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Tuesday 31 July 2012

TF- 3 hours to go!

WOW, what an unbelievable men's team final. Very dissapointing for USA, who had a fantastic day in qualifying where they placed first. Absolutely delighted for Britain, who could not really have expected to place. Slipping to bronze after winning silver is unfortunate, though not nearly as much as Ukraine, who were bumped out of their bronze entirely. They are the ones we really should feel for. Judging unfortunately seems to be a bit peculiar these Games, but a mess-up like that is unforgivable. This has shown to expect the unexpected!

Women's TF is not as open though. 8 teams have qualified, but only the top 4 can expect to place- USA, China, Romania and Russia. The others just do not have the difficulty. China would be lucky to place, their star is injured and off form and the team just isn't as good as it was in 2008. Although this could be unpredictable, here are the routines I will be nervous for:

China's third beam worker. Sui Lu and Deng Linlin are relatively safe, but whichever of Yao Jinnan and Huang Qiushuang go up will be nervewracking, both are inconsistent here and Yao is absolutely not able to bring her full potential at the moment.

Musty on vault. Will she bring that amanar? They could well need it to sneak ahead of USA and it has been said she will. Her DTY is good and looks to have the height needed, so we'll see!

Gabby on beam. I would put McKayla on beam ahead of her (Jordyn first choice of course) and even Lauren Tanner, queen of the beam. Gabby has a difficult routine and it does look great when she hits it, but she never hits it perfectly in competition. She is clearly nervous up there, solidity is needed even if it sacrifices a few tenths- Jordyn's connections. A few tenths down is better than the potential for a fall, which unfortunately USA is now risking.

Komova on beam. Managed her routine fine in quals, but shows herself to be very tempermental here in training. It's typically Russian to be a mess in training and then hit when it counts, hopefully we will see that here.

He Kexin on bars. Could be great and a much needed boost for China, or could be a disaster. Her hit rate has been pretty good this year, but still a gamble.

No Romanians? No, not nervous for them. Nervous that they will not bring all of their upgrades and therefore not fully contend with USA and Russia, but not nervous for a fall. Final prediction? Can't call it. Bring it on!

Update: Thrilled Romania will use Diana Bulimar on floor in TF. She wasn't used in prelims, but has a great routine, looking forward. Have just seen Afan's, WOW. Absolutely love it.


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