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Tuesday 12 June 2012

My Olympic EF podiums

Bars

Beth Tweddle so deserves this gold. Under the modern code, bars do not get more difficult than hers. Of course she does not have a Counter-Kim or Gaylord I or II (check out Zhou Duan's uneven bars for the Gaylord II...incredible) but since these moves now incur a deduction because they will end in a dead hang, it is inadvisable to do them (unfortunately). Sadly for Beth, her form and handstands are not as crisp as others and for that reason I do not see her getting the gold. Silver

Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina have amazing bar routines. Beautiful lines, transitions, releases. It's all there. Komova will pip her team-mate for gold, leaving Aliya with the bronze. She is just that bit crisper.

Vault

This is a lock for McKayla Maroney. The most certain gold of any we can expect. Although she is the reigning world champion on this event and has a much more difficult second vault now, she is not a certainty for her team. However she has a brilliant chance at taking that fifth spot.

The other two spots are a little up in the air. Chusovitina is still in the mix amazingly, but her vaults recently had quite low landings. With her age it is of course astounding she can still throw difficult vaults at all. In a small reversal of Worlds standings, I see her taking the bronze and Phan Ti Ha Thanh of Vietnam taking the silver.

Floor

This is much harder to predict and will be very exciting. There is one US gymnast, Sarah Finnegan, who could so easily medal here ahead of her US teammates, yet she is fairly unlikely at this stage to make the team at all. Larissa Iordache clinches it for me. Her floor is just so difficult and exciting, I see it making it's way to the top for gold. Anastasia Grishina does not have the same clout as most of the other contenders for team Russia but her floor is ahead of the rest, even Afansayeva. Grishina's beautiful artistry so prevalent in this exercise will take silver. Bronze is a bit tougher, at this stage I see Jordyn Wieber clinching it but that might change.

Beam

Sui Lu of China takes gold, her beam is just a work of art. Iordache and Catalina Ponor also of Romania will fight for the other two spots, Cata I think landing the silver.

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