2012 Stuttgart World Cup Wrap Up: Russian women & Nguyen Win Titles

Competition concluded Sunday at the 2012 Stuttgart World Cup with a better showing for the Russian women. The team of Aliya Mustafina, Kristina Goryunova, Yulia Inshina, and Anna Radionova took the team title ahead of Japan and Germany 1.    Impressively, Goryunova competed all around for a third day in a row after helping team Russia advance to team finals Friday, and competing in all around finals Saturday. She hit her difficult beam routine similar to her stellar performance on day 1 for the highest score of the day on any event, 14.60 (6.0D).    2012 Olympic medalist Mustafina was crucial to the Russian win with a 14.45 on uneven bars and 14.40 on balance beam. She also filled in on vault with a simple yurchenko layout.    Japan improved three points from their qualification performance thanks to strong routines from Wakana Inoue and Mai Murakami.  In the mens' team final, the Japanese team of Yusuke Salto, Kenya Kobayashi, Kohei Kameyama, and Koji Uematsu stole the show with a massive 181.629 team total ahead of Russia's 176.295. Great Britain finished 3rd and Brazil 4th. The World Cup came to a close with the men's all around final. 2012 Olympic all around silver medalist Marcel Nguyen of Germany thrilled the home crowd, using clutch performances on the final two events, parallel bars (15.566) and high bar (15.60), to clinch the title ahead of the deep field.    Great Britain's Daniel Purvis finished in second place with fellow Olympian David Belyavsky of Russia close behind in third. Kazuhito Tanaka of Japan finished just two tenths out of the medals, followed by London all around bronze medalist Danell Leyva who finished fifth after delivering the meet's highest score on high bar, a 15,766.   The strong field of seven men will face each other once more next weekend (December 8th) in Scotland for the 2012 Glasgow World Cup.    The first gold medal of the weekend went to USA's Elizabeth Price for the women's all around title. Read that full recap here.    Watch highlights of the women's team competition by turnnews: Watch more video of 2012 Stuttgart World Cup

Dec 2, 2012

Price Dominates All Around Competition in Stuttgart

Photo: Parkettes Elizabeth "Ebee" Price is the real deal. She dominated international competition today in the Stuttgart World Cup All Around competition, posting a 58.098 score to finish well ahead of Germany's Elisabeth Seitz (55.566).  Price has shown dramatic improvements over the past two years to be in this position.  She finished 13th and 11th all around respectively at the 2010 and 2011 junior Visa Championships. In 2012, Price made the jump to the senior division and made a statement with her floor and vault power and big bar routine at the Visa Championships, finishing 5th all around, advancing to Olympic Trials, and officially putting herself into the mix for the Olympic Team. Price then had her coming out party at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, finishing 4th all around and bringing her Parkettes coach Bill Strauss to tears after nailing her floor routine on the high pressure national stage. In the end, Price was named alternate to the strong U.S. team and gained valuable experience from the situation.  It's no surprise that Price won the all around title today in Stuttgart. Let's look at the rest of the competition. With only eight competitors, the meet had an in intimate feeling and all of the girls rotated together, beginning on vault.  Price led from the start by competing the only Amanar of the day to score 15.733 (6.50/9.233) [video]. Switzerland's Giulia Steingruber impressed with a handspring rudi, 15.40 (6.30/9/10) [video], and Seitz earned a 14.533 for her double twisting yurchenko [video].  The group then went to uneven bars where the Germans had a strong showing; Kim Bui and Seitz both scored 14.033. Not surprisingly, Olympian Seitz competed a more watered down routine than what we saw in London. However, they were outperformed by Price who earned a massive 14.933 for her upgraded bar routine which included a new piked tkatchev [video]. For comparison, 2012 Olympic uneven bars Champion Aliya Mustafina earned a 14.80 for her (watered down) routine in the very same arena the day prior [video].  Balance beam was the weakest apparatus of the day due to numerous falls. Seitz took the top score of 13.70. Russia's Kristina Goryunova was expected to lead the way on this event after posting a huge 14.850 (6.0 D) during yesterday's team competition. However, today she fell on her double pike dismount. Also, Steingruber dropped from second to third in the all around standings after a fall on her flight series.  London 2012 floor finalist Vanessa Ferrari of Italy looked excellent on floor, connecting her full twisting double tuck to back tuck. She earned the top score of the day, 14.366. Price delivered a 14.266 on floor with a very open tucked double double, followed by a tidy double layout. These eight gymnasts will face off once more at the Glasgow World Cup, December 8th in Scotland.  Full meet results: Find more information on the event here.  Watch videos from the event here. Watch Elizabeth Price videos here.

Dec 1, 2012

Japanese Men Lead the Way in Stuttgart

Japan edged Brazil in men's qualification competition today at the 2012 Stuttgart World Cup. The Japanese team of veterans Koji Uematsu and Kenya Kobayashi, joined by Yusuke Saito and Kohei Kameyama finished in first with a 176.35. Olympic Champion Arthur Zanetti, Francesco Barretto, Arthur Mariano and Filipe Ferreira of Brazil were close behind with a 176.20.    The youngest member of the British men's 2012 bronze medal winning Olympic team, Sam Oldham, led the Brits to a 3rd place finish, while Russia took 4th place and will join the top teams in Saturday's Team Finals.    Germany, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, Canada, and the Netherlands were eliminated from competition.    The highlight routine of the day was 2012 Olympic Rings Champion Arthur Zametti' explosive 15.50 on his signature event with a massive 6.80 D score.    Oldham and Russia's Nikita Ignatyev shared the top score on floor, 15.150 (6.10 D score). Japan's Kameyama led pommel horse with a 14.80 (6.30 D). Oldham and Zanetti shared the top score on vault, 16.10 (6.60 D / 9.50 execution). Kobayashi led parallel bars with a 15.45 (6.30 D). And finally to the delight of the home crowd, the German gymnasts Christopher Jursch (15.60, 6.90 D), and Andreas Toba (15.10 (6.30 D) went 1-2 on high bar.    Competition will continue Saturday in Stuttgart with the men's Team Finals and the Women's All Around Finals.  Results from the top 4 teams: Find complete results here.    Find more information on the event here.  Watch videos from the event here.

Nov 30, 2012

Germany Shocks Russia in Qualifying Competition at the Stuttgart World Cup

Lisa Katharina Hill of Team Germany Women's qualification competition has concluded in Stuttgart, Germany and the Germans shocked team Russia with the top qualifying spot into Sunday's Finals! They will be joined by Japan and the second German team.  The top German team was made up of Lisa Katharina Hill, Isabelle Marquard, Janine Berger, and Pia Tolle. Russia was highlighted by 4-time London Olympic medalist Aliya Mustafina who competed just two events today, along with Yulina Inshina, Kristina Goryunova, and Anna Radionova. The Japanese team included Wakana Inoue, Mai Murakami, Wakiko Ryu, and Sakura Noda.  Top scores of the day include a 14.10 for German 1's Janine Berger on vault, an impressive 14.80 (5.90 D score) for Mustafina's watered down uneven bar routine [video], a 14.850 (6.0 D) for Russia's Kristina Goryunova on beam [video]. The top score on floor went to Japan's Wakana Inoue, 13.60 (5.20 D).    Final Team Qualification Results: 1. GER 1 – 106,000 2. RUS – 105,750 3. JPN – 105,250 4. GER 2 – 102,900 5. AUT – 102,650 6. SUI – 98,400 7. MIX – 47,500 Complete results for the top 4 teams:  View full results here.  Find more information on the event here.  Watch videos from the event here.

Nov 30, 2012

Top Gymnasts Collide This Weekend at Stuttgart World Cup

Nov 29, 2012

Iordache Out, Purvis in for 2012 Glasgow & Stuttgart World Cups

The latest news from the Stuttgart World Cup slated for December 1 in Stuttgart, Germany and the Glasgow World Cup December 8th in Glasgow, Scotland reflects two changes to the lineups. Romanian star and Olympic bronze medalist Larisa Iordache has withdrawn to be replaced by Germany's Kim Bui. On the men's side, World and Olympic bronze medalist Daniel Purvis will have the opportunity to compete in front of a home crowd, replacing Brazil's Sergio Sasaki Junior.  With the absence of Iordache, American Elizabeth Price will be the clear favorite for the all around title.  Below is the information from British Gymnastics: Dan Purvis who hails from Southport and competes for Scotland through his parents, has been called up as replacement for Brazilian gymnast Sergio Sasaki Junior. Dan won the event in 2011 and is looking forward to returning to action on home soil after a 2012 to remember. Dan said: “I’m really excited to be competing in Glasgow again - it’s the prefect end to an amazing year. The Olympics was the most incredible experience of my life and a huge part of that was down to the support of the home fans and I know it will be the same at the World Cup especially with it being in the brand new Emirates Arena. Last year I was fortunate enough to win the competition and I’ll be doing my best to be right up there again this time but looking at the amazing line-up I know it will be a big test.” Dan joins fellow Team GB bronze medal winner Kristian Thomas, Olympian Rebecca Tunney and Niamh Rippin to complete the home field. In another late change to the entry this time in the women’s competition, Romania’s Larisa Iordache has been replaced by Germany’s Kim Bui. Following the action Tickets for the 2012 World Cup were in high demand and have already sold out, setting up what is sure to be a fantastic atmosphere in the brand new Emirates Arena. The BBC will be streaming the World Cup live on the BBC Sport website with a full highlights programme on 15th December from 1pm - 3pm on BBC One. Radio 5 live will also be broadcasting live from the arena on the day following a gymnastics special to be aired on December 6th from 7.30pm-9pm. BGtv will upload individual routines to the British Gymnastics youtube channel shortly after each performance while social media fans can keep up with all the quick hits as Team GB’s Jennifer Pinches will be tweeting for the @BGmediateam along with British Gymnastics Facebook posts. BG score will provide live instant score updates and the media team will also be filling full reports online and press releases post-event. Amended line-ups Men Daniel Purvis (GBR) Fabian Gonzalez (ESP) Kristian Thomas (GBR Marcel Nguyen (GER) Kazuhito Tanaka (JPN) Yusuke Saito (JPN) Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) Danell Leyva (USA) Women Kaitlyn Hofland (CAN) Rebecca Tunney (GBR) Niamh Rippin (GBR) Elisabeth Seitz (GER) Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) Wakana Inque (JPN) Kim Bui (GER) Elizabeth Price (USA)

Nov 24, 2012

Confirmed Lineups for the Glasgow World Cup

British Gymnastics confirmed today the lineups for 2012 Glasgow World Cup which will be held Saturday, December 8th. It looks to be an exciting competition, with the rare presence of an American woman in 2012 U.S. Olympic alternate Elizabeth Price of Parkettes.  Elizabeth Price of USA Below is from British Gymnastics: The competitors for the eagerly anticipated December 8th Glasgow World Cup of gymnastics have been confirmed with six Olympic medals and numerous World and European titles shared between the star-studded line-up. Britain’s Olympic team bronze medal winner Kristian Thomas leads the home contingent along with Team GB’s youngest member and senior British champion Rebecca Tunney, and 2010 European silver medallist Niamh Rippin. The Brits will face a tough test though against gymnastics superstars from across the globe. On the men’s side the Olympic all-around silver medallist Marcel Nguyen (GER) and bronze medallist Danell Leyva (USA) will be expected to be in the mix for the title, whilst the women’s competition sees Olympic bronze medal winner Larisa Iordache (ROU) and World and European champion Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) in action. Larissa Iordache of Romania Glasgow World Cup Gymnastics is the first major gymnastics event to be staged in Great Britain since the London 2012 Olympic Games and will take place at Glasgow's new £113million Emirates Arena. Rebecca Tunney, who turned 16 only last week said: “I’m really excited to back competing in front of a home crowd in Glasgow and against some amazing gymnasts. This year, my first as a senior has been incredible. Becoming British champion, making the Olympic team and feeling the massive support from the British public has been like a dream and to compete back at home is the perfect way to end my year.” Kristian Thomas is equally excited about the World Cup: “It’s a great honour and privilege for me to be invited to compete at the Glasgow World Cup, up against the top all-around gymnasts in the world. It is a great opportunity to put myself up against the best and of course perform once again in front of an amazing home crowd. At the Olympics the crowd really was like having an extra team member, encouraging us when things didn’t go to plan and cheering us on when things went well so I’m definitely looking forward to having that kind of support again in Glasgow.” Chair of Glasgow Life and the Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games, Councillor Archie Graham, said: "The competitor list for this year's Glasgow World Cup Gymnastics is exceptional with several of the world's top gymnasts set to go for gold at the stunning Emirates Arena. "This will be the first world-class gymnastics event to be held at the arena and demand for tickets has been exceptionally high. It is already shaping up to be one of the biggest and best gymnastics events ever held in Glasgow. We can't wait for the action to get underway." The Glasgow World Cup pits some of the best all-around male and female gymnasts in the world against each other in an action packed one-day event.   World Cup tickets are available online with prices starting at just £6 for concessions/child tickets (under 16) and £16 for adults. Family packages (for 2 adults and 3 children) are available at £40, and a group discount is available for block bookings: for every 5 child tickets purchased receive 1 free adult ticket. To book tickets, please click here. Full line ups Men Sergio Sasaki Junior (BRA) – Finished 10th in the all-around competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Fabian Gonzalez (ESP) - Finished 9th in the all-around competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Kristian Thomas (GBR) – 2012 Olympic team bronze medal winner with Team GB and European team champion. Marcel Nguyen (GER) – Double 2012 Olympic silver medal winner in the all-around and parallel bars, 2007 World Championship bronze medallist and six time European Championships medallist. Kazuhito Tanaka (JPN) – Team silver at the 2012 Olympic Games and the 2011 World Championships. Yusuke Saito (JPN) - 10th at the 2012 Japanese national championships Oleg Verniaiev (UKR) – 2012 European Championships silver on parallel bars. 11th in the all-around and 4th in the team event at 2012 Olympic Games. Danell Leyva (USA) – 2012 Olympic all-around bronze medallist. 2011 parallel bars World champion and team bronze medallist. Women Kaitlyn Hofland (CAN) - 2012 Canadian National team member, one of Canada’s most promising stars Rebecca Tunney (GBR)-Team GB’s youngest member, 13th all-around at the 2012 Olympics and 2012 senior British all-around champion Niamh Rippin (GBR) - 2012 British floor and vault champion, 2010 European team silver medallist Elisabeth Seitz (GER) - 2012 Olympic bars finalist and 2011 European all-around silver medallist Vanessa Ferrari (ITA) - 8th all-around at the 2012 Olympics, the 2006 all-around World Champion, 2007 all-around European champion and 2012 European Championships team bronze Wakana Inque (JPN) - 10th at the 2012 Japanese national championships Larisa Iordache (ROU) - 2012 Olympic team bronze medallist, 2012 European floor and team champion Elizabeth Price (USA) - 2012 US Olympic team reserve, 5th all-around at the 2012 US Championships Meet Website POLL: Who do you think will win the women's all around competition in Glasgow? Glasgow World Cup All Around Poll

Oct 30, 2012