Well, that was anticlimactic, wasn't it?
The comeback of 2010 World champion Aliya Mustafina only seven months after surgery to repair a torn ACL stalled in warmups at the Stuttgart World Cup when Mustafina perhaps not suprisingly experienced "knee problems" according to the live ticker.
Oh well, better to have her healthy for London. Wonder when she'll try again?
The other big surprise at this meet was the dominance of the Australian team, which seems on track to better its success from last year, when Lauren Mitchell won three of the four event titles up for grabs. The Aussies were the strongest among the five teams competing, followed by Germany, Russia, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
It sounded a bit underwhelming -- in the three-up, three-count format, Russia counted a zero on bars and still managed third place, while Germany swallowed a 10.65 from Anja Rheinbay on floor. Switzerland, despite having three gymnasts in Stuttgart, competed with only two on every event except beam.
Australia had the top scores on all events. Lauren Mitchell, who withdrew from the all-around competition, nonetheless looked especially sharp on balance beam, where she posted 15.25, the highest score of the meet. Emily Little, the only gymnast in the field to attempt a double-twisting Yurchenko, scored 14.4, the top score on vault.
Bars specialist Larrissa Miller matched Little's score, and Mitchell's "Besame Mucho" floor routine received a healthy 14.5, the top mark on that event.
Complete results from the women's preliminary are below.
Vault:
- 1. Emily Little, AUS, 14.4
- 2. Anja Rheinbay, GER, 13.8
- 2. Yulia Belokobylskaya, RUS, 13.8
- 2. Ayla Wilbrink, NED, 13.8
- 5. Yulia Inshina, RUS, 13.7
- 5. Yvette Moshage, NED, 13.7
- 5. Lisa Katharina Hill, GER, 13.7
- 8. Lauren Mitchell, AUS, 13.6
- 9. Alyona Polyan, RUS, 13.5
- 9. Nikki Cheung, AUS, 13.5
- 11. Jennifer Senn, SUI, 13.2
- 12. Oksana Chusovitina, GER, 13.1
- 13. Nadia Baeriswyl, SUI, 13.05
- 14. Lieke Wevers, NED, 12.95
Uneven bars:
- 1. Larrissa Miller, AUS, 14.4
- 2. Lisa Katharina Hill, GER, 13.65
- 3. Lieke Wevers, NED, 13.5
- 4. Ayla Wilbrink, NED, 13.45
- 5. Nikki Cheung, AUS, 13.4
- 6. Emily Little, AUS, 13.35
- 7. Jessica Diacci, SUI, 12.8
- 8. Yvette Moshage, NED, 12.75
- 8. Anja Rheinbay, GER, 12.75
- 10. Pia Tolle, GER, 12.65
- 11. Yulia Belokobylskaya, RUS, 12.4
- 12. Yulia Inshina, RUS, 11.55
- 13. Nadia Baeriswyl, SUI, 11.8
Balance beam:
- 1. Lauren Mitchell, AUS, 15.25
- 2. Alyona Polyan, RUS, 14.0
- 3. Lieke Wevers, NED, 13.9
- 4. Pia Tolle, GER, 13.5
- 5. Jessica Diacci, SUI, 13.35
- 6. Yulia Belokobylskaya, RUS, 13.15
- 6. Lisa Katharina Hill, GER, 13.15
- 8. Yulia Inshina, RUS, 12.95
- 9. Emily Little, AUS, 12.65
- 10. Nikki Cheung, AUS, 12.45
- 11. Yvette Moshage, NED, 11.6
- 12. Nadia Baeriswyl, SUI, 11.35
- 13. Jennifer Senn, SUI, 11.1
- 14. Anja Rheinbay, GER, 10.65
Floor exercise:
- 1. Lauren Mitchell, AUS, 14.5
- 2. Yulia Belokobylskaya, RUS, 13.8
- 3. Yulia Inshina, RUS, 13.55
- 4. Lisa Katharina Hill, GER, 13.3
- 5. Lieke Wevers, NED, 13.1
- 6. Alyona Polyan, RUS, 12.4
- 6. Anja Rheinbay, GER, 12.4
- 8. Nadia Baeriswyl, SUI, 12.3
- 9. Emily Little, AUS, 12.15
- 9. Ayla Wilbrink, NED, 12.15
- 11. Jennifer Senn, SUI, 12.0
- 11. Pia Tolle, GER, 12.0
- 13. Yvette Moshage, NED, 11.9
- 14. Nikki Cheung, AUS, 11.7
- 15. Ayla Wilbrink, GER, 9.25
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