LONDON, 5:14 p.m. -- As the gymnasts are still warming up, we'll do fashion notes early tonight. On floor, Marine Brevet is in the blue leotard with asymmetrical leotard with long sleeves that the French women wore during their successful qualification bid. The Chinese are again in red, the Brazilians also in blue.
Over on beam, Valeriia Maksyuta, in a sleeveless maroon leotard and black shorts, wore socks as she warmed up her front aerial to side aerial combination. his summer. Daiane dos Santos sported black leg warmers and tumbled layouts on floor during her dance through.
So tonight, competition ends in London -- for now, anyway. Everything is "to be continued" this summer.
5:27 p.m.: Here's the start list for tonight's competition. Routines to watch: World beam champion Sui Lu was the top qualifier on her best event, with Italians Carlotta Ferlito and Francesca Deagostini in hot pursuit, while on floor Canada's Victoria Moors and France's Marine Brevet seem to be in good position to take the gold.
Vault is another chance for Chile's Tomas Gonzalez to win a place on the podium -- all by himself this time, while Britain's "Mr. Consistent" Kristian Thomas is going to be very busy, having qualified for vault and high bar.
6:06 p.m.: The Canadians -- Madeline Gardiner (beam) and Victoria Moors (floor) -- didn't make an appearance in the arena during warmups. The reason appears to be that the designated Canadian coaches, Dave Brubaker and Yelena Davydova, have already left to go back to Canada, leaving Elvira Saadi without the coaching credential to go out onto the floor (apparently only two coaches could be accredited for this.) So Saadi has kept her gymnasts in the warmup gym.
6:16 p.m.: Like last night, there's a good crowd filling the 02 Arena. The upper decks are more than half full, and the lower decks are going to be more than half full. This is a good crowd. Glad to see it!
6:22 p.m.: The event emcees are urging the crowd to cheer for the gymnasts during their performances. "They like it to be loud," the crowd is told.
6:30 p.m.: Men's vault:
Notes: Judges on men's vault include Jim Hartung, a member of the gold medal winning 1984 U.S. men's team. Thomas and Panteleymonov of course get the biggest applause during introductions.
Isaac Botella, Spain: Handspring front double full, very well done, small hop to the side. Very good form. He was a vault finalist at the 2008 Olympics. 15.933/6.6. Sits down Tsuk 2.5. Too bad! 14.6/6.6 (-0.1). 15.266 average.
Artur Davtyan, Armenia: Tsuk 2.5, steps to the side and off the mat as the crowd gasps. 15.2/6.6. Second vault: Absolutely stunning handspring Rudi with a hop. Beautiful in the air. He's known for doing beautiful but not difficult gymnastics (like that), and it's worked for him here. 15.7/6.2. 15.45 average.
Kristian Thomas, Great Britain: Ooooh! Beautiful Yurchenko 2.5, small hop. Lovely push off the horse on that. The announcers say that it was first done by Kyle Shewfelt, and the Canadians applaud. 15.933/6.6 (-0.1). Second vault is really good handspring double front, almost overrotated, steps forward. Kristian takes a moment to wave to the crowd, and they respond enthusiastically! He has been so impressive all week. All the Brits have been. 15.766/6.6. 15.849 average.
Steven Legendre, USA: Very good handspring double front with a small hop forward. Done quite well, quite easily. 15.8/6.6. You can hear Alex Buscaglia cheering for him -- "C'mon, Steve, c'mon!" as he prepares his second vault. Tsuk 2.5, again a small hop forward, very well done, maybe a little bit of leg form, but never short on power. 15.933/6.6. 15.866 average puts him first!
Tomas Gonzalez, Chile: Yurchenko 2.5, just a little hop. 15.9/6.6 (-0.1). Second vault should be Tsuk double pike...it is, but he crashes it! Simply not enough rotation. The Chilean coach jumps about a foot in the air, drops his head and clenches his fists in disappointment. Too bad! Very well done! 15.066/7.0. 15.483 average.
Matthias Fahrig, Germany: Handspring double front, again just a small hop. Very nice vault! 15.9/6.6. That's fair -- Legendre's was a little higher, Fahrig's had slightly better form. A wash. Second vault is Tsuk 2.5. Really kind of skips into this Tsuk 2.5, big step to the side and off the mat. Crowd goes "oooh!" 15.5/6.6. 15.7 average puts him third right now with two supervaulters to go...
Ruslan Panteleymonov, Great Britain: Dragulescu, not enough to get the twist around, goes to his hands and knees. Shame -- he does the easiest handspring double front ever. 14.7/7.0 (-0.3). Second vault: Tsuk 2.5, hop/shuffle backwards. Nice in the air. 15.5/6.6 (-0.1). 15.1 average.
Igor Radivilov, Ukraine: Wow! Great Dragulescu, actually steps back on landing because he has so much power and rotation. 16.033/7.0 (-0.1). Second vault is Tsuk double pike -- wow again! Nearly stuck, just beautiful! He pumps his fists right after landing, flapping the arms a bit. Hmmm...Olympic vault fave? He just bolstered his chances. That was terrific. 16.466/7.0. 16.249 average gives this 19-year-old the win!
Results! 1. Radivilov. 2. Legendre. 3. Thomas. 4. Fahrig. 5. Gonzalez. 6. Davtyan. 7. Botella. 8. Panteleymonov.
7:01 p.m: Balance beam:
Notes: I can't tell if Vasiliki Millousi's leotard has sleeves or not...the cut would indicate it does, but if so, they are completely mesh. Madeline Gardiner is in red again, Carlotta Ferlitoin something very Italian, Francesca Deagostini in green and black...
Sui Lu, China: The world champ goes to work -- and comes right off on her front pike! Bhs swingdown. Basically sits down switch ring to stay on the beam -- hand touches down. Hmmm. Perfect front tuck half. Front aerial, bhs, back pike. Taking some time to get back on the beam, thinking about it...full turn with leg up. Side somie, perfect. Switch to back tuck. Roundoff double pike to her head! My goodness! Holding her hand to her forehead as she walks off...wow. That was the most blown routine seen in a long time...once she gets to the athletes' area, she sits down on the floor. 10.366/5.9 (-0.1).
Marine Brevet, France: Swing through mount. Scissone, split jumps. Pretty. Switch to back tuck, smallest of checks. Front aerial, tiny check, bhs, layout, another really small check. Switch ring, wobble. I feel like she gets through this because the French girls in the gallery are yelling "Allez!" with everything they have. Full turn with leg at head. Side aerial to side somie, good. Roundoff to double pike and she overrotates and sits down! 13.366/5.8.
Valeriia Maksyuta, Israel: Well, those two routines before her having been blown, there's real opportunity for her here...she's a lovely beamworker, Ukrainian style. In a long sleeved blue and white leo. Swing through mount. Switch half with a step back. Roundoff, layout to two feet, small wobble. Front aerial to side aerial, not connected. Switch, wolf. Side somie, a bit off balance, leg comes up but she doesn't come off. Tourjete half, same thing, but not as severe. Full turn. Walks into good roundoff, double pike dismount, just a small step on the landing. Good routine. Better than anyone else so far...14.3/5.8.
Francesca Deagostini, Italy: Going through her motions on the podium while awaiting the judges...roll on mount. Cool chest stand before she stands up. Front aerial, bhs, layout, small wobble. Switch leap, nicely done but another small wobble. Slightly overturned on full turn. Good punch front. Switch, back tuck, excellent. Small wobble on dance. Cute arm movement where her hands go through her hair, flicking her ponytail around. That's a new one. Roundoff, double pike with a step back. Good power. Impressive routine -- new and interesting. She seems to have a great shot at the Italian Olympic team...14.133/5.6.
Madeline Gardiner, Canada: Great mount sequence with double turn in sit position straight into a split! Switch, small wobble, switch half. Onodi. Front aerial, bhs, layout to two feet, turns the side and bends at the waist but doesn't come off. Side somie -- you can hear the photographers' lenses clicking. Changeleg side aerial. Roundoff, double pike with a step back. Oh, Yelena Davydova is with her there. So she didn't go home after all...14.266/5.9 puts her second right now...
Carlotta Ferlito, Italy: Jump to middle splits mount. Switch to back tuck. Sheep, very good. Bhs, layout to two feet, small wobble but nothing serious. Bigger wobble on turn to tunr with leg at head series. Aggressive front aerial, bhs, layout, well done. Switch ring. Jumps. Coach is talking her through this routine...takes time to prepare for 2.5 twist dismount. Bent legs on that somewhat, but good landing, just a hop. Word for this routine: Confident. 14.5/5.8 puts her first, so she's assured a medal.
Yao Jinnan, China: Has a raspberry on her left theigh...Back tuck. Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet and comes off. She wasn't square going into the layout. Switch to split jump. Front aerial, pause, sheep. Punch front. Full turn with leg at head, immediate half turn. Switch ring. Roundoff, double pike, nearly stuck, tiny hop forward. 13.5/5.8.
Vasiliki Millousi, Greece: A most interesting leotard here...highlighter pink bodice with black halter-style straps and mesh long sleeves. Lots of sparkles on the upper bodice. Roundoff, layout stepout mount, lovely! Audience oohs and ahhs. Side aerial. Switch to back tuck. Sheep. Added a back scale. Style points! Side somie! Love her down on beam sequence as well -- dramatic. Switch ring, small check, followed by jumps. Front aerial, bhs, layout, terrific! Oh, this could beat Ferlito...Yes! Stuck double pike! Wonderful routine!! Big, meaningful hugs with her coaches. She was so on on that, from start to finish. That was just great. In my mind, she wins. 14.5/5.9, so she and Ferlito will share the gold!
Results! 1. Millousi and Ferlito. 3. Maksyuta. 4. Gardiner. 5. Deagostini. 6. Yao. 7. Brevet. 8. Sui.
7:41 p.m.: Parallel bars:
Notes: Well, Ukraine already picked up one gold medal tonight. Could they do it again withOleg Vernaiev? Possible, but I'd say the favorite here would be Epke Zonderland, who has the advantage of going up last...
Ken Ikeda, Canada: He has one of the best double pike dismounts in the world...Clear hip to...I'm not sure what that was, but he went onto one bar and then stood on the parallel bars and jumped down. Double tuck. Cut and catch. Giant. Into the middle. Back toss 1/4 onto one bar. High double pike, runs backwards out of it. 12.8/5.7.
Oleg Vernaiev, Ukraine: Front somie. Quick swing. Weird peach half, but clean...inside Diamadov....Stutz...double pike with a small hop. Good routine. Man, Ukraine's going to have a good team in the coming years! He's only 18. 14.6/6.1.
Daniel Keatings, Great Britain: Huge cheers as he's introduced...Cut and catch mount, Peach to giant, uprise to front somie to upper arms, nice. Diamadov. Stutz...half turn. Uprise to cut and catch. Double pike with a small step back. Very good routine! Glad he hit that -- it was time he distinguished himself as an individual again. He was the team's lead-off guy on all events in team qualification, nice to see him have a moment all his own here. 14.533/5.7 puts him second right now.
Daniel Corral, Mexico: Peach half to peach, small adjustment. Diamadov. Giant to double tuck. Fascinating element that I don't know the name of...uprise to double front tuck dismount, STUCK. Nice! 15.3/6.3. That little adjustment hurt him...
Masahiro Yoshida, Japan: Peach, giant uprise to front straddle somie. Inside Diamadov with hald turn. Front flip. Back toss 1/4 to one rail. Stutz. Double pike, looks like he has it and then takes a big step forward and nearly puts his knee down! That didn't look too necessary. 14.8/6.2.
Roman Kulesza, Poland: Clear hip, lovely Diamadov...same element as Corral that I can't name -- it's a big swinging element. Inside Diamadov. Double pike with a big hop/step back, but other than that, super clean work! Like the eastern Europeans of old. 14.766/6.0 puts him third right now.
Shoichi Yamamoto, Japan: Clear hip half mount. Double tuck between the rails. Inside Diamadov. Front flip. Loses his toepoint at times...front straddle somie from uprise. Double pike with a small step back. Good work. 14.866/6.5 moves him into second, so he's guarenteed a medal...
Epke Zonderland, Netherlands: Half turn to giant to swing into the middle. Diamadov with extra full turn to one rail, just amazing. Nearly clips his foot on the rail on front somie -- that was a pretty amazing save, doesn't break form. Double pike, tiniest of hops on the landing. Great routine, but I wonder how much the judges will take for that little foot clip (if indeed he did clip his foot...) 15.016/6.0.
Results! 1. Corral. 2. Zonderland. 3. Yamamoto. 4. Yoshida. 5. Kulesza. 6. Verniaiev. 7. Keatings. 8. Ikeda.
8:20 p.m.: Women's floor exercise:
Notes: After that disaster of a beam routine, I will be surprised if Sui Lu competes floor. Also, there is some question about whether Vanessa Ferrari will compete floor. French journalist David and I have a bet on it...and I have now lost. Fashion notes! Ferrari in black long sleeves,Ana Lago in the lovely leotard the Mexican women wore at the Tokyo Worlds...
Sui Lu, China: Whip to triple full, no problem with that, small hop back. 2.5 twist. Watering back a little. "Scent of a Woman." Wonderful triple turn. 1.5 to front layout full. Switch ring to switch half. I get the feeling Sui is not really "going for it" here, but whatever, it's a pleasure to watch this performance. Memmel turn. Double pike with a step back. Huge applause. 13.833/5.6.
Daniele Hypolito, Brazil: 2.5 to front pike to immediate dance element where she kicks her leg back to her head. 1.5 to front layout full, awkward step to the side. Switch ring to switch half. Lovely expression and driving beat, very dramatic. Double tuck, stuck, to immediate single stag jump. Double pike, STUCK! Wowza. "Landed on a sixpence," to employ the British expression. 13.733/5.3.
Marine Brevet, France: Jumps around on the mat while waiting to salute the judges...double layout with arms flaired out, oh very well done! Tiny hop forward. 1.5 to double tuck, step back. Cirque style music. Switch ring to Tourjete half? Easy double full third pass, small bounce in the air. Memmel turn. Lovely movements and expression. Humming vocals to the music. Switch half. Good high double pike to end, small step back. Beautiful! 14.066/5.6.
Daiane dos Santos, Brazil: Clapping to begin her routine, putting lots of chalk in the air. Full twisting double layout! Great, small hop back. Front tuck to Arabian double front! The crowd is wowed. The journalists are wowed! Everybody's wowed. Switch side half. Latin beat, salsa, very fast. Double layout third pass, tiny hop. Switch to Tourjete half. Turn with leg up. Great double pike to end, step back. Biggest applause of the night. They loved it! Daiane acknowledges her Brazilian teammates in the stands and pumps her fist at them. Her tumbling ability -- at age 28 (she'll be 29 next month) -- is just astounding. 14.066/5.8.
Carlotta Ferlito, Italy: Triple full, legs a bit crossed but good landing. Double tuck. Music changes and audience gets clapping along. Switch ring to switch full. Whip to double full, stuck. Memmel turn. Front aerial. Little flourish with her arm as she gets ready for her last pass, a stuck double pike. Very nice tumbling, those last three passes. 13.966/5.6.
Vanessa Ferrari, Italy: Very classical piece, sounds like it comes from an old record player, which adds a very vintage feel to this routine. Great double double tuck! Small hop forward. Full in tuck with a small step forward. Really has learned to perform and extend and express herself on floor. She was never exactly bad at that, but has gotten better. Tourjete half? 1.5 to front layout full. Switch ring to switch half. Last pass is a double pike, small hop back. Nice job. 14.4./5.8. First place!
Victoria Moors, Canada: Lots of "let's go, Tori!" from the Canadians...great high double double tuck, but steps back and OOB. "Assassin's Tango." 1.5 to triple full, again steps back. Double turn. Ooh, nice expression! Very dramatic look. Switch to switch half. 2.5 with step forward. And finally, a double tuck, stuck. What a great senior debut she's had here! 14.2/5.9 (-0.1).
Ana Lago, Mexico: Love her opening sequence -- sharp yet understated, fits the music perfectly. Double layout, aired out and lovely, small hop back. Double turn with leg up. Easy double tuck second pass. Switch to switch half? Punch front to double full, and that's basically a stick as well. Tourjete half. Landed the double pike just a little low, covered well, teeny hop. Great job! 13.866/5.6.
Results! 1. Ferrari. 2. Moors. 3. Dos Santos. 4. Brevet. 5. Ferlito. 6. Lago. 7. Sui. 8. Hypolito.
9:04 p.m.: Men's high bar:
Notes: There is literally a foot difference in height between Jossimar Calvo, the shortest competitor in this high bar final, and Kristian Thomas, the tallest.
Arnaud Willig, France: One arm giant impresses the crowd. Tak full to hecht over, very clean. Tak half to giant to layout Tkatchev. Questionable handstand after the Tak half. Endo. Double double layout, too low and has to take a giant step forward. 14.733/6.1.
Sergio Munoz, Spain: Attempts Yamawaki half (hecht with a half) and falls! Sits on the mat for a second, can't believe it. Audience applauds as he gets back up. Big hecht over, nicely done. More applause. Front stalder, stalder with full spin. Vamos! Nice double double layout, stuck. Good comeback! 12.966/5.5.
Daniel Purvis, Great Britain: One arm giant. Tak full to hecht over, stalder hop full, hop 1.5, Tak half. Stalder hop 1.5. Stalder to hop full. Excellent execution throughout. Full twisting double layout with a tiny step. A bit of a safe routine -- he doesn't take as much risk as some guys, but a hit's a hit. 14.433/6.0. They announce that Dan's from a place called Southport, and someone in the crowd yells "Yay!"
Jeffrey Wammes, Netherlands: Pirouetting opening sequence. Tak to hecht over. Tak half to Tkatchev half? Hop full. Beautiful double double layout, small hop. 14.866/6.6 puts him into the lead.
Yann Cucherat, France: Lots of "Allez Yann!" happening here....Tucked Kovacs amazes. Stalder hop 1.5. Misses Tak full, way out of handstand, and opts to jump down. The rest was lovely. Full twisting double layout with a hop forward. 13.433/6.0.
Jossimar Calvo, Colombia: Tak half, small form break, to full twisting hecht. Tak full to hecht. Tucked Kovacs, catches too close and has to kip out. Stalder blind to jam to small pop out a la Danell Leyva. Triple twisting double layout to his hands and feet. Not quite enough at the end of that routine. Crowd groans. Ambitious routine. 14.0/6.8.
Kristian Thomas, Great Britain: Tak half, to layout Tkatchev, sharp. Tak full to hecht. Tkatchev half draws oohs. Jam to inverts. Stalder to hop full, a little form break, very small. Full twisting double layout, tiny hop. Great job for the tall man from Britain. 14.933/6.5 and the crowd bursts into cheers!
Fabian Gonzalez, Spain: Kolman, nicely caught. Tucked Kovacs. 1.5 turn. Hecht over, barely gets his feet over. Jam to inverts. Full spin. Double double layout with a hop dismount. Certainly that was the most high flying of the group, but Thomas was a little cleaner, so...well, we'll see. 14.866/6.5.
Results! 1. Thomas. 2. Gonzalez and Wammes. 4. Willig. 5. Purvis. 6. Calvo. 7. Cucherat. 8. Munoz.
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