Annnnnnnnd the results! Here are the qualifiers on all events for tomorrow's event finals:
Women's vault qualifiers:
- 1. Tatiana Nabieva
- 2. Aliya Mustafina
- 3. Diana Chelaru
- 4. Jennifer Khwela
Women's bars qualifiers:
- 1. Aliya Mustafina
- 2. Huang Qiushuang
- 3. Elisabeth Seitz
- 4. Tatiana Nabieva
Women's beam qualifiers:
- 1. Aliya Mustafina
- 2. Ana Porgras
- 3. Anna Dementyeva
- 4. Lauren Mitchell
Women's floor qualifiers:
- 1. Sandra Izbasa
- 2. Diana Chelaru
- 3. Vanessa Ferrari
- 4. Anna Dementyeva
Men's floor finals qualifiers:
- 1. Tomas Gonzalez
- 2. Gael da Silva
- 3. Thomas Bouhail
- 4. Flavius Koczi
Men's pommel horse qualifiers:
- 1. Prashanth Sellathurai
- 2. Louis Smith
- 3. Saso Bertonclej
- 4. Cyril Tommasone
Men's rings qualifiers:
- 1. Chen Yibing
- 2. Koji Yamamuro
- 3. Konstantin Pluzhnikov
- 4. Alexander Balandin
Men's vault qualifiers:
- 1. Dmitri Kaspiarovich
- 2. Tomas Gonzalez
- 3. Theo Seager
- 4. Luis Rivera
Men's parallel bars qualifiers:
- 1. Feng Zhe
- 2. Mitja Petkovsek
- 3. Epke Zonderland
- 4. Roman Kulesza
Men's high bar qualifiers:
- 1. Danell Leyva
- 2. Epke Zonderland
- 3. Marijo Moznik
- 4. Jeffrey Wammes.
Subdivision five: Men's high bar, women's floor:
Marco Baldauf, HB: Tak full to Yamawaki (how original).Tkatchev half, catches with bent arms. Inbar stalders. Misses badly on his full twisting double layout, has to tuck down and still basically lands on his head. It appears that he got lost in the air on the dismount.
Sui Lu, FX: "Scent of a woman," Whip to triple full, landed chest a bit low, no stag jump out of it. 2.5 to front layout, good. Good double turn with leg up. Really putting effort and feeling inot her dance. 1.5 to front layout full, lands basically on her bottom, her very strong quads save her from completely sitting down. Switch ring, switch side half? Memmel turn. Double pike to end, good ending. Still, if everyone else hits, there are enough deductions there, basically from that third pass, to keep her out of finals.
Danell Leyva, HB: Tak full to Yamawaki, layout Kovacs impresses the crowd, Liukin does too. Tak half to layout Tkatchev to hop 1.5. INbar stalder Rybalko. Stuck double twisting double layout electrifies this crowd! Yin Alvarez jumps two feet in the air and goes nuts, and the French announcer says, "Danell Leyva...and his father!"
Tina Erceg, FX: Double tuck. 1.5 to front layout full. 2.5 twist. Switch ring, switch half, Shushunova. And her leotard....I simply can't describe it....you have to see it for yourself. Double pike. Think of a six-year-old's party dress, or dressing up as Snow White...and apply it to a leotard. And that's what she's wearing. Photos later!!! Erceg obviously doesn't take herself too seriously -- her floor music is splashy and fun, as is her choreography. And her fashion choices are always thought-provoking.
Epke Zonderland, HB: Deep in conversation with his coach before this event...Cassina...Kolman...stalder 1.5 but legs come apart and it's a bit messy. Tak to Yamawaki, hop 1.5, hop full, double double basically stuck (he actually moved one foot, but it looked like he was putting them together). A very exciting though not the cleanest routine he's done.
Diana Chelaru, FX: Full in tucked. Whip triple full step back. "Hungarian Rhapsody" has everyone clapping along. Switch, Tourjete half? Double tuck to single stag jump, very pluckish to add that in, suits the style of the routine perfectly. Switch side half. Double pike. With it's girlish choreo, we can argue whether it's appropriate for her or too young, but there is no doubt that it amuses the crowd, and Diana, in her white leotard with the rainbow band across the shoulders and chest, looks the part.
Mykola Kuksenkov, HB: Overbalances the Tak half and has to do a front giant out of it. He gets his Kovacs out of the way and then does a ton of inbar and stalder work, and ends with a full twisting double layout.
Marine Brevet, FX: She really launched her career at this meet last year, winning bronze on floor, but with a much easier routine. Arabian double front, very high...her foot slips on the landing on floor, but she saves it with just a little slide...1.5 to double tuck, OOB on her step back. Switch ring, Tourjete half. She tried the full in pike third pass and had to put her hands down. Just doesn't have the juice to do it at the moment. Hands down again on underrotated double pike.
Fabian Leimlehner, HB: Tak half to tucked Kovacs...misses the bar and rolls out of it. Underrotates his dismount and basically lands on his hands and knees as well.
Marta Pihan-Kulesza, FX: Front layout full twist stepout to roundoff, Arabian double front! 2.5 twist, stuck. Love the music and choreo on this routine, which is to a different cut of the same music Alicia Sacramone and Aly Raisman use. Fell out of her triple turn a bit, unfortunately. Front double full to end.
Roman Kulesza, HB: And the announcement that Roman is her husband makes the crowd go "ooh." Wow -- He did a Tkatchev half and missed the bar with one arm, but hung on with the other and improvised a bit of a pirouette out of it. It would be cool if it weren't a mistake. Tkatchev. Then comes off on something else and puts his hands down on his double double layout dismount. Marta claps anyway.
Wu Liufang, FX: I have to confess here that I do not understand why the Chinese are bothering to compete Wu Liufang on floor. Her tumbling isn't hard enough to get her into the final or to get her on a Chinese floor squad for a major team meet, and she risks being injured. IMO. That being said, she has the same lovely presentation on this event that she does on bars and beam, where she's most valuable. Double tuck, step back. 1.5 to front pike/layout with a hop forward. Switch half. Wonderful triple turn! 2.5 twist, not quite around (she's a little slow after the set). Switch, switch ring. Double pike, not enough height/endurance and puts her hands down. The kind of music that sounds nice but you can do whatever choreography you want to it so long as you wave your arms a bit.
Marijo Moznik, HB: Tak half (legs apart) to Tkatchev half. Tkatchev layout (again, legs) to immediate hop 1.5. Stalder. Full twisting double layout, tucked at the end to get it around but stuck all the same.
Sandra Izbasa, FX: Double turn with leg up. Castanets before Tango music starts. Full in tucked with a step back. Triple full to single stag jump, very nice. Tourjete full, very good. Long pause in the corner before her 1.5 to Rudi to little beat jump in the air as she rebounds out. Switch ring, switch half. Again, a fairly long pause, but terrific easy looking 2.5 to front tuck full to end the routine! Wonderful job!
Zhang Chenglong, HB: Falls out of Tak half in a very flukey way. Layout Tkatchev to hope 1.5. Lots of stalderwork, inbar stuff, and a layout Jaeger. Piked down his double double layout in the air, making a modification that allowed him to get it around with a decent landing. Not the routine of a world champion, alas.
Lauren Mitchell, FX: Whip to Arabian double front, not enough rotation and really, really fights not to sit down, taking a major deduction while doing so, but she does stay on her feet. Save of the day! Full in pike, step forward. Sit spin. 2.5 to front layout. Switch ring to Tourjete full. Nice double pike to end. Well, she really went for hard things, realizing that she needs to try that whip Arabian double out on the podium...
Enrico Pozzo, HB: Break on a simple hop full. Strange catch on his Yamawaki caused him all sorts of problems, and I can't quite figure out if he meant to catch it like that or not -- it was like he did a Yamawaki and added a half twist...rough routine for Pozzo.
Jessica Lopez, FX: Pounding beat turns into energetic music. Quad turn right off the bat! Whip to triple full, very good. Double pike, bounces back. Really putting everything she has into this -- she really wants a final. Switch ring to switch half. Double full. Really nice choreo in this new routine for her -- it really looks original. 2.5 twist with step forward to end.
Samuel Piasecky, HB: An interesting routine with some interesting combinations, including a Tak full that I think he improvised out of (he ended up going backwards). Unfortunately I was watching elsewhere and can't describe much further.
Fiona Novak, FX: Double tuck, steps back. Double turn. Double pike. Tourjete half. Switch ring, switch half. Front handspring, front layout, front tuck. Hasn't quite learned to present herself the way Izbasa and Lopez have, but then again, she doesn't have the experience they do. Double full to end.
Jeffrey Wammes, HB: Tkatchev half, Tak full to Yamawaki, double double layout landed a bit funny, with a step back.
Vanessa Ferrari, FX: Tango! Same routine as 2010, which suits her wonderfully. Full in tucked, stuck cold. 1.5 to front full layout, very good. Tourjete full. Double tuck, small step back. Switch ring, switch half. Stuck double pike! In my eyes, at least, that should be enough to get into the final.
Feng Zhe, HB: Tak half to layout Tkatchev, Tak full to Yamawaki were the highlights of this routine. Went for a double double layout, landed short and put his hands down.
Anna Dementyeva, FX: Anna presents, then hesitates before going onto the mat, looking quizzically at the judges. Tourjete half to the corner. Full in pike, step back. Performing with a smile. Two whips to triple full, too much energy and goes OOB. Switch ring, Tourjete full. The music is extremely "Ballets Russes" and her choreo is lovely -- somehow the 1:30 is enough to show four tough tumbling passes as well as her wonderful presentation. 2.5 to front layout half. Double pike, steps back on the landing, but it's a lovely piece from a lovely gymnast. But will it be enough, because of that second pass, that we see it again tomorrow?
Subdivision four: Men's parallel bars, women's beam:
Fabian Leimlehner, PB: Peach to double tuck. Stutz, over to one rail. Double pike, nearly stuck. Tuba music played through this routine.
Marine Petit, BB: Jump to scale. Front aerial. Back tuck. Full turn with leg up. Bhs, layout. Side aerial, pause. Side somie. Switch half, wolf. 2.5 twist with a step to the side. A fine if unexceptional routine.
Epke Zonderland, PB: Both of Zonderland's shoulders are heavily taped with skin colored tape...makes a person look banged up. Half turn to peach to Belle. Pirouetting element that went over to one bar, and he turned an extra full pirouette and saved the skill even though he had to kip off and press back to a handstand. He made it look pretty smooth, though! Double pike with a small hop.
Wu Liufang, BB: Wu is in the hot pink shouldered number the Chinese wore in Rotterdam. It is just as pink in person as on TV, let me tell you. Wolf, Teza split with her head back. Fall on roundoff, layout to two feet right off the bat! Front aerial, bhs, layout. Full turn. Switch, back pike. Side aerial, a little check. Double pike with a small hop. Too bad, too bad, too bad.
Wang Guanyin, PB: The usual stunning stuff from a Chinese parallel bar worker -- double pike between the rails, front straddle somie and a stuck double pike dismount. But it also appears he may have sat on the rails a little after a Belle....we'll see what the judges do with this score...
Anna Dementyeva, BB: The photographers are all placed and ready for this. They know a photogenic gymnast when they see one. Roll on mount. Illusion, good. Switch ring, has to fight to stay on. It didn't look like she was all that off, but hey...Onodi to sheep, nice. Front aerial, switch, a little choppy. Great roundoff, layout to two feet. Jumps. Side aerial. Roundoff, bhs, triple full! Really 2 7/8 around, but not bad. Took a step on the landing, but much better than in podium training.
The French have just announced that so far there are three French people in event finals. Certainly they would like more...
Alexander Tsarevich, PB: Cool move where he goes into an English handstand (handstand on one rail)...double tuck. Takes a small walk on his hands just before sticking his double pike dismount. Hm.
Vasiliki Millousi, BB: Roundoff, layout step out mount. She's one of the few gymnasts to take such a risk right off the bat. Little bend in the hips and will take a deduction, but stays on. Front aerial, bhs, layout, same thing. Sheep. Wobble. Switch, back tuck. Side somie. She appears to have calmed down somewhat...Switch ring, again a little check. Just a little uncertain of herself on her bigger skills...very nice roundoff, double pike however, very nearly stuck.
Hamilton Sabot, PB: More facial hair. But in the French way. Hit routine, with step on the double pike dismount. Very nice swing, too.
Aliya Mustafina, BB: Double turn to full turn, excellent. Arabian front, leg comes up a little but she controlled it. Switch half, back tuck, step back but again controlled. Switch ring, good. Front aerial, Onodi, side aerial well connected. Takes a pause and then does jumps. Bhs, bhs, triple full. "Magnifique!" exclaims the woman next to me. Well, it was good. Her dismount isn't all the way around and her legs on her twist are as usual less than awesome, but she hit more or less, and that's what counts. Also, it's an improvment from the American Cup.
Yann Cucherat, PB: The former European Champion on this event, the "Papa" of French gymnastics, Yann takes a long moment to concentrate before mounting. His routine is aggressive, but he has to stop after his front straddle somie. Then he sits down the double pike (overrotated). Oh dear...he nods to the crowd and looks ashamed of himself.
Hannah Whelan, BB: Jump to scale. Frotn aerial, pause, sheep. Switch, Onodi, nice. Full turn, little wobble. Side aerial, back layout, leg comes up a little and a little wobble but not too serious...Switch ring. 2.5 with a small hop.
Samuel Piasecky, PB: Yet another man who is not clean-shaven...overbalances a peach full a little. English handstand to two inside Diamadovs, takes an intermediate swing. Goes off onto one rail, tries to straddle up and looks OK, but just opts to jump off..
Ana Porgras, BB: Roll on mount, Front aerial, one armed bhs, layout, solid. Switch ring, one leg comes way up on landing but she saved it. Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet, a little check. Side aerial. Side somie. Switch, back tuck, shouldn't get combo credit. Sheep. Quick little full turn. Jumps. Bhs, bhs, double pike, one step back. Hm. Well, it was all right. She was also a little flat on uneven bars, where her coach may have touched her right as she went for her double layout dismount (Romania has so little depth that they are bound to be a bit overprotective of their greatest treasures at this point.)
Adam Kierzkowski, PB: Falls, but I didn't see on what.
Yana Demyunchuk, BB: Roll on mount. Roundoff, layout to two feet, looked very easy. Tourjete half. So far, so good. Switch half. Lovely movment and choreo. Side aerial. Front aerial, switch, back tuck. Tiniest of wobbles. Full turn with leg up. Pauses. Side somie and falls. Sigh. Double pike with a small hop. Same old, same old, unfortunately.
Mitja Petkovsek, PB: Wonderful aired out front straddle somie and Belle from the former World champion on this event. Double pike to a good landing, teeny little hop, but he's happy -- pumps his fists and looks very satisfied. That's a routine that should make finals, I think.
Jessica Lopez, BB: Roll on mount. Comes off on bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet. Looked like she might have saved it, but I think, having watched her train it, she's still not comfortable with this pass yet. Front aerial, bhs, layout. Side somie. Switch. Side aerial. 2.5 twist with a small hop forward.
Vasileios Tsolakidis, PB: Yet another gymnast with a beard. Didn't see it as Lopez was concurrently performing. But he did have some troubles on his double pike dismount -- took a few steps back.
Fiona Novak, BB: Squat through mount. Side aerial, step side aerial combo, well done. Switch, back tuck, was lucky to get one foot on the beam she was that off on the back tuck. So she falls. Jumps. Front aerial. Side somie. Full turn. Side somie with legs straight, has to fight for it but saves it. Double full, smallest of hops.
Roman Kulesza, PB: Peach, Diamadov, a bit of trouble mid-routine with some leg bending. Inside Diamadov, stuck double pike. Legs were apart, but he did stick it.
Deng Linlin, BB: Perhaps the most anticipated beam routine of the afternoon...jump to scale. Punch front, tiny check. Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout, shuffles a little and does not throw the Korbut. Front aerial, back tuck, a little wobble. Switch ring, same thing. Side somie, does it well. Jumps. Switch, back dive (crowd gasps). Bhs, bhs, double pike, chest a little low but just a small step to the side. So her plan is to make finals...and then we'll see. She needs better than 13.833 to do so with two left to go...
Feng Zhe, PB: The compact Feng, a man with the bodyline of Li Xuejiu, nonetheless swings with a grace that belies his figure. No wonder he's the current World champion. And he has every trick in the book, of course. The only thing that's wrong is the big hop he took on
Lauren Mitchell, BB: The trademark chest roll half turn mount draws gasps...Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet, looked for a moment like she would fall but she saved it with a fairly minimal deduction. Mitchell amazes the crowd with her double turn in sit position, as well as with the switch half, back tuck combo, well done. Front aerial, bend at the waist, pause, switch, front tuck. Switch ring. Bhs, bhs, double pike. She landed that with her chest very low, practically in a crouch. During podium training she did one to her head that did not look fun at all. This one was around, but barely.
Luisa Galiulina, BB: The last competitor to go on beam...Swing through mount. Double turn in sit position, very professionally done. Front pike, good. Front tuck, bhs, layout. Switch, leg comes up. Switch half. To get through all that difficulty and have trouble with the leaps. Very nearly comes off on her front aerial. Side somie. Double tuck dismount with a step.
4:16 p.m.: There is a 15-20 minute break between this first half of qualifications and the second half, which is scheduled to begin at 4:35 p.m.
So, to review:
Men's floor finals qualifiers: 1. Tomas Gonzalez, 2. Gael da Silva, 3. Thomas Bouhail, 4. Flavius Koczi.
Men's pommel horse qualifiers: 1. Prashanth Sellathurai, 2. Louis Smith, 3. Saso Bertonclej, 4. Cyril Tommasone.
Men's rings qualifiers: 1. Chen Yibing, 2. Koji Yamamuro, 3. Konstantin Pluzhnikov, 4. Alexander Balandin.
Men's vault qualifiers: 1. Dmitri Kaspiarovich, 2. Tomas Gonzalez, 3. Theo Seager, 4. Luis Rivera.
Women's vault qualifiers: 1. Tatiana Nabieva, 2. Aliya Mustafina, 3. Diana Chelaru, 4. Jennifer Khwela.
Women's bars qualifiers: 1. Aliya Mustafina, 2. Huang Qiushuang, 3. Elisabeth Seitz, 4. Tatiana Nabieva.
I just realized -- He Kexin didn't perform on bars. She did fine yesterday in podium training. Maybe she's sick? Maybe she was injured in the training gym? Let the speculation begin!
Subdivision three: Men's vault, women's uneven bars:
Marek Lyszczarz, VT: Handspring double front, overrotates it to his hands. Too bad. Tsuk double. 15.299.
Lauren Mitchell, UB: Hecht mount, toe stalder 1.5 to Jaeger. Toe full to bail to Ray. Overbalances toe stalder and falls off. Well, it was much better than in training until then. Toe blind to double front, pulled in a little and was very close to hitting the high bar on the dismount. Closer than you want, really. 12.966.
Jeffrey Wammes, VT: Ooh...half on, front layout double twist off. Very well done, just a little step to the side. Jeffrey's best quality is his very clean gymnastics -- he has good lines and isn't bendy or crunchy in his leg form. That's why he's in so many World, European and World Cup finals. Second vault: Went for a Tsuk 2.5 and fell. 15.283.
Vasiliki Millousi, UB: Millousi, wearing a black leotard with blue sleeves that we've seen before, mounts with a hecht to high bar to blind to front giant to Rybalkit to standers (front) to Jaeger. Has to improvise a little before her clear hip hecht to high -- she kips on low bar, which we never see anymore -- but recovers well. Double pike, small hop. Bet she's a bit relieved. 13.7.
Thomas Bouhail, VT: Tsuk double pike, takes two big steps back but doesn't sit down...Dragulescu, does not make it to his feet. Waves to the crowd. Gets off the podium, but looks like he might be injured -- that's a hard landing to almost make. Maybe an ankle? He's walking again, but being very ginger with his left leg...15.049.
Tatiana Nabieva, UB: Jump to high, the Nabieva -- nice -- doesn't connect to Pak to toe stalder to toe Khorkina II, toe blind to Jaeger and then overbalances a handstand and has to do a half turn and kip off! Whoops. Completes the routine without major error, though like Mitchell she pulls in a little on her dismount and it's closer to the bar than you want. 14.833. Note: Nabieva was far cleaner in this routine than she was in practice.
Flavius Koczi, VT: I missed his first vault (sorry). Second: Ugly handspring front double full, with legs so bent it is practically a tucked double full. He didn't get the block he needed either and bent his legs more than usual to get it around. 15.6.
Jessica Lopez, UB: Hecht to high, blind to full turn to Jaeger, nice, overbalances clear hip and comes off on the Tkatchev she tries to connect it with. Full turn to half turn to Geinger, bail to toe hecht to high, blind to double front with a step back. So no layout Jaeger -- she went back to her old routine after the fall. 12.366.
Anton Golotsutskov, VT: HUGE Dragulescu done with the twist in the second somersault. Stumbles off the mat but keeps it to his feet. Tsuk double pike second vault -- again, a large step back, but those are some mighty big start values he has...15.417.
Aliya Mustafina, UB: Staldfer full to toe Khorkina II, inbar blind to pike Jaeger, inbar full to Tkatchevb to Park to stalder half to toe shoot to high, toe full to 1.5 twisting tuck with great landing, tiny hop. Basically a carbon copy of what she did at the American Cup. Lovely work. Lovely. 15.833.
Dzmitry Kaspiarovich, VT: Terrific high Dragulescu with a shoulder-length step back. Best landing we've seen on a really tough vault so far from this guy from Belarus. Second vault: Tsuk double pike, again a very good landing considering the difficulty of the vault. Shoulder length step forward. 16.1.
Huang Quishuang, UB: Hecht mount, blind to front stalder to Ono, to Rykbalko, pirouette to pike Jaeger. Pak...toe hecht to high. Rybalko to half turn to giants to stuck double layout. Excellent routine for Huang! 15.466.
Yevgeni Sapronenko, VT: Did he scratch? He must have, because he didn't vault...he did scratch.
Yang Hak Seon, VT: Did a handspring front and got lost in the air, Feet hit the ground and he rolled out immediately. He's OK, but kind of snapped his head back on the roll. Holding his head, the back of it, with his hand, maybe feeling a little whiplash or so. But does his second vault: A handspring front 2.5. Wow. 14.033.
Ivana Kamnikar, UB: Didn't really see the routine, but she hit. Not a lot of difficulty, however. 12.9.
Tomas Gonzalez, VT: Big big Tsuk double pike. Takes a step back, bigger than Kaspiarovich's, but still really good. Very nice Yurchenko 2.5 second vault as well! Just a hop forward, really. That should get him into the final. 16.033.
Elisabeth Seitz, UB: Maloney to stalderh half, giant to Def, huge Church with lots of air, Jaeger, full to bail to Ray, toe full to full in tucked, small step but a good routine! 14.866.
Theo Seager, VT: WOW! Dragulescu with the best landing yet, just a small hop! He struggled a bit to get a handspring double front to his feet yesterday, but obviously he was saving it for the competition. Sheesh! That was terrific. Second vault: Tsuk double pike, again a good landing, though there was a step. Great stuff from the Great Brit! 15.917.
Ana Porgras, UB: Toe stalder full to toe stalder to toe hecht to high. Blind to full to pike Jaeger, half turn to to blind to front inverted giant to Ono to straddle Jaeger, stalder full to bail to Ray. Giants to double layout, small step. 13.866.
Andriy Isayev, VT: Sits down handspring double front. Second vault: Tsuk double back, this one also slightly underrotated, has to put his hands down. 14.567.
Jana Sikulova, UB: Sikulova is so tall that she has to go at the end of the lineup so they can raise the bar height for her and not have to lower it again. It was the same thing in podium training -- she went at the very end, after everyone else, and after officials raised the bar. Jump to high..Tkatchev..Geinger. Lovely bail to Ray, blind to double front with a step back. 13.333.
Luis Rivera, VT: Tsuk 2.5, a little wild on the landing and a decent step forward and to the side, but pretty good otherwise. Second vault: Handspring Rudi, same thing on the landing. The second vault's start value is probably enough to keep him out of the final. 15.6.
Unofficial vault event finals qualifiers for women: 1. Nabieva 2. Mustafina 3. Chelaru 4. Khwela!
Subdivision two: Men's pommel horse, women's vault:
Dmitrijs Trefilovs, PH: No break between rotations here...a few awkward moments, a little bit of form, but he doesn't come off. Very weak dismount, however. 13.766.
Ariella Kaeslin, VT: Rudi to her face. Did not get the block she needed, and was nowhere close to landing that. Yowtch. Ariella is OK, gets right up, but boy...yikes. In podium training, she did neither of her vaults, just a simple FTY and a few handspring front tuck halves. She was very good with the Rudi at the American Cup two weeks ago, however...the look on her face is somehwere between scared and angry. She may be holding back tears...second vault: FTY with steps back. Audience applauds. 6.733 because she was given a zero for her first vault since she did not land on her feet.
Louis Smith, PH: Louis Smith, sitting on the steps of the podium by pommel horse, gets up like a kid called on to make a presentation in class and goes onto the podium. Nice hit routine with long, slow, dismount. Kaeslin still hasn't done her second vault, though she's waiting...long, long wait for her. 15.566.
Tatiana Nabieva, VT: DTY with a step back. Smart decision not to do the Amanar. Piked Podkopayeva second vault, very nice, small step. A drama free rotation from Nabieva. 14.483.
Guo Weiyang, PH: Weak scissor to handstand to begin (not quite in handstand, you see). Hit routine I think, though I missed the last bit of it. 15.166.
Angel Wong, VT: Handspring front pike with a small step. Did I miss her second vault? No, she didn't vault a second time. 6.667 is her score because they cut the 13.233 she received for her first vault in half.
Alberto Busnari, PH: He got up on the podium and adjusted one of the pommels a bit, wiped the horse, got back down, is now back up and waiting for the judges...a very engaging routine featuring a sequence where he does handstand pirouettes across the horse and flairs back down. Very long and difficult. Very well done. He doesn't point his toes too well, and I guess you can take a few things here and there if you're a judge, but I really like him and feel he's underrated on this event. 15.1.
This just in: Qualifiers on first two events: Men's floor: Gonzalez, Da Silva, Bouhail, Koczi. Still rings: Chen, Yamamuro, Pluzhnikov, Balandin.
Paula Plichta, VT: Handspring front pike half, huge step back. Better than in podium training though. Second vault: Tsuk full, barely makes it to her feet. 13.1.
Filip Ude, PH: Had a nice routine going and then came off after getting his shoulders unsquare on a circle. Too bad -- he's great on this event, stylish and doesn't take many form breaks. Unlike someone like Busnari, however, he's more of a circler than a flairer. 12.566.
Jennifer Khwela, VT: Yurchenko 1.5, step forward. Very nice kick out of her handspring front pike half. 13.733.
Donna Donny Truyens, PH: Misses his hand on a swing to handstand early on, and comes off later. 12.633.
Diana Chelaru, VT: DTY with legs way apart coming off the horse, but fine form otherwise. Small bounce upwards on landing. Second vault: Handspring front pike, too much energy and takes two big steps foward. I kind of wonder if her board was set correctly on that -- she really had to stretch to make the horse...13.9.
Prashanth Sellathurai, PH: Wonderful expert work from Sellathurai here. Moved well through the routine, no breaks, very little to give away in form. He's not the most elegant on this event, but he is very efficient. 16.0.
Aliya Mustafina, VT: DTY, stuck but landed legs a little apart. Oh well. Second vault is a piked Omelianchik. Interesting. 14.433.
Pierre-Yves Beny, PH: Eye catching start with flairs, very good...stylish work and good form too! Great routine. 14.866.
Tijana Tkalcec, VT: Handspring front pike half, some small steps at the end. Second vault: FTY, a little sloppy, with a step. 13.333.
Robert Seligman, PH: Off on a circle. Too bad! 14.033.
Imogen Cairns, VT: Yurchenko 1.5, very well landed! Tiniest hop ever on landing, but athletic and extremely well done. Second vault was a tucked Omelianchik that was piked at the top but Imogen had to tuck down to get around. She does, but will take a deduction for the deep squat on landing. 13.383.
Cyril Tommasone, PH: The pride of French pommel right here...a terrific, calm, clean, difficult routine. He delivers! The Frenchman pumps his fists and acknowledges the crowd. 15.266.
Jo Huynjoo, VT: Layout Podkopayeva, decent landing and position in the air. I'm more wondering what she's going to do for her second vault after landing that DTY short in warmups, however...second vault: DTY but did not have the rotation. Did a 1 3/4 and put her hands down. A bit scary -- she's going to get injured if she keeps doing it like that. 13.5.
Alexander Shatilov, PH: His long bodyline looks good on pommel horse, and he's fairly good here, despite being more known as a power guy. He takes enough deductions, however, that this should keep him out of the four-man final. 14.466.
Saso Bertoncelj, PH: If I'm not mistaken, he was last year's pommel horse champion here at Bercy...very very good routine, lovely work, almost languid handstand pirouette dismount, like he was milking it. That should get into the final. 15.333.
Subdivision one: Men's floor and still rings
Notes: Thirty six nations are participating at this event. The lights have gone down and the presentation of flags has begun! France is always annouced last, and their flagbearer tends to be the most jaunty as she runs across the floor. The crowd goes wild! We'll be getting started very shortly...
Jeffrey Wammes, FX: Arabian double pike to half assed scissone. Front double full to front layout full, small hop. Layout Thomas. Splits (crowd gasps -- that looks like it hurts!) Whip to tucked Thomas. 2.5 to front half, almost OOB. Triple full, big step forward. 14.33.
Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues, SR: Big applause for the Frenchman, the first to perform today...Rodrigues has been injured much of the past year, I believe, but he's one of the country's best on rings...decent positions, perhaps not the most spectacular difficulty...nice control to giant. Double layout with a small hop to the side. He waves to the crowd. 15.366.
Ali Al Asi, SR: Soft, dramatic music for Ali as he performs...Inverted cross, pull to Maltese. Iron cross. Double pike front to planche. Little difficulty with his last handstand, looked a little tired. Full twisting double layout, small hop. Nice routine. 15.3.
Kas van Weelden, FX: He's a tall, lanky Dutchman. Running Randi side pass. Front double full to front layout half, little sloppy legs on last flip and OOB. 2.5 to front tuck full. Running double front gets applause. 1.5 to Rudi. Attempted a whip triple to end, only made 2.5 twists, and some legs in the air. 13.166.
Eleftherios Petrounias, SR: Very nice inverted cross. Good positions. Looks very strong and in control in this routine, though there are more muscularl ringmen. Full twisting double layout, teeny hop. Very nice routine, but I can't calculate the SV. 15.4.
Daniel Purvis, FX: Purvis has like a two days growth goatee happening. Makes him look like an adult (not that he looks like a kid otherwise...) Anyways, Araban doub le pike, very nice. 1.5 to front double full, excellent. 2.5 to front half, lacked a little amplitude but OK. Whip to tucked Thomas. Press handstand planche. Deep breath. Layout Thomas -- love how his legs are straight coming out of the roll. And then hand down on underrotated Arabian double front to end! Arrgh. He had a great routine until then. Crowd groans sympathetically, as do I. 14.333.
Irodotos Georgallas, SR: Double layout with a couple little steps to end for the guy from Cyprus. Not a routine that will keep him in the top four, I don't think. 14.5.
Gael da Silva, FX: Huge ovation for him from the home crowd. Front double full to Rudi, stuck. Whip to layout Thomas. Nice. 2.5 to front tuck full, stuck. Tucked Thomas, great control. Circle to Russians. This is a very strong routine so far...Full in tucked, just a small little hop. Excellent routine! 15.3.
Alexandr Balandin, SR: Very smooth forward swinging skills to begin -- double front pike, double front tuck. Planche. Front double pike with a fairly big hop. 15.433.
Enrico Pozzo, FX: Bouhail was supposed to be in his place, hm. Whip to tucked Thomas. 1.5 to front full layout to Rudi. Lacks amplitude. Unique skill to the corner like a hanspring front roll all in one. Double full, looks like he's getting a little tired. Flairs sequence. 2.5 twist.
Chen Chi Hu, SR: Very impressive positions from Chen! Amazing inverted cross. But then has to bail and grab the straps of the rings with his legs, like you see in practice. Whoops. Double layout, big step forward. 13.566.
Thomas Bouhail, FX: Lots of cheers for the World vault champ, who is also very strong here. Front double full to front layout half. Easy looking double double tuck. Whip to tucked Thomas, OOB. Oops. 1.5 to front tuck full. Layout Thomas. Flairs to the Alexei Nemov breakdance move on the elbows. Crowd thinks that's a mistake and he just got tired and went onto his elbows -- sounds of disappointment. 2.5 twist to end. Less strong than I would have thought, frankly, but not horrible or anything. 15.066.
Konstantin Pluzhnikov, SR: Very good routine. Full twisting double layout to end. Nice for this strong young Russian. 15.466 best so far.
Alexander Shatilov, FX: A year ago, at this meet, in this arena, Shatilov tore his meniscus on this event. I wonder how he feels about being back here in the same position? He certainly has made a remarkable recovery. 1.5 to front 1 3/4 roll out. Double double tucked, great. 1.5 to front half, and I thought he was going to blow his knee again, he landed so awkwardly but stayed on his feet...hmm. Tucked Thomas. Full in tucked to end, OOB. He's also sporting a bit of facial hair these days...a new trend in men's gymnastics? Well, it was an OK routine, though he looked tired and a little sloppy in places. I don't know if that will make finals. 14.866.
Matteo Morandi, SR: The latest Italian strongman looks very strong indeed. Dismount was full twisting double layout, bit of a shuffle on landing, however. Definitely the weakest part of the routine...15.433.
Flavius Koczi, FX: Front layout full to front 1 3/4 roll. Something twisting second pass...3.5? Whip to tucked Thomas, a little sloppy on the roll out. Strength move where his legs go into his face. 3.5 to front layout half. Press to planche handstand. Chest low on triple full to end. Lots of difficulty, lots of form deductions. 15.066.
Chen Yibing, SR: A guitar piece plays while Chen performs, and to me it seems as though he is performing to the music. A wonderful routine, as always, with a stuck full twisting double layout. Chen does not smile, but just looks satisfied. 15.8.
Tomislav Markovic, FX: Lovely front double full to Rudi. Layout Thomas. Nice athletic style. Randi? 2.5 to fron ttuck full, lands with one foot OOB. Too bad. Press to planche handstand. Little hitchkick to the corner. Launches a roundoff, triple full, small hop forward. Looks disappointed. 14.2.
Koji Yamamuro, SR: The lone competitor from Japan here gets a nice ovation...strong routine with a stuck full twisting double layout dismount from Japan's resident strongman. A lot of fight and a lot of pride on his face during that exercise. 15.633 good for second right now.
Sakari Vekki, FX: Long wait on the podium for him...Layout Thomas. 1.5 to front double, small hop. Press to handstand forward roll feels a bit like filler. Whip to tucked Thomas. 2.5 to frotn tuck full. Rudi. Triple full, step forward, remarkable he got that around (arms bent on roundoff). 14.566.
Ivan San Miguel, SR: Good strength positions here, though he shakes a bit with effort. Double double tucked, chest maybe a little low on the landing, small hop. 15.033.
Tomas Gonzalez, FX: More facial hair. Gonzalez usually sports a mustache. It's like a stereotypical Frenchman's mustache from 60s films, though he does not really look French. Moving on. He's announced as a gymnast from China. Double double tucked, small hop. Front double full to front tuck full to stag jump. 1.5 to Rudi. There's a bird flying around the arena, which has attracted the crowd's attention. Whip to tucked Thomas. Layout Thomas. An energetic performer, Gonzalez. Triple full, almost all the way around, small hop back. Nice routine. Performed with vivre! 15.466.
Matteo Angioletti, SR: A younger, mini Matteo Morandi -- right down to his step on his full twisting double layout dismount. 15.1.
Eleftherios Kosmidis, FX: The World champion runs across the floor and bounces on it on his way to the other side to salute the judges. Layout double double, step back. 1.5 to front 1 3/4 roll. Front double full front half layout. Planche handstand. 2.5 to front tuck full. Layout Thomas. A very quick performer. Full in tuck, too much energy and bounces out of it and OOB with one foot. His facial hair is a kind of soul patch. Facial hair everywhere! The new trend in MAG, certainly. 14.8.
Samir Ait Said, SR: A strong routine from another rings specialist who is rebounding from injury...Nice positions, and full twisting double layout with a small hop to end. Loudest applause of the day so far. 15.333.
1:50 p.m.: The judges and officials are marching out, and the crowd gives them a nice ovation. There's a nice section of very enthusiastic fans who have those red and white and blue plastic blow up clappers who are going to be very entertaining this afternoon. So far, the stands are about half full, but more people are coming in all the time. Not a bad turnout...
1:31 p.m.: The competition will begin in 30 minutes, but the athletes have now cleared the floor (I assume most of them have headed to the back training gym, which is down a corridor not far from the arena.)
I wonder what we're going to do for the next half hour. I'm going to pore over the start lists. A few surprises (to me, at least): Mustafina is listed to compete vault, and Dementyeva will compete floor (she warmed up some dance just now before the athletes cleared the floor.)
On the men's side, the pommel horse and p-bars lineups are stocked with talent. On pommel horse especially it's very hard to determine who the top four could be -- Louis Smith is here, as is current World bronze medalist Prashanth Sellathurai.Saso Bertoncelj, Cyril Tommasone, Donna Donny Truyens and Robert Seligman are all also especially talented on this apparatus.
On parallel bars, we have current World champion Feng Zhe, and former World champions Wang Guanyin and Mitja Petkovsek, as well as Epke Zonderland.
On high bar, Zonderland and reigning world champion Zhang Chenglong will get to have a rematch. (Oooh...)
1:21 p.m.: It looks like the competition is going to unfold in subdivisions, and subdivision one will feature men's floor and rings. Subdivision two is pommel horse and women's vault, subdivision three men's vault and women's bars, etc.
Also, confirmed with the French Gymnastics Federation that only the top four on each event will advance to tomorrow's finals. Quel dommage!
1:18 p.m.: Lauren Mitchell had a disastrous bars practice yesterday. But she looks much better here in warmups (she just stuck a double front, for example). Mitchell was very good during podium training at the American Cup, then fell in competition. Maybe this will be the opposite.
1:10 p.m.: Jo Hyunjoo of South Korea landed a DTY way underrotated in warmups and sat by the mat for awhile massaging her left ankle/Achilles region. That looked like it hurt.
Meanwhile, Jennifer Khwela, elegant in two shades of blue, landed a very nice Yurchenko 1.5, much better than the video from podium training.
Mustafina is getting loose on bars. Her timing still seems questionable, and she bails on some of her handstands, takes extra swings in warmups, etc, but that just seems to be her. Remember American Cup podium training? Remember the American Cup itself? Yeah.
The goal of today for all these gymnasts is just to make the top four in order to move on to tomorrow's final. So it's not too much of a surprise to see Deng Linlin warming up a bhs, bhs, layout to two feet to Korbut on beam, or to see Yana Demyunchuk doing a roundoff, layout on the same event. It's a risky strategy to throw everything you've got in the qualifying, because if you fall, you're done.
Modification from Sui Lu: Whip triple to immediate single stag jump on floor. I like it!
PARIS, 1:03 p.m.: Paris fashion notes! Gymnastics fans, you are going to like Aliya Mutafina's leotard. It is, to employ a French phrase, tres elegant -- a shiny bluegreen bodice with glitter sprinkled over it and black glittery sleeves. J'aime. J'aime beaucoup.
Anna Dementyeva, warming up on beam, is weaing the same thing. Tatiana Nabieva is in a bliue and white number we haven't seen from the Russians befiore.
Ana Porgras is wearing the black and white leotard the Romanian team sported at Worlds, and the Chinese are in a mix of red, white and the hot pink lily warmups they also wore in Rotterdam.
Welcome to Examiner.com's live blogged coverage of the 2011 French International. I'll be sitting here all day today and tomorrow typing updates from the Palais Omnisport de Bercy, so please check back often. Thanks for following!
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