Pretty good for a team that squaked into this competition by finishing 16th at Worlds, no?
Since the fairly controversial arrival of former French coach Yves Kieffer in Belgium (Aagje Vanwalleghem refused to work with him for months), the Belgian women have nonetheless looked much improved.
Kieffer's work may have come to fruition today, because Belgium is sitting in third place with only Italy, Brazil and Korea still left to compete. Italy looked strong in podium training and since they were ninth in Tokyo, it's generally assumed that they will make it too.
They have a veteran in Aagje Vanwalleghem, who came through today with clutch performances on bars and beam when the team really needed them. Gaelle Mys was their qualifier to the 2008 Olympics.
Julie Croket is a rising star and really plays to the crowd. It's evident how much she wants it. Johanna DeJardin is a rising star on beam. Terry Grand'ry is full of power.
They also have a very interesting junior in Bérangère Fransolet, who is a name to watch. Not to mention that the 2012 Europeans and the 2013 Worlds in their backyard. Belgium is a team on the rise, whether they qualify for the Olympics here or not.
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France had a good competition, and youngster Anne Kuhm a great one. Kuhm ascended steadily through the French junior ranks, but she looks to have surpassed herself here.
In addition to Kuhm, who is really one of the stories of this meet, France was bolstered by confident performances from veterans Youna Dufournet (hit bars set!) and Marine Brevet, who was just a pro on all events. Youngsters Sophia Serseri, Camille Coudret and Clara Della Vedova are coming along quite nicely too.
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I had great expectations for Spain going into this competition, but they did not perform as well as they could have. Falls on bars and beam, normally the team's best events, has left their Olympic qualification very much in doubt. They need Italy to fall apart in the next round, and hope for no late surges by Brazil and Korea.
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All this does mean that the Netherlands, currently fifth, will not send a team back to London for the Olympics. It also means that Canada will.
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Moments are what make meets special, and Slovakia's Maria Homolova had hers on floor, when her music cut out in the middle of her routine. Homolova, who at 24 is a total pro, kept going unfazed (partially maybe because the same thing happened to her in podium training.) The crowd admired the chutpah and gave her a wonderful ovation. She responded with a big smile and a cheerful wave as she left the podium.
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Ukraine was disappointing at this meet, as they have been for the past few years. Many were hoping that Mariya Livchikova, injured during the training at Worlds, would reappear with her lovely floor routine, but it hasn't happened. Instead we had the obviously injured Angelina Kysla, competing bravely, and Natalia Kononenko, who made her awesome bar routine and got through her difficulty on beam only to fall on a full turn.
Kononenko is currently 18th in the all-around, nursing hope of individual qualification.
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Australia's Emily Little and Georgia Simpson, two gymnasts from Western Australia with completely different styles, were both impressive here.
Simpson, who missed most of last season with a knee injury, fell on her beam dismount but looks like an Olympic contender to me. Little looked fit and strong on all events, especially floor, where she debuted a new routine (more "international class," she said) and nailed her tumbling.
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