Recap: Women's Event Finals Day 1- VT, UB

Oct 11, 2014 by Becca Reed

Pictured: Yao Jinnan

The 2014 World Championships in Nanning, China continued today with day one of event finals. The women competed on vault and bars and tomorrow will compete on beam and floor.

Vault

Mykayla Skinner of USA kicked off the vault rotation. She performed an outstanding Cheng with much improved form and just a small hop back that earned a 15.7. Her second vault was a Yuchenko double full that had great height and distance and also a small hop back. She scored a 15.033 on vault two to give her an average of 15.366.

Vietnam’s Phan Thi Ha Thanh was up second. Her first vault was a Yurchenko double full but she landed short and took a big step forward and to the side to score a 14.108. She followed with a front handspring rudi that had a more controlled landing and scored a 14.633. She averaged a 14.37.

Claudia Fragapane of Great Britain performed a Yurchenko double full but had slightly bent legs in the air and a big hop back. Her second vault was a round off half on layout half off with a hop back. She scored a 14.833 and 14.6 to average a 14.716.

Fourth up was Alexa Moreno of Mexico. Her first vault was a front handspring 1 1/2 twist with good height and form just a step forward on the landing to earn a 15.033. Her second vault was a Tsuk double twist but she landed short and to the side and stepped completely off the matt. She scored a 14.066 on her second vault and averaged a 14.549.

Hong Un Jong of Korea was up next. She performed an excellent Amanar for her first vault with great height and form but a big step forward to score a 15.766. Her second vault was a Cheng which she executed well but stepped to the side and had to fight hard to stay within the lines. She scored a 15.433 on her second vault to average a 15.599 and move past Skinner into first place.

Alla Sosnitskaya of Russia started with a Cheng and landed to the side but kept her feet glued to the ground and didn’t take a step. Her second vault was a Yurchenko double twist with great height and she went for the stick but was falling as she saluted and had to take a step. She earned a 14.966 on both vaults so her average was also a 14.966.

Simone Biles of USA was up seventh and she performed her first class Amanar with incredible height and a hop forward for a 15.9. This was the fourth time she competed this vault at this World Championships and they all looked almost identical. Her second vault was a Yurchenko half on layout half off which had impeccable form and a near stick, just sliding her feet together, to score a 15.208. She averaged a 15.554, which moved her past Skinner but wasn’t enough to beat Hong.

Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland completed the rotation. She performed a front handspring rudi with a hop back for a 15.233. Her second vault was a Yurchenko full that earned a 14.2. She averaged a 14.716.

1. Hong Un Jong - PRK - 15.599
2. Simone Biles - USA - 15.554
3. Mykayla Skinner - USA - 15.366

Pictured: Hong Un Jong

Uneven Bars

Aliya Mustafina of Russia was first up on bars and executed a fantastic, nearly flawless routine for a 15.1. She performed a Maloney half, a huge pike Jaeger, beautiful pirouetting that went right to handstands, and a stuck full in.

Second Russian gymnast Daria Spiridonova followed with another gorgeous routine. She had long clean lines and beautiful releases. She scored a 15.283 to move past Mustafina.

Ashton Locklear of USA was next in her first World Championships. She opened with her five connected releases moving back and forth between the bars with beautiful form. She continued with a big straddle Jaeger and finished with a full in, taking a small step back. She scored a 15.266.

Up fourth was 2014 European bar champion Rebecca Downie of Great Britain. She had lots of impressive connected releases including a Shaposh into an uprise right into a Hindorf. She finished with a full in for a 15.166.

Great Britain’s Ruby Harrold was next but had an unfortunate fall. She performed a full twisting Pak that had some form issues and then she fell over on a toe circle full. She finished strong and stuck her double front dismount but only earned a 13.666.

Lisa Hill of Germany was up next with a solid routine. She also performed a full twisting Pak as well as a beautiful, high Geinger. She finished with a full in for a 14.333.

Reigning World Bars Champion Huang Huidan was next with a stunning routine. She performed gorgeous pirouetting along with a massive pike Jaeger and stuck her dismount for a 15.566 to put her far in the lead, with just her teammate left to compete.

Second Chinese gymnast and final competitor Yao Jinnan followed with another incredible routine. She connected beautiful releases to start off and continued with three gorgeous twisting elements in a row. She stuck her double layout dismount and earned a 15.633, giving her the gold medal.

1. Yao Jinnan - CHN - 15.633
2. Huang Huidan - CHN - 15.566
3. Daria Spiridonova - RUS - 15.283

Related:
Full Results Page
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