#FIGWorlds2014ART
1. Verniaiev (UKR) 16.125
2. Leyva (USA) 15.933
3. Kato (JPN) 15.666
Great podium. Three super impressive routines in a super competitive final.
🙂
Worlds Women’s Beam Final
#FIGWorlds2014ART
1. BILES Simone USA 15.100
2. BAI Yawen 15.033 CHN (from Nanning)
3. MUSTAFINA Aliya RUS14.166 (-0.5 EGR)
4. TERAMOTO Asuka JPN 14.100
The audience was shocked that Teramoto with a hit routine scores lower than Mustafina missing an Element Group Requirement – Acro series.
I booed. The score may be correct, but it seems wrong. Like winning with a fall.
Worlds Men’s Vault Final
#FIGWorlds2014ART
GOLD: Ri (PRK) 15.416
SILVER: Radivilov (UKR) 15.333
BRONZE: Dalton (USA) 15.199
The survivors of a supremely tough Final.
Ri was actually super happy, though he could only hop/limp off the podium. This guy is legitimately injured. And has had bad ankles for most of his career.
That’s 2 Gold medals on Vault for North Korea.
I’m happy to see Jake Dalton with the Bronze. He’s one of the cleanest gymnasts here and is not enough rewarded for his superb form and line. Especially after the FX Final.
SHEK Wai Hung, who won the event at Asian Games, finished 6th.
Good luck Ellie Black
9th all-around at Worlds 2014, Ellie Black has one more Final.
Balance Beam.
That photo is from Nadia’s post on Couch Gymnast – In Pictures: the All Around Final
Huang Huidan v Yao Jinnan
The defending World Bars Champion competed first.
Click PLAY or watch Huang on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch Yao on YouTube.
1 Yao Jinnan CHN 6.9 + 8.733 = 15.633
2 Huang Huidan CHN 6.8 + 8.766 = 15.566
Tough call. But I prefer Huang’s routine. Though you can’t see it from that angle, Yao’s dismount is a weak double layout that wouldn’t be credited in some competitions. Huang’s is very original.
In 2014, however, the Difficulty score usually decides close decisions.
Lauren of the Gymternet noticed that Yao was not wearing her competition number.
Catherine – Beautiful Gymnastics – EF Day 1: Vault and Bars:
… This was addressed after the competition in which it was stated that it fell off right before, and that it was presented to the judges and accepted. …
Update from Lauren:
Huang Huidan and Yao Jinnan were interviewed by CCTV as soon as they got off the podium after finishing their uneven bar final routines. …
When mentioned that she started crying after her routine, she explained that she was moved and it was adrenaline when the tears first came down. However, when she moved from first to second, she was sad because she felt “???” — it’s a tricky thing to translate. In short, it’s that feeling when you tried your best and did really well but fell just a little short and you can’t reconcile with it.
Yao was next, and when asked, she said she wasn’t “comfortable” with her win. She said, “Dandan performed better than me, so when I saw her cry…I don’t know.” …
Nanning bee on Yahoo news
The biggest story from World Championships 2014 is a bee chasing Simone Biles. 🙂
related – Chicago Tribune version of the same story
(via Korbut Flip)
cheering Epke
KOM OP EPKE!
Olympic Horizontal Bar Champion Epke Zonderland is the favourite, I’d say, in the Final today.
Click PLAY or meet some of his fans on YouTube.
ZHANG Chenglong is one of his strongest challengers.
Click PLAY or watch this split screen edit on YouTube.
Finalists may well change their routines to raise start scores closer to Epke. It’s going to be interesting. 🙂
related – a playful, artistic VIDEO of Epke training
Americans are good on Vault
As confirmed by the prestigious FiveThirtyEight blog.
via GymCastic
Uchimura is “not human”
… “He is not a human being,” Hiroyuki Kato said before Uchimura won his record fifth straight World all-around title in Nanning, China, on Thursday, according to Agence France-Presse.
“Other athletes fight by pushing themselves to the limit. But Kohei can fight by using a few tenths of his ability.” …
His rivals change, but one man has stayed on the top of the podium for 6 years.
Those graphics are from the excellent supermura tumblr, a site dedicated to all things Kohei.
ELIZABETH LONG has a great career retrospective, so far. Kohei has said he may continue through the 2020 Olympics.
The All Around Editorial – King Kohei: The Greatest Ever
Rings: Liu, Nabarrete, You & Abliazin
Two medals for China on Rings, well deserved.
The D-score actually went up for You Hao. To 7.0.
What was the issue?
Denis Abliazin did not hit nor stick. I disagree with his Execution score. Judges got that one wrong.
Courtney Tulloch will be on the A-team for GBR from here on in. They need that Ring routine. And he’s only going to get stronger.
Courtney added “Victorian” Cross to his Finals routine.
