Part 2! Out of 3 for some reason! Today, our responsibility is to stay awake through rings somehow (not apologizing) and then try to maintain a respectable amount of life skills during the fall terror of the beam final and the leg-explosion terror of the men’s vault final. Three really challenging tasks. We can earn medals with our performances today.
Starting order
Rings – You, Petrounias, Goossens, Abliazin, Liu, Pinheiro Rodrigues, Radivilov, Zanetti
Vault – Nagornyy, Radivilov, Shirai, Dragulescu, Ri, Gonzalez, Verniaiev, Abliazin
Beam – Fan, Onyshko, Biles, Wevers, Ponor, Hernandez, Boyer, Saraiva
Why exactly have we changed the event order to put the two men’s events back-to-back? That sounds fun for Radivilov. But does it make sense? It doesn’t? Great.
Rings final
Ugggggggghhhh.
We’ll get through it together.
“There was also a withdrawal.” That’s all you’re going to say about Van Gelder?
The difference with making Abliazin and Radivilov going back-to-back events versus a team competition is that they don’t get a touch for EF.
You – Opens with a strongily-boo – hangs out for a while at the mall – bicep rips open and a potato falls out – clangity-flop in a layout position – chest down lunge on layout double double. 15.400
Petrounias – deltoid transforms into watermelon – smashes a skyscraper while laughing at it – smiles while eating jar of nails – floats directly into the sky on the back of Zeus – sticks double double. 16.000
Goossens – not even level like a loser – opens with popped cranial artery – directly connects double back to red skin to purple skin for .3 CV – too Belgian for this – DLO 1/1 dismount. 14.933.
“Courtney, it’s not an event you compete on.” WHAT???
Jon just agreed with me that rings workers are muscly little potatoes.
Abliazin – Accidentally crushes his own head with his giant arms while waiting to begin his routine and has to withdraw because of not having a head. Real shame there as he could have medaled in this final. Finds new head to compete dismount, layout double double step. 15.700 into second.
Liu – pulls your face off with his fingers – tries to open a pickle jar and accidentally destroys the universe – spleen does come out through his lips, accidentally, which will be a deduction if the judges saw it. Lunge back. 15.600.
Pinheiro-Rodrigues – falls asleep in mid-air – uses the sun as a bed – decided mid-routine that he actually wants to pursue a career in the fine arts – retires from gymnastics in order to create more beauty in the world. DLO 1/1 step. 15.233.
Courtney’s like, “I’ve got nothing.” Courtney and I get each other.
Radivilov – flexes so hard he spontaneously sprouts a second neck tattoo, this one dedicated to Oleg – sheds a single tear for the environment – his back explodes into a series of roman candles – sticks double double. 15.466. In behind Liu.
Zanetti – sheds off potato costume to become a real boy – eats caribou skull – spontaneously fires bullet out of own shoulder – eyes pop out and shoot across the arena killing a spectator. Hop back on dismount. 15.766. Into second.
Gold: Petrounias
Silver: Zanetti
Bronze: Abliazin
Potato hugs! Mad potato respect!
Men’s vault final
Let’s just hope everyone stays a person.
Nagornyy 1 – Dragulescu, larger bound back, good chest position on landing 15.233.
Nagornyy 2 – Kas 2/1, very strong landing, small hop, also chest up. Two safe vaults!
15.316 average for Nagornyy.
Radivilov 1 – NO WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US PLEASE STOP – he actually almost did it – he basically Karmakared it – but did he land feet first? Do we think it’s a zero? To my eye, that was not feet-first.
14.933. Gets a score for it.
Tsuk double pike second vault with a large lunge back. LOL, almost fell on the Tsuk double pike. I love that it was almost worse than the triple front. Not really, but you know.
Kenzo – EXCELLENT 3.5 Yurchenko – so much better than we’ve seen in training – pretty much all the way around with a Shawn Johnson step – crossed legs, just a tad under but will get credit. 15.833.
Kenzo 2 – easy peasy Kas 1.5 with a step – 15.066 for that.
Kenzo still into first with 15.449 average.
Dragulescu – Dragulescu – step back, pretty big step, great execution, chest up, comfortable landing. 15.266.
Dragulescu 2 – ro half on 2.5. Very strong, small hop, but his average will be the same as Kenzo!
FINISHES WITH AIRPLANE ARM SPIN!
Kenzo remains in first over Dragulescu with tiebreak! Higher single vault score is the tiebreak.
Ri – Piked Dragulescu – excellent height, larger lunge back, completely loses piked form in the air into a straddle tucked, but successfully didn’t look like he was going to die. 15.616.
Ri 2 – Tsuk double back full and nearly stuck it – what a preposterous human – obviously into first. Steel-reinforced angles –
Gonzalez does a Tsuk double pike and everyone’s like, that’s cute.
Gonzalez 2 – Shewfelt with a lunge forward. Just OK. Won’t challenge for medals.
Verniaiev – NEARLY sticks Dragulescu – just the smallest quiver with one of his feet – very strong. 15.400.
Verniaiev 2 – Kas 2/1, large hop back. 15.233 for that one.
Oleg will be level with Nagornyy, and actually level by all the tiebreaks because they received identical execution for identical difficulty. So they’ll stay tied, though it won’t matter because they’re fourth.
Abliazin – Tsuk full in, large step forward, a little lower landing than Ri. 15.600. Too close to Ri?
Abliazin 2 – half on 2.5 – chest down landing and a few larger steps back. 15.516. Gets some Paseka E scoring on those vaults, but also vault scoring.
That means Abliazin is into 2nd behind Ri.
It’s Shirai in third, Dragulescu down to 4th on the tiebreak.
I’m sure there will be anger for that but LONG LIVE TIEBREAKS! The point of an event final is to separate the best gymnasts. Ties are not separating the best gymnasts.
Still a real shame for Dragulescu not to medal though. I think he has a very good argument that he should have been ahead of Kenzo outright.
And we still have to do beam!
Beam final
Oh dear. Dear dear dear. Here we go.
Flavia Saraiva is actually half the height of the other competitors.
Fan – Very un-Chinese leo. Trying to trick the judges into thinking she’s Dutch. Opening check on her layout series – clean walkover, otherwise calm and pretty – larger bend at the hips on that side somi – just a few too many checks here – 3/1 with a lunge back. 14.500. 6.3/8.2
Oh yes. Beam judging. I forgot that this thing is going to take forever.
Onyshko – layout series is good, small check but smaller than Fan – good side aerial – large pause before tuck full series and then a fall on it, no chance to save – check on switch ring – double back with step. 13.400.
Sea-Money – 2.5 wolf solid this time – good leap connections – barani YES, one of her best baranis, that was for me I think – very secure loso loso series – NOOOOOOOO, huge break on punch front, grasps the beam. No point to continue living – check on walkover – hop back on dismount.
It. Just. Got. Interesting.
LOL. Still into first for the moment with 14.733. Oh, Simone.
Wevers – round off bhs mount – closeup of her face during her double L because no one knows anything – two side aerials combo – a couple tiny checks – insane triple turn – single L to full turn to double spin – switch to bhs full – gainer “layout” full with a hop.
Sanne doing her own D score is my favorite thing in the world. Stars they’re just like us.
“BUT WHAT’S A SPIN,” say the judges.
15.466 for Sanne! There is justice in the world!
Ponor. Oh Cata, what is this leo? Cirque de Dominatrix?
Ponor – two-part switch ring – onodi and breaks combo out of it with wobbles – front aerial to bhs layout – large break on switch 1/2 with leg up – bhs 1/1 – too many wobbles here, also struggled to get her leg to split on bhs 3/4 – double pike large bounce back. Just a 14.000 for Ponor. 5.8 D, 8.2 E.
Aimee is on “mood boost” duty overdrive.
Hernandez – front pike is solid – aerial to sissone to split – two loso series, whips her arms back to avoid a wobble – full turn is not her best skill – good sheep – high front tuck to wolf – side aerial – switch to a tight switch 1/2 with a small check – solid switch ring – double pike just small hop. Good one. Into second. 15.333.
Hernandez had the higher execution, but Wevers got her on difficulty.
Boyer – round of layout, so floaty and wonderful – switch to switch 1/2, switch half is not 180 with a check – some bent knees in the walkover and other skills – bend at the waist on aerial – small check on side somi – double pike with small step and NCAA salute.
US submitting inquiry for Laurie’s beam. Are they hoping she’s getting a magical 6.6 to pass Wevers now?
14.600 for Boyer, into 4th.
Saraiva – two loso series, small slide back – large break on layout two feet – does well not to grasp the beam but a huge wobble, bend at the waist and steps – large pause before switch ring, very pretty – small check on sheep – hop back on tuck full – aerial to aerial to side somi – bend at the waist again – double pike. Too many errors in there.
SANNNNNNNEEEE!
Long wait on the score because obviously. Also apparently an inquiry for Boyer.
Let’s make sure this takes forever, please and thank you.
14.533 for Saraiva. Into 5th. Too many wobbles.
Tears or eye glitter? No one can ever tell.
Scores still not official because of the Boyer inquiry for bronze.
Is this a final now? I’m going to assume it’s a final.
Gold: Weversssssssss
Silver: Hernandez
Bronze: Biles
LOL at Simone grabbing the beam and still getting bronze. Simone things.
Note: Give Simone her 6.7 D from qualification and .5 back for grabbing the beam, and she’s still behind Wevers. Not saying Simone wouldn’t have won with a hit, but it wouldn’t have exactly been a foregone conclusion.
There’s only one more day left. Try not to think about it.
What??!! We have to sit through two men’s events in a row before beam??!!
I am dying over these rings quick hits. 100% accurate.
Everything is about the dismount….screw the entire routine.
Laughed so hard I cried over your rings quick hits. Can’t believe Zanetti killed a spectator and still won silver!
Hahahahahaha! Loved the commentary, Spencer! I almost fell asleep, but saw Petrounias who truly is Lord of the Rings. Did Zeus mate with King Kong’s sister to create Petrounias? He was so above the rest.
just want dragulescu to medal in vault… is that too much to ask for?
ok, i’m just gonna stop rooting for anyone, cause they never get a medal, (cries in the inside)
Paseka E scoring- LMaO DYING OKAY.
My heart was pounding out of my chest when Igor Radivilov was getting ready to vault his triple front. He actually landed it. Long live the Radivilov vault. I think Igor was hammered on the score. That vault is so insanely impossible that a 7.0 start doesn’t do it justice. Perhaps that’s the judges’ way of saying, “no more chucked vaults, please.”
I think Marian Dragelescu deserved the bronze outright. His first vault was underscored. Dragelescu doesn’t cowboy his tuck as much as some of the others. His feet also aren’t very ugly. That should be reflected in the score. (I love Oleg more than life itself, but he has an ugly tuck position in his Dragelescu. Also, he drives hard with his heels and it looks horrendous in the air.)
I have never been more nervous for a vault final in my life. Samir Said’s vault will leave me a nervous wreck for every vault final from now on.
ok, so the most nerve wracking apparatus of gymnastics, the BALANCE BEAM… so will stay on today?
simone falls on beam
noooooooooooo
like i said, laurie can gets the gold on the beam
Let’s see how they score her..
SIMONE WHY????!!! Now she has to kill floor and get 16+ for me to be a little bit okay with this.
she does have a slight chance of medaling still, if laurie or flavia falls
If this is a normal beam final, Simone COULD still medal. It all depends on whether people decide to make this a usual-this-quad beam final or whether there will only be ONE fall… and a couple of large mistakes. Well, then again if Simone messed up this will probably be a “hit and you get a medal beam final”
No gold for Laurie… sigh.
ok flavia can get a medal, please jesus, this is all i ask for
Gold for Netherlands. Supercrazy
FLAVIA WHY?!?!?! Well, atleast Simone might still get bronze.
Did they challenge Biles score?
So far best final of Women gymnastics at these games. Feels good to feel suspence even with simone in the final.
BILES WINS A MEDAL WITH A FALL?!! im just……but SANNE GOT A GOLD!! at least that makes up for saraiva not being on the podium
Flavia had too many errors and her score was fair. I actually thought the judges might give her the bronze instead of Simone because of host country advantage, but am glad the did the right thing. Happy for Laurie and Sanne.
Sorry for Simone, but she’s human after all. I had a feeling it would be too much to expect 5 golds. Simone has to be tired. She did the all-around in qualifications, team final, AA final, then vault event final. I think she’s going to be pissed about this result and just nail her floor routine tomorrow for her fourth gold.
Really happy for Sanne Wevers! She has THE most original routine and I just love watching it. I thought ahead of time that if Simone faltered, I was hoping Sanne would get gold, and then she did! Really happy for Laurie, too. Her first Olympics and she gets the silver on beam. So much to be proud of. Felt bad for Saraiva, but just too many wobbles and big breaks that added up.
At lest tomorrow it will be all interesting finals. Looking forward to it!
Can only picture Larisa Iodarche with the “I told you so” look on her face. I am pretty sure she could have atleast one medal at these games.
Poor Ponor, the nerves got the best of her. We’ll never know, but I don’t think Larisa would have done any better, she’s never hit a beam routine in finals at Worlds/Olympics.
Yes, while Larisa might’ve not had a beam medal, she always fought for more. The Floor in 2013 & 2014, and that AA medal in 2015. Starting on beam especially she did well to get the highest score of that day. In the end we’ll never know though. Ponor’s a stellar gymnast! I hope she doesn’t bring herself too down about the finals, she has so much to be proud of.
So happy for Sanne and Laurie, Simone’s execution score seemed way too high for counting a fall.
She didn’t fall. Hands touched beam only .5 in deductions.
Take Simone’s score from qualifications and she wins tho.
Hands on beam is only a 0.5 deduction, not a full point.
That judge who didn’t know how to work the headphones after Sanne’s routine, isn’t she the McKayla Maroney Team Final amanar open mouth judge?
I also feel sorry for Simone in that her schedule is harder than any other gymnast. She has three EF finals back to back to back when everyone else (including her teammates) gets a rest. She had to do all four events in quals and team, then AA and now three EFs. It’s like Phelps. I know they’re trying to win more medals than everyone else, but I also appreciate how much it takes to compete with poeple way more rested than you are.
she better get that floor gold…beam is and was never a lock for anyone…but floor is really her event, and getting anything less than a gold, would be a true disappointment
We should give Simone a bit of a break. She didn’t ask for the “five gold medal” hype. That’s NBC’s doing. Simone never could disappoint us. Not ever.
She has had an exhausting schedule. The great ones always do. I wish she didn’t do all 4 routines in TF. She didn’t need to.
This is bad for Simone but good for gymnastics . Too boring to see just her style of power gymnastics dominate. Sanne and her unique style proves that there is hop for this COP
I mean…the code has always allowed for different styles to prevail. Prior to the Netherlands, no one has ever really bothered to train the spins because they are dang hard and not something that gets trained often at the junior level.
I don’t think it’s good for gymnastics necessarily. Simone winning 5 golds would have brought a huge amount of attention and exposure to the sport.
It’s no secret that this code allows for very artistic beam and floor routines with sky high start values. It’s only just now that gymnasts are starting to be able to hit this type of beam routine in competition and make it on the podium.
I think it’s important to note just how long Sanne has taken to get to this point. It has taken her years and years to get this beam routine to its potential which shows what a tough road an artistic-focused routine is.
Furthermore, we have yet to see anyone on floor come close to mastering a spin-heavy routine. You could argue that Mustafina comes closest, but I think her tumbling, rather than her spins, saves her score from being a low 13.
Why is it so hard for gymnasts to turn? I’m a dancer and for most pro and semi-pro dancers doubles and triples are pretty standard. We do them out of leaps, coming off the floor, into illusions…. What’s the deal here? Is it because of the surface of the floor? I can see how it would be very difficult on beam, of course.
1. You’re a dancer, not a gymnast. These girls don’t spend nearly as much time on dance as a pro dancer would.
2. The mats are springy rubber that is optimized for tumbling. It’s not exactly a smooth surface like a dance floor.
3. Floor requires both dance and tumbling. In order to do your best tumbling, it is best to go barefoot, as you can grip the rubber mat with your foot more easily than a shoe should you rotate incorrectly and feel yourself starting to fall. Conversely, in order to spin, you need to wear shoes, but the shoes you wear still cannot be true ballet shoes or dance shoes because then you won’t land your tumbling passes.
Yes, please try spinning on that floor surface and let me know how it goes for you!
Fair enough. Come to think of it, I’ve had a fair number of rips from turning barefoot on textured surfaces. The struggle is real.
I adore the Wevers’ routines tho and appreciate the way they compose their routines.
Thanks for the explanation
So, about Simone’s D score with the .5 for the beam grab – doesn’t she normally connect that front tuck to a sissone or something? Isn’t that a tenth in bonus that she also didn’t get?
I’m a dancer and dance teacher. My daughter is a collegiate gymnast. I am concerned about Weavers winning beam at the Olympics on what I believe was a mostly turning routine and not a gymnastics routine. I’ll need to go back and count, but I believe she only did 3 salto series (her mount and 2 others). Hernandez alternatively did many saltos, leaps, and turns. While I can appreciate the turning difficulty in Weavers routine, I believe Hernandez exhibited a true gymnastics beam routine and should’ve won the gold medal. Hernandez fan. ; )
Sanne did an E-level full-twisting back handspring mount, 2 connected side aerials, a front aerial connected into a jump, and a leap connected into a full-twisting back handspring. She ended with an E-level full-twisting gainer dismount. So in total, Sanne had 6 acrobatic elements of D-difficulty or higher.
I think the difference you noticed is that Sanne didn’t have any saltos to 2 feet. She only did hand-support elements and aerial elements. So although the spins were definitely the highlight, she had plenty of acrobatic elements as well.