. He’s thinking L.A. 2028 as the goal.
  • Sam Zakutney added Liukin on H Bar. Looks great.
  • MANY great Pommel routines. At least 20 guys could make the Final if they hit.
  • Surprisingly, H Bar might be the second deepest field.

related – FIG – ‘It’s something special’: Notes from Thursday podium training at Jakarta Worlds

Of the many excellent videos I’ve seen on Podium Training, this one by the FIG team is my favourite.