World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011Oct 14, 2011 by Anne Phillips
World Championships Event Finals, Day 1 PREVIEW
World Championships Event Finals, Day 1 PREVIEW
World Championships Event Finals, Day 1 PREVIEW
This time tomorrow we will have new World Champions on Floor, Vault, Pommel Horse, Uneven Bars, and Still Rings. Here's a preview of what we'll see in Tokyo on day 1 of Individual Event Finals.
Women's Vault
The defending World Vault Champion, Alicia Sacramone, is unfortunately out with an achilles tear which was suffered during training here in Tokyo, so the American contingent will look heavily on McKayla Maroney to win a 3rd-straight vault title for the USA (the streak Kayla Williams started in 2009). Don't miss Yamilet Pena who competed a handspring double front in qualifications. My only hope is that she competes it safely. Oksana Chusovitina is still going at age 36 and vaulted a nice handspring rudi in the team finals. Never count her out.
Watch McKayla Maroney's amazing amanar vault from podium training in Tokyo:
This final is going to be a battle. Louis Smith has a world silver and an Olympic bronze on the pommel horse and is in search of gold. He's got an even harder routine planned than what he performed in the prelims. However, defending Champion Berki will be tough to beat. Check out his routine from qualifications:
Uneven Bars
This final is wide open in that it lacks defending World Champion Beth Tweddle, and defending Olympic Champion He Kexin. Both girls had unfortunate mistakes in the qualification round, and to the dismay of gymnastics fans around the world, this final will be a bit less exciting. Komova is the likely favorite for the title. She's been impeccable on bars across her three previous days of competition in Tokyo, and definitely has extra motivation for gold after coming less than a tenth shy of the all around gold 2 nights ago. Video of Tweddle on bars.
Gabrielle Douglas of USA has one of the cleanest, and quickest routines in the World, and if she can stick her dismount like she's done many times before she will contend for a medal. Video
Viktoria Komova on bars during the qualification round:
This final is Chen Yibing's to loose. He's looked solid on the event in both qualifications and team finals. His often stuck, and always flared out full twisting double layout adds an exclamation mark to a massive routine. Video from qualifications:
Men's Floor (D score as competed in qualifications in parentheses)
1. Zou Kai (CHN) 15.700 (6.9)
2. Marian Dragulescu (ROU) 15.566 (6.7)
3. Alexander Shatilov (ISR) 15.500 (6.7)
4. Diego Hypolito (BRA) 15.500 (6.8)
5. Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 15.466 (6.5)
6. Steven Legendre (USA) 15.433 (6.8)
7. Tomás González (CHI) 15.400 (6.5)
8. Flavius Koczi (ROU) 15.400 (6.6)
R1: Jacob Dalton (USA) 15.366 (6.6)
R2: Eletherios Kosmidis (GRE) 15.366 (6.7) - defending Champion
This is a rather predictable group of finalists with a total of 12 major floor medals collectively. Here's the rundown:
Zou: Olympic gold in 2008, World silver in 2009
Dragulescu: World gold in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, and Olympic silver in 2004
Shatilov: World bronze in 2009
Hypolito: World gold in 2005 & 2007, and silver in 2006
Uchimura: World silver in 2010
Zou Kai is the reigning Olympic Champion who has been rather quiet on the international scene since 2008. He exploded with an amazing floor routine during the team finals and will be the likely favorite in the finals.
This is the third-straight World Floor final for American powerhouse Steven Legendre and I feel good about his chances for a medal tomorrow. He's struggled with adjusting to international floors in the past, but this floor suits him perfectly, and he's looked great each time he's competed on this floor in Tokyo. Video of Legendre on floor in qualifying
Watch Zou Kai on floor in podium training:
This is a rather predictable group of finalists with a total of 12 major floor medals collectively. Here's the rundown:
Zou: Olympic gold in 2008, World silver in 2009
Dragulescu: World gold in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2009, and Olympic silver in 2004
Shatilov: World bronze in 2009
Hypolito: World gold in 2005 & 2007, and silver in 2006
Uchimura: World silver in 2010
Zou Kai is the reigning Olympic Champion who has been rather quiet on the international scene since 2008. He exploded with an amazing floor routine during the team finals and will be the likely favorite in the finals.
This is the third-straight World Floor final for American powerhouse Steven Legendre and I feel good about his chances for a medal tomorrow. He's struggled with adjusting to international floors in the past, but this floor suits him perfectly, and he's looked great each time he's competed on this floor in Tokyo. Video of Legendre on floor in qualifying
Watch Zou Kai on floor in podium training:
Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org
Women's Vault
1. McKayla Maroney (USA) - 15.083
2. Oksana Chusovitina (GER) - 14.833
3. Yamilet Pena Abreu (DOM) - 14.466
4. Gulia Steingruber (SUI) - 14.299
5. Jade Fernandes Barbosa (BRA) - 14.266
6. Alexa Morena Medina (MEX) - 14.249
7. Tatiana Nabieva (RUS) - 14.224
8. T. Phan (VIE) - 14.216
R1 Hyunjoo Jo (KOR)
R2 Valeria Maksiuta
R3 Austin Sheppard
The defending World Vault Champion, Alicia Sacramone, is unfortunately out with an achilles tear which was suffered during training here in Tokyo, so the American contingent will look heavily on McKayla Maroney to win a 3rd-straight vault title for the USA (the streak Kayla Williams started in 2009). Don't miss Yamilet Pena who competed a handspring double front in qualifications. My only hope is that she competes it safely. Oksana Chusovitina is still going at age 36 and vaulted a nice handspring rudi in the team finals. Never count her out.
Watch McKayla Maroney's amazing amanar vault from podium training in Tokyo:
Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org
Pommel Horse
1. Kristian Berki (HUN) 15.866 (6.7) - defending Champion
2. Louis Smith (GBR) 15.600 (6.9)
3. Parsanth Sellathurai 15.566
4. Saso Bertoncelj (SLO) 15.500 (6.5)
5. Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 15.433 (6.3)
6. Teng Haibin (CHN) 15.300 (6.4)
6. Cyril Tommasone (FRA) 15.300 (6.4)
8. Vid Hidvegi (HUN) 15.266 (6.4)
R1: Alexander Naddour (USA) 15.233 (6.2)
R2: Donna-Donny Trueyens (BEL) 15.233 (6.3)
This final is going to be a battle. Louis Smith has a world silver and an Olympic bronze on the pommel horse and is in search of gold. He's got an even harder routine planned than what he performed in the prelims. However, defending Champion Berki will be tough to beat. Check out his routine from qualifications:
Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org
Uneven Bars
1. Viktoria Komova (RUS) - 15.733
2. Youna Dufournet (FRA) - 15.066
3. Koko Tsurumi (JPN) - 14.933
4. Huang Quishuang (CHN) - 14.90
5. Tatiana Nabieva (RUS) - 14.883
6. Gabrielle Douglas (USA) - 14.866
7. Jordyn Wieber (USA) - 14.800
8. Asuka Teramoto (JPN) - 14.683
R1. Yao Jinnan (CHM) 14.566
R2. Elizabeth Seitz (GER) 14.433
R3. Elizabeth Tweddle (GBR) 14.433
This final is wide open in that it lacks defending World Champion Beth Tweddle, and defending Olympic Champion He Kexin. Both girls had unfortunate mistakes in the qualification round, and to the dismay of gymnastics fans around the world, this final will be a bit less exciting. Komova is the likely favorite for the title. She's been impeccable on bars across her three previous days of competition in Tokyo, and definitely has extra motivation for gold after coming less than a tenth shy of the all around gold 2 nights ago. Video of Tweddle on bars.
Gabrielle Douglas of USA has one of the cleanest, and quickest routines in the World, and if she can stick her dismount like she's done many times before she will contend for a medal. Video
Viktoria Komova on bars during the qualification round:
Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org
Still Rings
1. Chen Yibing (CHN) 15.700 (6.8) - defending Champion
2. Arthur Zanetti (BRA) 15.533 (6.5)
3. Koji Yamamuro (JPN) 15.533 (6.7)
4. Yuri Van Gelder (NED) 15.383 (6.5)
5. Jonathan Horton (USA) 15.366 (6.7)
6. Matteo Morandi (ITA) 15.366 (6.8)
7. Regulo Carmona (VEN) 15.333 (6.7)
8. Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 15.233 (6.5)
R1: Denis Albyazin (RUS) 15.133 (6.6)
R2: Nikita Ignatyev (RUS) 15.100 (6.3)
This final is Chen Yibing's to loose. He's looked solid on the event in both qualifications and team finals. His often stuck, and always flared out full twisting double layout adds an exclamation mark to a massive routine. Video from qualifications:
Watch more video of World Gymnastics Championships Tokyo 2011 on gymnastike.org
Event finals will begin tomorrow, October 15th, at 1:30pm Tokyo time which is 12:30am EST in the USA. Follow it LIVE with us HERE.