2018 City Of Jesolo Preview: New Kids On The Roster For Team China
2018 City Of Jesolo Preview: New Kids On The Roster For Team China
A first look at what we can expect from China's new junior athletes: Wei Xiaoyuan, Yin Sisi, and Li Shijia going into 2018 Jesolo in April.
With the 2018 City of Jesolo Trophy on the horizon, there’s a lot of gymnastics to be excited about — like new juniors we’ve never heard of who come out and generate some buzz over the second half of this quadrennium. So before you stream Jesolo live on FloGymnastics April 14-15, here’s a first look into the new kids on the roster for Team China.
The Chinese will debut some new juniors in Italy. Many of these athletes have yet to compete internationally, and Jesolo is a great opportunity for rookies to stake their claim on the competition floor.
The most accomplished newbie on China’s roster is Wei Xiaoyuan. Wei won the all-around at the 2017 Chinese Junior Championships in June and then competed in the U.S. earlier this year in the 2018 WOGA Classic, where she took bronze on beam. She showed a set with some unique elements front aerial to split jump to ring jump to Korbut.
Wei is also proving to be an up-and-coming bars worker with crisp, long lines, beautiful handstand work, and a veteran rhythm.
Another impressive junior for China is Yin Sisi. Yin is a beam queen on the rise who grabbed our attention at the 2017 Chinese National Games. She has a huge back handspring step-out, back handspring to a layout that Simone Biles could walk under, and she does a front handspring step-out to front tuck.
Junior Li Shijia will also contend for a beam medal at Jesolo after winning silver at WOGA Classics even with a 1.0 deduction for grabbing the beam. (It’s almost like China has a history of being good at beam . . .)
At WOGA, she showed a roundoff to layout series — giving off some Mo Huilan vibes — and punch front to split jump to stag ring jump. Li has some serious tools for future D-score potential and her flexibility makes us jealous.
We’re excited to watch these three and the rest of the new juniors make a name in Italy. Check back for more New Kids on the Roster and don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 2018 City of Jesolo Trophy live on FloGymnastics!
Full Chinese Roster
Seniors | Juniors |
He Licheng | Wei Xiaoyuan |
Guo Fangting | Li Shijia |
Liu Jinru | Yin Sisi |
Luo Huan | He Licheng |
Liu Jieyu |