9:31 p.m.: OK folks, this concludes this session of training, as well as quick hits. Have a good evening, and see you in the morning for the U.S. and Japanese men! Sayonara from Tokyo for this evening.
9:28 p.m.: Mira Boumejmajen of France does a very nice bhs, Arabian combo on beam. She missed it once, got back up and made it.
9:26 p.m.: Dufournet has another great combination in her routine: A side aerial, switch leap, back pike. Very hard, very interesting. Brevet got back up and connected her side aerial, side somie much better.
Great work also from Tsurumi on bars. Remember that were it not for the outstanding He Kexin, Tsurumi would have been world champ on bars in 2009.
9:23 p.m.: Bellemare came off the beam on a front aerial during her full routine. She redeemed herself somewhat with a beautiful Tourjete half. Dismount is a gainer pike.
9:21 p.m.: Brevet beam: Near fall on front aerial, bhs, layout combo but saved it. Side aerial, pause, side somie (imagine she wants to connect those two). Double pike dismount.
9:19 p.m.: Much better second FTY from Whelan.
Dufournet beam: Onodi to front aerial, bhs, layout combo, excellent! Right on. Two bhs to double full dismount. Good job.
9:11 p.m.: Oh no, I'm mistaken -- Dufournet is warming up beam as well. So she's not just here for bars.
Good Yurchenko 1.5 from Imogen Cairns. Whelan is having a little trouble with her Yurchenko full in that she's coming in too high on the horse and not getting really good block, because she's coming in too high. (All week Rick has been saying that it's a bad idea to train a big roundoff, layout over the table when warming up to do vault because it leads to this exact problem.)
9:07 p.m.: Good routine from Edwards to cap off the British effort on floor. It appears the Brits will compete with only five on floor, and not use Downie. Edwards did a good routine here, but she does not have the difficulty to break into the squad on this event.
9:03 p.m.: Beth Tweddle, floor: 1.5 to Arabian double front, lands a bit forward, but better than what she warmed up. Arabian double pike, very solid. Good ending pass! Much applause from the British girls.
Dufournet does a great Ricna to Pak, some kind of Shaposh style transition, and a Geinger. All great form.
8:58 p.m.: Imogen Cairns, floor: Nope, the Arabian double front to straddle is definitely part of the plan. Although it's unexpected, after years now of stag jumps out of things, it's nice to see something different.
Youna Dufournet, bars: Just saw a good double layout dismount. In spite of being the 2009 World bronze medalist on vault, Dufournet seems to be here solely as a bars speciallist for France.
Stuck double front from Sophia Serseri of France, I believe it was.
8:56 p.m.: Francis on floor: Whip to double tuck. Love the attitude in her choreography. What a fun routine!
8:52 p.m.: Beth Tweddle lands a bit hard on a 1.5 to Arabian double front and rolls off the mat and stays down for a bit, puts her hands over her face. I think, is she tired? But no, she's up again and all right.
Imogen Cairns: Arabian double front to straddle jump. It looked planned. Was that planned, or was that just this floor?
The leotard of Mongolia's only gymnast here is...a stunner. Anne, Brigid and I are all beyond words. There are only facial expressione.
8:48 p.m.: Everybody rotates. Walking among the Japanese is the tall, blond Alina Kozich, the 2004 European all-around champion, who helps coach the Japanese women. She could not look more different from her short, dark-haired proteges.
8:40 p.m.: Becky Downie seems to be moving a bit gingerly after her beam set, but she's also smiling. Amazing mount from Laura Edwards -- a back handspring crosswise to the beam where she grabs it with her shoulders. That's daring.
On the whole, the Japanese were great on floor. Routines that were well crafted and equally well performed. Like Korea, they're a sleeper team.
8:37 p.m.: Hannah Whelan beam: Switch to Onodi, love the combination. Good work from Hannah -- very nice 2.5 dismount, albeit a tad off to the side. But took just the smallest step on the landing.
An FTY is the better idea for Bellemare, who just stuck one.
Tsurumi on floor has traded her fast paced techno from last year for something Spanish and a bit softer. She's followed by Rie Tanaka, who does a piano piece that turns into a bit of a tango
8:33 p.m.: Very clean and, moreover, calmly confident beam set from Imogen Cairns. The veterans -- that it is say, people over 20 here -- are really killing it. Almost every team has one, and they've all done wonderfully.
Scary Yurchenko 1.5 form Bellemare, who does not have the height or rotation to get it around to her feet. She also has to bend her legs on the last half twist.
Terrific beam routine from Danusia Francis with excellent two bhs to double tuck dismount. Just one small wobble after an acro skill.
8:25 p.m.: Jenni Pinches, beam: Front aerial, wobble, bhs, layout. Tidy side aerial. Two bhs to double pike dismount.
Brevet looks like she could add something to that FTY she just did. Lovely routine from Japan's first up on floor.
8:20 p.m.: The French are working on corrections on their tumbling. Malaussena goes out and sticks her first pass. Stuck Cuervo from Malaussena.
Koko Tsurumi on beam is just beautiful. There's real refinement, and yes, even perfection in every single thing she does in this routine. It is a joy to watch. She seems like if she can keep the calm and focus she shows right now throughout the competition, she could win a World medal -- yes, maybe even a gold one -- on beam. We tend to forget about her because she had a rotten 2010 Worlds, but she is a contender. 2.5 twist dismount.
8:18 p.m.: Nice toe Hindorff on bars from Laura Edwards, the newcomer to the British team. Falls later on a simpler Tkatchev.
8:15 p.m.: Marine Brevet on floor: Big Arabian double, very well done! 1.5 to double tuck, OOB. Great full in pike third pass! She's using this floor well. Double pike to end.
Becky Downie looks superb on bars. Terrific swing.
8:13 p.m.: The Japanese women are doing very well on beam so far. Very good tidy gymnastics, much like the Chinese, and clean, uncomplicated movements in the choreography. They did take a fall on a dismount from Rie Tanaka, but other than that have looked quite sharp. When one of them finishes a routine, the applause comes from all around the arena.
8:09 p.m.: France, Britain, Japan et al. Very big whip half to double front from Aurelie Malaussena, first up on floor, but she sat it down despite getting good height. Her music is Cirque du Soleil.
Very nice routine from Danusia Francis on bars for Britain.
8:00 p.m.: The French are in white sleeveless leotards with red and blue accents, while Japan Is in red leotards with white and black bodice, long sleeved.The Brits are in red sleeveless with white and blue at the shoulders.
Big double tuck to single stag leap from Rose Eliandre Bellemare. Very powerful full in pike from Marine Brevet warming up on floor - that was high!
6:56 p.m.: Ferrari full beam routine: Her trademark handstand pirouette mount to planche, very well done. Roundoff, layout, a little loose in the legs.
On floor, Ana Maria Izurieta ends her routine with a kiss to I'm assuming the judges. Claudia Menendez, the powerful gymnast who dismounts with a full in tuck on this event, followed her. Great tumbling.
Just watched Sheppard stick a DTY on vault. Nice! For that she got lots of love from the Hungarian men in the stands, who clapped wildly and yelled. Boczogo followed up with a terrific stuck Yurchenko 1.5.
The Spanish are very vocal supporting their teammates on floor.
6:54 p.m.: Just watched Yana Demyanchuk stick her double front off bars. Nice. May she do that in the meet as well!
6:50 p.m.: Am taking in the lovely work of Elisabetta Presziosa on beam. Such quality! Love the full turn grabbing her leg behind her head and the side aerial to front needle scale. Roundoff, double tuck dismount. Ferlito next up -- terrific turn with leg at head. So confident.
Spain has a number of catchy numbers on floor after Colussi-Pelaez began with a dramatic "Carmen." Lots of tambourine.
6:30 p.m.: Big powerful full in from Austin Sheppard on floor, followed by a huge double tuck. 1.5 to front layout full third pass. Double pike to end.
Livchikova did a DTY on vault after a bunch of timers. She got it around fine, but I can't help but think she's going to tear an ACL someday because she sets up very high and begins her twist very late, which is generally not a good thing. She also just worked a second vault, though I didn't see what it was.
The girl now on beam for Spain either has a tattoo below her left hip or has taken a bad fall sometime in the past couple days.
Lovely floor routine to Bon Jovi from Dorina Boczogo, who really has been so impressive here. Nice full in pike mount. They are being cheered on by who I believe are the Hungarian men's team sitting in the stands, clapping and laughing and yelling things at them in what I take to be Hungarian.
6:25 p.m.: Ukraine appears to be a team of FTYs on vault. Except for Livchikova, who does a double. Here she goes now...just a good high timer.
Her teammate, the one who looked powerful on floor but only opened with a double tuck, just did an FTY on vault and moved herself extremely gingerly off the mat and off the podium without standing up again. She's obviously in some pain. Her coach is now talking to her.
Hungary on floor is doing impressive tumbling from first girl to last. I'm seeing a lot of double Arabians.
6:20 p.m.: Silvia Colussi-Pelaez is such a great addition to the Spanish team. Her elegance is just terrific, and it's evident on every event.
6:17 p.m.: Rotation! Hungary goes to floor, Ukraine vault, Spain beam, Italy bars.
6:14 p.m.: After the 25 "El Tango de Roxanne"s in Rotterdam, most gymnasts seem to have changed their routines. We do have one currently on the floor for Ukraine, however. Powerful if rather easy tumbling for this level -- double tuck, stuck, followed by 2.5 twist. Double pike to end, I think.
6:10 p.m.: Yana Demyanchuk on floor: "Assassin's Tango." She sat her first pass, a 2.5 to front layout full, followed up by sticking her double tuck.
Hungary on beam is not too bad, despite a few miscues here and there. On floor, Mariya Livchikova is doing some wonderful work, in both tumbling and dance. It would be great to see her make event finals and medal on this event. That's a special routine.
The fiery Ferlito is all gestures and shrugging and arm movements as she walks back down the runway talking with her coach. Lots of personality, that one. She's upgraded the DTY to a 1.5 that's done well but with some leg form. You don't worry about her missing the vault, but you do hope that she'll straighten and point just a little more.
6:06 p.m.: Ferrari finally fires off a DTY, ugly but stood up. Rick thinks this Worlds may be the first time good DTYs win over bad Amanars. I feel more skeptical. Anyway, that vault is neither a good DTY nor a bad Amanar. But if you have to do it like that, at least you can stick it. Which she just did.
6:03 p.m.: Ukraine's first up performs to "Black Cat White Cat" and opens with a double tuck.
Meanwhile on vault, Vanessa Ferrari is warming up to her DTY by doing a Yurchenko 1.5. The girls who have weaker DTYs seems to need to work up to them, while the ones with better Amanars rip them off like they're nothing.
Carlotta Ferlito is very powerful on vault and seems like she could definitely add another twist to the DTY she just did.
5:56 p.m.: Rotation one of this session is over, so Ukraine moves to floor, Italy to vault and Hungary to bars.
5:54 p.m.: Ukrainian beam is wonderful as always. Yana Demyanchuk as always is the standout, as is young Livchikova, whose front aerial to front tuck is just awesome in person. Saw a very nice full turn with leg up to side somie form Demyanchuk just now.
5:51 p.m.: Rumor is that Vanessa Ferrari has been training her tucked double double on floor, but I haven't seen it (this is the floor to do it on, too). Ferrari does look in good shape, just as she did last year at this time. She just did a very airy 1.5 to front layout full, bounding upward out of it.
5:48 p.m.: The Italians are on floor, the Ukrainians on beam (very nice save on her Arabian from Mariya Livchikova), the Hungarians bars and the Spanish vault. I got back just in time to see Carlotta Ferlito's spunky floor routine. She strikes one as a girl of spirit, and it comes out in her dance.
5:19 p.m.: It's group photo time for the Russians over by vault. The next session, which features Spain, Hungary, Ukraine and Italy, begins in about 10 minutes. I'm going to run out and buy a coke.
5:15 p.m.: Decent piked Pod from Nabs. Small step forward. The Russians look to be done on vault.
5:12 p.m.: Nabieva has started doing Podkopayeva timers. No Amanar today, I guess.
Meanwhile, Dementyeva and Belokobylskaya are back to Yurchenko timers. Belo just did an FTY, which is what I believe she used at Euros. Neither Polyan nor Inshina vaulted.
5:10 p.m.: To make fun of Nabieva, Afanasyeva gets up there and does a DTY, then a goofy jump full when she lands. The female Russian coach is laughing as she comes down off the podium.
5:06 p.m.: Amanar timer from Nabieva (DTY and jump half turn on landing). Dementyeva has crashed about four DTYs so far, and just -- just! -- made one to her feet, with a huge step forward. Hmm. Komova again: Amanar and not quite enough, flops to the mat just exasperated. But it's not far away.
One of the girls from Belarus appears to have injured her leg. She's on the edge of the floor mat, not crying but obviously in some pain. She's been brought some ice and moved off.
5:04 p.m.: Nabieva's DTY has multiple personalities. There's the good one -- the one where her legs are straight and toes pointed even -- and then the bad one, where she thinks about doing an Amanar and does the DTY with the same form she does when doing an Amanar. We were just treated to the latter.
And Komova just stood up a very nice Amanar. Holla.
5:03 p.m.: Komova sits her first Amanar attempt, but it's not too worrying because it was high and incredibly clean. Plus fully rotated. She just needs a little bit more to get it to her feet.
5:01 p.m.: Belokobylskaya's DTY is nowhere near her feet, alas. The Russians had the soft mat in for it, so I guess this was anticipated.
4:57 p.m.: Russia moves to vault. Dementyeva crashes her first DTY attempt. Komova is doing an Amanar timer! DTY and jump half twist at the end. Oh, the all-around just got interesting!
4:49 p.m.: Between Rick and Brigid, there seems to be some dispute about the origin of Yulia Inshina's floor music. "It's 'The Brady Bunch!'" Rick says. "It's 'Katyusha,'" Brigid responds, laughing. "No, you didn't grow up with the Brady Bunch," Rick says. "Of course we did!" Brigid insists. "It's all we watched."
Anyway, Inshina, who either sticks her whip to double Arabian perfectly or takes a huge step out of bounds, stuck it perfectly this time. Also impressive was the floor routine of Alyona Polyan -- powerful tumbling and very nice dance.
4:45 p.m.: Dementyeva, who did a full in tuck at the end of her routine at the Russian Cup, only did a double pike here at the end of the routine. And put her hands down at the end of it. Hmpf.
Viktoria Komova on floor: 1.5 to Arabian double, OOB. Double tuck second pass, triple twist third pass. She gets really into her choreo right before her last pass, including a particularly badass head toss while she's on the floor. Double pike to end the routine.
Ksenia Afanasyeva's piece was great -- dynamic choreography, very good double layout, kept well in bounds. Her new floor routine really suits her better than she performed to last year.
4:42 p.m.: Oh my gosh! Anna Dementyeva's new floor routine has a "talk to the hand!" moment right before the last pass. I wonder if that's going to become a theme with the Russians, the way the Florida Gators do their Gator chomp or the Utah Utes's make that "U" with their hands.
4:40 p.m.: Full routines on floor: Yulia Belokobylskaya: 1.5 to triple full, may have gone out when she stepped back. A bit wild on her 2.5 to front layout. The highlight of this routine, though the tumbling is hard and everything, is her expression, which is highlighted by wonderful choreography. Double tuck to end. Her body language as she comes off the mat makes it look like she's demoralized, though.
4:34 p.m.: Right off the bat, Komova does a very good 1.5 to double Arabian on floor. Very good. Follows up with a terrific triple twist.
4:31 p.m.: Komova falls again on the double turn. That is a problem. Very good dismount, however -- she went for the stick. She's close to getting it, too. Dementyeva does one last roundoff, layout to two feet before they have to move on. Well done.
4:28 p.m.: Hugely improved triple full dismount from Dementyeva. I wonder if she's getting good lift off the beam, which Aly Raisman said was bouncy.
Alyona Polyan's beamwork is nice -- very steady. Like Belokobylskaya, she mounts with a variation of the Silivas, and dismounts with an easy looking double tuck.
Inshina, who looks like the backup on this event as well, goes up last for another full routine. And she hits this one, without balking on the dismount. She does, however, put her hands down.
4:25 p.m.: Ksenia Afanasyeva did a wonderful routine -- standing Arabian. Bhs, layout to two feet. Great double pike off. She looked like a pro -- which she is, of course.
Dementyeva beam: Comes off on roundoff, layout to two feet during her full routine. Do it again, said her coach. She does. It's perfect.
4:20 p.m.: Love the Silivas variation mount that Belokobylskaya does, as well as her 1.5 turn with leg at head on this event. Pretty side aerial to scale with her leg up in front of her head. Double full dismount -- is capable of a triple.
Inshina balked before her dismount on beam, which is bad given the steadiness the Chinese and Americans showed on this event earlier today. Good two bhs to double tuck dismount.
Komova on beam is great. Wonderful bhs, layout, layout combo, no problem on her standing Arabian. Full turn with leg up connected to front aerial (wobble) and then comes off on side somie! Whoops. Another big wobble on the double turn, which did seem to be giving her some problems in training.
4:19 p.m.: Also interesting from the last rotation: Very good Yurchenko 1.5s on vault from Belarus's Nastassia Marouchskaya (I butchered the spelling of that name) who was a finalist on the event at the European Championships this spring.)
4:16 p.m.: Russia on beam is a little bit shaky thusfar. Komova came off on a double turn, but again, it looked like she gave up. Dementyeva is back to giving away 0.3 with wobbles on her Onodi and roundoff, layout to two feet. And Afanasyeva came off on her bhs to layout to two feet. The Russians are still working skills though -- we'll see what they do during full routines.
4:12 p.m.: So, onward to beam for the Russians. But first, a note on the Belgians on the same event: They looked OK. I saw Julie Croket struggle a bit and fall during her full routine, but also saw about three lovely Onodis from 2008 Belgian Olympian Gaelle Mys. One of the younger girls had some lovely double turns.
4:09 p.m.: So the Russian bar lineup appears to be: Belokobylskaya, Afanasyeva, Nabieva, Dementyeva and Komova, with Inshina as the backup on the event.
Nabieva did not work the Nabieva at all. Even for event finals. She's definitely not doing beam, either.
4:06 p.m.: Anna Dementyeva, who is my pick for all-around bronze, showed a good second half of her routine, including a good hop full to Tkatchev.
Second full routine from Komova: No problem at all. Wonderful full twisting double back, stuck cold. Whatever was annoying her in the training gym the other day, it's not here. She's looking on.
4:04 p.m.: Belokobylskaya's routine includes a stoop stalder Tkatchev, a very unique skill. She also does a stoop full. Little Yulia Inshina is having a few problems with her inverts, and just jumped off.
4:01 p.m.: It just goes to show...Viktoria Komova hits a very nice full routine on the podium. Thought she would, training problems aside.
Nabieva gets up and misses a toe full on low bar, and you can see how disgusted she is with herself for that. She practically "harrumphs" with her shoulders as she goes back to rechalk.
3:57 p.m.: Tatiana Nabieva does appear to have reworked her bar routine so that it does not include her orginial skill. Shame. No troubles on her first go through.
Yulia Belokobylskaya bars: Hit routine with piked Jaeger, Pak and double front dismount. Her teammates talked her through it.
3:55 p.m.: This floor also agrees with the Swiss, who had some good tumbling in practice. Giulia Steingruber's double layout with very, very good in warmups.
3:53 p.m.: The Russian bar training is fractured by having to wait for Ksenia Afanasyeva, who does not wear grips and so needs the bars prepped differently. So Afanasyeva's going through her routine, while everyone else is at the chalk bowl. As soon as she's done they all swarm the bars to put more chalk on them so they can train.
Afanasyeva looked good, too -- Tkatchev to Pak, full in double tuck. No drama.
3:49 p.m.: Fashion notes! The Russians are in long sleeved turquoise, the Swiss in very pretty deep pink with rhinestones, the Swiss in long sleeved red and white swirls and the Belorussians in forest green with mesh sleeves.
3:43 p.m.: The Russians are coming! The familiar red and white warmups of the Russian team just came in, but it was the coaches and not the athletes, who actually march in competition-style for training (some teams, like the Dutch, have taken the marching more seriously than others). They should be here soon, though. Also in this session will be the Belgians, the Swiss, the Norwegians and the girls from Belarus. Russia will begin on bars.
3:39 p.m.: Homework. Even World team members have to do it. "We've been trying to do some homework, but...not that much," Raisman said. "It's hard to find time. We'd rather be doing something else."
3:33 p.m.: I told Aly Raisman I thought her bars look better. (They do.) "Thank you!" she said with a big smile. "I've been working really hard on bars, doing a lot more routines than I'm used to and I feel a lot more confident on them."
"Even the beams are bouncy, so it took a little bit of time to get used to it, but I love the floor. Especially for my first pass, it helps a lot."
Raisman will do all-around, and is hoping for event finals on floor as well.
3:29 p.m.: Alicia Sacramone on her vaults: Sacramone said, as she did during the U.S. media teleconference call, that in team prelims and finals she'll stick with her standard vaults, but she is planning to go for broke with the front layout double full should she make event finals.
Has she actually done one on a hard surface yet? Well, kind of. She mentioned that she did one on "a harder suface" recently, and stood it up.
3:24 p.m.: Sometimes I think it must be boring to be an athlete at a World Championships. Until it's all over, you're sequestered in either your hotel or the training gym. The U.S. team went shopping for about an hour a couple nights ago, they said, but it was just for an hour. They do like their hotel, which is apparently quite large.
3:11 p.m.: U.S. team after podium training. The media got to have a chat with the U.S. team following podium training, and for the most part they seemed very pleased. Everyone loves the floor, and noted that "it doesn't hurt" the way some do after you tumble on it day after day after day.
Anna Li has an abdominal injury, which is why she did not train two days ago. "I've been pushing through it through the selection camp and then the week at [Mitsuo] Tsukahara's gym, so we decided to try to give it two days rest." Since gymnasts have to use their core so much on bars, Li says she feels it when training, but that after the rest it felt better today.
"We're all really confident and calm," Li said. "The podium training felt like what we were preparing for."
Is Worlds different from the NCAA? Of course. But, Li said, fundamentally it does seem the same. "The first thing I noticed when they made the selection and we started training together, I immediately thought, 'wow, this feels like college' because you're on a team, but we're representing USA instead."
This was also one of Li's first times on a podium. "It felt a little different, but I know that mentally I can do my routine, and I've trained and prepared a lot coming up to here. I know I can do my routine -- I'm just hoping my ab holds up."
The injury, Li said, was likely caused simply by doing a little too much in training.
2:43 p.m.: Nice beam set from Lisa Katharina Hill, with 2.5 twist dismount, very nice.
2:41 p.m.: Second hit routine from Douglas. Nothing wrong with the interior, only this time instead of a step forward on the dismount she took a step back. It appears that the U.S. is done with bars.
2:38 p.m.: Big smiles from Nadine Jarosch as she comes off the podium after her beam routine. Elisabeth Seitz on beam: Much more confident work than in the past on this event, it seems. Hit routine with double pike dismount.
On bars, Wieber did a full routine (no problems, small hesitation in handstand after her first Weiler skill), but with just a double layout dismount. As in training the other day. Maybe they've taken out the double double tuck?
2:37 p.m.: Anna Li on bars: Catches Jaeger too close to connect to the Pak salto, has a small problem on low bar out of a handstand (covers well), but the problem came on her Shaposh, when one arm ripped off and she was left dangling by one hand.
2:34 p.m.: Very easy looking Yurchenko 1.5 from dos Santos on vault. Ditto from Hypolito.
Sabrina Vega, to my surprise, has kept the pike Tkatchev that has given her so many problems in the past, in her routine. And here on the podium, she makes it well.
Chusovitina beam: Front tuck to back tuck.
2:32 p.m.: Hit routine from Raisman on bars as well. Sure, she won't make event finals, but she does seem to have it well under control.
Very good routine from Maroney as well, with stuck full in double tuck, nice and high.
2:29 p.m.: The German leotard is sleeveless, mostly pink with white shoulders and a gold swirl (think Australian and you get the idea somewhat) running vertically down the leotard beginning right above the heart.
Douglas on bars: Hit it, step forward on her dismount.
2:26 p.m.: I didn't see much of Germany on bars, but I did see that Pia Tolle had some difficulties with both her Jaeger and her double front dismount. I didn't catch much of Elisabeth Seitz on her best event, but did see her do one toe-on Maloney full (which is likely to be named the Seitz this week) on bars, right at the end of the session. Rick watched more closely, and said he did not see her do a Def.
2:24 p.m.: Oh good -- Barbosa made an Arabian double pike just before the rotation ended. And over in the U.S. corner, Anna Li has her grips on...
2:19 p.m.: Daniele Hypolito on floor: Double layout, small bounce in the air. 2.5 to front layout half. That's impressive -- she was struggling to do a 2.5 to punch front in the training gym yesterday.
Jade Barbosa is working an Arabian double pike on floor, but even with the help of the podium can't quite get it around -- she sat the last one.
Wieber has done two more Amanars, anticipating twist too early even though she's stood both of them up. She is also a bit off to the side. But she's standing them up, so...
2:17 p.m.: Stuck double full from Raisman. On floor, Barbosa's double layout mount is fine and high, but she's got some form breaks on it -- toes, even a little bit of legs, I thought.
2:16 p.m.: Dos Santos did a double layout dismount on floor! WOW.
2:13 p.m.: Sacramone's DTY looked fine. Better than fine, actually. She got a hug and claw to the face from Martha Karolyi afterward. I'd say she's done for the day, having already done a decent Rudi.
Wieber missed an Amanar. She was twisting before she pushed off the horse, and didn't get good enough block. Was also off to the side. Scary landing.
TERRIFIC layout full out from dos Santos on floor! And an Arabian double pike.
Maroney did another Amanar, and went for the stick. Didn't quite get it, but oh well. Looked fantastic in the air.
2:11 p.m.: Raisman is not apparently training her Amanar. She's done two DTYs, both very, very close to stuck.
2:09 p.m.: Amanars from Maroney and Wieber! Maroney's was spectacular. Wieber's went a little off to the side, but whatever. Maroney has moved on to a timer for her second vault -- roundoff, half on, front tuck off.
2:07 p.m.: Maroney's FTY timer is just incredible. She finishes the twist about three feet above the ground. Douglas just did the most beautiful DTY -- high, clean, fast, tight twist. Good landing. Everything you want in a vault.
2:05 p.m.: Brazil (in pretty dark blue leos) is a sight to be seen on floor. Huge full in from Jade Barbosa, big double pike from Daiane dos Santos. That's just for starters.
2:01 p.m.: The Russians are watching. Not the team members (not that I can see, though I haven't really looked). However, Andrei Rodionenko is here in the gym, taking it all in, and the Korean coaches as well.
Brazil on beam: I saw very little of it, but did watch Daniele Hypolito struggle just a bit with her bhs, bhs to two feet, layout series (she nailed the last one she did, though). Also caught Jade Barbosa's dismount: a powerful roundoff, bhs, double pike.
1:58 p.m.: Oksana Chusovitina showed two good Rudis on vault, and also landed a Tsuk 1.5, the same vaults she's been medaling at major tournaments for the past several years. Looking good.
1:57 p.m.: Let's play, "Who's going to be the third floorworker in team finals?" It would appear to be between Alicia Sacramone and McKayla Maroney. We all agree that we'd bet Sacramone, but I think it will come down to team finals.
1:55 p.m.: Douglas floor: 1.5 to triple full, bounces back but not OOB. Does step out on her double Arabian. That full in third pass is just amazing, the height she gets on it.
1:54 p.m.: Oh no wait, Raisman anchors floor (of course). Good first pass, sticks the Arabian double pike. AWESOME. Final two passes no problem.
1:50 p.m.: Wieber floor: OOB on her double double tuck. Cools her jets for the double pike, very good landing.
Maroney anchors on floor: 3.5, slightly crossed on the landing but fine. 2.5 to front layout full is fine on this floor. OOB on 1.5 to double tuck. Amazing high double pike to end -- barely controlled the landing!
1:49 p.m.: Sabrina Vega: How nice to see this lovely routine on such a big stage! But scary on her 2.5 to front layout -- she was basically stopped dead after the 2.5 and basically a standing front layout to her bottom. You don't like to see that. Stuck the double pike, however.
1:46 p.m.: Sacramone floor: OOB on triple full. Sigh. Stuck double Arabian though -- nice! Excellent leaps and jumps. Punch front to 2.5 twist. Double pike, bounces back but does not go OOB.
1:45 p.m.: Germans on vault: Just caught a stuck DTY from Elizabeth Seitz on vault, and a layout Cuervo from Kim Bui. Very good Yurchenko 1.5 from Nadine Jarosch, as well.
1:42 p.m.: You can tell just by watching people do layouts as they warm up floor that this floor is incredibly bouncy. Which is great if you're, say, Sabrina Vega. But if you're Alicia Sacramone or even Aly Raisman, it could be different. So far all of them are controlling their passes very well, however. No out of boundses from Sacramone, or anyone else, yet.
1:38 p.m.: Raisman's second set is also a hit. The Americans don't seem to be giving an inch. Wieber looks focused and prepared. Very small wobble on her side somie. Very, very small. Connects the standing full to bhs. Great dismount again. Douglas gets to use the beam for 10 seconds or so before they call time on training.
1:35 p.m.: Sacramone connected her front pike mount to a back tuck for the first time on the podium. Maybe this is the routine she's plannning if she makes event finals. The Chinese trained it that way too not half an hour ago on the same beam. And sticks her double pike dismount. Finally!
1:33 p.m.: The U.S., unlike every other team we've seen so far, appears to be trying to get two full beam routines in in this podium training session. No wonder there was that sense of hurry, hurry, hurry at the beginning. Maroney was clean the second time as well. Vega is now up, and she's hitting too. Much better dismount. Very good.
1:31 p.m.: Gabrielle Douglas fought. Fought to stay on the beam, fought to keep herself focused throughout her full routine. And for the most part she won: she didn't fall. This is not a consistent routine (there were some very significant wobbles, and two near-falls) but I'd count it as a victory for her all the same. Given that she performed after Wieber, I don't see her doing this event, though I suppose you never know.
1:30 p.m.: I can hear Martha Karolyi, saying encouragement after every skill, though I can't see her. She sounds like she's not on the floor but in the stands. Jordyn Wieber was wonderful, from her flight series to her standing full to the two bhs to 2.5 twist with only the tiniest of wobbles.
1:28 p.m.: Raisman nails her front pike to back layout stepout combo. There are a couple really small wobbles in this routine, but nothing major. Excellent Patterson dismount.
1:26 p.m.: Alicia Sacramone schools everyone on beam about performing professionally under pressure like this. Great hit routine, confident and polished. Two bhs to double pike, still the step on the dismount though.
1:25 p.m.: Sabrina Vega full set: Pause after her front aerial before bhs, layout. Small check on her full turn. Switch ring. Best two bhs to double pike I've seen her do.
1:22 p.m.: McKayla Maroney full set: Looks good so far -- front aerial, bhs, layout fine, front pike to Korbut fine. Side aerial. Switch to back tuck, not connected. SIde somie, small wobble. Little check on her switch half. Good punch into the double tuck. So much better than in training the other day.
1:19 p.m.: The U.S. look is bright pink, with long sleeves and rhinestones at the shoulders! They go right to work on beam to warm up their difficulty: Maroney, then Vega, followed by Sacramone, Raisman and Wieber. There's a sense of urgency to their work, a feeling that they need to squeeze every second out of this rotation in particular.
1:06 p.m.: Just a few minutes until the USA!
1:04 p.m.: Well, China certainly put on a show on balance beam and uneven bars, which have long been their best events. But the story here may be that they also looked good on vault and have enough difficulty on floor to challenge for this World title. If they can just compete like they trained today (and maybe clean up floor just a bit), they will be right up there for gold.
1:01 p.m.: China has been redoing its difficulty on beam, and everything looks just wonderful. I'm especially pleased to see that the double pikes they're doing as dismounts are confident and powerful, and not underrotated in the least. Oh --Yao Jinnan is working her standing full in connection with a Korbut (bhs swingdown). In case she makes event finals, I presume.
12:56 p.m.: Wu Liufang's routine is also gorgeous -- roundoff layout to two feet, front aerial, bhs, layout, all the good stuff. It appears that she will anchor this event for China. Well deserved, but ALL of the Chinese beamwork is nothing short of awesome.
12:48 p.m.: Tan Sixin on beam: STUNNING. Bhs, bhs to two feet, layout to two feet, excellent. Front aerial, sheep, back tuck combo. BEAUTIFUL two bhs to 2.5 with just a small step. It's wow stuff.
Yao Jinnan also amazing with her standing full to begin the routine. Simply great work. You just don't know who to give the award to on this event -- even who to speculate will make event finals. If they performed like this in the meet and the two per country rule didn't exist, it would be mostly a Chinese intrasquad in event finals.
12:41 p.m.: They're very direct here about announcing that you need to get off the apparatus if your team's training time on it is over.
Huang Qiushuang has grown a bit since last year, but it's only made her gymnastics more beautiful, IMO. Ful routine from Jiang, who seems to have been relegated to being the tablesetter: Really nice bhs, layout to two feet. Switch to Rulfova was very well done too. She also does a standing back tuck, not connected to anything, just for kicks, it seems. Right on on her switch ring. 2.5 from two bhs with a large step to the side.
12:39 p.m.: He Kexin did two full routines in this training session. The first she missed her kip cast handstand half turn after her Pak salto, and the second she struggled with it. Obviously that is the weak point in her routine.
12:37 p.m.: With just a few minutes left in this session, China is hurrying to get Jiang time to do a full routine. Nice Ricna, sticks her double layout.
12:33 p.m.: The Chinese do miss every once and awhile (like just now), although it's hard to do everything they're doing every single time.
Tan Sixin competes China's only double front on bars, and it's a beaut -- legs totally together, and that one she stuck.
Korea continues to be impressive on beam. Very clean skills, good amplitude.
12:26 p.m.: Darn good routine on bars from Yao on bars: Stalder to Stalder Shaposh, bail to hecht, a whole heck of a lot of pirouetting skills, Tkatchev, Jaeger, double layout, very well landed.
The Koreans are looking very good on beam as well. Team to watch, truly.
12:22 p.m.: Fashion note! I do like the Korean leotards, which are long sleeved with a red, white and blue pattern.
He Kexin, who appears to only be here to do bars, did a very nice half set including her Jaeger half, Jaeger combo as well as her layout Jaeger to Pak (knees apart but feet together.)
Sui Lu even wears socks to do bars!
12:19 p.m.: China vault report: Well, better than in years past, everyone agrees. Last year in Rotterdam they were barely getting them around, even with the help of the podium. Today they had several good ones, including a slightly improved one from Jiang Yuyuan. Yao probably has the potential to do an Amanar.
12:15 p.m.: Anne is reporting that Catalina Ponor may be injured. That would be very bad news for Romania.
12:14 p.m.: Tan finally stood up a DTY to end her session. The Chinese are done with vault.
12:12 p.m.: Some very nice work on bars from Korea. One of their gymnasts does a Tkatchev to Geinger combination, and another does a Markelov late in her routine and follows up with a very good double layout. A third is performing a Comaneci salto. Lovely stuff from all.
Huang Qiushuang just did a Podkopayeva and fell. She doesn't get great block off the horse for this, and is a little slow to rotate it as a result. The coaches stand in really close in order to catch her when she does this.
12:09 p.m.: OK, Tan is officially having problems with her DTY. She's not quite getting it around and falling to the side.
Ooh, Huang Qiushuang just did an Podkopayeva timer. Is she still the alternate?
12:06 p.m.: Oy -- fall from Tan on vault. When she crashes she crashes. A little bit underrotated. Fortunately, Rick assures me that it's harder to get injured when you weigh 70 pounds.
Huang Qiushuang landed an excellent DTY earlier.
12:01 p.m.: Wonderful DTY from Yao on vault! Tan Sixin's is also very good.
Sui Lu, however, is having problems with an FTY. I mean, she stands it up and everything, but it's rather piked in the air and she looks like she bends her legs a bit. The coach also stands in very closely as she does it.
11:58 a.m.: South Korea's Jo Hyunjoo appears to be doing a Rudi and a layout Podkopayeva. She did one Rudi very well, and then kind of limped off while all her teammates applauded. The Korean coaches, in these bright canary yellow shirts, are all around the uneven bars like birds on a wire.
The Chinese are doing Yurchenko timers. The podium appears to be helping them here -- those are high Yurchenko timers.
11:53 a.m.: So, the Chinese floor in review: No falls except for Huang (isn't she the alternate, anyway?), but definitely some out of bounds and steps forward, stumbles back, that kind of thing. The award goes to Sui Lu and Yao Jinnan for great routines.
11:48 a.m.: Lovely work from Wu Liufang, who has grown a little bit and looks a tad more powerful as a result. The gymnast who went up before her, Huang Quishuang I believe it was, also did a great routine, but sat her ending 2.5 twist.
11:45 a.m.: Sui Lu: "Scent of a Woman" the same routine and tumbling she performed last year. Truly an enjoyable performance though -- mature work from this veteran. Looks like she's doing 1.5 to Rudi third pass. Very good Memmel turn. Great whip to triple full to open.
The Koreans are applauding for something on vault. Actually, they're applauding a lot.
11:44 a.m.: Yao Jinnan: Double layout, small step back and OOB. She risks going OOB if she has to take the step back. Triple full, stuck, follows. 1.5 to 2.5 with a step. Her "Pink Panther" routine is an attention getter, fairly showy for the Chinese. Big bounce out of double pike to end. Hmmm.
11:40 a.m.: Jiang Yuyuan leads off on floor for China. It's a routine with Spanish guitar, some drums and male lyrics. The reigning World silver medalist still has some flair in her dance, but I can't help think that this routine is tamped down from what she was doing in 2008. Also tamped down is her tumbling -- she opens with a 2.5 twist to stag jump, follows up with a double tuck.
Tan Sixin follows. Some problems here -- OOB on first pass, stumbles forward on her second pass (2.5 twist). Rather weak double full with a step to the side to end. This floor does not seem to give her lots of help, the way it is with some of the others.
11:38 a.m.: It seems like every major team has somebody who's doing a double layout on floor. China's comes from Yao Jinnan, and it was a beauty! Also looking good is Sui Lu's triple twist.
One of the Koreans just did a DTY on vault. Jo Hyunjoo, who made vault finals at last year's Worlds, is their biggest star.
11:35 a.m.: Also in this subdivision: Korea (on vault), India, Slovenia and Malaysia? (IOC code MAS). I'm particularly interested to see how the Korens vault, as they were so good on bars and beam yesterday.
11:33 a.m.: Here comes China! The team who may be the U.S.'s greatest rival for gold here is in red warmup jackets and silver pants, and carries red backpacks. China looks like it will start on floor. The girls are in red long sleeved leotards full of sparkle.
11:30 a.m.: In the media section reserved for VIPs, I can see Nastia Liukin, who may be here as a spy for the U.S. while China works out. (Just kidding, she's here in official capacity as the FIG Athlete Rep.)
11:20 p.m.: "We will shortly begin the women's podium practice, which is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.," comes over the loudspeaker. In the stands, a handful of people have turned out to watch. I can hardly sit still.
11:17 a.m.: Waiting for China. The Chinese should be in in just a few minutes, and nobody's more excited about it than the U.S. delegation, whose media arrived in force this morning. USA Gymnastics is in the building, as is Inside Gymnastics Magazine. I'm going to attempt to liveblog this session for Examiner.com, and hope the site holds up. Some updates will be on Facebook, but please check back often!
TOKYO, 10 a.m.: Greetings from the Yoyogi Training Hall in downtown Tokyo, where the Mexicans are on beam and young Thema Williams, the only competitor from Trinidad and Tobago, is working out on uneven bars. Today's much anticipated podium training sessions include the U.S. and Chinese in podium training, and you'll be able to follow it all here (provided Examiner.com's site keeps working!) and on Facebook.
Anyways, the Mexicans are looking sharp on beam. As Brigid noted earlier, Mexican star Elsa Garcia is thin, thin, thin (approaching Jessica Lopez standards, Brigid said) but also looks quite powerful on vault.
The Gymnastics Examiner will be in Tokyo for the duration of the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships, which are the first round of qualification for the 2012 Olympic Games. Please check back often for quick hits from training sessions and competition, interviews, videos and photogrpahs. Like The Gymnastics Examiner on Facebook, follow on Twitter, or click the "Subscribe" button above to receive the latest gymnastics news and results via e-mail.
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