About Beam and Floor Finals…

At the last day of such a long competition like the Olympics, it is understandable if the gymnasts are tired. And they were.

A lot of mistakes were seen in both beam and floor finals and I think it is safe to say that most of them were due to the gymnasts’ exhaustion.

 

The Chinese not only stayed on the beam, but showed very well executed routines, taking the gold and the silver medal, with Deng Linlin and Sui Lu, respectively. The third spot on the podium went for Aly Raisman, who won the tie-break against Catalina Ponor. On her interview on the Today Show, Aly admited she felt bad for Ponor, because she knows it is a really bad position to be in.

It really was Raisman’s day, and after nailing her tumbling passes and her energetic choreography on floor finals, she took the gold medal! Catalina isn’t the one to go home empty-handed and took the silver, with Mustafina in a surprising third (after another tie-braker, this time against Ferrari), becoming the most decorated female gymnast of the London Olympic Games.

 

Personally, I think the tie-breaking is the most upsetting rule of these Olympics. On the Women’s side, Raisman on the all-around, Ponor on the balance beam and Ferrari on floor, all deserved to share the bronze medal with the other girls. It is really unfair to decide that only one gets the medal, while the other girl who trained just as hard and delivered a performance just as great gets nothing. To me, those three girls are also champions and should be awarded!

 

Apart from the tie-breaks, I was very pleased with the results from the day 3 of event finals! The Chinese got some more individual medals, with Deng Linlin showing once again she is a strong and talented gymnast who should never be overlooked, and Sui Lu delivering one more gorgeous routine (even if she wasn’t too happy about the color of her medal). Raisman finally caught a break from the fourth-place curse, taking the confidence from her bronze medal on beam to get a gold one on floor! A very deserving end to a very hardworking girl! Ponor got a silver medal on floor after eight years from her Olympic gold on this apparatus! How awesome and hardcore is that? And to finish her amazing performance in London, Mustafina took one more medal to her collection, showing she is still that great gymnast from 2010 and also a true fighter.

 

What are your thoughts on beam and floor finals?

Leave on the comments below!

Talking about medals: Beijing X London

Credits to: AP Photo/Gregory Bull

The Artistic Gymnastics competitions at the 2012 London Olympics are over and now it is time to start analysing the results for each country. Here are the medal table comparing the results from Beijing and London for the top 4 countries in Women’s Gymnastics: China, Romania, Russia and USA. To make it more interesting and easier to visualize each country’s progress, the results from the 2009, 2010 and 2011 World Championships are also included.

Team China:

As far as Olympics go, Team China had a little bit of a disappointing performance in London, if compared to Beijing. Even so, they have scored three medals, the same thing they had got on 2009 and 2010 Worlds. The balance beam has been their most succesful apparatus and on the uneven bars, China is the most decorated out of the four teams.

CHINA	Beijing 2008	2009	2010	2011	London 2012
Team	GOLD	N/A	BRONZE	BRONZE	-
All-around	BRONZE	-	SILVER	BRONZE	-
Vault	BRONZE	-	-		-
Uneven Bars	GOLD/BRONZE	GOLD	-	BRONZE	SILVER
Balance Beam	BRONZE	GOLD	SILVER	GOLD/SILVER	GOLD/SILVER
Floor	-	BRONZE;	-	SILVER	-
TOTAL	6 MEDALS  2 Gold 0 Silver 4 Bronze	3 MEDALS  2 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze	3 MEDALS  0 Gold 2 Silver 1 Bronze	6 MEDALS  1 Gold 2 Silver 3 Bronze	3 MEDALS   1 Gold 2 Silver 0 Bronze

Team Romania:

With a total of three medals in London, Romania had their best performance of the quad. The last time they were at the Team Finals podium was in Beijing. Floor exercise in the apparatus that has given them the most medals since 2008.

ROMANIA	Beijing 2008	2009	2010	2011	London 2012
Team	BRONZE	N/A	-	-	BRONZE
All-around	-	-	-	-	-
Vault	-	-	-	-	GOLD
Uneven Bars	-	BRONZE	-	-	-
Balance Beam	-	-	GOLD	-	-
Floor	GOLD	-	SILVER	-	SILVER
TOTAL	2 MEDALS  1 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze	1 MEDAL  0 Gold 0 Silver 1 Bronze	2 MEDALS  1 Gold 1 Silver 0 Bronze	0 MEDALS  0 Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze	3 MEDALS  1 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze

Team Russia:

After going home without any medals in both in 2008 and 2009, Russia has come back strong and, in London, they have gotten their best performance of the quad. Uneven Bars has been their best apparatus, but they have also been strong on the all-around competition, since 2010.

RUSSIA	Beijing 2008	2009	2010	2011	London 2012
Team	-	N/A	GOLD	SILVER	SILVER
All-around	-	-	GOLD	SILVER	SILVER/BRONZE
Vault	-	-	SILVER	-	BRONZE
Uneven Bars	-	-	SILVER	GOLD/SILVER	GOLD
Balance Beam	-	-	-	-	-
Floor	-	-	SILVER	GOLD	BRONZE
TOTAL	0 MEDALS  0 Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze	0 MEDALS  0 Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze	5 MEDALS  2 Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze	5 MEDALS  2 Gold 3 Silver 0 Bronze	6 MEDALS  1 Gold 2 Silver 3 Bronze

Team USA:

Being the only team to be on the Team podium every year, USA has gotten less medals in London than in Beijing (although more gold medals in London), but has maintained the 5-medal per competition average since 2009. The all-around, followed by balance beam, has given USA the most medals. USA is also the most decorated on vault and floor out of the four countries.

USA	Beijing 2008	2009	2010	2011	London 2012
Team	SILVER	N/A	SILVER	GOLD	GOLD
All-around	GOLD/SILVER	GOLD/SILVER	BRONZE	GOLD	GOLD
Vault	-	GOLD	GOLD	GOLD	SILVER
Uneven Bars	SILVER	BRONZE	BRONZE	-	-
Balance Beam	GOLD/SILVER	BRONZE	SILVER	BRONZE	BRONZE
Floor	SILVER/BRONZE	-	-	BRONZE	GOLD
TOTAL	8 MEDALS  2 Gold 5 Silver 1 Bronze	5 MEDALS  2 Gold 1 Silver 2 Bronze	5 MEDALS  1 Gold 2 Silver 2 Bronze	5 MEDALS  3 Gold 0 Silver 2 Bronze	5 MEDALS  3 Gold 1 Silver 1 Bronze

Total of medals per-country since Beijing:

1) TEAM USA: 28 MEDALS

2) TEAM CHINA: 21 MEDALS

3) TEAM RUSSIA: 16 MEDALS

4) TEAM ROMANIA: 8 MEDALS

What are your thoughts on the top 4 countries performance on WAG and the overall medal count?

Leave your comments below!

About Uneven Bars Finals…

 

I won’t make a full recap, but here are my overall impressions:

 

- So much better than vault finals: beauty and safety on every routine

- I actually like Gabby’s astronaut leotard! It looked so cool in her! About her performance, we knew she didn’t have much of a chance of medal, specially with everyone hitting their routines, so her mistake wasn’t really a huge deal.

- Nice to see Koko Tsurumi in finals too. She has beautiful lines and a very fluid routine.

- Too bad about Komova’s mistake, because otherwise it was a great routine. She would probably have medaled had she hit her routine but, honestly, I am happier with the podium as it turned out!

- Seitz is so hardcore with her Def!

- Yao jinnan looked so happy throughout the entire competition. Glad to see her like that! Love the pirouetting on her routine.

- Beth is the Best! So much respect for this girl! She put British gymnastics on the map and has done so much for her country. She has my favorite UB routine ever and an Olympic medal at home was such a great way to end her career. I already miss seeing her in competition

- He kexin is fierce! No inconsistencies for her in London, and hitting the hardest uneven bars routine of the entire competition gave her the very deserving silver medal. Three Olympic medals for this lady! I was so happy to see her on the podium again. Great comeback!

- Mustafina is the Queen! Oh my, can you believe she is Olympic champion?  Russia hadn’t won an Olympic gold medal since 2000. After being the one to beat in 2010, having a career-ending injury on 2011 and a rough restart in 2012, Aliya shows everyone she still has got the IT-factor. She is now the most decorated gymnast of the quad! I am so incredibly proud of her!

 

I am so happy with the results!

What about you? What did you think of the UB finals?

About the lack of sportsmanship…

Credits to: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

 

These past few days, there has been a lot of talk about sportsmanship and the proper way to act even when things don’t go your way.

Mckayla Maroney was considered a lock for the Olympic gold on vault. She fell and ended up with silver. She was obviously disappointed at her performance and wasn’t able to hide it afterwards when the results were shown, or at the podium.

Many people were quick to start accusing her of bad sportsmanship and I am not here to judge her actions or to say what is right or wrong. I would just like to remind everyone about the fact that these girls (and now I am talking about any gymnast who might have not behaved the “correct way”), who are so young, just might be overwhelmed with all the emotions that go through their minds after not being able to accomplish what they have trained so hard for.

And it is not like they have the time to 1) get the bad news; 2) be disappointed; 3) recompose themselves 4) act well in front of a billion cameras. Everything happens in one moment and sometimes they don’t yet have the maturity to deal with all that.

I am not saying that I think making faces or crying and ignoring everyone else is the best way to handle things. Personally, I don’t like to see any hint of bad attitude on competition, no matter what the excuse is. I do admire very much any athlete who can overcome disappointment and be positive with everyone, showing appreciation for just having the opportunity of competing. I think it shows a lot of class and respect for the others.

I also think that maybe these teenagers are simply not aware of how their actions might come across. They don’t mean to be disrespectful or rude and with time and experience, they just might learn how to handle things better. The thing is, even if I see a gymnast acting in a way I don’t necessarily like, it is not up to me to judge her entire character and say whether she is good person or not.

 

About Vault Finals…

Credits to: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

It was a nail-biting competition (and a very shocking one too).

To get things started, we had a nice performance from Brittany Rogers, who did her two vaults (although not so hard) very well. She was one of the two gymnasts representing Canada in vault finals, after the very-awesome competition this team had in London. (14.493)

After that, it was time for the rookie Janine Berger, who showed difficulty and power, but with a little bit of execution problems. It was nice to see a first-year senior hitting it nicely at the Olympics and showing that she has come to stay and keep Germany in vault finals, even after Chuso retires. (15.016)

Ellie Black was the third one to go and ended up crashing her first vault. It was a little scary, but she got up and kept going, trying to fight back the tears and compose herself to the second one. While making her run, she feels her ankle and stops midway. She salutes the judges, getting a zero on both vaults and goes get her ankle iced. The whole thing was a little scary and I just hope Ellie is ok and the injury isn’t too serious. She is such a great gymnast, who helped so much team Canada in London. (0.00)

After all that, I have to admit I was VERY nervous to see Peña vault. She went for it and, midway, stopped and started again, because she had missed her steps. The second time she got it right but, in the end, wasn’t able to stand up the very hard Produnova (she still got her feet on the ground first, which validates the vault). After that, her DTY was better, but still with some form issues. (14.516)

It was Oksana Chusovitina’s turn and she delivered it with just some landing problems on both vaults. It is so amazing to see this woman compete and I am sure going to miss her! After her performance, she waved to the crowd savoring her last moments as a competitive gymnast. I hope we still get to see her as an elite coach and, as I said, she left Gerber to keep things going for the Germans (Gerber has stated in some interviews that Chuso has always been one of her idols and that competing by her side was a dream coming true! – so cute). (14.783)

Maria Paseka went for her Amanar, which had the usual problems on the landing. Her second vault was much better though, and she finished it with a smile. She got the bronze medal and, honestly, I was ok with it! I know many people have complained about her being overscored. I do find her Amanar scary on the landing, but her form isn’t so bad and her second vault was actually quite nice! Fourth medal on WAG for Russia in London! (15.050)

It was Mckayla Maroney’s time and I think it is safe to say we were all just very sure we would see the usual great vaults, she would get the gold and we could all move on with our lives. Only… not. Her Amanar was very high and nice as always, but the landing looked a little uncertain. Still, that would have been enough. Time for her second vault and I can say that I had my mouth hanging open in shock for a very long time when I saw her sit it! Seriously people, when has she ever missed a vault? (Actually, here is the answer: http://fyeahgymnasticsmemes.tumblr.com/post/28767847823/maroneys-fallen-once-on-vt-ever-before-today-she-hit). The Olympics are unpredictable games, indeed. I think the general consensus is “Maroney is the best vaulter in the world, but was not the best vaulter in that competition”. I was still pretty impressed she managed to get the silver. It shows that her execution in the air is so good, it makes a difference! (although in the Proposed Code for 2013-basa2016 she would have gotten fourth place http://www.thecouchgymnast.com/?p=7073). I was really rooting for Maroney, but that was not her day. Maybe all she needed was one more deep breath or one more second to focus on the exercise. I guess we will never know. (15.083)

Last, but certainly not least, was Sandra Izbaza. She hit her two vaults and went for the gold: her fourth Olympic medal! Can we just take a moment to appreciate how much this girl has under her belt? In 2008, she helped Romania for the team-bronze and was gold-medalist on floor (also being the last to go, beating both Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin). She kept going with gymnastics after Bejing, but ended up with a torn Achilles. She not only recovers, but becomes a vaulter and goes back to competing all-around to help her team. She come to London, helps Romania win the bronze again and now gets another individual gold, in a different apparatus! Amazing! And also, she is such a great example of sportmanship, always showing great attitude towards her team, her coaches and her competititors. (15.191)

Although it was a surprising result, I am very happy with it. Izbasa is such a fighter and hit when it counted, deserving the gold. Maroney had a bad day, but still got a medal to celebrate her talent. And Paseka, who made team Russia only for her vault, got an individual medal on this apparatus too!

What about you? What did you guys think about the results?

Favorite Routines from All-Around Competition!

Credits: Getty Images

 

I asked yesterday on twitter about your favorite routines from AA finals. Here are the most mentioned:

- Gabby’s beam: after so much trouble this apparatus has given Gabby in the past, it is just so awesome to see her nail all of her beam routines so far in London. Yesterday was no different and many people agree it was one of the best routines from AA competition.

- Mustafina’s bars: What an excellent routine that was: the gorgeous lines, the flying releases, the perfect handstands and the dismount that is named after her. This amazing combination gave her the top score on uneven bars: a huge 16.100!

- Komova’s floor: She gave her all into that performance, with beautiful choreography and great landings on her tumbling passes. I was probably her best floor routine ever and an amazing way to wrap-up the competition.

 

I absolutely agree with your favorite routines, but I would like to add some more that weren’t so talked about:

- Vanessa Ferrari’s floor: she isn’t known to be the most gracious of the gymnasts, but it was so beautiful to watch her giving her all into that floor exercise yesterday! Her choreography was very well executed and we could see her feeling the music and enjoying every second of it. Her tumbling was also great as always.

- Deng Linlin’s beam: after falling on team finals, yesterday she showed us what she is capable of, giving us a nearly perfect balance beam routine. I really love her tumbling sequence and her beautiful lines.

- Sandra Izbasa’s vault: it seems that everytime she performs the Mustafina, she manages to do it better. Actually, I was very impressed with Sandra’s performance in general. Who was expecting her to come in fifth in the all-around? Such a fighter and an amazing gymnast!

 

Are there other routines you loved to watch in the All-around competition?

Leave it in the comments below!

All-around Competition – TOP 3 and BOTTOM 3 moments!

Credits: NEWS.CN

 

Yesterday was intense!

The all-around competition left us all at the edge of our seats, with some amazing performances from the 24 gymnasts who had qualified to the finals. We saw some great routines out there and in the end it was Gabrielle Douglas, Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina who got the medals!

Here is my take on the top 3 and bottom 3 moments of the competition:

 

TOP 3:

- Aliya Mustafina gets a medal: She is one of my personal favorites and to see her win the bronze medal with a smile on her face, just made me so happy! She has come a long way since her injury and it just proves that she is one of the greatest competitors out there.

- The Chinese hit: After having a hard time on Team Finals, it was really nice to see Deng Linlin and Huang Qiushuang hitting all their routines and looking happy with their performance!

- Gabby gets the Gold: It was a really special moment when Gabby waved to the crowd after her floor exercise, knowing she had done her best! When the scores were finally out and she was indeed the Champion, it was amazing to see her and Chow’s reaction. Such a deserving duo!

 

BOTTOM 3

- Hannah Whelan falling on vault: So sad to see her fall in a skill she can usually perform just fine. She was obviously crushed about it, but came back to a nice routine on the uneven bars to redeem herself in front of her home crowd.

- The “Komova was better” discussion: The whole Komova-should-have-won situation is so 2011 and therefore it is just plain annoying to see some people still insisting on it. Yes, she had the floor routine of her life and it was absolutely beautiful, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap on Gabby: end of discussion. Let’s just appreciate the two of them as the amazing gymnasts they are and be happy we got to see a nice competition.

- Aly on fourth place: Tie-breakers are just very ridiculous and both Mustafina and Raisman should have been awarded bronze medals. It is a shame Aly didn’t get hers, but good thing she still has two event finals to go!

 

What about you? In your opinion, what were the top 3 and bottom 3 moments of the AA competition?