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.
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