News

I'm sure most have already heard this but just in case- Victoria Moors is training a laid-out double double, which she has just competed at Canadian Nationals. This is majorly exciting first because of how incredible it is, second because Victoria has very good execution in general on floor and thirdly because she is much more likely to be at worlds than Mykayla Skinner who also has one. Unfortunately, Victoria was below par otherwise and had a disastrous beam routine where she fell twice and lost connections and compositional requirements all over the place. She also significantly watered down vault and her floor aside from her new skill must have been watered down too since it only netted her a 5.1 difficulty value. This was also the case earlier in the year too, but then she came out in top form at American Cup. So I wouldn't worry unneccessarily about her yet.

Sure she's soft in the knees, but she has plenty of time to hone it and it's definitely not enough to declare it tucked.

Kaitlyn Hofland placed first in the AA qualifiers at Canadian Nationals, followed by Ellie Black and Maegan Chant. Talia Chiarelli placed fifth and was deliriously happy to make bars finals of all things. Here's Mihai Brestyan's reaction:

Source- gymnasticscoaching.com- @taliachi

Her twitter, like Catalina Ponor's, is endlessly entertaining. In the junior ranks, wunderkind Shallon Olsen was victorious. Hopefully with sharper form. Second and third were Aleeza Yu and Brianna Clark. You can find senior results here and the junior ones here. Note that a bonus system was applied in the junior rankings. Shallon Olsen has very high difficulty, particularly for her age, but not THAT high. Edit- Woops, posted AA qualifier results as final ones. Final results have not been confirmed yet, though it's known that Ellie Black won in senior and that the podium in junior was unchanged, even though Shallon Olsen fell three times. Victoria Moors withdrew from competition, and Heaven Latimer (she of the superb layout full and very strong floor) and Jordyn Pedersen were both out with injuries.

Andreea Munteanu has won the all-around at the Lugano Cup. You can find the results here. The order is vault, bars, beam and floor. Andreea's pet pieces are unsurprisingly beam and floor, though it's heartening to see her vault and bars score, especially her improvement on the latter. Her bars had (wait for it...) the highest e-score! Which is amazing given that she was in the presence of some very lovely Russians. As can be seen from the scores, third place Anastasia Dmitrieva is that bit bit better than the much more hyped second place Maria Bondareva on three out of four events. And I believe she can close the gap on bars in time; to me she is the best junior they have. Certainly, sixth place Viktoria Kuzmina is top notch on beam and bars..but there she'll stay as she does not even have an FTY yet and floor does not look to be her strength either. But bars/beam specialists are still highly valuable. Check out her bars d-score, she obviously fell but 6.1 topped the difficulty field by nearly a point. Even better, she has her own dismount, an arabian double layout no less! I'm really hoping for a video. Andreea Munteanu will compete alongside Andreea Iridon, Laura Jurca, Diana Teodoru, Silvia Zarzu and Madalina Blendea at the France V Romania juniors meet coming up soon. There are some videos here (one Italian, the rest Romanian).
  
Nadine Jarosch of Germany has sadly torn her ACL. This is ACL tear number four, the others are Mariya Livchikova, Gabby Jupp and Yvette Moshage. It's happening far too often. In more positive German news, Tabea Alt won the all-around at the recent German Junior Championships.

Here is the first look at how all-arounders are shaping up so far this year/quad. The difference in scoring must be taken into account; for example Yao Jinnan is in eighth place under a notoriously harsh scoring system whereas the top 3 in particular had the opposite. Jesolo is known to be harsh but that didn't really happen this year. Also I don't see Kyla Ross getting that close to a 60 with her difficulty in a fair competition.

The last segment of the Pro Gym Challenge airs tonight in the US. I for one have really enjoyed it. Retired gymnasts, college gymnasts etc. showing off excellent skills with a team spirit of camaraderie (except a certain US coach) and no pressure? Yes please! It's up on youtube and some parts won't embed which is messy. This awesome uploader uploads frequently so I'll link to the very first one here to make it easier to navigate.

Yulia Belokobylskaya of Russia has retired, at just 17. She won bronze on floor at Euros 2011 and helped with team silver at Worlds the same year. Unfortunately, she struggled quite a lot in the Olympic year. Hopefully she will be happy with whatever she decides to do.Edit- Yulia has entered the world of ballet and is already en pointe!

Natsumi Sasada won the all-around at the recent Japanese Nationals. She also had a strong meet at Jesolo this year after practically disappearing last year with injuries, so that's great to see. Not only is she back with a vengeance but she's brought her layout full mount with her! I was so sure it would have been ditched with the onset of puberty, it's great to be wrong sometimes. Second place went to veteran Yu Minobe who will compete at Universiade this year and third was Mai Murakami who would have won had she not fallen on beam. I have tried to give up hope in Mai, who performs quite strongly in Japan but nowhere near that internationally. But then I see a video of her huge smile during her floor routine and it's impossible to write her off. I still want her to win floor and the AA at worlds this year, however irrational that may be! Asuka Teramoto crashed her second pass and almost sat her first, which along with her vault difficulties is pretty worrying. These results will be coupled with those of the upcoming NHK Cup on June 8-9th in deciding their worlds team and East Asian Games team. As we saw last year, they don't hang around in deciding teams. Because this is a specialist worlds they won't just pick the top few all-arounders, but in this case I think it will serve them very well, though I'd like to replace Yu Minobe with Wakana Inoue..though the latter fell twice. Some videos after the jump; and the information as to how they will choose the team is there too (with thanks to an awesome source).

The best bar routines..

..are floaty, super-clean and dynamic. Noemi Makra never dissapoints. I'd love if she could upgrade this, she looks well capable of connecting a release to a transition or even two releases together. It's more difficult to push the boat out when she's not from a big gymnastics power with super-duper coaches but this routine deserves to medal in more than just a B-level World Cup. I am in love with her taps, the old school pike looks nicer than the straddle which breaks the line and much better than the ugly Russian bent-kneed mess. That will be harder when she grows of course, but so are they all.

Here's a favourite from last year, Wakana Inoue at Stuttgart. Glorious. She looked more laboured at Jesolo this year sadly, hopefully she can get back to this standard. And the third is the beautiful Gabby Jupp. It always sucks when someone is taken out with an ACL injury of course, but it seems extra sad when it's a first year senior just beginning to blaze a trail. Hopefully after her surgery she can, like I said before, work on her bars just like Aliya Mustafina so successfully did.

Why no Viktoria Komova? Mainly her tap swings really, they are absolutely hideous and it ruins the overall gorgeousness of the routine. She also isn't as effortless as the other three. I love agressive routines and high difficulty amazing routines, but nothing beats a floaty routine like the ones below.

STUNNING. It's worth noting that she's wearing a leotard Larisa Iordache has worn. Than Thi Phan Thanh also showed up in it and the cut was fine!

My favourite of the three is probably Makra's since her releases are just amazing into the bargain, which puts her just ahead of Inoue. Jupp's needs some attention to detail but it's so lovely and light.

Jesolo lineup and stuff: Updated

I can't contain my excitement that I booked the flights and hotel for worlds! The whole thing with tickets costs 360, or $470. I think that's great, though I'd probably pay twice that if I had to I suppose. :D :D :D :D :D

Anyway, on to actual news. Jesolo's lineup has been completed! USA are sending Lexie Priessman, Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, Katelyn Ohashi, Peyton Ernst, Maggie Nichols, Amelia Hundley and Bailie Key. Italy are sending just about every gymnast they have- including Elisa Meneghini, Vanessa Ferrari, Serena Bugani, Elisabetta Preziosa, Erika Fasana, Georgia Campana, Enus Mariani and Tea Ugrin. Japan announced theirs ages ago- Mai Murakami, Asuka Teramoto, Wakana Inoue, Natsumi Sasada and Wakiko Ryu. Switzerland are sending a full team which includes Giulia Steingruber.

So, who are Maggie Nichols and Peyton Ernst? They are new seniors who have been impressing at camp. I need to see more of Maggie to judge her, but although I liked Peyton Ernst's floor last year, she didn't seem to stand out on any event. I'm glad to hear she has improved though I believe both girls are moreso there for experience rather than as the a-team that the other senior girls comprise.

The team competition is a foregone conclusion. The top contenders for the all-around title will be Simone Biles, Kyla Ross, Lexie Priessman and to a lesser extent; Mai Murakami, Vanessa Ferrari and Asuka Teramoto. Hard to pick the best two of USA's all-arounders. I believe Simone Biles will take it in the end. But it will be interesting- Jesolo tore apart Aly Raisman's execution last year, and all of the US girls in contention have form errors- either leaps, sloppiness, piked layouts (I include Priessman in that) and incredibly deductible bars or else lower difficulty like Kyla.

For vault, it will be a Priessman V Biles powerfest if both have their second vaults ready. Giulia Steingruber will hopefully shine here too. Again, this should be handed to Simone Biles. Floor will be much the same story, Priessman V Biles, with strong additions from Mai Murakami who needs more upgrades to take higher than bronze, Vanessa Ferrari and hopefully Elisa Meneghini and Asuka Teramoto. I think Priessman has this in the bag with her 6.7 difficulty no matter how much execution she loses, though I would prefer Biles again as she is cleaner, and more artistic. I'd be so happy if bars was won by Wakana Inoue who has a beautifully fluid swing, style and form on the apparatus. It's much more likely to go to an American- I wouldn't bet on Ohashi though because if Jesolo's harsh execution scoring continues this year then her e-score could plummet below 8 quite easily. If Biles doesn't fall then she has a great medal chance, but I'm thinking Kyla Ross will take gold. Beam is just as certain as the team title- it's Ohashi's if she doesn't fall.

In the junior rankings, I'm looking forward to the Japanese girls as I don't have a clue about them. The all-around should be interesting, it will more than likely be a Hundley V Key V Mariani showdown. Key has some upgrades in the works and a new floor routine. She has a good blend of power and artistry and is very clean, and more than likely able to increase her difficulty over the next year or two as she grows. At the moment it should be a close enough battle, Hundley might be a little more harshly scored due to her execution than the other two. Enus Mariani has the most exciting floor routine this year, though she is competing a bars routine she is struggling with, though her coaches see competing it as a neccessity. Hopefully she can emerge the victor over it this time. I would prefer Mariani-Key-Hundley on the podium but it's more likely to be that in reverse.

Evgeniya Shelgunova won beam at Russian Championships event finals today, and Ksenia Afanasyeva won floor. Yesterday's winners were Maria Paseka on vault and Anastasia Grishina on bars (Mustafina made a mistake.) Mustafina pulled out of beam and floor finals to protect herself, good move seeing as she has more than proved herself and needs to be in good shape for Euros. Sadly, Demy did not shine, finishing fourth on beam and sixth on floor. I think this means she won't take the fourth Euros spot, which she, Afan and Shelgunova are in contention for.

Jordan Chiles qualified elite at developmental camp with a score of 52.150. I live for the thought of her competing at Classics and Nationals.

Andreea Iridon is sadly no longer competing at Gymnix this weekend. No idea Lewhy not. She's Romania's brightest hope on bars. They should make a strong impact on beam and floor in particular, no surprises there. Maria Bondareva is scheduled to compete, and both her team and the Romanian team will have strong competition from the home team, Canada.

The Doha World Cup roster is out. It was already known that Larisa Iordache and Diana Bulimar would compete at this, but there are several other good names. China are sending Zeng Siqi (FINALLY), Tan Jiaxin and Zhang Qing. GB are sending Ruby Harrold and Gabby Jupp and it will be a battle of the vaulters- Janine Berger, Giulia Steingruber, Thi Ha Thanh Phan and whatever vaulters North Korea pull out of their hat- they are sending Hong Un Jong, Ri Un Ha and Kim Un Hyang. Beam will be very interesting, a Iordache V Zeng battle, with backup from strong beamers Bulimar and Jupp. And bars too, with tricksters Tan Jiaxin and Ruby Harrold. Tan is known only for bars and will need a second event to make major teams (even He Kexin could crank out a DTY), but her bars are very dynamic and exciting. She could be to the forefront if the old amazing releases of old are brought back. Let's hope Harrold can nail that amazing routine of hers too.

Gymnix is taking place now. LRSY is March 16-17th. Jesolo is March 23-24th, Doha is 27-29th and Chemnitz is March 30th. I think that's it?

Russian Cutiepie and News

The Olympic Hopes meet was held recently in Penza for girls born in 2001 and 2002. Varvara Zubova, who is 10 and won't be senior until 2018 stands out. She came third in the AA and won beam, floor and bars in the event finals. Scores not much above 11...but she is incredibly young to begin with. Anyway, she has an awesome beam and I can't wait to see more of her. Loving the Chuso style hair too. I can't embed it but here it is.

Elizabeth Price has stormed her second world cup, her AA total gave her the gold by just over 5 points. Her beam is still below the standard she would need to destroy proper international competition, but even so- extremely impressive performance, even with the two out of bounds on floor. Full results can be found here.

Rebecca Tunney would have been second had she not fallen off beam. She screams potential, I'd love to see her sharpen up her form and upgrade. With her long lines, her little form errors seem glaring. She could be exquisite! I'm happy to see she is looking slightly less waif like than in London and that her bars are seriously impressive and so fast. I do think she was lowballed on vault though, she got a very low d-score in comparison to Ebee, who also had some issues with her vault but was not deducted near as harshly. (8.566 Vs 9.4). Lesser vaults should not have different execution scoring systems.

My favourite routine of the day though was Wakana Inoue's bars. Glorious form and swing and perfect tension in her turns. Beautiful work.

All other videos are here.

McKayla Maroney has had her last surgery, which was to remove screws. We can expect to see her in rehab before the new year, and then gym. Certainly worlds next year are not out of the question for her, especially if she ditches bars and beam.Though her beam still has potential.

The roster for the Voronin Cup taking place soon is still not confirmed. There is a farce of a list floating around with Amanda Jetter on it, who is not even on the National Team so can't be picked. It would be great if there was an American contingent though. The Russian crew have been confirmed by Ksenia Semenova to be Aliya Mustafina, Tatiana Nabieva and Anna Dementyeva which would be fantastic. For their juniors I would like to see some of the girls who aren't getting many assignments, like Ekaterina Baturina or Daria Spiridonova. UPDATE: Tatiana Nabieva has said she is not competing. The lineup remains most mysterious.

Congratulations to Anna Dementyeva and Evgeniya Shelgunova who have won the senior and junior AA at Voronin respectively. Anna Pavlova and Daria Elizarova completed the senior podium and Maria Kharenkova and Mariana de Oliveira of Brazil the junior. No need to worry over why Komova and Mustafina did not place, as I highly doubt either strayed beyond bars/beam.