3. Beam: This is my favorite event and I think this final is going to be great.
Viktoria Komova: Here again Vika qualified first, however, different from bars she has struggled in this event in both TF and AA. In the TF she fell on the second LOSO of her tumbling series, and in the AA she missed the connections: from her turn with leg at 90 degree and front flip, and even her sheep jump. She also had several wobbles in AA that cost her dearly. I think here was where her score suffered the most, the judges were tight and her competitor just was not deducted for her form problems. She needs to remember her bars from yesterday, come in guns blazing and put it all out there. She cannot be tentative, she cannot have wobbles because the judges will be wanting to prove their point after the controversy that was the AA and I expect them to score her the same. Hopefully the UB win can help her with confidence and she can deliver what she is capable of here! A stick in her double tuck dismount also would not hurt!
Difficulty: 6.2, but I doubt she got the connection into the sheep jump, so this might go up.
Sui Lu: I like this beam routine big time. What I love about Sui Lu is that she hits like it is no big deal! In team finals she delivered a beam routine that had everybody clapping, it was fabulous and if she can repeat I think Vika might not be able to stop her from getting that gold. She has a higher difficulty, 6.4, and she is clean, pristine clean. In team final she scored 15.666 as opposed to Vika's 15.400 from qualification. Not that this means much because the scores have been sooo inconsistent in this championships that you can not really trust your eyes, but she definitely has it if she hits like she did in team finals.
Jordyn Weiber: She has a good solid beam and she has shown she can hit it cold, so she definitely has a big chance of being in the podium, and maybe even getting the gold if some people falter. Her difficulty is equal to Komova's TQ difficulty, but I really wonder if the judges payed the connection from front flip to back tumbling pass she did. If not, then her SV can also go up. I would love for her to really stretch those legs and point those toes because that routine is great and I want her to get her scores with no controversy. The choreo, well there is no choreo, so it is tricky, but if she can go in big and give that great smile we definitely will have another Chinese-Russian-USA showdown in our hands.
Jinnan Yao: Love this little pixie, she is cute, I just want to put her in my pocket and take her home so she can do gymnastics in my nightstand all day long...
That aside, she faltered big time in the AA and could have taken the gold--and avoided us a whole lot of stress and crazy talk--if she had only hit this routine. Nevertheless she is capable of hitting and giving everybody a run for their money. In qualifying she scored a 15.066 and had a 6.4 difficulty score, but she had wobbles on her switch ring leap and her turn with leg at the head so she can definitely move up. I am hoping she can hit and challenge because she is just so fabulous.
Catalina Ponor: I remember seeing Ponor in 2004 and thinking, damn this girl is stuck to this beam like glue. That has not changed much. But what has not changed much also is that her form could use some work and here the judges have been taking it. That straddle with half turn in the beginning of her routine should be banned from the sport. I am sorry Catalina, I love you, I love your name and your gymnastics but that is just unacceptable. Her difficulty is good: 6.3, higher than some of the other competitors that are challenging for medals, but she has one problem: it is called 180 degree splits! If Ponor can magically clean up those leaps and pull that full twisting double pike dismount around cleanly she can also be up there. Let's hope so, I would like to see the Romanians challenge the Chinese-USA-Russian trifecta.
Alexandra Raisman: I am going to put it out there: I don't get how Raisman can be here. Her leaps are as bad as Ponor's, but she also adds to that some really bad form on her flight series and her turn. It is just bad all the way. She has to send those judges some flowers after this competition because together with that 14.000 on bars in TQ, this beam score was really some early Christmas gift. For those that are going to hate me for being honest here watch the video, then watch Yao's beam and tell me how these two can have the same E score... We know she can do better, we have seen it and she missed a connection in this routine so her SV can go up from a 6.3. If she gets anywhere close to the medals I hope it is because she performed a thousand times better than this, I for one do not want another angry mob of fans on twitter all night long.
To Aly, I just hope you have a great beam routine and get pumped up for floor where you true abilities are.
Elena Amelia Racea: Her name is beautiful, but so is her gymnastics. I like that Racea does some different combinations: her tumbling run with the back full is quite interesting and I like her form, although her leap with a half can also use some work. I could not find a video from TQ for her beam and she scored a 6.1 difficulty and 8.633 E, so she is going to need to be perfect, and for some people to fall for her to be in the podium. I wish her the best as I do like her a lot.
Stuff I am sad about: Porgras honey, what is going on? She did hit in AA, I have to give her that, but in Europeans her TQ was also a splat fest. Maybe she cannot handle the intensity that is B&B? I don't know, but even with less fluidity than last year, her beam is still outstanding and deserved to be showed again in the final.
Floor soon!
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