Saturday, 9 January 2010
New Blog - Gymnastics Issues
Hi please check out my other new blog here - I decided to start a new blog to discuss different issues.
Friday, 8 January 2010
Catherine Lyons Update
I know a lot of people are interested in Catherine so I thought I would post this video from youtube on her first double back on floor! I was really impressed with her technique and power. What do you all think?
There is also an update and review video of Catherine here. I really like her style and lines and I just hope she makes it to Senior so that the UK has something good to cheer for!
There is also an update and review video of Catherine here. I really like her style and lines and I just hope she makes it to Senior so that the UK has something good to cheer for!
Monday, 5 October 2009
2009 Meditteranean Cup
This competition hasnt been very well reported so I decided to show some of my favourite routines. It was actually a pretty decent standard of Senior and Juniors from Russia and Italy and mainly Seniors fromt The Netherlands and Brazil. The results were close with the Italian Team just beating the Russians by 0.3! Followed by the Brazilians and the Netherlands. All Around results were: 1. Malikova 56.50 2. Dementyeva 56.10 3. Galante 56.00. Full results can be found here.
The Russian Team consisted of: Violetta Malikova, Tatiana Solovyeva, Ramilya Musina, Valeria Sviridova, Anna Dementyeva and Yuliya Belokobylskaya. Belokobylskaya is relatively new to the International scene, she competed at the Gymnix at the start of the year. I really like her lively stye on floor, she doesn't have the difficulty yet but I still enjoyed it. Score: 13.950.
She also has an interesting beam routine although she fell and had some wobbles, the skills are there.
Violetta Malikova was more stable in this competition than previous performances, her floor was particularly impressive with a 9.00 execution score and final score of 14.40. She even stuck her beam routine (14.350), though there was some form issues but she had a round off straight bk and a nice double pike dismount.
I always liked Anna Dementyeva especially her floor but she wasnt at her best this time but still scored 14.20. Another highlight was Ramilya Musina who performed a sky high double layout on floor which can be seen here
The Italians were mostly impressive and innovative in their work. Serena Licchetta who is down to compete Vault and Bars at Worlds was there. Neither of these routines looked good Scoring 13.650 and 12.800, personally I prefer her Floor. In her bars routine she made a mistake and climbed over the low bar to face the other way! It didn't look good and I have never seen
a gymnast do it like that before. Take a Look:
Elisabetta Preziosa showed an excellent beam routine with a 9.00 execution scoring 14.800 and is down to compete beam at Worlds and she definetley has a legitimate shot at making finals with that routine. She had nice leaps and flexibilty and an interesting free cartwheel to scale.
Paola Galante achieved a good all around score of 56.00 to take 3rd in the all around. I like her gymnastics and am looking forward to seeing her in the aa finals at worlds. Junior Carlotta Ferlito was a highlight of the competition, born in 1995 she has a different style including an interesting release on bars (the name I can't think of), an energetic floor routine and her best piece is Beam (14.20).
The Russian Team consisted of: Violetta Malikova, Tatiana Solovyeva, Ramilya Musina, Valeria Sviridova, Anna Dementyeva and Yuliya Belokobylskaya. Belokobylskaya is relatively new to the International scene, she competed at the Gymnix at the start of the year. I really like her lively stye on floor, she doesn't have the difficulty yet but I still enjoyed it. Score: 13.950.
She also has an interesting beam routine although she fell and had some wobbles, the skills are there.
Violetta Malikova was more stable in this competition than previous performances, her floor was particularly impressive with a 9.00 execution score and final score of 14.40. She even stuck her beam routine (14.350), though there was some form issues but she had a round off straight bk and a nice double pike dismount.
I always liked Anna Dementyeva especially her floor but she wasnt at her best this time but still scored 14.20. Another highlight was Ramilya Musina who performed a sky high double layout on floor which can be seen here
The Italians were mostly impressive and innovative in their work. Serena Licchetta who is down to compete Vault and Bars at Worlds was there. Neither of these routines looked good Scoring 13.650 and 12.800, personally I prefer her Floor. In her bars routine she made a mistake and climbed over the low bar to face the other way! It didn't look good and I have never seen
a gymnast do it like that before. Take a Look:
Elisabetta Preziosa showed an excellent beam routine with a 9.00 execution scoring 14.800 and is down to compete beam at Worlds and she definetley has a legitimate shot at making finals with that routine. She had nice leaps and flexibilty and an interesting free cartwheel to scale.
Paola Galante achieved a good all around score of 56.00 to take 3rd in the all around. I like her gymnastics and am looking forward to seeing her in the aa finals at worlds. Junior Carlotta Ferlito was a highlight of the competition, born in 1995 she has a different style including an interesting release on bars (the name I can't think of), an energetic floor routine and her best piece is Beam (14.20).
Gymnastics In Europe Moves to America!
I haven't been posting in a while because I have moved to the US. Yes, just as the Worlds comes to London I move to America! I've decided to still carry on with the blog about european gymnastics but I'm also going to cover some American gym too.
Sunday, 24 May 2009
British Team Championships 2009
I just came back from this years British Teams in Guildford. Overall there was some impressive gymnastics consiering it is early on in the season but there was also some not so good and scary performances! This year the results were:
1 - 169.550 - City of Liverpool
2 - 168.600 - Heathrow 'A'
3 - 161.100 - Notts 'A'
4 - 154.000 - Cardiff Central
5 - 150.850 - Huntingdon
6 - 149.700 - Heathrow 'B'
7 - 148.050 - Horsham
8 - 145.000 - Bristol Hawks
9 - 144.550 - The Academy
The City of Liverpool team consisted of Beth Tweddle, Hannah Whelan, Jenny Pinches, Alex Cooper and Abbie Caig. Beth received a (slightly inflated) score of 15.70 on Bars, 15.450 on Floor and she also competed a Yurchenko 1/2 on pike front off on Vault for 13.950, so it seems she is training the other events. Her bars was impressive live but not as good as at the Europeans and floor was flawless but I still don't like her choreography. Hannah Whelan won the All Around (Becky Downie didn't compete all around) and had a good, consistent competition. Her scores were Vault 14.050, A-Bars 14.050, Beam 14.150 Floor 14.150, Total: 56.400. Her floor routine has Nastia Liukin's 2004-06 music and included a nice triple twist. Jenny Pinches semmed to be having an off day with falls on her standing tuck bk full on beam (13.20) and her straight full in dismount off bars (13.050). Although I did like her floor routine (14.40) with a Double Arabian and back 1 1/2 through to back 2 1/2 twist. Just a quick mention of little Abbie Caig (12 years) who had a very solid routine including a difficult beam routine with Onodi into split change+tuck back, Flick Layout and double tuck back dismount.
Heathrow 'A' Team consisted of Danusia Francis, Nicole Hibbert, Backy Wing and Laura Mitchell. Danusia (3rd AA) presented some nice elegant work but she needs to up her difficult level and she seems to be well capable of doing that. Her highest score was on Bars (14.200) where she showed a nice combination of stoop in to pike seat circle fwd (in L grip) in hstd phase into Straddled Jaeger. Nicole Hibbert came 2nd in the All Around with a score of 56.250 she had some big skills on floor (double arabian and full in) and an improved Bars (Tkatchev into pak, Toe on Shapshnikova into overshoot 1/2), but I think she needs to work on her presentation as she doesn't really sell her floor and beam. Becky Wing looked in very good shape and her routines were better presented than in the Europeans. Her bars with good with a beautiful Tkatchev into Pak Salto and a very elegant floor and dance work on beam where she scored 14.00. She came 4th all around and if she hadnt had a fall on floor (double arabian) she could have won. Laura Mitchell had a nasty fall on her bars dismount, she was meant to do a double straight but her hand guards got stuck to the bar and her first tuck back was onto her back on the high bar and she then bounced backwards onto the low bar! I have never seen a fall like it before. but thankfully she was fine with no injuries at all.
Becky Downie only competed Bars (14.90) and Beam (13.650) where she had a silly fall on her free cartwheel. I think she is still recovering from an ankle injury but she still managed to stick her double pike dismount on beam. She also debuted a new skill on bars which was a Toe on Piked Tkatchev and finished her routine with a stuck full in dismount.
I will post other comments tomorrow and hopefully by then some videos will be up on youtube.
1 - 169.550 - City of Liverpool
2 - 168.600 - Heathrow 'A'
3 - 161.100 - Notts 'A'
4 - 154.000 - Cardiff Central
5 - 150.850 - Huntingdon
6 - 149.700 - Heathrow 'B'
7 - 148.050 - Horsham
8 - 145.000 - Bristol Hawks
9 - 144.550 - The Academy
The City of Liverpool team consisted of Beth Tweddle, Hannah Whelan, Jenny Pinches, Alex Cooper and Abbie Caig. Beth received a (slightly inflated) score of 15.70 on Bars, 15.450 on Floor and she also competed a Yurchenko 1/2 on pike front off on Vault for 13.950, so it seems she is training the other events. Her bars was impressive live but not as good as at the Europeans and floor was flawless but I still don't like her choreography. Hannah Whelan won the All Around (Becky Downie didn't compete all around) and had a good, consistent competition. Her scores were Vault 14.050, A-Bars 14.050, Beam 14.150 Floor 14.150, Total: 56.400. Her floor routine has Nastia Liukin's 2004-06 music and included a nice triple twist. Jenny Pinches semmed to be having an off day with falls on her standing tuck bk full on beam (13.20) and her straight full in dismount off bars (13.050). Although I did like her floor routine (14.40) with a Double Arabian and back 1 1/2 through to back 2 1/2 twist. Just a quick mention of little Abbie Caig (12 years) who had a very solid routine including a difficult beam routine with Onodi into split change+tuck back, Flick Layout and double tuck back dismount.
Heathrow 'A' Team consisted of Danusia Francis, Nicole Hibbert, Backy Wing and Laura Mitchell. Danusia (3rd AA) presented some nice elegant work but she needs to up her difficult level and she seems to be well capable of doing that. Her highest score was on Bars (14.200) where she showed a nice combination of stoop in to pike seat circle fwd (in L grip) in hstd phase into Straddled Jaeger. Nicole Hibbert came 2nd in the All Around with a score of 56.250 she had some big skills on floor (double arabian and full in) and an improved Bars (Tkatchev into pak, Toe on Shapshnikova into overshoot 1/2), but I think she needs to work on her presentation as she doesn't really sell her floor and beam. Becky Wing looked in very good shape and her routines were better presented than in the Europeans. Her bars with good with a beautiful Tkatchev into Pak Salto and a very elegant floor and dance work on beam where she scored 14.00. She came 4th all around and if she hadnt had a fall on floor (double arabian) she could have won. Laura Mitchell had a nasty fall on her bars dismount, she was meant to do a double straight but her hand guards got stuck to the bar and her first tuck back was onto her back on the high bar and she then bounced backwards onto the low bar! I have never seen a fall like it before. but thankfully she was fine with no injuries at all.
Becky Downie only competed Bars (14.90) and Beam (13.650) where she had a silly fall on her free cartwheel. I think she is still recovering from an ankle injury but she still managed to stick her double pike dismount on beam. She also debuted a new skill on bars which was a Toe on Piked Tkatchev and finished her routine with a stuck full in dismount.
I will post other comments tomorrow and hopefully by then some videos will be up on youtube.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
FinGym 2009
This is a small competition but it attracted some good quality junior gymnasts including Laura Svilpaite, Sara Catanzaro and Naoual Ouazzani-Chahdi.
Laura Svilpaite from Lithuania is one of my favourite gymnasts and her form is beautiful. She earnt a gold medal on beam with 13.90 and a silver medal on Bars (12.90) with a fall. Her bars routine has a D Score of 5.70 and includes a tkatchev, pak salto and double layout dismount. In qualification she scored 14.850. Her routine from the WOGA Classic where she performed better is below:
Naoual Ouazzani-Chahdi from the Netherlands earnt gold medals on Vault and Floor with scores of 13.950 and 13.850. Her floor routine was entertaining and although she didnt do the harder tumbles her form was good.
Sara Catanzaro from Switzerland has high D Scores including 5.90 on beam but needs to work on her execution and form but she has a lot of potential. She got 2 silvers on Vault (13.775) and Floor (13.60). Her routine had Double Arabian, tucked full in, 1 1/1 through to double and double pike to finish.
Full results and videos can be found here
Laura Svilpaite from Lithuania is one of my favourite gymnasts and her form is beautiful. She earnt a gold medal on beam with 13.90 and a silver medal on Bars (12.90) with a fall. Her bars routine has a D Score of 5.70 and includes a tkatchev, pak salto and double layout dismount. In qualification she scored 14.850. Her routine from the WOGA Classic where she performed better is below:
Naoual Ouazzani-Chahdi from the Netherlands earnt gold medals on Vault and Floor with scores of 13.950 and 13.850. Her floor routine was entertaining and although she didnt do the harder tumbles her form was good.
Sara Catanzaro from Switzerland has high D Scores including 5.90 on beam but needs to work on her execution and form but she has a lot of potential. She got 2 silvers on Vault (13.775) and Floor (13.60). Her routine had Double Arabian, tucked full in, 1 1/1 through to double and double pike to finish.
Full results and videos can be found here
Glasgow Grand Prix 2009
Full results can be found here. As every1 has already reported on the results I'm just going to write a few of my comments and favourite videos.
Beth Tweddle was impressive in finals hitting both routines after having trouble on Bars in qualifying. Her bars routine has a D Score on 6.70 and I think it is the most difficult routine in the world, however recently at the Chinese National Championships Jiang Yuyuan performed a routine which had a D Score of 6.90. Comparing the two I still prefer Beths rouutine but she will definitely have some competition at this years Worlds from Yuyuan's routine as she scored 15.00 and 15.150 which strict judging, and there is still room for improvement. Which routine does every1 else prefer?
The floor final was intersting Beth's routine was clean and her tumbling was impressive but I really do not like her dance work and I hope the GB choreographers can come up with something better. I also agree with others that Anna Myzdrikova's routine had much nicer dance and I liked her different tumbles including a back triple twist into a tuck back.
I really liked Diego Hypolito's floor routine esoecially with his new skill a Double Arabian Straight with full twist in the second somersault. I really love how he is motivated to do better and to compete more daring skills, so I'm glad he won both floor and vault.
Sanne Wevers and Ana Maria Izurieta won the Beam Finals with a score of 14.075. I like Wevers routine because it is very innovative, she does have a lot of turns but I was impressed with her triple spin and double spin with leg up. She had a D Score of 6.70 but she does need to improve her form although I saw an interview with her on BGTV where she hadnt been training much so it is a good performance!
Also well done to Becky Downie for finally proving herself and earning the silver medal on bars with a score of 14.60.
Beth Tweddle was impressive in finals hitting both routines after having trouble on Bars in qualifying. Her bars routine has a D Score on 6.70 and I think it is the most difficult routine in the world, however recently at the Chinese National Championships Jiang Yuyuan performed a routine which had a D Score of 6.90. Comparing the two I still prefer Beths rouutine but she will definitely have some competition at this years Worlds from Yuyuan's routine as she scored 15.00 and 15.150 which strict judging, and there is still room for improvement. Which routine does every1 else prefer?
The floor final was intersting Beth's routine was clean and her tumbling was impressive but I really do not like her dance work and I hope the GB choreographers can come up with something better. I also agree with others that Anna Myzdrikova's routine had much nicer dance and I liked her different tumbles including a back triple twist into a tuck back.
I really liked Diego Hypolito's floor routine esoecially with his new skill a Double Arabian Straight with full twist in the second somersault. I really love how he is motivated to do better and to compete more daring skills, so I'm glad he won both floor and vault.
Sanne Wevers and Ana Maria Izurieta won the Beam Finals with a score of 14.075. I like Wevers routine because it is very innovative, she does have a lot of turns but I was impressed with her triple spin and double spin with leg up. She had a D Score of 6.70 but she does need to improve her form although I saw an interview with her on BGTV where she hadnt been training much so it is a good performance!
Also well done to Becky Downie for finally proving herself and earning the silver medal on bars with a score of 14.60.
Monday, 4 May 2009
British Compulsory Finals
This Saturday I watched the British Compulsory Level 4 Finals for 8 and 9 year olds which is the youngest age gymnasts can go to a National Finals. This is the first step for gymnasts aiming to be elite.
The winner of the British Compulsory Level 4 Finals was Catherine Lyons who trains at East London Gymnastics Club. She scored 64.40 beating the 2nd place gymnast by 1.20 points. With scores 12.70 (Vault), 12.80 (Bars), 13.00 (Beam), 12.90 (Floor) and 13.00 (Range and Conditioning) all out of 13.5 she had some the highest scores that I have ever seen at a this level. she has extraordinary flexibility and composure for 9 years old and her Range & Conditioning is definetely the best I have ever seen. Check it out for yourself below:
After this there is the Voluntary Level 4 which is an Optional Level with difficulty limitations. The scores are added together from the 2 competitions to decide the Age Group National Champion and National Team members. This is the same for the following year at Level 3 (10 years) and Level 2 (11 years) and then after this is Espoir (11-13 years) which is the frrst level at the British Championships followed by Junior (14-15 years) and Senior (16+ years).
The winner of the British Compulsory Level 4 Finals was Catherine Lyons who trains at East London Gymnastics Club. She scored 64.40 beating the 2nd place gymnast by 1.20 points. With scores 12.70 (Vault), 12.80 (Bars), 13.00 (Beam), 12.90 (Floor) and 13.00 (Range and Conditioning) all out of 13.5 she had some the highest scores that I have ever seen at a this level. she has extraordinary flexibility and composure for 9 years old and her Range & Conditioning is definetely the best I have ever seen. Check it out for yourself below:
After this there is the Voluntary Level 4 which is an Optional Level with difficulty limitations. The scores are added together from the 2 competitions to decide the Age Group National Champion and National Team members. This is the same for the following year at Level 3 (10 years) and Level 2 (11 years) and then after this is Espoir (11-13 years) which is the frrst level at the British Championships followed by Junior (14-15 years) and Senior (16+ years).
Sunday, 3 May 2009
USA VS France and France VS GBR May 8
On May 8 the USA seniors are competing against the French Seniors and at the same time the GB Juniors are competing against the French Juniors. The teams competing are listed below:
Seniors
France
Marine Petit, Aurélie Malausséna, Rose-Eliandre Bellemare, Pauline Morel, Typhaine Pompilio, Magaly Hars, Léa Kémayou.
USA
Bridgette Caquatto, Mackenzie Caquatto, Olivia Courtney, Kytra Hunter, Mattie Larson, Corrie Lothrop, Bridgette Sloan, Sabrina Vega.
Juniors
France
Cindy Baquet, Mira Boumejmajen, Marine Brevet, Justine Crosato, Caroline Nieves, Aurélie Orivelle, Sophia Serseri .
GB
Laura Edwards, Laura Mitchell, Danusia Francis, Niamh Rippin, Jennifer Pinches, Ruby Straw, Nicole Hibbert.
Interestingly Youna Dufournet is not competing, I hope they are taking time to sort her routines out before her next competition. Also some of the USA Team competing are not actually Seniors, Bridget Caquatto and Sabrina Vega are still Juniors. It will be good to see Pauline Morel competing again I really liked her floor routine last year.
Seniors
France
Marine Petit, Aurélie Malausséna, Rose-Eliandre Bellemare, Pauline Morel, Typhaine Pompilio, Magaly Hars, Léa Kémayou.
USA
Bridgette Caquatto, Mackenzie Caquatto, Olivia Courtney, Kytra Hunter, Mattie Larson, Corrie Lothrop, Bridgette Sloan, Sabrina Vega.
Juniors
France
Cindy Baquet, Mira Boumejmajen, Marine Brevet, Justine Crosato, Caroline Nieves, Aurélie Orivelle, Sophia Serseri .
GB
Laura Edwards, Laura Mitchell, Danusia Francis, Niamh Rippin, Jennifer Pinches, Ruby Straw, Nicole Hibbert.
Interestingly Youna Dufournet is not competing, I hope they are taking time to sort her routines out before her next competition. Also some of the USA Team competing are not actually Seniors, Bridget Caquatto and Sabrina Vega are still Juniors. It will be good to see Pauline Morel competing again I really liked her floor routine last year.
USA Vs GERMANY
The results were:
Team
1. USA 232.400
2. GER 219.700
All Around
1. Bridget Sloan, USA 59.550
2. Corrie Lothrop, USA, 56.500
3. Mackenzie Caquatto, USA, 56.400
4. Olivia Courtney, USA, 55.95
5. Bridgette Caquatto, USA, 55.80
6. Kim Bui GER, 55.75
7. Mattie Larson, USA, 55.65
8. Anja Brinker, GER, 55.25
GymNiceTic has a full report with the live ticker translated into English and full results can be found here. Dutchfan33 has also put all the routines on Youtube.
Performances I was impressed with:
Bridget Sloan
She had the top scores on Vault (15.35), Bars (15.15) and 2nd on Beam (14.00) and Floor (15.05). Although her results were probably expected she did her job and led the team well.
Sabrina Vega
Her Beam routine was a very mature performance considering more experienced teammates had problems (Sloan, Lothrop). She scored the highest on the day (14.30) with a double pike dismount and solid leaps.
Kytra Hunter
She only did vault and floor but her floor had some impressing tumbling with a Double Layout, Piked Double Arabian, and a Tucked Double Arabian to finish! she had the highest score on floor with a 15.150 (to put that into perspective at the Europeans this score would have earnt her joint first place with Tweddle!)
Of the Germans Maike Roll had a good competition considering it was her first International for Germany, she doesn't yet have the difficulty needed but she is still only 14 so she has time. Kim Bui also did well to get amongst the Americans in the All Around and she had a nice floor routine scoring 14.250
Performances I was a bit disappointed with:
Mattie Larson
I have always loved this gymnast especially last year but she seemed to be having an off day yesterday. She had a fall on her Ricna on bars and a big step out of bounds on floor. I hope there is some problem I don't know about and she sorts everything out for worlds.
Bars Routines
I noticed that Mackenzie Caquatto and Corrie Lothrop both have a close bar element missing from their routines, which is a requirement in the new code:
3 – Min. two different grips (no cast, MT or DMT) and
a Close bar Circle element (non flight) award 0.50 (from the code)
So considering it is worth 0.5 it seems to be a crucial thing to miss out. What does everyone else think?
Team
1. USA 232.400
2. GER 219.700
All Around
1. Bridget Sloan, USA 59.550
2. Corrie Lothrop, USA, 56.500
3. Mackenzie Caquatto, USA, 56.400
4. Olivia Courtney, USA, 55.95
5. Bridgette Caquatto, USA, 55.80
6. Kim Bui GER, 55.75
7. Mattie Larson, USA, 55.65
8. Anja Brinker, GER, 55.25
GymNiceTic has a full report with the live ticker translated into English and full results can be found here. Dutchfan33 has also put all the routines on Youtube.
Performances I was impressed with:
Bridget Sloan
She had the top scores on Vault (15.35), Bars (15.15) and 2nd on Beam (14.00) and Floor (15.05). Although her results were probably expected she did her job and led the team well.
Sabrina Vega
Her Beam routine was a very mature performance considering more experienced teammates had problems (Sloan, Lothrop). She scored the highest on the day (14.30) with a double pike dismount and solid leaps.
Kytra Hunter
She only did vault and floor but her floor had some impressing tumbling with a Double Layout, Piked Double Arabian, and a Tucked Double Arabian to finish! she had the highest score on floor with a 15.150 (to put that into perspective at the Europeans this score would have earnt her joint first place with Tweddle!)
Of the Germans Maike Roll had a good competition considering it was her first International for Germany, she doesn't yet have the difficulty needed but she is still only 14 so she has time. Kim Bui also did well to get amongst the Americans in the All Around and she had a nice floor routine scoring 14.250
Performances I was a bit disappointed with:
Mattie Larson
I have always loved this gymnast especially last year but she seemed to be having an off day yesterday. She had a fall on her Ricna on bars and a big step out of bounds on floor. I hope there is some problem I don't know about and she sorts everything out for worlds.
Bars Routines
I noticed that Mackenzie Caquatto and Corrie Lothrop both have a close bar element missing from their routines, which is a requirement in the new code:
3 – Min. two different grips (no cast, MT or DMT) and
a Close bar Circle element (non flight) award 0.50 (from the code)
So considering it is worth 0.5 it seems to be a crucial thing to miss out. What does everyone else think?
Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Maribor 2009 Results
I didnt cover this event in any detail because I was away this weekend at a gymnastics competition, so I didnt get to see any of it. Full Results can be found on the Official Website. I've had a chance to see most of the routines now as they are available on 2008agwc's and soveticas4ever youtube channels.
I was most impressed with Kristina Goryunova who won the Beam (14.350) and Floor (14.000) Finals and also got Silver on Bars (13.700). The scores are exactly high compared to the European medallists but she just seemed a much more mature and consistent gymnast than in before and I guess she has recovered well from her "injury" that kept her out of the All Around final.
I liked her beam routine it was elegant and had some nice skills (Onodi,pike front off on leg,sheep jump) and an almost stuck double pike dismount.
Goryunova also had an elegant floor routine and I actuallly liked her dance and leaps and she had solid landings on all 4 tumbles. Anna Myzdrikova also had a nice and more difficult floor routine (13.950) than Goryunovas' but she stepped out of bounds twice and her landings were not as good. She looked like she had grown since last year and was in better shape. The Russians overall were very good although the level of the competition was not high they still did ther job. Another Russian to mention is Ekaterina Kurbatova who won the Bars Final (14.325), she is relatively unknown internationally but had some interesting connections and skills which can been seen on soveticas4ever channel.
Another interesting gymnast was Ana Claudia Silva from Brazil she came 2nd on beam (13.550) and 5th on Bars (13.000). I've always liked her elegant stle and long lines but she has always been inconsistent. Her beam had a very nice mount and spin combination, as well as a clean dismount.
Another gymnast who I liked that competed this weekend is Miranda Meyer from Canada. This was her first overseas competition representing Canada and she made the Beam final. She had the highest start value of all the gymnasts (5.90) and she is only. Unfortunately she did not stick her routine in the final coming 5th (12.550) but earlier this month at the Wild Rose Invitational she came first on beam (13.60). The routine is below for you to watch:
I was most impressed with Kristina Goryunova who won the Beam (14.350) and Floor (14.000) Finals and also got Silver on Bars (13.700). The scores are exactly high compared to the European medallists but she just seemed a much more mature and consistent gymnast than in before and I guess she has recovered well from her "injury" that kept her out of the All Around final.
I liked her beam routine it was elegant and had some nice skills (Onodi,pike front off on leg,sheep jump) and an almost stuck double pike dismount.
Goryunova also had an elegant floor routine and I actuallly liked her dance and leaps and she had solid landings on all 4 tumbles. Anna Myzdrikova also had a nice and more difficult floor routine (13.950) than Goryunovas' but she stepped out of bounds twice and her landings were not as good. She looked like she had grown since last year and was in better shape. The Russians overall were very good although the level of the competition was not high they still did ther job. Another Russian to mention is Ekaterina Kurbatova who won the Bars Final (14.325), she is relatively unknown internationally but had some interesting connections and skills which can been seen on soveticas4ever channel.
Another interesting gymnast was Ana Claudia Silva from Brazil she came 2nd on beam (13.550) and 5th on Bars (13.000). I've always liked her elegant stle and long lines but she has always been inconsistent. Her beam had a very nice mount and spin combination, as well as a clean dismount.
Another gymnast who I liked that competed this weekend is Miranda Meyer from Canada. This was her first overseas competition representing Canada and she made the Beam final. She had the highest start value of all the gymnasts (5.90) and she is only. Unfortunately she did not stick her routine in the final coming 5th (12.550) but earlier this month at the Wild Rose Invitational she came first on beam (13.60). The routine is below for you to watch:
Friday, 10 April 2009
Comparison of International Scores under the 2009 Code Of Points
Now that we have had a few International Competitions this year with the new code I have decided to compare scores and see what a good score is on each apparatus and All Around and who has scored the highest scores so far. I know some of the scores may not be completely accurate (e.g. the American Cup) but it's just so people can get an idea of the scoring under the new code.
All Around
1. Jordyn Wieber 60.200 (American Cup)
2. Bridget Sloan 59.600 (American Cup)
3. Jordyn Wieber 58.500 (Gymnix Junior Cup)
4. Ksenia Semenova 58.175 (Europeans AA Finals)
5. Ksenia Semenova 57.625 (Europeans AA Qualifications)
6. Ksenia Afanasyeva 57.600 (Europeans AA Finals)
7. Ariella Kaeslin/Ana Maria Tamirjan 57.275 (Europeans AA Finals/Quals)
8. Ana Maria Izurieta 56.375 (Europeans AA Finals)
9. Aagje Van Walleghem 56.150 (Europeans Qualifications)
10. Kim Bui 56.000 (American Cup)
Vault (1 Vault)
1. Jordyn Wieber 15.750 (American Cup)
2. Ariella Kaeslin 15.300 (Europeans AA Finals)
3. Bridget Sloan 15.150 (American Cup)
4. Jordyn Wieber 15.000 (International Gymnix Junior Cup)
5. Ana Maria Izurieta 14.850 (Europeans AA Finals)
6. Diana Chelaru 14.675 (Europeans AA Finals)
7. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.650 (Europeans AA Finals/Quals)
8. Janaina Silva 14.550 (Jesolo)
9. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.525 (Europeans AA Finals)
10. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.475 (Europeans AA Qualifications)
Vault (2 Vaults)
1. Ariella Kaeslin 14.625 (European Event Finals)
2. Ariella Kaeslin 14.550 (Cottbus)
3. Yulia Berger 14.325 (Europeans Event Finals)
4. Yulia Berger 14.287 (Europeans Qualifications)
5. Anna Kalashnyk 14.275 (Europeans Event Finals)
6. Jana Komrskova 14.225 (Europeans Qualifications)
7. Aagje Van Walleghem 14.200 (Europeans Event Finals)
8. Charlotte Mackie/Kim Bui 14.150 (International Gymnix World Cup/Europeans Event Finals)
9. Anna Kalashnyk 14.112 (Europeans Qualifications)
10. Kim Bui 14.087 (Europeans Qualifications)
Uneven Bars
1. Beth Tweddle 15.650 (Jesolo)
2. Beth Tweddle 15.575 (Europeans Event Finals)
3. Ksenia Semenova 15.500 (Europeans Event Finals)
4. Beth Tweddle 15.275 (Europeans Qualifications)
5. Anja Brinker 15.025 (Europeans Qualifications)
6. Anja Brinker/Becky Downie 15.00 (Europeans AA Final)
7. Ksenia Semenova/Ksenia Afanaseyeva 14.925 (Europeans AA Final)
8. Ksenia Afanaseyeva/Anja Brinker 14.825 (Europeans Qualifications/Cottbus)
9. Anja Brinker/Jordyn Wieber/Bridget Sloan 14.80 (Europeans Event Finals/American Cup)
10. Youna Dufournet 14.750 (Europeans Qualifications)
Beam
1. Jordyn Wieber 15.00 (American Cup)
2. Bridget Sloan 14.90 (American Cup)
3. Amelia Racea/Ksenia Semenova 14.80 (Jesolo/Europeans AA Final)
4. Yana Demyanchuk 14.775 (Europeans Event Finals)
5. Ana Maria Tamirjan/Jordyn Wieber 14.750 (Europeans Event Finals/International Gymnix Junior Cup)
6. Vasiliki Millousi 14.725 (Europeans Qualifications)
7. Mattie Larson/Gabriela Dragoi 14.650 (International Gymnix World Cup/Europeans Event Finals)
8. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.60 (Europeans AA Finals)
9. Amelia Racea 14.550 (American Cup)
10. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.525 (Europeans Qualifications)
Floor
1. Beth Tweddle 15.150 (Europeans Event Finals)
2. Sandra Izbasa 15.050 (Nadia Comaneci International Invitational)
3. Beth Tweddle 14.975 (Europeans Qualifications)
4. Mattie Larson 14.950 (International Gymnix World Cup)
5. Bridget Sloan 14.750 (American Cup)
6. Vanessa Ferrari 14.675 (Europeans Event Finals)
7. Jordyn Wieber 14.650 (American Cup)
8. Ksenia Semenova 14.625 (Europeans Event Finals)
9. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.575 (Europeans AA Final)
10. Vanessa Ferrari 14.525 (Europeans AA Final)
Videos of the Top Scorers on each apparatus so far in International Competition under the COP 2009:
All Around
1. Jordyn Wieber 60.200 (American Cup)
2. Bridget Sloan 59.600 (American Cup)
3. Jordyn Wieber 58.500 (Gymnix Junior Cup)
4. Ksenia Semenova 58.175 (Europeans AA Finals)
5. Ksenia Semenova 57.625 (Europeans AA Qualifications)
6. Ksenia Afanasyeva 57.600 (Europeans AA Finals)
7. Ariella Kaeslin/Ana Maria Tamirjan 57.275 (Europeans AA Finals/Quals)
8. Ana Maria Izurieta 56.375 (Europeans AA Finals)
9. Aagje Van Walleghem 56.150 (Europeans Qualifications)
10. Kim Bui 56.000 (American Cup)
Vault (1 Vault)
1. Jordyn Wieber 15.750 (American Cup)
2. Ariella Kaeslin 15.300 (Europeans AA Finals)
3. Bridget Sloan 15.150 (American Cup)
4. Jordyn Wieber 15.000 (International Gymnix Junior Cup)
5. Ana Maria Izurieta 14.850 (Europeans AA Finals)
6. Diana Chelaru 14.675 (Europeans AA Finals)
7. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.650 (Europeans AA Finals/Quals)
8. Janaina Silva 14.550 (Jesolo)
9. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.525 (Europeans AA Finals)
10. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.475 (Europeans AA Qualifications)
Vault (2 Vaults)
1. Ariella Kaeslin 14.625 (European Event Finals)
2. Ariella Kaeslin 14.550 (Cottbus)
3. Yulia Berger 14.325 (Europeans Event Finals)
4. Yulia Berger 14.287 (Europeans Qualifications)
5. Anna Kalashnyk 14.275 (Europeans Event Finals)
6. Jana Komrskova 14.225 (Europeans Qualifications)
7. Aagje Van Walleghem 14.200 (Europeans Event Finals)
8. Charlotte Mackie/Kim Bui 14.150 (International Gymnix World Cup/Europeans Event Finals)
9. Anna Kalashnyk 14.112 (Europeans Qualifications)
10. Kim Bui 14.087 (Europeans Qualifications)
Uneven Bars
1. Beth Tweddle 15.650 (Jesolo)
2. Beth Tweddle 15.575 (Europeans Event Finals)
3. Ksenia Semenova 15.500 (Europeans Event Finals)
4. Beth Tweddle 15.275 (Europeans Qualifications)
5. Anja Brinker 15.025 (Europeans Qualifications)
6. Anja Brinker/Becky Downie 15.00 (Europeans AA Final)
7. Ksenia Semenova/Ksenia Afanaseyeva 14.925 (Europeans AA Final)
8. Ksenia Afanaseyeva/Anja Brinker 14.825 (Europeans Qualifications/Cottbus)
9. Anja Brinker/Jordyn Wieber/Bridget Sloan 14.80 (Europeans Event Finals/American Cup)
10. Youna Dufournet 14.750 (Europeans Qualifications)
Beam
1. Jordyn Wieber 15.00 (American Cup)
2. Bridget Sloan 14.90 (American Cup)
3. Amelia Racea/Ksenia Semenova 14.80 (Jesolo/Europeans AA Final)
4. Yana Demyanchuk 14.775 (Europeans Event Finals)
5. Ana Maria Tamirjan/Jordyn Wieber 14.750 (Europeans Event Finals/International Gymnix Junior Cup)
6. Vasiliki Millousi 14.725 (Europeans Qualifications)
7. Mattie Larson/Gabriela Dragoi 14.650 (International Gymnix World Cup/Europeans Event Finals)
8. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.60 (Europeans AA Finals)
9. Amelia Racea 14.550 (American Cup)
10. Ana Maria Tamirjan 14.525 (Europeans Qualifications)
Floor
1. Beth Tweddle 15.150 (Europeans Event Finals)
2. Sandra Izbasa 15.050 (Nadia Comaneci International Invitational)
3. Beth Tweddle 14.975 (Europeans Qualifications)
4. Mattie Larson 14.950 (International Gymnix World Cup)
5. Bridget Sloan 14.750 (American Cup)
6. Vanessa Ferrari 14.675 (Europeans Event Finals)
7. Jordyn Wieber 14.650 (American Cup)
8. Ksenia Semenova 14.625 (Europeans Event Finals)
9. Ksenia Afanasyeva 14.575 (Europeans AA Final)
10. Vanessa Ferrari 14.525 (Europeans AA Final)
Videos of the Top Scorers on each apparatus so far in International Competition under the COP 2009:
Winner of the Poll for Best All Around European Gymnast is: Lilia Podkopayeva
Lilia Podkopayeva was born on August 15, 1978 in Donetsk, Ukraine. who became the 1996 Olympic all-around champion. In early 1996, Podkopayeva was seriously injured when she fell from the beam in practice, breaking one rib and fracturing another. She recovered sufficiently to win three gold medals at the 1996 European Championships in the all-around, bars and floor finals. In the all-around, Lilia pushed her childhood idol Svetlana Boginskaya into second place. She also won a bronze on the vault. At the 1996 OLympics in Atlanta she won the gold medal in the all-around final. In doing this Podkopayeva also became the first female gymnast since Tourischeva to hold the European, World, and Olympic all-around titles at the same time. She also became the first, and to date, only, Olympic all-around champion to come from a team that finished outside the medals.
Below are here Vault (the Podkopayeva) and Floor routines from the All Around at the 1996 European Championships:
Podkoypayeva was often referred to as the "complete package" gymnast, possessing equal qualities of technical skill and artistic expression. Her routines were known for their combination of balletic, expressive choreography, clean execution, impeccable form and extremely difficult skills. She was the originator of two skills: the Podkopayeva vault and a double front half-out salto on the floor exercise. The montage below by AshleyakaFlicker highlights her best qualities:
Below are here Vault (the Podkopayeva) and Floor routines from the All Around at the 1996 European Championships:
Podkoypayeva was often referred to as the "complete package" gymnast, possessing equal qualities of technical skill and artistic expression. Her routines were known for their combination of balletic, expressive choreography, clean execution, impeccable form and extremely difficult skills. She was the originator of two skills: the Podkopayeva vault and a double front half-out salto on the floor exercise. The montage below by AshleyakaFlicker highlights her best qualities:
Monday, 6 April 2009
European Event Finals - Mens'
Lots of people have already posted the full results and they can be found on gymnastics results.com. So I'm just going to post a summary and my comments.
FX: 1. HAMBUECHEN 15.450 2. FAHRIG 15.400 3. KOSMIDIS 15.350
PH: 1. BERKI 15.600 2. SMITH 15.550 3. KEATINGS 15.500
SR: 1. VAN GELDER 15.750 2. VOROBIOV 15.600 3. IOVTCHEV 15.550
VT: 1. BOUHAIL 16.325 2. KOCZI 16.312 3. FAHRIG 16.225
PB: 1. CUCHERAT 15.825 2. PETKOVSEK 15.800 3. HAMBUECHEN 15.375
HB: 1. MARAS 15.375 2. CUCHERAT 15.250 3. KUKSENKOV 14.925
FX: The Germans did very well earning the gold and silver medals. Hambeuchens' routine was solid with little deductions (he had the highest E Score 9.150) and I like his 2nd pass on Round flick bk 2 1/2 into front layout 1 1/2. Fahrigs' routine was impressive with the 1st pass being front handspring+front layout 2/1+Dbl Front! The rest of the routine is full of difficulty and he only just missed out on the gold. If you haven't seen it yet take a look:
PH: The first 3 were all very close but the Hungarian had a more difficult routine than the 2 British boys. Louis seemed to have better form than last year and Keatings did what he did all week - hit his routines.
SR: Van Gelder had the highest execution score of any1 in the final (9.150) and he finished it off with a stuck dismount. It's a shame he didn't qualify for Bejiing as he looked very good in this final.
VT: Bouhail had 2 very difficult vaults Tsukahara Double Pike and Handspring Double front 1/2, the height he gets off the vault is incredible, both landings were a little high but good enough. Koczi also had 2 diificult vaults both with twists: Tsukahara 3/1 and Handspring 2 1/2 but leg form was a little untidy. Fahraig had the highest execution scores on noth his vaults 9.40 and 9.450 but his 2nd vault had lower difficulty although he certainly looked very happy with his performances.
PB: The first 2 were in a league of their own and their scores were very close. Hambuechen also earned another medal - he sure knows how to compete!
HB: This apparatus is always exciting and this was no exception, with no1 achieving an execution score int he 9.0s (the highest was 8.675). Cassina in his home country could not hold it together, he fell on a Kolman and then repeated it and fell agian! (score 10.875). At the opposite end of the scores Maras from Greece completed his diffocult routine with a nice release at the start to win the gold.
Most routines from Event Finals can been seen on 2008agwc's channel on youtube.
FX: 1. HAMBUECHEN 15.450 2. FAHRIG 15.400 3. KOSMIDIS 15.350
PH: 1. BERKI 15.600 2. SMITH 15.550 3. KEATINGS 15.500
SR: 1. VAN GELDER 15.750 2. VOROBIOV 15.600 3. IOVTCHEV 15.550
VT: 1. BOUHAIL 16.325 2. KOCZI 16.312 3. FAHRIG 16.225
PB: 1. CUCHERAT 15.825 2. PETKOVSEK 15.800 3. HAMBUECHEN 15.375
HB: 1. MARAS 15.375 2. CUCHERAT 15.250 3. KUKSENKOV 14.925
FX: The Germans did very well earning the gold and silver medals. Hambeuchens' routine was solid with little deductions (he had the highest E Score 9.150) and I like his 2nd pass on Round flick bk 2 1/2 into front layout 1 1/2. Fahrigs' routine was impressive with the 1st pass being front handspring+front layout 2/1+Dbl Front! The rest of the routine is full of difficulty and he only just missed out on the gold. If you haven't seen it yet take a look:
PH: The first 3 were all very close but the Hungarian had a more difficult routine than the 2 British boys. Louis seemed to have better form than last year and Keatings did what he did all week - hit his routines.
SR: Van Gelder had the highest execution score of any1 in the final (9.150) and he finished it off with a stuck dismount. It's a shame he didn't qualify for Bejiing as he looked very good in this final.
VT: Bouhail had 2 very difficult vaults Tsukahara Double Pike and Handspring Double front 1/2, the height he gets off the vault is incredible, both landings were a little high but good enough. Koczi also had 2 diificult vaults both with twists: Tsukahara 3/1 and Handspring 2 1/2 but leg form was a little untidy. Fahraig had the highest execution scores on noth his vaults 9.40 and 9.450 but his 2nd vault had lower difficulty although he certainly looked very happy with his performances.
PB: The first 2 were in a league of their own and their scores were very close. Hambuechen also earned another medal - he sure knows how to compete!
HB: This apparatus is always exciting and this was no exception, with no1 achieving an execution score int he 9.0s (the highest was 8.675). Cassina in his home country could not hold it together, he fell on a Kolman and then repeated it and fell agian! (score 10.875). At the opposite end of the scores Maras from Greece completed his diffocult routine with a nice release at the start to win the gold.
Most routines from Event Finals can been seen on 2008agwc's channel on youtube.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
European Event Finals - Women
Results
Vault
1. Kaeslin 14.625 - first vault was handspring front layout 1 1/2 but it was a little piked down with bent knees at the end but she gets so much height off the top and her yurchenko 1 1/2 was good and she deserved the gold medal.
2. Berger 14.325 - I like her first vault which was tsuk 1 1/2 and the second was interesting as it is different to normal vaults you see, boith were good but not quite as neat as Kaeslin.
3. Kalashnyk 14.275 - first vault was yurchenko double full but with quite untidy legs but I thought her second vault was much better and I'm glad another Ukranian got a medal.
4. Van Walleghem 14.200 - both her vaults had good form just not enough difficulty but personally I prefer to watch vaults with good form rather than difficult vaults being thrown woth bad form.
5. Bui 14.150
6. Downie 14.025
7. Masela 13.950
8. Komrskova 13.875
Bars
1. Tweddle 15.575 - I'm so glad she won! I love how many connections and releases she has and she finally won another gold.
2. Semenova 15.500 - her routine was better in finals than it has been all week and there wasn't much difference in the top two in terms of execution but Beth's slightly more difficult routine meant she won.
3. Brinker 14.800 - It's good to see her win a medal at a higher level competition and she deserved it she has been consistent all week.
4. Dufournet 14.650
5. Afanasyeva 14.650
6. Downie 14.525 - she was not happy with this routine, it wasn't really bad but in the all around final she received a 15.00 which would have put her in 3rd!
7. Koval 14.350 - she doesn't seem to be in the same form as the Olympics with a lot of missed handstands and late turns.
8. Holenkova 12.700
Beam
1. Demyanchuk 14.775 - I'm really happy that she won gold as I've said before I love this gymnasts' style and form on beam and floor. She has a really nice roundoff layout and split leap 1/1 which is a very difficult leap on beam.
2. Tamirjan 14.750 - I feel sorry for her as she must have a lot of pressure on her to perform well at the these championships and she hasn't quite produced her best. Her routine wasn't bad but one missed connection between the free walkover and the flick layout meant that she lost the gold medal.
3. Dragoi 14.650 - I liked her routine she seemed very calm and composed coping with the pressure very well and got into a good rhythm. She had some nice spins and connections.
4. Petit 14.150
5. Semenova 14.125 - she seemed a little 'wobblier' than in qualification with a lot of balance checks but her dance work was still beautiful. She had her toes taped together so perhaps she has a new injury that affected her.
6. Maksuta 13.725
7. Millousi 13.450 - unfortunately the top qualifier could not produce the same performance and had a fall on her tuck back but she is still a new hope for Greece.
8. Zimmerman 12.850
Floor
1. Tweddle 15.150 - She was just amazing this week with two gold medals, she hit nearly all her landings and leaps and definetely had the best form. I think she deserved it but maybe others should have been closer.
2. Ferrari 14.675 - I'm impressed that she was able to perform this well whilst still recovering from an injury to her ankle but she is a fighter and that is why her country love her.
3. Semenova 14.625 - this was by far my favourite routine of the finals, the choreography and how she performs it are beautiful and keeps me waching throughout. I think she deserved the silver medal I thought her tumbles were better and she should definetely get more credit for artistry, nut I'm not a judge so she has to settle for bronze!
4. Tamirjan 14.075 - she took her double layout out which I think was sensible and did two full ins in tuck and pike instead (maybe she should have done that in the AA). I like her new music and routine and I think she is still growing into it and it will improve further.
5. Izurieta 14.075
6. Holenkova 13.925
7. Izbasa 13.900- her triple twist was downgraded to a 2 1/2 and because she had already done a 2 1/2 it can't be counted again so she lost DV and dismount points so her routine was scored out of a 4.90 instead of 5.50 from qualification. I have looked at the video and the triple doesn't seem that bad, I've seen worse that have got counted! But I wasnt there to watch it live so maybe it was worse than it looked. What does everyone think? If it had been counted I think she would have got silver not gold from what I can work out.
8. Parolari 13.525
All Routines from the Event Finals can be seen on youtube at 2008agwc and The Penguin888 channels
My Favourite Floor Routine from the Floor Finals - Ksenia Semenova
Beth Tweddles' Gold Medal Winning Floor Routine
Demyanchuks' Beam Routine
Tweddles' Floor Routine
Vault
1. Kaeslin 14.625 - first vault was handspring front layout 1 1/2 but it was a little piked down with bent knees at the end but she gets so much height off the top and her yurchenko 1 1/2 was good and she deserved the gold medal.
2. Berger 14.325 - I like her first vault which was tsuk 1 1/2 and the second was interesting as it is different to normal vaults you see, boith were good but not quite as neat as Kaeslin.
3. Kalashnyk 14.275 - first vault was yurchenko double full but with quite untidy legs but I thought her second vault was much better and I'm glad another Ukranian got a medal.
4. Van Walleghem 14.200 - both her vaults had good form just not enough difficulty but personally I prefer to watch vaults with good form rather than difficult vaults being thrown woth bad form.
5. Bui 14.150
6. Downie 14.025
7. Masela 13.950
8. Komrskova 13.875
Bars
1. Tweddle 15.575 - I'm so glad she won! I love how many connections and releases she has and she finally won another gold.
2. Semenova 15.500 - her routine was better in finals than it has been all week and there wasn't much difference in the top two in terms of execution but Beth's slightly more difficult routine meant she won.
3. Brinker 14.800 - It's good to see her win a medal at a higher level competition and she deserved it she has been consistent all week.
4. Dufournet 14.650
5. Afanasyeva 14.650
6. Downie 14.525 - she was not happy with this routine, it wasn't really bad but in the all around final she received a 15.00 which would have put her in 3rd!
7. Koval 14.350 - she doesn't seem to be in the same form as the Olympics with a lot of missed handstands and late turns.
8. Holenkova 12.700
Beam
1. Demyanchuk 14.775 - I'm really happy that she won gold as I've said before I love this gymnasts' style and form on beam and floor. She has a really nice roundoff layout and split leap 1/1 which is a very difficult leap on beam.
2. Tamirjan 14.750 - I feel sorry for her as she must have a lot of pressure on her to perform well at the these championships and she hasn't quite produced her best. Her routine wasn't bad but one missed connection between the free walkover and the flick layout meant that she lost the gold medal.
3. Dragoi 14.650 - I liked her routine she seemed very calm and composed coping with the pressure very well and got into a good rhythm. She had some nice spins and connections.
4. Petit 14.150
5. Semenova 14.125 - she seemed a little 'wobblier' than in qualification with a lot of balance checks but her dance work was still beautiful. She had her toes taped together so perhaps she has a new injury that affected her.
6. Maksuta 13.725
7. Millousi 13.450 - unfortunately the top qualifier could not produce the same performance and had a fall on her tuck back but she is still a new hope for Greece.
8. Zimmerman 12.850
Floor
1. Tweddle 15.150 - She was just amazing this week with two gold medals, she hit nearly all her landings and leaps and definetely had the best form. I think she deserved it but maybe others should have been closer.
2. Ferrari 14.675 - I'm impressed that she was able to perform this well whilst still recovering from an injury to her ankle but she is a fighter and that is why her country love her.
3. Semenova 14.625 - this was by far my favourite routine of the finals, the choreography and how she performs it are beautiful and keeps me waching throughout. I think she deserved the silver medal I thought her tumbles were better and she should definetely get more credit for artistry, nut I'm not a judge so she has to settle for bronze!
4. Tamirjan 14.075 - she took her double layout out which I think was sensible and did two full ins in tuck and pike instead (maybe she should have done that in the AA). I like her new music and routine and I think she is still growing into it and it will improve further.
5. Izurieta 14.075
6. Holenkova 13.925
7. Izbasa 13.900- her triple twist was downgraded to a 2 1/2 and because she had already done a 2 1/2 it can't be counted again so she lost DV and dismount points so her routine was scored out of a 4.90 instead of 5.50 from qualification. I have looked at the video and the triple doesn't seem that bad, I've seen worse that have got counted! But I wasnt there to watch it live so maybe it was worse than it looked. What does everyone think? If it had been counted I think she would have got silver not gold from what I can work out.
8. Parolari 13.525
All Routines from the Event Finals can be seen on youtube at 2008agwc and The Penguin888 channels
My Favourite Floor Routine from the Floor Finals - Ksenia Semenova
Beth Tweddles' Gold Medal Winning Floor Routine
Demyanchuks' Beam Routine
Tweddles' Floor Routine
Men's European All Around Results
Summary
1. Hambuechen
2. Keatings
3. Ryazanov
4. Boy
5. Koczi
6. Pozzo
7. Purvis
8. Shatilov
Full results here
Well Done Fabian for pulling it all together when it counts, shame he won't be in the High Bar final though.
Congratulations to Daniel Keatings 2nd is a very good result fro Great Britain and he was only 0.9 behind so he looks good for the future. A mention of Daniel Purvis who jumped from 12th in qualification to 7th in the final.
More comments and details to follow.
1. Hambuechen
2. Keatings
3. Ryazanov
4. Boy
5. Koczi
6. Pozzo
7. Purvis
8. Shatilov
Full results here
Well Done Fabian for pulling it all together when it counts, shame he won't be in the High Bar final though.
Congratulations to Daniel Keatings 2nd is a very good result fro Great Britain and he was only 0.9 behind so he looks good for the future. A mention of Daniel Purvis who jumped from 12th in qualification to 7th in the final.
More comments and details to follow.
Women's Europeans All Around Results
Summary
1. Semenova
2. Afanaseyeva
3. Kaeslin
4. Izurieta
5. Tamirjan
6. Van Walleghem
7. Petit
8. Brinker
Full results available here
Congratulations to Semenova, by all accounts a solid but not exactly 'inspiring' performance but still good enough. She still had problems with her bars and will need to improve for event finals to beat Beth and others.
Also Congratulations to Afanasyeva the late substitution for finally keeping it together for all 4 pieces and earning the silver medal.
sory to hear of Downie's dissappointment as a 11.700! on beam put her right out but big scores on bars (15.00 & higher than Semenova) and floor (14.050) were still impressive.
Ariella Kaeslin performed solidly as she has done all week and received a well earned bronze in my opinion and I think another medal will be on the way in the Vault final tommorow.
More comments and results to follow but for now you can watch the coverage from British Eurosport on GYMANGELS youtube channel, it is basic but shows all of Semenova's routines as well as some others.
1. Semenova
2. Afanaseyeva
3. Kaeslin
4. Izurieta
5. Tamirjan
6. Van Walleghem
7. Petit
8. Brinker
Full results available here
Congratulations to Semenova, by all accounts a solid but not exactly 'inspiring' performance but still good enough. She still had problems with her bars and will need to improve for event finals to beat Beth and others.
Also Congratulations to Afanasyeva the late substitution for finally keeping it together for all 4 pieces and earning the silver medal.
sory to hear of Downie's dissappointment as a 11.700! on beam put her right out but big scores on bars (15.00 & higher than Semenova) and floor (14.050) were still impressive.
Ariella Kaeslin performed solidly as she has done all week and received a well earned bronze in my opinion and I think another medal will be on the way in the Vault final tommorow.
More comments and results to follow but for now you can watch the coverage from British Eurosport on GYMANGELS youtube channel, it is basic but shows all of Semenova's routines as well as some others.
Friday, 3 April 2009
European Mens' Qualification Results
Full results are not yet up on the official site but they are available on the-all-around blog at the bottom.
Summary
AA
1. Daniel Keatings 89.150 - Well done hope he can win the gold in the final.
2. Fabian Hambuechen 89.050 - he had a fall on his best piece High Bar so unfortunately won't be in the final but hopefully he will hit in the all around.
3. Yuri Ryazanov 88.900
4. Benoit Caranobe 87.775
5. Flavius Koczi 86.950
6. Alexander Shatilov 86.050
7. Jeffrey Wammes 86.025
8. Dimitry Savitski 86.025
FX
1. Lefteris Kosmidis 15.575
2. Alexander Shatilov 15.475
3. Fabian Hambuchen 15.375
4. Matthias Fahrig 15.350
5. Eddie Penev 15.300
6. Anton Golotsutskov 15.250
7. Enrico Pozzo 15.175
8. Oleksandr Yakubovsky 14.950
PH
1. Daniel Keatings 15.500
2. Louis Smith 15.500
3. Daniel Popescu 15.500
4. Kristian Berki 15.475
5. Donna-Donny Truyens 15.225
6. Perevoznikov 15.225
7. Saso Bertoncelj 15.200
8. Alberto Busnari 15.100
SR
1. Matteo Morandi 15.625
2. Yuri Van Gelder 15.425
3. Oleksander Vorobyov 15.425
4. Matteo Angioletti 15.375
5. Konstantin Pluzhnikov 15.150
6. Daniel Rodrigues 15.150
7. Domesthinos Tambakos 15.125
8. Jordan Jovtchev 15.025
VT
1. Dimitri Kaspiarovich 16.312
2. Jeffrey Wammes 16.137
3. Flavius Koczi 16.125
4. Thomas Bouhail 16.075
5. Matthias Fahrig 16.025
6. Daniel Popescu 15.950
7. Marek Lysczarez 15.912
8. Fabian Hambuchen 15.787
PB
1. Mitja Petkovsek 15.750
2. Yann Cucherat 15.700
3. Adam Kierzkowski 15.400
4. Daniel Keatings 15.350
5. Cosmin Popescu 15.150
6. Samuel Piasecky 15.050
7. Nicolas Boeschenstein 15.050
8. Fabian Hambuchen 15.050
HB
1. Igor Cassina 15.800
2. Vlasios Maras 15.625
3. Epke Zonderland 15.600
4. Yann Cucherat 14.925
5. Mykola Kuksenkov 14.850
6. Alexander Tsarevich 14.750
7. Martin Konecny 14.625
8. Jeffrey Wammes 14.600
Well done to the British boys: Daniel Keatings - 1st AA, 1st PH, 3th PB; Louis Smith - 2nd PH, Daniel Purvis - 12AA.
Summary
AA
1. Daniel Keatings 89.150 - Well done hope he can win the gold in the final.
2. Fabian Hambuechen 89.050 - he had a fall on his best piece High Bar so unfortunately won't be in the final but hopefully he will hit in the all around.
3. Yuri Ryazanov 88.900
4. Benoit Caranobe 87.775
5. Flavius Koczi 86.950
6. Alexander Shatilov 86.050
7. Jeffrey Wammes 86.025
8. Dimitry Savitski 86.025
FX
1. Lefteris Kosmidis 15.575
2. Alexander Shatilov 15.475
3. Fabian Hambuchen 15.375
4. Matthias Fahrig 15.350
5. Eddie Penev 15.300
6. Anton Golotsutskov 15.250
7. Enrico Pozzo 15.175
8. Oleksandr Yakubovsky 14.950
PH
1. Daniel Keatings 15.500
2. Louis Smith 15.500
3. Daniel Popescu 15.500
4. Kristian Berki 15.475
5. Donna-Donny Truyens 15.225
6. Perevoznikov 15.225
7. Saso Bertoncelj 15.200
8. Alberto Busnari 15.100
SR
1. Matteo Morandi 15.625
2. Yuri Van Gelder 15.425
3. Oleksander Vorobyov 15.425
4. Matteo Angioletti 15.375
5. Konstantin Pluzhnikov 15.150
6. Daniel Rodrigues 15.150
7. Domesthinos Tambakos 15.125
8. Jordan Jovtchev 15.025
VT
1. Dimitri Kaspiarovich 16.312
2. Jeffrey Wammes 16.137
3. Flavius Koczi 16.125
4. Thomas Bouhail 16.075
5. Matthias Fahrig 16.025
6. Daniel Popescu 15.950
7. Marek Lysczarez 15.912
8. Fabian Hambuchen 15.787
PB
1. Mitja Petkovsek 15.750
2. Yann Cucherat 15.700
3. Adam Kierzkowski 15.400
4. Daniel Keatings 15.350
5. Cosmin Popescu 15.150
6. Samuel Piasecky 15.050
7. Nicolas Boeschenstein 15.050
8. Fabian Hambuchen 15.050
HB
1. Igor Cassina 15.800
2. Vlasios Maras 15.625
3. Epke Zonderland 15.600
4. Yann Cucherat 14.925
5. Mykola Kuksenkov 14.850
6. Alexander Tsarevich 14.750
7. Martin Konecny 14.625
8. Jeffrey Wammes 14.600
Well done to the British boys: Daniel Keatings - 1st AA, 1st PH, 3th PB; Louis Smith - 2nd PH, Daniel Purvis - 12AA.
Europeans Qualification Videos
Some interesting videos from the top qualifiers have been put on youtube on 88YaYa88's channel.
Some of my favourite routines were Demyanchuk on floor I love the routine and the crowd seemed to as well, she just needs to put harder tumbling in. Her beam routine scored higher and she got in a really good rhythm with only minor wobbles, I think she has a chance at a medal maybe only bronze though. Diana Chelaru suprised me with a lot of upgrades from last year and her floor routine is very cute with some powerful tumbling, form just needs a little improving.
Demyanchuk Floor
Chelaru Floor
I have to mention Beth Tweddle's floor routine, the tumbling is very impressive and the leaps are neat but I prefer her routine from last year and I really wish she could dance! Her Bars routine I did really like it is full of difficult skills and combinations and I actually prefer it to Semenova's.
Hannah Whelan's (GBR) new floor is available to watch, an interesting note is that she is using Nastia Liukin's old floor music I think it suits Hannah, she's not quite Nastia but she does look more elegant and mature out there. Take a look for yourself here.
Some of my favourite routines were Demyanchuk on floor I love the routine and the crowd seemed to as well, she just needs to put harder tumbling in. Her beam routine scored higher and she got in a really good rhythm with only minor wobbles, I think she has a chance at a medal maybe only bronze though. Diana Chelaru suprised me with a lot of upgrades from last year and her floor routine is very cute with some powerful tumbling, form just needs a little improving.
Demyanchuk Floor
Chelaru Floor
I have to mention Beth Tweddle's floor routine, the tumbling is very impressive and the leaps are neat but I prefer her routine from last year and I really wish she could dance! Her Bars routine I did really like it is full of difficult skills and combinations and I actually prefer it to Semenova's.
Hannah Whelan's (GBR) new floor is available to watch, an interesting note is that she is using Nastia Liukin's old floor music I think it suits Hannah, she's not quite Nastia but she does look more elegant and mature out there. Take a look for yourself here.
Update on the All Around Final
Krisitna Goryunova will not compete in the final due to ankle injuries so this means ahe will be replaced by Ksenia Afanaseyeva who will get a second chnce to prove she can be consistent. This news cme from Krisitna's official site so i presume it is reliable.
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