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Gigi: What was your favorite moment in Antwerp?

Larisa: The most beautiful moment in Antwerp was when I stepped on podium, it was an unique feeling

Gigi: You are one of the best beam workers and you are capable of hitting your beam routine, what happened in the all around and beam final?.

Larisa: I can’t explain what happened during that moment, to be honest I don’t really know but I do know that I was in a rush and that’s what happened. In gymnastics you need to be focused on every single movement you make.

Gigi: Who impressed you the most in Antwerp?

Larisa: I was pleasantly impressed by Simone Biles because she is a very strong competitor from all points of view and I appreciate that in her.

read the full interview

Blanton’s Gymnastics Consultancy:

A great drill with numerous applications for different elements.

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=10202396632696621

World & European Bars Finalist, Ruby Harrold, talks through her unusual and crowd pleasing bars routine.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Uncle Tim has been crunching the numbers from the Women’s Competition at 2013 Worlds.

You must suspend disbelief and trust that judges got the numbers right in order to look at results statistically.

I’d argue that many routines could score 1.0 more or less.

EXECUTION Commentary:

1. As we saw with the men, execution matters. The top three all-arounders were the best executioners out there.

2. If elegance and execution are synonymous, then, Kyla Ross earned the Longines Prize for Elegance.

3. Those who rag on Simone Biles’s execution, please stop. Compared to her competition, Simone’s execution was quite good. Kyla Ross out-executed Simone by only 0.216, and Simone out-executed Aliya Mustafina by 0.540.

Vanessa Ferrari, Larisa Iordache, Carlotta Ferlito, Yao Jinnan and Noemi Makra are a few others with good Execution.

Noemi Makra from Hungary is stunning. Beautiful toe point. Sharp lines. It’s impossible to watch her and not be reminded of how you felt watching Henrietta Onodi.

DIFFICULTY Commentary:

1. … Simone Biles has over a 0.500 advantage on the majority of her competitors …

2. … Mad props to Giulia Steingruber, for instance. Since prelims at the European Championships, she has upgraded her difficulty by 0.900. Similarly, Noemi Makra upgraded by 0.600 since prelims at the European Championships.

… Simone Biles was the female equivalent of Kohei Uchimura. Compared to their competitors, both have exceptional difficulty and exceptional execution. …

details – 2013 World Championships by the Numbers: The Ladies

During #WChAntwerp I tweeted:

Gymnastics is so EASY for Simone Biles. She reminds me of Moustafina in 2010. Or Shawn Johnson in her prime.

related – TCG Junior Watch: Noemi Makra

CHEERS to Uncle Tim for keeping his 2013 database. The All Around plans to resume keeping their own for the rest of the quadrennial. No doubt there are others out there with similar databases.

October 6, 2013 – October 15, 2013, Tianjin

TEAM
1. China
2. Japan
3. North Korea

AA
1. Sixan Tan CHN 55.500
2. Yelinzi Zhang CHN 54.600
3. Un-Hyang Kim DPR 54.350
4. Wakana Inoue JPN 54.050
5. Chinami Otaki JPN 53.500
6. Wen Zheng CHN 53.100

full results and photos on Blossom

Hong Un-Jong – Amanar

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

6.3 – 9.200

After the poor performance of the French women at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Véronique Legras will be appointed as Head Coach of France, according to French sports newspaper L’Equipe.

Legras is not the only change: Sophie Darrigade is now the women’s program director for France. Legras will be assisted by Nellu Pop at INSEP and Marie-Angéline Colson at Pole France Saint-Etienne, while Legras will continue to coach at pôle France Marseille, where she is assisted by Elvire Teza. Darrigade stated that all the juniors and seniors gymnasts of the national team will be training in these three centers. …

The All Around

Photo with the great Émilie Le Pennec.

The greatest gymnast that ever lived did a fair bit of Press in Antwerp. More than usual, I believe.

Ollie Williams posted a terrific report on his interview with BBC:

… “His talent is endless,” says Louis Smith, who won silver on the pommel horse for Great Britain at London 2012.

“He wins the all-around competition by two marks, doing routines that are easy for him. He’s got skills in the bag that no-one can do – and he doesn’t need to do them yet. …

Kohei:

“I don’t think my natural talent is much different to the other gymnasts. It is a matter of how I train, and how I think about my training. I also give a lot of thought to my routines.

It is not Uchimura’s way, not the Japanese way, to acknowledge his own – obvious – greatness in the sport. He picks Vitaly Scherbo as the best gymnast of all time. The Belarusian won six gold medals out of eight available to him at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The man famed for his individual achievements has a new ambition for Rio 2016, driven by embarrassment at how he conducted himself during London 2012.

At the climax of last year’s Olympic team final, an error by Uchimura when dismounting the pommel horse almost cost Japan a medal. …

Kohei Uchimura: Gymnastics great admires Usain Bolt

There’s much more via that link. A great read. 🙂

New Mom Spanny Tampson put together a Gymnastics version of a Seuss-like children’s book.

Spanny’s Fancy ABCs

Tribute by Chris Saccullo.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

One athlete who’s proven she can overcome adversity.

related – Buzzfeed – Ultimate Aliya Mustafina Tribute (2012)

She doesn’t speak to the Press often. With this controversial interview, perhaps we know why.

Russian gymnastics has closed in on itself and this is the reason why it is not progressing

Poor translation?

Like Brigid McCarthy, I’m confounded. 😦

You’d never see the Men’s Tech Chair give such undiplomatic responses.

Nellie Kim was born in Islamic Tajikistan, then part of the Soviet Union.