Floor Routines of the Year, 1976- 2012

 Simply, the one routine per year that stands out from all the rest.

2012- Eythora Thorsdottir, Netherlands, Junior Euros

Yes I've mentioned her quite a lot. Anyway, here she is on floor in all her glory- perfect precise form, beautiful graceful dance. I can't find myself to care that her difficulty is low. Just a masterpeice. And yes it does beat the various Olympic routines, for me. Her main contenders were Aliya Mustafina, Mai Murakami and Larisa Iordache.

2011- Mariya Livchikova, Ukraine, World Cup- Ghent

Just gorgeous. That double front is truly exceptional. Love her flair and form.

Top 10: Bars

I love watching perfect routines like Fan Di and Lu Li, but innovative routines always win for me. The ones I have included here that have insanely difficult release skills are always perfect or almost perfect elsewhere- there are quite a few for example doing the Def very sloppily so they won't be included! The ones without a unique release move are there because they are innovative or awesome in some other way. Bars top 10's are always China-heavy and this is no exception.

10. Irina Krasnianska, UKR 2006 Worlds QUAL

Irina was probably the most inconsistent Ukrainian, which is a feat in itself. She had a long career and performed this exact routine many times, and this is the only one without a major error. GORGEOUS long lines and fabulous German giant combination, very tidy double front too.

9. Amy Chow, USA 1996 Olympics TF

My favourite part is her high-to-low transition, the straddled Pak which is named after her. I'd love to see it used again as it looks amazing. Amy has fantastic lines and form- even in her very difficult dismount. What's noticeable is that her height does not mean she loses form on her downswing- some taller gymnasts like Nastia and McKayla break form slightly when they are clearing the lower bar and it ruins the whole look. Amy does it perfectly.

8. Beth Tweddle, GBR 2012 Olympics QUAL

A-MAZING. Love her release combinations and the Ezhova transition. Fabulous dismount and she has spectacular height on the Markelov which is often flat for everyone else. Beth also has absolutely perfect form and toepoint. It doesn't really get more exciting than this in the new codes.


7. Zhou Duan, CHN 1997 East Asian Games TF

Zhou Duan was a nifty vaulter, which were and continue to be rare in China. However her unbelievable bars really outshine her other events. Zhou performs a Gaylord 1/1- so a very rare Gaylord release WITH a full twist. Really just astonishing. Beautiful pencil-like form throughout- and another 2 releases on top of that. Fantastic.

6. Li Ya, CHN 2006 Cottbus World Cup

I picked this routine because it has her combination AND that dismount..piked double arabian, wow. Li does the Jaeger combination a lot straighter than He Kexin, fabulous to watch. Very very crisp turns and perfect form.

5. Liu Xuan, CHN 1996 Olympics TF

Liu Xuan's one- arm giant was one of the greatest tragedies of the code of points..it was considered dangerous and was lowballed into a C rating, meaning it wasn't worth performing. Liu did ditch it, but kept it for the Olympics. It's incredible, especially as it's done right into a release. Fabulous lines and form in the rest of her routine, and I love her high-to-low transition.

4. Mo Huilan, CHN 1996 Olympics AA

What made Mo stand out amongst China's fantastic bars workers at this time and overall and even over her teammate Bi Wenjing who also did the Gaylord was her flight, especially on the hecht transition. She completely hangs in the air- nobody can fly like that. Fantastic height on all of her releases, perfect form and line throughout and at a time when jump to high from the low bar was perfectly acceptable Mo was doing two much more difficult transitions. Perfection.

3. Teodora Ungureanu, ROM 1976 Olympics AA

Teodora never made it beyond Nadia's enormous shadow. In my view, this routine is more interesting by far, and performed to the same excellent standard. Everything about this routine is great. 
 

2. Elena Mukhina, USSR 1979 Spartakaide AA

Everything about this routine is amazing, the first transition, the form, the Mukhina flip and her original dismount. Seriously the greatest gymnast ever.

1. Kim Gwang Suk, PKR 1991 Worlds EF

Not a suprise, I've mentioned quite a few times how much I love this routine. I do see the bent knees but the excellence of the routine- and her age- make it totally forgiveable. Unbelievably easy swing, perfect handstands and form, crisp pencil like line and turns and THAT combination. Outstanding.

Honourable mentions: Enilia Eberle, Bi Wenjing, Elvire Teza, Yang Yun, Liz Tricase, Hollie Vise, Courtney Kupets, Courtney McCool, Elise Ray, Ma Yanhong, Li Li, Lu Li, Fan Di, Olga Roschupkina, Becky Downie, Lori Strong, Emilie Lepennec, Cha Yong Hwa, He Kexin, Viktoria Komova, Yang Yilin, Nadia Comaneci, Karin Janz, Steffi Kraker, Gabrielle Fahnrich, Nadia Hategan, Aleftina Priakhina, Olga Korbut, Elena Abrashitova, Charlotte Mackie, Daniela Silivas, Maxi Gnauck

Quick survey

Current favourite gymnast
McKayla Maroney

Current favourite Russian gymnast
Aliya Mustafina

Current favourite Romanian gymnast
Larisa Iordache

Current favourite Chinese gymnast
He Kexin

Current favourite 'everywhere else' gymnast
Christine Peng Peng Lee

All-time favourite Soviet gymnast
Tie: Elena Mukhina and Tatiana Groshkova

All-time favourite American gymnast
Hollie Vise

All-time favourite Romanian gymnast
Teodora Ungureanu

All-time favourite Chinese gymnast
Li Li 

All-time favourite 'everywhere else' gymnast
Henrietta Onodi

All-time best all-arounder
Elena Mukhina

All-time best floor worker
Daniela Silivas


All-time best beam worker
Li Li


All-time best vaulter
McKayla Maroney. I was determined not to pick her, but she technically is the best.

All-time best bars worker
Mo Huilan 


Favourite beam routine
Li Li 1993 worlds AA


Favourite floor routine
Anna Myzdrikova 2009 worlds qualifying


Favourite vault
A tie between Lilia Podkopayeva 1994 Soapberry Shop and McKayla Maroney 2012 Team Finals Olympics

Favourite bars routine
Kim Gwang Suk 1991 Worlds all-around

Favourite bars release
Gaylord 1/1 or Comaneci


Favourite vault
Handspring front layout


Favourite floor tumble
Tie: 3.5 twist (Moreno) or piked double arabian (Dos Santos 1)

Favourite beam move
Tucked Korbut (Chen) 

Favourite turn
Double scorpion

Favourite jump
Tour jete 1/2


Favourite bars dismount
Double arabian piked

Favourite beam dismount
Triple full

Favourite bars mount
Aleftina Priakhina's

Favourite beam mount
Aleftina Priakhina's  

Favourite floor pass
Whip-whip-triple full


Most exciting floor pass
1 and a half twist, double arabian, front layout punchfront. (Aly Raisman's 1st pass)


Best floor routine from London
Tie: Viktoria Komova AA and Aly Raisman

Best vault from London
McKayla Maroney team finals

Best beam from London
Sui Lu event finals


Best bars from London
Tie: Beth Tweddle qualifying and Yao Jinnan event finals
   

Greatest innovator
Aleftina Priakhina


Most exciting gymnast
Mai Murakami


Most powerful gymnast
Yelena Produnova

Best tumbler
Daiane Dos Santos


     

Old-school favourite bar routines

It's odd to look at bar routines where gymnasts are doing skills impossible these days, and with no giants. Incredible releases were still present, and interesting transitions were the order of the day, as well as fabulously original dismounts, especially off the low bar- never seen today! The margin for error in some moves was massive, and very painful- belly beats were very brusing if misjudged even slightly. Routines known for one spectacular release will be included as the rest of the routine was also very impressive and exciting to watch.

 The most famous of all, Olga also had, apart from her flip, very dairing transitions and a perfect dismount but was never rewarded for her excellence, due to the dissaproval of her 'circus tricks'.

Elena Mukhina, who would have won the 1980 all-around due to her brilliance on all events upped the ante with the full-twisting Korbut. Her difficulty was astounding.

This includes both routines. Nadia's form was absolute perfection here, but her releases and transitions were also very difficult, if not as creative as some other routines of her era.

Teodora was underscored compared to Nadia, as well as being totally overshadowed by her. A wonderful gymnast in her own right, she excelled on bars and her routine is the most exciting to watch by far. She deserved 10's on bars.

Ma WAS the Queen of uneven bars, and deserved to beat MacNamara outright every time. Beautiful form and my favourite bars dismount, just incredible.

Emilia is another true great of the bars. She always looked so sad and thin, which helped to corroborate her later assertions that the Karolyi's were abusive. She is known more for that and for her ecletic floor choreopgraphy more than for her spectacular and exciting bars, which is such a shame because they deserve just as much recognition as Nadia's did. Amazing.

My all-time favourite uneven bar worker is Teodora. Others I enjoy but didn't put up here are Maxi Gnauck, Steffi Kraker, Karin Janz and Gabriela Fahnrich. I wish bars were creative again, instead of the tired old..geinger..tkactchev..pak salto..ono..double layout. It gets so boring. Would love to see someone crack out a Ma dismount, it's still rated an F whereas the other dismounts here are too easy to do.

Amazing uneven bar releases

The problem with the majority of these is either that they are now illegal in the code of points or the fact that they end in a dead hang and/or require empty swings which incurs an 0.1 automatic deduction, which means they are unlikely to be done again, especially as they are so difficult in the first place. I would love to see Viktoria Komova, Yao Jinnan and Beth Tweddle have a go at them though.



 
The legendary Olga Korbut performing the famous Korbut flip at the 1972 Olympics. Korbut also had creatives moves elsewhere but judges did not appreciate her 'circus tricks' and she never cored as highly as she should have.


Elena Mukhina adds a full twist to the Korbut flip. Mukhina was a true all-arounder and swept the 1978 Worlds. She was a shoe-in for the 1980 Olympics but was paralysed a few weeks before due to her over-ambitious coaches insisting on a dangerous roll-out move, which she landed on her neck in training. These moves have since been banned for women but are still fine for men to perform.


 Mo Huilan competes a Gaylord, a tucked salto over the bar. This was also competed by Bi Wenjing and Meng Fei. What's almost as amazing as the release is the flight Mo gets on her transitions. The Chinese today are famed for their dead-hang transitions and laboured kips, Mo however shows them how it's done.


Zhou Duan performs an unheard-of Gaylord II, which does not bear her name. This is a front tuck with a half twist to regrasp the bar, and is pretty similar to a Kovacs that the men perform. Just as above, it requires empty swings and a dead hang, both verboten. Zhou was also a beast on vault, difficult floor and a really difficult beam which appears to include a barani. She took bronze on vault at worlds but form issues and falls kept her from taking centre stage.



Kim Gwang Suk competes a counter-Kim, also known as a Marinich. I'm not too sure how to define it but the motion of it is where the difficulty lies. This routine is always overshadowed by the age falsification scandal. Kim was no more than 12 here. Her age, the release AND the fact that it was done in combination in a routine which also features other releases is incredible. Bent knees aside, that was an issue she could have fixed had she been allowed to keep competing. This has never been performed in competition since, but footage has surfaced of an unknown high-school girl competing it from a more difficult toe-on position. There are other, such as Nabieva's layout over the bar and the Church, but these are the ones I love the most.