Another great Brazilian dance group is Mimulus Cia de Danca from Belo Horizonte. Their pieces incorporate contemporary and ballroom dance techniques as well as traditional Brazilian social dances. They are outstanding and have very well developed shows. Dolores based on the movies of Pedro Almodovar, Do Lado Esquerdo de Quem Sobe influenced by traditional Brazilian samba, and Por um Fio based on the work and life of Arthur Bispo do Rosário a Brazilian artist that has recently gained prominence, are just a few of this dance company's great work.
With the revision of the code of points in 1996 after the Olympics, the compulsory round was eliminated from the artistic gymnastics competition.
For those of us that don't remember this era, the compulsories were the first round of competition and was made up of four routines, one in each apparatus, each developed by one or more countries. These routines were made up of the basic, yet fundamental skills necessary to perform each apparatus. Every gymnast had to take part in the compulsory round and the cleanliness, amplitude, and exactness of each movement was what mattered at this stage of the competition.
The gymnasts had to demonstrate that they had a handle on all the categories of skills necessary to do that apparatus. Later in the optional portion of the competition (team, AA, and EF) the gymnasts could perform their own routines that highlighted their best features, nevertheless since the scores carried over (the score from the compulsories counted in the final score), being good at the fundamentals of gymnastics was paramount to being competitive. The champions of these era were those that could master all categories of movements, and bring something original and difficult to the table.
No wonder Shannon Miller is one of the all time best gymnasts and competed for so long. She was the US queen of compulsories, her precision was just unbeatable by her teammates. This was what she always had over other greats of her era like Kim Zmeskal.
Yelena Shushunova was a power gymnast, yet she had amplitude, perfect form, and just knew how to stick those landings. Vault was always one of her best events.
These days we hear commentators talk about how Romania is traditional not good at Uneven Bars, however this was not always the case, Daniela Silivas is a perfect example of this. She was so stylish and clean, she had a great swing and was impeccable in this event.
Svetlana Khorkina is one of the most fabulous gymnasts ever and she made gymnastics to her own image. She was original and created many skills to fit her style, but she was only capable of doing this because she was trained well in the basics of the sport. Many say the open ended score has pushed gymnastics towards more difficulty and originality, yet I feel the compulsories allowed for gymnasts to be well prepared to go into these difficult and original skills safely. Today in the myriad of bad turns we see, check out this turn with the leg held horizontally into pose that was a compulsory requirement in 1996's FX.
Svetlana Boginskaya was also a unique brand of gymnast and her floor exercises were iconic. Her body line was just exquisite. She is not called the Belorussian Swan for no reason.
The compulsories allowed judges to separate the wheat from the chaff. This round allowed them to compare apples to apples and I think that was good for the sport.
Dina Kochetkova was just another great gymnasts in a very deep Russian team. The truth is the Russians knew (and still know) how to train them. Even their table setters and reserves were capable of taking home medals.
Lilia Podkopayeva was a true all arounder, she did not have weaknesses, her technique was perfect and so was her compulsory exercises. Here she performs the same compulsory floor routine I posted from Khorkina above. We can see their different styles, but we can compare each movement and identify where one could be more clean, or the other could have more height. Today in exercises like floor and vault the judges deduct no matter what because they always feel the gymnasts could have more amplitude and height yet they do it with every single gymnast. The scores need to be defined within what the current gymnasts are capable of performing. The compulsories allowed the judges to calibrate their expectations and the scores and allowed people to get the hang of the system before the optional competition got under way.
Yang Bo was just so great on beam and her fabulous lines and technique showed through in her compulsory as well as her optional exercise. Without good flexibility, lines and amplitude you just could not pull off this compulsory routine and as such you would not be challenging for medals in this competition.
In an era of sluggish turns, bad leaps, ugly twists, rare stuck landings, and when routines without any mistakes are few and far between I believe compulsories need to come back. Compulsory exercises forced gymnasts to have great technique to be at the very top reducing serious injuries.
The open ended code of points (which I will be tackling in my next opinion piece for this blog) plays its part in the diminished cleanliness and artistry of today's routines, as well as widespread of serious injuries, but the compulsories had a large influence in the equation also. Moreover bad technique and poorly executed routines cost gymnasts much more dearly at this time since the compulsory scores played a part in the final score.
Sports like Figure Skating eliminated the Compulsory Dance as it is rather a boring round for the lay audience, but managed to incorporate a portion of it in the Short Dance. The inclusion of a compulsory dance pattern in the Short Dance serves the purpose of maintaining the need for basic training of the dancers in the skills of each rhythm as well as the ability to directly compare the competitors without overlooking the entertainment factor (and competition timeline, as a compulsory round adds to the fatigue of competitors and judges).
This is a controversial topic, but I believe that if we directly compare the gymnasts trained under the compulsory (and the perfect 10 scoring system) and those under today's structure, we can see why we need to look back at what shaped the sport and what worked. Just saying that the open ended score system and the end of compulsories pushed the difficulty and originality of the sport, is not accounting for what history shows.
One example of many (and I mean many...) possible ones: Balance Beam Jordyn Weiber 2011 vs. Shannon Miller 1992 (or 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, the girl was on top for a looong time!). Saying that Jordyn's bent legs and lack of extension across the feet, lack of amplitude in the leaps and turns, as well as poorly developed dance/choreographic elements is because of her high difficulty is silly. Miller had high difficulty and still had artistry, amplitude, and much more.
Habermas argues "For every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own concerns threatens to disappear irretrievably."
The dance company Grupo Corpo is a outstanding Brazilian group founded by Paulo Pederneiras in 1975 in the city of Belo Horizonte. Here is the finale of their show Lecuona. Love!
This series, that I intend to write with some consistency in this blog, will be all about those routines from the past that are always worth seeing once more.
In this first edition I am going to go with routines that embody everything I hold dear about gymnastics: elegance, power, style, and beauty.
There could not a be a post about iconic routines in gymnastics if there was no mention of Nadia Comaneci. Her perfect 10s became then and remain now the hallmark of the sport. Many have argued that we will never see perfect 10s again because of the open ended scoring system. I have my doubts as the recent score system has been such a disaster that who knows, someone might decide to have some balls for a change and fix this mess.
While we wait, let's enjoy some beautiful work:
I absolute love Silivas, her gymnastics just has this essence, this joy that is absolutely contagious. This was a era of bright shining starts and Silivas performances managed to come through through all that light.
Speaking of expressiveness Oksana Omelianchik is probably one of the most underrated USSR champions. This 1987 FX is just great, it has a quality of movement, a strength even in the smallest of the dance bits that is really outstanding. In the beginning when the music hits a high and she hits her hand on the floor it is just great.
Ecaterina Szabo was also overshadowed, this time by a bunch of politics. But she was also great, and I always like going back to her routines. Her smile at the end of this routine is contagious.
Natalya Yurchenko: We hear her name so many times these days in competition because of the class of vaults that she made famous, but many don't know who she was. Her gymnastics was beautiful and so stylish.
Olesya Dudnik was another genius. She was so light and her gymnastics still takes my breath away.
There are so many great routines by these gymnasts that it is difficult to pick just a few, but here is the first breath from the past.
1. Ana Lago - MEX - 13.8
2. Mikaela Gerber - CAN - 13.775
3. Daniele Hypolito - BRA - 13.75
This final was really close, but again i feel Vaculik was underscored for a great, incredibly solid routine. She finished 4th with a 13.5.
Ana Lago of Mexico, although had a very low landing in her last tumble the double pike was just beautiful, she has a great style and clean gymnastics, her double layout to start followed by the great double turn with the leg up was really a highlight of my day. I liked that she took the gold, her cleanliness in the other passes made up for her short landing in the double pike. She had a high 5.6 difficulty like Gerber, but she was cleaner, especially in the dance elements.
Hypolito delivered a very clean routine, nearly no wobbles on the landings, also some consistent dance elements and some strong, determined movements. I was happy she got this medal with no mistakes, I like that better.
Unfortunately Gomez Porras was not able to repeat her great performance of the all around. Maybe it was all the excitement of winning beam that got her worked up, but nevertheless she has delivered in this competition and should not be disappointed with herself even one bit. She was completely off on her thrid tumbling pass and could not connect the 2.5 to punch tuck and ended put sitting the tuck down. She looked a little off right at the beginning, too jumpy in her landings and a little rattled. She will learn to keep her eye on the ball next time.
I really like Gerber's routine, the choreo tells a story, it is quirky and interesting and has several nuances. She also delivered some very good tumbling. She is a twister but needs to be cleaner with those legs, they should not be crossed like that. That is why she could not get above Lago. She has done herself a lot of favors in this competition I think.
The Pan American Games is over and so is the big competitions of this season. Mexico has done great for themselves, and this message for Lago was just the icing in a great big cake for them. It has been a ride!
"We still need to keep our eye on the prize," Geddert said of the London Games. "I'm supportive of the idea in that Jordyn isn't cut out for college gymnastics. I don't think the 14 weekends in a row doing watered-down gymnastics, that's not what she's all about. When you compete with the best in the world, I don't see her sinking her teeth into that type of situation."
This is not the first time Geddert puts his foot in his mouth. He just over and over again misses the opportunity to keep his mouth shut. His lack of professionalism, gossipy behavior, and overly critical attack of his colleagues and their gymnasts is unacceptable.
Other priceless Geddert moments:
What I has he learned in Tokyo?
"Politics is alive and well. We would love to think that the athletes performances would determine the outcome, and for the most part I think it does. But there are still ongoing attempts to corrupt the system." (... Rodionenko, if there are any doubts in your mind he is talking to you dude!)
"Martha Karolyi is the captain of this ship. She has condensed these different philosophies into the most respected program in the World (the results speak for themselves). Sometimes I question decisions, but this by no means indicates a lack of respect or support for the system. The toughest job in the gymnastics world is Martha’s. She suffers the attacks for the failures and yet gets none of the credit for the glory. She handles it with the “team first” mentality that has guided the USA program to the most World and Olympic medals in the world (since she began in 2000)." (Some sucking up to Martha for good measure.)
"Day 2 (he is talking Visas here) featured Jordyn at her best. She topped every score from Day One and posted the 2nd highest AA score ever in the World. The goal to send a message was accomplished. Now it was important to evaluate our position, knowing that the world judges would not be as friendly as their American counterparts."(Really? There is over scoring at the US National Championships... Shocker!)
On Selection Camp:"The team was then to be named that evening. I really do not think there were any big surprises as to the results. A couple of athletes that could have claimed a 6th or 7th spot either were coming off of injuries, OR were not far enough along in their comebacks to present a strong enough case" (Yes Shawn he is talking to you!)
On AA day at Worlds:
"Thursday AM, we scheduled a light work out. Basically a warm up, 2 touch warm up and a routine on bars, 2 routines on beam and done. Jordyn was on fire! Her attention to detail was right where we wanted it to be. Meanwhile we witnessed other countries struggling (I won’t mention names). Seemingly the cumulative effects of the team prelims and finals was catching up to many. Some coaches and athletes where slouching on the mats, resting between turns, simply running low on energy. Throughout the week, USA had been dominating the workout gym, with productive and enthusiastic training sessions. This had to be intimidating to some and today was one of our better days. We were very confident as we left the gym." (A research showed that the US educational system had some of the lowest scores in the world in basic math, however the US showed the most confident kids... Geddert is certainly one of those!)
Apparently he continues to assert that his blog has "educational value." Yep, I am sure there are a whole bunch of people out there learning how to be unprofessional, unethical assholes!
Since his counter argument is that: "It seems that there will be always those that would like to take things out of context, read between the lines or malign the true intention of the written message. I guess this is human nature." Please do go to his blog and see for yourselves. http://johngeddert.com/johngeddertgymnasticscoachblog/
The beam finals has concluded in Guadalajara, Mexico and this is how it ended up:
1. Ana Sofia Gomez Porras - GUA - 14.125
2. Kristina Vaculik - CAN - 13.925
3. Daniele Hypolito - BRA - 13.75
There were a couple falls, some wobbles, but overall I thought it was a nice display of gymnastics in this precarious--and at times cruel--apparatus. I was happy with the competitors, they delivered and looked very focused. The judges on another hand looked like they had somewhere better to be because obviously no one wanted to do it right today. I actually find it insulting, the gymnasts are out there doing their job, the coaches that have trained them for so long, the Federations that support them, and the judges seem to be there thinking what they are going to have for happy hour later that evening. The inconsistency in the scores is just outrageous. I mean people say it is normal for scores to escalate from when the judges start judging in the morning of a long qualifying day to when they stop. I don't agree with that, can you imagine a doctor that starts treating his patients thoroughly in the morning and then gets sloppy as the day goes on... I don't think so. Even more absurd then is to argue that is Ok for the judges to be inconsistent as time passes in a final that has only 8 gymnasts!
I was not happy with the E panel, they gave both Salazar of Mexico and Vaculik of Canada low scores that did not reflect their routine. Salazar had some lost connections, but that is not for the E panel to judge (although I realize everyday more that the division of the code in two spheres and the way the difficulty should not reflect in the execution score is a concept the judges have not been able to grasp). Apart from the connection issues Salazar was clean with minor checks aside from a low landing and big step in her dismount. She scored 7.925 for execution.
Vaculik was just very solid throughout the whole routine. She had minor mistakes and score 8.125 E. I also thought Chiarelli's E score was too low.
Nevertheless Gomez Porras who in routine wobbled in several elements: step back in the round off full combo, switch leap to back pike, front aerial back tuck, straddle half, also scored 8.175. I don't believe Gomez Porras' score is wrong. I think the gymnasts that came before her were underscored. The thing she did that the others did not is that despite the wobbles she fought through and managed to get her connections... But again that is a question akin of the E panel.
Then we get to Hypolito who had some good difficulty in this routine, the highest of the night at 6.3. Nevertheless was completely off on her side somie and fell off the beam. When that happened I thought to myself: "damn this sucks, they are going to give her a E score in the high 6.0s and her difficulty will not hold her"... Imagine my surprise when she got a 7.45? Again not that I think this score is high, but that it is inconsistent with what the judges gave Vaculik, Chiarelli and especially Salazar.
In the end I am happy for all three medalists in this event, they are all great gymnasts that have done a lot for themselves in this competition. Gomez Porras is setting herself up to be a frequent name in the sport, and Hypolito has had a great career and is still doing difficult and intricate gymnastics so she deserves whatever comes her way.
This I think will be a exciting final. I love floor exercise, the dance, the expressiveness, the tumbling. Unfortunately the scoring has been brutal on this apparatus, not only here in Guadalajara but in this scoring system as a whole. This creates a problem, as gymnasts need to detract from performance and quality of the exercise in order to code whore as much as they can to get mediocre scores.
This event was really good for team Canada in TF and Mikaela Gerber just delivered a fabulous routine.
This video is from earlier this year, but I saw Gerber's routine for TF on the terra.com feed and thought she did much better in Guadalajara, she was cleaner in the twists and in the landings. I like her style, is different. The double turn however is not good, I know the judges will credit it, but at this level of gymnastics I think the competitors should not be allowed to do such a poor job at these dance skills.
Ana Lago of Mexico is elegant and has a nice choreographed routine that suits her style. She also surprises you with some pretty big tumbling, check out the double layout right off the top. Her double turn with leg at horizontal is quite good. She had some small mistakes on landings in this qualifying routine and will be looking to go even cleaner and maybe get another medal for Mexico, who knows maybe a gold.
Kristina Vaculik is here also and she has some lovely choreo and style on floor.
Her tumbling has been clean and she has been solid in this apparatus here so I expect her to challenge. She will be looking to stick those landings and give nothing for the judges to deduct from her.
Dovelis Torres of Cuba qualified 4th with a score of 13.5 unfortunately no videos of her.
Daniele Hypolito qualified 5th with 13.375. For this routine in the AA however she scored 13.825. She needs to repeat this pristine clean performance to get on the podium. Also, in Tokyo she performed a double layout as her first pass, she might try it here to have the edge and get a medal, which would be the first for Brazil in the women side at this gymnastics meet. Brazil has had a very disappointing competition and got a lot of criticism from the Brazilian press for it. Hypolito seemed genuinely pissed off in the AA and VT finals, maybe she will bring that anger into floor and make something out of it.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras is also making the final here with some exciting tumbling. She was cleaner in her landings in the AA than in qualifying and scored close to a 15.0, which if repeated would put her in a fight for first. Her choreo and dance needs to mature, it is not quite there yet, but she is dynamic and precise in her movements. Even without great difficulty in dance elements her double turn is clean and prettier than Gerber's (or Weiber's or Peng-peng Lee's for that matter, so nobody say I am picking on Gerber! Yes there are plenty of ugly turns being credited full difficulty out there, shame on you judges!).
It is great to know that we will get to see the great work of Elsa Garcia one last time before this competition is over.
I like this routine (but Elsa you could really do better than that sloppy turn at the beginning), she really sells it and looks like she is enjoying herself. The tumbling is clean and so are the leaps, 180 degree split although the rule, is definitely not the norm in today's gymnastics, but Garcia has a style that I really appreciate.
Jessie DeZiel delivered a solid routine in qualifying to get a spot for the final. She did step OOB and had some mistakes on landings so she can improve and move up, the leaps need to be better though. The music and choreo are a little odd, this techno medley is not great and there is not much dancing in this routine, however this is how Martha likes them, powerful with no talent for dance whatsoever, so I guess it is what it is. I would like her to hit and finish in a good position in this final since I believe the rookies of USA's B team, like DeZiel and Jay, did their job overall in this competition while the veterans messed up everywhere. Hopefully DeZiel will finish this competition feeling good about herself, I am sure she has a great NCAA career awaiting her somewhere.
Keeping my fingers crossed for a clean, solid performance by the girls tomorrow, I would like everyone to come and fight for those 6 medals up for grabs and may the best competitors win!
After a exciting day 1 of EF in Guadalajara Mexico let's look at what tomorrow may bring:
The beam brought many surprises in the qualifying round, it claimed many great gymnasts, Peng-Peng Lee, Shawn Johnson and Elsa Garcia for example, as well as made some teams really have to work for it, like the US that had to overcome their struggles on beam to get the gold. This led to no US woman qualifying for event finals on beam, something I have not seen in quite a long time. Many believed this would have been Johnson's event here at Pan Ams, yet it was not to be, the Olympic champion fell twice and although she was gracious about it--as she always is--anyone could see she was visibly disappointed.
Here is her routine:
The first fall was understandable, I mean, the standing full is a huge skill and it is a new addition to Johnson's program. The second however was a mental bobble, she just took her eye of the ball, she was probably thinking about the dismount. It was really a shame.
I really like Elsa Garcia, she is clean and super elegant, however she does not have a grasp on this BHS LO at all, she missed it twice here in Guadalajara and it is just unfortunate.
Clearly no point in crying over the spilled milk. So this is the ladies with a chance at the beam title.
Ana Sofia Gomez Porras: after an outstanding competition in prelims and AA where she took silver, Gomez Porras goes onto this EF qualified first.
Gomez Porras does the same acrobatic series as Amelia Racea performed at Worlds. In the AA (video above) she had some wobbles and lost connections which made her score drop from the qualification, however she shows she is tough because even with some struggles she keeps at it and stays on. It would be great for her to collect another medal at this final, and hopefully the gold.
Kristina Vaculik: for the Guatemalan to take the gold she will have to outdo the Canadian Vaculik that has had a pretty consistent competition taking the bronze in the AA.
Vaculik also had some mistakes in her AA performance missing her connection from the aerial to the BHS LOSO and some other wobbles, however this BB routine has a lot of potential and Vaculik has delivered under pressure at these Games, time for her to do it again and take her third medal of the competition.
Karla Salazar of Mexico (14.075), Talia Chiarelli of Canada (13.675), and Jessica Gil of Colombia (13.6) qualified behind Vaculik in the 3rd, 4th and 5th positions. It is unfortunate that we have so little video footage of some of the competitors at these Pan Ams as some are up and coming, but I guess that makes tomorrow all the more exciting.
Yessenia Estrada of Mexico (13.6 also) qualified 6th followed by Fanny Briceno of Venezuela (13.525) and Priscila Cobello of Brazil (13.5). Both Estrada and Cobello came through for their teams after people struggled before them. Estrada starts right off the top with a double turn on wolf position a la Lauren Mitchell, it is really different. She has a nice flow overall, but had some big mistakes in TQ nearly falling off the beam twice, and landing her dismount with her head on her knees, that I am sure she will be looking to correct. She is 1.0 away from first place, but I am sure these mistakes cost her way more than that so she can fight for a medal. Cobello also had some problems, I am sure she was not awarded the full difficulty for that spin with leg at horizontal, but she does not have so much difficulty so she will need people in front of her to falter in order to get on the podium. Nevertheless a great opportunity for her to be in this final.
After the problems we have seen in this apparatus here in Guadalajara, I would say this final is pretty open, and whomever can come in and outdo themselves will take it.
This final was quite predictable, the US was going to take it, one way or another. This is how it finished:
1. Bridgette Caquatto - USA - 14.525
2. Shawn Johnson - USA - 14.5
3. Marisela Cantu and Elsa Garcia - MEX - 13.625
Caquatto hit this routine for a third time in a row - Good for her! She did a clean job here, although not as crisp in the handstands and releases as the last two attempts, but she knew if she hit she was going to land on the podium. Overall a great competition for her, proving she is capable of doing this UB routine consistently, this is definitely going to count later on.
Johnson had a similar problem here that she had in qualifications, but it was less severe this time around. Right of the top after her weiler kip/weiler kip half combination she was not on top of the bar and had to muscle up to stay and not swing the wrong way. After that the routine went pretty smoothly, she needs to focus still on the handstand position because this makes all the difference on this event, these 0.05/0.1 she is getting in deduction for missed handstands can really push her routine up.
The Mexicans Garcia and Cantu shared the bronze, Garcia had more difficulty 5.7, but hit her toes in the LB in the reverse swing to release. Nevertheless I am really happy she got a medal here, her work is just beautiful, she has a fabulous body line and she is very clean. Cantu, although not so stylish hit her routine and deserved to get onto the podium.
In the end everyone looked quite happy with the outcome which is always good to see. After the controversies at Worlds, this is refreshing.
I was sad that Christine Lee of Canada did not manage to deliver a clean routine. I like her style and she deserved to get a individual medal at these Games. In this routine she landed past the handstand in her toe on full pirouette combination and had to swing the other way a correct it under the bar. She hit the HB/LB transition (pak with a full) she had missed in AA and did a good dismount, unfortunately that mistake cost her a lot and she finished with 13.575.
Notes:
The display of leos was very nice in this final. Johnson and Caquatto worn a similar style (like Maroney's at worlds for EF), the fist was in pink, the second in blue. I really want the US to lose the bright barbie pink leos Nastia Liukin likes so much, it does not fit these power gymnasts like it fits Liukin, and they look a little ridiculous at times (not to be mean or anything, but a team leo needs to bring the best out of every gymnast, that is why I am happier with the styles they have shown recently in Worlds and here). The Mexicans were also looking good, Cantu in a similar color than Johnson with strips of rhinestones at the v-neck and cuffs, and Garcia in emerald green with rhinestones in the bodice and sleeves. Very nice! It was quite a fashionable podium.
Finally, I have been extremely impressed with Johnson's fitness level in these Pan Ams, she looks more toned and slimmer than at Classics and Visas. This is important for a gymnast that has a injury like hers, she needs to be always on top of her difficulty because she just cannot afford short landings...
Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland, not at this competition but a great vaulter!
Here is how it went down:
1. Brandie Jay - USA - 14.337
2. Elsa Garcia - MEX - 14.312
3. Catalina Escobar - COL - 14.162
It was a good final. Unfortunately Yamilet Pena went for the harder vault and sat it down again. It was better than worlds, she landed sat down instead than on her back (in that scary fall).
Brandie Jay from the US came gain with her higher difficulty and although her vaults were not as clean as in qualifying, or as the second and third place finishers, she had the most difficulty and that guaranteed her the gold. Her DTY and Half on half off in the stretched position (she was given the pike, but I think she tried it straight) gave her the edge.
Elsa Garcia was extremely clean with her 1.5 Y (little step on the landing) and Half on Piked half off - Podkopayeva (stuck, very clean), but because her difficulty was substantially lower she could not get the gold. I am happy she got a medal though, she has struggled at this competition and pulled through here.
I was impressed with Catalina Escobar's DTY, it was so powerful and high, she landed with the chest really well positioned, and although she had a big step back and to the side, still the scored 14.900. Her second vault, a tucked Omelianchik, was also good with hops in the landing, but only worth a 4.6 D which took her down to third. If she can work on a more difficult vault for the future she can be competitive in this category internationally because she is very good at the DTY, which I believe can become a Amanar.
Again the Brazilian struggled, Hypolito put her hands down on her second (Pod pike) vault and Gomes Nunes struggled and took several steps back on her second vault - also a Pod piked (which looked like the official second vault of this competition, a lot of the girls performed it). Nunes finished 4th.
Like in Tokyo the vault of finals here at Pan Ams will be a diversified final with some interesting new faces and powerful vaulters.
1. Brandie Jay from the USA qualified first for this final with two clean vaults. She could improve by landing her DTY with her chest higher so she does not look bent down, sticking it would not hurt her either. She needs to put her feet down more aggressively instead of letting the floor hit her. Her second (half on full off) was better with the chest but the landing was not very controlled. In qualifying she had a average of 14.687, 0.3 ahead of the second qualifier, so if she lands on her feet I think a medal is guaranteed. All the best to her in the final.
2. Catalina Escobar of Colombia qualified second with 14.312. I did not see her vaults on terra.com feed and did not find any video of them. I did find a video of her doing vault back in 2008 in Glasgow, and although her run was very strong, the vaults were not very clean. However much can have changed since then and she clearly had two good vaults in qualification, so I will keep my eyes on the final. I have already learned about one great gymnasts I had been overlooking in this competition, so finding another would be even better.
3. Yamilet Pena Abreu: at Worlds Abreu unfortunately could not land her very difficult handspring double front to her feet, but she did make it (although with a not so great landing) in the AA competition here. On qualifications she, wisely, went with a easier vault and her usual 1.5 Y for a solid 14.087. The question is what she will compete in this final, she can go with her easier vault and with better landings on both attempts she can guarantee herself a medal, but if she goes for the more difficult vault and makes it, she is undoubtedly going to take the gold. I am hoping her and her coach reflect about this decision because although I was very impressed with her for going for the Produnova in Tokyo, the landing in EF was a little scary, so maybe steady will be a better option for her at this point. She can go back home and work more on this vault to present it next year and attempt a wild card spot in the London Olympics. A gold medal here however would increase significantly her chances to be at the Olympics, so it is a complex situation.
4. Elsa Garcia will again have the support of the audience. In the qualifying she did a 1.5 Y and round off half on double pike front off for a 14.0 average. Her landings, especially in the first vault were out of control, and as such with some clean work she can move up. Otherwise she is tidy and stylish. A medal here would help improve her competition. After some disappointments here in Guadalajara she could use some good performances in the EF. Jessica Gil from Colombia also averaged a 14.0 so she is also in the hunting.
6. Brazil did not have a good team competition, but even without their star Barbosa, they still managed to get two gymnasts into this final: Adrian Gomes and Daniele Hypolito. However, since they are in 6th and 7th, they will need some people to make mistakes to get on the podium. Besides a higher chest on the second vault and stuck landings, I really do not see much space for Gomes to improve her vaults, she is doing them as well as she can.
Hypolito finished 0.075 behind Gomes at 13.850. Her 1.5 Y had a big step in the landing and she landed the second vault very low and with a very big step to the side, so she can move up if she does these routines much cleaner. Nevertheless, the Brazilians have looked exhausted and demoralized in this competition and I don't know if these girls have it in them. I wish them both luck and I am rooting for them to do well.
Ladies, please let's have a clean, safe final with some great gymnastics.
Uneven Bars finals are tomorrow, this event finals will not be as competitive because of the disparity in the difficult values of some of the girl's routines. Yet it is another chance to see gymnastics and for some competitors to prove themselves, so it will be exciting anyway.
1. Bridgette Caquatto was the first qualifier with a score of 14.625. Her routine was really good, her handstands were on top of the bar and her releases were high (she could have caught them with straighter arms), her double layout dismount had a hint of split legs, but nearly stuck. She again put it together in the AA finals for 14.725. If she can do it for a third time, it will really put a stamp in this routine: here Martha I can hit it time and time again.
Fingers crossed.
2. Shawn Johnson has not had the greatest competition so far. Unable to do the AA she hit a good DTY in Team Finals, but fell on beam and did not qualify for those event finals. On bars she did a good job for a score of 14.400 yet she had mistakes. There was a evident pause in the beginning of the routine together with some form breaks as well as a hop on the landing. This means that if she can go clean she can move up and challenge Caquatto. This can be a big boost for Johnson. Caquatto was seriously considered for a spot on the World Championships' team because of her bar work. If Johnson can do a clean routine that scores higher than a clean routine by Caquatto, with her solid DTY, her good difficulty on beam, and possible upgrades on floor, her stock will go way up and this trip to Guadalajara would not have been such a loss after all. She needs to go all out, hit those handstands, make absolutely no mistakes and stick the landing. Time to get serious Shawn!
3. Christine (Peng-Peng) Lee did a good routine in team finals to qualify for this event. Unfortunately she was unable to repeat in the AA. At 14.275 she is close to the two and well ahead of 4th. If she can repeat her performance from qualification she will definitely be in the podium. Her full twisting pak from high to low (the skill she missed in AA) is a different and charming skill.
The 4th, 5th, and 6th place qualifiers Marisela Cantu, Bibiana Velez and Elsa Garcia are pretty much tied with 13.600/500s. Cantu could fix some of her handstands, but her routine was pretty clean, it is the difficulty that does not allow the score to go higher (5.5). Garcia on the other hand had a routine that was a little shaky at places, out of handstand in the pirouette/release combination, so I think she can move up if she does a pristine clean routine. I was not able to find Velez' routine on youtube and did not see it in the terra.com feed either so I am not sure what she is capable of and if she can do better than she did, nevertheless she is on 4th, which means she is the closest to the podium.
Nathalia Sanchez and Ivet Rojas are right behind in the last two spots with 13.200s. Both of them had solid routines with tiny small breaks so they will need some people in front of them to falter to make the podium, however, many competitors had problems on bars during this competition so a lot can still happen. I particularly like Rojas' routine, she is stylish and has great lines.
I would just love some clean routines and stuck dismounts. Good luck girls.
1. Bridgette Caquatto
2. Ana Sofia Gomes Porras
3. Kristina Vaculik
4. Christine Lee
5. Elsa Garcia
6. Brandie Jay
It looked like this:
From what I have been able to see of the competition, finally Caquatto came to play, and obviously it payed off. She has good difficulty and managed to hit her bar routines twice in a row (that is a record for her right?!?!). She did a high and strong FTY although the landing was a bit out of control. Beam was not good, I still feel she has more to give. I want her to do better. I think she is a better gymnasts than this and whatever is holding her back she needs to strip herself of it fast because the Olympics are right around the corner. Her floor was mediocre, that choreo is disastrous, again I think she is better than this. She improved from the qualifications and took the gold because of it, yet I am not satisfied, and I hope she is not either. She needs to score in the 14.000s across the board and on the 15.000s on bars to be really a asset to team USA. Scoring in the high 14.000s like her sister did on bars and vault to get into last year's world team is not going to be enough to get Bridgette a place in the 5 women team. She is already at a disadvantage for not competing at Worlds, where Vega and Douglas demonstrated strong consistency, and the fact that Liukin and Li can deliver some much higher scores on bars than her is a problem. What she has is that she is an all arounder and in a 5 women team that is going to pay a substantial role, so she needs to be available on all four events, for real!
Vaculik did good for herself, I saw her floor which I really appreciated, I like her style and think her tumbling is good, even though not the most difficult, Kristina is very clean and her landings are good. It is unfortunate that floor in this code of point is such a low scoring event, this really hampers the parity in the sport, great vault or bar workers have so much advantage over good floor workers which to me is unacceptable. Since the TF/AA is about the best gymnasts a country can produce on all four apparatus, each routines' weight in the final score needs to be balanced or else the underlying structure of conception is lost, and this is what this code has done. Team Canada specially surfers from this as their floor is really good. I saw Vaculik's vault and thought she deserved more for it, her landing was controlled, she had a clean FTY, not as high as Caquatto's, but much cleaner in the landing. I am glad she got a medal in this competition, she certainly deserved it for a balanced showing.
Gomez Porras again delivered, she is young and will have time to push her difficulty a little more, but one thing she has to spare: the girl is mentally tough. She is consistent and delivers under pressure. She came in as the top qualifier, many have crumbled in this position, Ana Sofia did not, she put up very similar scores as in qualifying. She lost a little bit here on beam with some wobbles, but she pushed herself on floor and made up those lost tenths there. Her Q total and AA total were the same: 55.425. Bars is her weakest event and where she needs to apply herself in the coming year to be cleaner and raise her score. This is a great accomplishment for her and Guatemala gymnastics, she shows some good basic technique which speaks to her coach as much as to herself, and most importantly it says that given some other talented youngsters these results can be repeated.
Christine (Peng-Peng) Lee had a good competition, but bars really ended her chances at a medal. She did so good in Q that it saddens me. However I did not get her beam score, did she touch the beam at some point because in qualifying she got 13.675 with a fall, and today a 13.975. She did have three major wobbles today, but I still did expect a couple of tenths more. She seemed very happy to finish that routine without a fall, I wonder if she was happy with this score?
Elsa Garcia of Mexico came back from a not so great team competition (for her individually as Mexico had a great run!) to have a decent performance in the AA. Again beam was a problem, this BHS LO combination (that sometimes I think is a piked back in the end because she is so low and slow in the transition) is not working for her, she missed it twice here in Guadalajara, maybe she should work on another tumbling pass for her otherwise quite stylish routine. Other from that she was solid on floor, bars (where she is not great) and vault. An unfortunate outcome, but no one can deny she is just so elegant and beautiful gymnast.
Jay did not have the consistent competition she needed to medal, her floor and beam were in the 12.000s and it was her undoing, however she has done well in this competition, her first major one, and still has a chance to medal on vault. Best of luck to her.
And the competition continues with event finals. A preview of that soon!
In Classical times the Greeks used to conceptualize the true, the good and the beautiful as one and the same. What was true had to be essentially good and beautiful. The disjunctive nature of modernity has changed it all, and gymnastics is no exception.
The results:
TEAM
AA
The true: the WAG competition two days ago was a splatfest full of odd, sad and at times delightful surprises.
As I had predicted bars was a problem for nearly everyone in this competition, the good routines were few and far between. Special mention to Caquatto of the US that finally managed to put a somewhat clean routine together and as expected landed at the top of the EF chart on this event. If she can repeat this performance she will easily take the gold, however, we know that consistency isn't her forte so Johnson and Lee are certainly in contention here. Elsa Garcia had also a routine I saw and enjoyed.
Beam was a disaster for most, the gold medal winners included. The Canadians somehow managed to do OK, but Peng-peng Lee fell and it is sad that she will not be in the final. Again on floor, and this is really were I think they secured the silver, and even near challenged for the gold, the Canadians really brought in something other teams did not. I hope Gerber and Vaculik can keep it up and take medals at the final. Ana Lago, and Garcia of Mexico have beautiful routines, I hope they give a good showing.
This team event was in no way what I expected. I missed the presence of Jessica Lopez on top, I really think she could have challenged in this competition. And overall I thought there were just too many mistakes. Of course this date right after worlds is crazy and nobody can ask more of these girls, however, some of them were well rested and should have done more for themselves (Yes, USA I am looking at you and at you only!)
The good: The smaller teams shined here. Mexico, Colombia and Canada (who many doubted before the Worlds at Tokyo) showed one thing that I truly admire: perseverance... They had tricky moments, but kept strong and did not allow it to get away from them. I am very happy for Mexico for being able to deliver at home, they were outstanding and came through. The audience was behind them 100% and they did not disappoint with some beautiful routines by Lago, Salazar, and Garcia, even with the latter's struggles.
Vault! This final will be exciting, I thought it was going to be the most competitive final to get in, and it was. Who made it truly delivered two good vaults and is in contention for medals. It is also democratic having a little bit of everything. Pena Abreu qualified with a easier and more secure vault, if she can have better landings on the two of them she can certainly go up. Jay did very well, she deserves her position here, and a medal, as she is one of the US girls I thought came through for her team when it counted.
The not so beautiful: The USA as expected won the team event, but it was not, by any means, pretty! I admit I was extremely disappointed and not at the rookies. Jay, DeZiel and McLaughlin did what they came to do. They had mistakes, but they got their part done. On the other hand, I don't really know what Bridget Sloan is thinking right now, but if I was her I was thinking early entrance at Florida, because she is just F%$$@#. Team USA could have not won without Johnson's two scores in the 14.000s, yet this was a subpar performance by her, she looked in shape and focused, yet she let it get away from her in the middle there somewhere. Caquatto delivered on bars, but two scores in the 12.000s is unacceptable for a gymnast of her caliber and with her aspirations. Martha did not think this competition was important enough and these girls worthy of her presence in Guadalajara... And unfortunately, they proved her right. Caquatto has a chance to redeem herself in the finals taking medals on bars and the AA. I don't know if this will suffice to get her stock up in the US run for London, but she needs to at least try.
The Brazilian team had an absolute meltdown. Bars has never been quite their strong suit, but this was just bad. On floor, a event that should have been better for them, they did not deliver, their beam was shaky. Truth is that they needed Barbosa and they needed to believe in it a bit more. Fifth was not in their plans and I hope this does not derail them as they prepare for the Test Event in London in January, they cannot afford another performance like this one.
I have however one name that epitomized the unity of the foundational concepts of classical society in the modern era: ANA SOFIA GOMES PORRAS.
I had heard about her before, and seen some solid work from her, but this gymnasts from Guatemala brought it all to the floor in this competition and delivered a truly good and beautiful example of gymnastics. She did have mistakes, but unlike 90% of the field she came to play and fought for it, and I admire that tremendously. I have became a fan for life. I hope she pulls it again and takes the gold here, I love what she stands for: an upcoming gymnastic country, a consistent, quiet achiever delivering under pressure and aiming at a place in London. Dear Sofia, I am ashamed to say that I had not given you the attention you deserved in my preview posts for this competition, or in my day to day investigation of gymnastics. This will be a mistake I will not repeat, I don't think people will be able to overlook you much longer. In a mess fest of a competition you were one of the few that really shined, hope this is one of many great competitions for you.
Somebody explain this score to me?!?! I have already complained about the insane TQ scoring at Tokyo, this one is clearly one of those moments of craziness by a bunch of people that although do this for a living seem to not be able to keep it straight half of the time.
She really improved this routine in Guadalajara and she looked elated when her score came out.
She needs to work on this bar routine a bit more in the next year. This is where she was not so great in this competition. In the AA if she can just clean it up a bit and score solidly in this event, this will be a big win for her.
The two Canadians: Lee and Vaculik are also right there. Lee struggle on beam so her score can certainly go up, the same goes for Vaculik on bars. Team Canada had some great competition here and I am sure they would like to top it off with some individual medals, and these girls certainly deserve it. I was rooting for Canada to take the gold in the end, I think they performed closer to their capability than the US. Again the score has stuck us with some unfortunate result. Good for the US girls that actually did their jobs though.
Can we expect to see gymnastics that is true, good and beautiful, or is that ideal as lost in gymnastics as it is in modern politics, ethics and aesthetics? I just hope not.
