Friday, October 28, 2011

Pan American Games... Beam Finals... and the judging, yet again!



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.

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