"I have no idols and never have." -- Aliya Mustafina
Caroline Paulian, one of the forces behind the excellent Le Gymnaste magazine put it best about Aliya Mustafina after Mustafina won everything she competed on Sunday afternoon: Mustafina, she commented, seems to care far more about her gymnastics than she does about applause, recognition, flowers or medals.
On beam, where all she really needed to do was stay on to win the event, Mustafina hit one of the better beam sets she's ever done. If Mustafina has a weakness, beam is it -- it's the one event she seems to train and compete identically.
But Sunday in Paris she controlled her incredible difficulty very well. I was especially impressed with the more or less stuck triple full from two back handsprings. Her performance must have impressed Mustafina too -- unlike her teammate Tatiana Nabieva, she shows little emotion either in training or competition (not in the early '90s way, where gymnasts often tended to look put upon; Mustafina's expression is normally a bit bored, like someone on a long subway ride who has forgotten their book and has to look disinterestedly out the window).
But this time she gave Nabieva a big relieved hug and even did a bit of a victory dance.
Come time to mount the podium however, Mustafina had regained control of her normal expression. Always elegant, always in control of her emotions, she crossed the floor slowly and stood on the podium above Ana Porgras and Anna Dementyeva, bowed to have the medal put around her neck and stood with her bouquet of flowers while the spotlights focused on her and flashbulbs popped from every corner of the arena.
Why six is better than four: The beam final was a good demonstration of how the FIG's new rule about category A World Cup meets can backfire. It was set to be an exciting event, more or less a rehash of the 2010 World Championships beam final.
But the fact that three of the four gymnasts fell, and two of the three earned medals in spite of their falls, illustrates why you need more gymnasts in a final at a World Cup event. I don't understand why the FIG thinks eight is too many -- it takes too much time, perhaps? -- but if there must be fewer gymnasts in a final, six would be a more reasonable number.
Bercy, home of the 2015 World Championships?: Paris is one of the cities in the running to host the 2015 Worlds, along with Glasgow, Indianapolis, Atlanta and a Canadian city (or so I heard). Paris last hosted the World Championships in 1992.
After competition concluded at Bercy, the French Gymnastics Federation broadcast a short film featuring Thomas Bouhail and Marine Debauve dressed up and doing gymnastics-y things in front of Paris landmarks while people from all nations stood cheering. The piece ends with the two entering Bercy arena, and when the film was over, Debauve and Bouhail were indeed there on the floor, dressed in the same clothes they had worn in the film, waving to the crowd.
The piece, which is rather gorgeous, can be viewed here.
Fashion forward: Croatia's Tina Erceg created a lot of talk with the leotard she wore during qualifications (see photo above). Erceg, the first (and as far as I know, the only) gymnast to have mounted the beam with a roundoff, Arabian front, continues to be a trailblazer in the realm of gymnastics fashion. Erceg was the gymnast who wore the infamous "suit" leo during qualifications at the 2009 World Championships in London, as well as at last year's French International.
Love or hate the heart-printed, fairy-princess style blue and white leotard she wore during qualifications (it practically had puffy sleeves) at this meet, you have to give her points for originality.
Music!: One of the traditions in France is playing instrumental music during event finals. Each gymnast on any event other than vault had a piece of music that played in the background. I doubt the gymnasts even heard the music, but for the audience, especially one that doesn't know the sport too well, It's a great idea that adds to the ambiance of the event.
A souvenir de Paris: The French Gymnastics Federation commissioned special macaroons with the images of Marine Brevet on beam, Thomas Bouhail on vault, a rhythmic team and the Federation's logo to commemorate this event. The macaroons are pictured below Erceg.
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