Yesterday’s PT session featured nearly all the Russian podium training insanity we ever could have wanted. (I mean, without Nabieva, does it really make a sound?) Thankfully, Melnikova did her best to fill the void. We lost count as to the number of falls, but we think it was somewhere between 11 and 13 across the four apparatuses. A baker’s Melnikova.

Is that to say Melnikova won’t be comfortable come qualification? No. She is Russian of course. The question is whether she has the true Mustafina “podium training is literally meaningless to me” gene or whether she’s going to need to make another instagram post to pull herself through. Eremina did not do a very good job at being RUSSIAN PODIUM TRAINING at all, not even falling once. (I did not arrive in time for the first subdivision, with GB and Australia, but word is it didn’t go super great, and Tinkler is competing through illness). 

Let’s get live blogging. It won’t be typical quick hits like it would be for a competition because there’s a lot of flopping around from the non-US countries, just general observations. I’ll be adding new updates to the top rather than the bottom.

SUBDIVISION 5, ROTATION 4:

Ferrera on floor and has too much power for her own good but is also excellent. great amplitude even just walking. And then she crashed her final full in.

China on beam – Wang Yan has displayed a fairly casual attitude toward security in her set, but just the one actual fall.Luo Huan just randomly ran off the end of the beam when balking on a series, so that was fun. Balks again. A fall for her as well. I’m concerned about her mental sturdiness for competition. Though that has always been true.

Jade Carey is ready for you. She was the most comfortable and prepared of the four. She also didn’t have to do bars and beam.

The whistle at the start of Ragan’s floor routine is so hilariously loud breaking through a silent arena.

I’m sure this US podium training will send people into tizzies because of FALLLLLSSSS, and in some ways it is justified, but it’s also much better than most countries we have seen.

Hurd is the first on floor in the US order, as expected. Quite bouncy on the double double. Very stumbly on her passes – simpler passes were more comfortable.

Murakami took a spill on bars warming up her release. She seems fine, just took a second to get up.

IT’S ALMOST OVER!!!!!!!

SUBDIVISION 5, ROTATION 3:

Chuso going on vault, we see a handspring lay 1/2 from her first. Lay 1/1 as well. She has a coat of many vaults. Tsuk vault looks stronger than the handspring form.

China basically did one skill on bars and then were just like, “WE’RE DONE.” They didn’t even spend 1600 hours chalking…weird…Fan didn’t do a whole routine I don’t believe.

Wang Yan doing her “I’m basically not even Chinese” best on bars. She did the Ray, her coach basically lifted her into it and she struggled nonetheless.

Ferrera did not do vault or bars, but she’s going on beam and her leaps look excellent. She did fall on a side somi. She also has a very Russian attitude toward caring about landing these elements.

Miyakawa looked only meh on vault. Not great form, not super comfortable landings. She could make the final with it, but probably not more unless they improve.

Another fall from Ragan. Dear dear. That’s two missed events in podium training. Martha is going to unearth herself from her grave and kill her. Ashton has a fall on her second beam set.

Rough rudi from Miyakawa. Very triangular shaped landing.

Just a DTY from Murakami, but one of the better ones we’ve seen today.

Morgan Hurd helps her own “she has figured out beam” narrative that started at camp I guess?

So we’re starting with Ashton on beam. So that answers that. Like bars, everything looked comfortable until her dismount, which destroyed her physically and emotionally.

SUBDIVISION 5, ROTATION 2:

We waited seven hundred years for Panama to vault a Yurchenko back pike and fall, so I’m right where I want to be.

With China putting up like negative one person per event and Andrade absences, this subdivision has become super sparse.

We have seen a disappointingly low amount of Andrade today. No AA? We’ll see if she reemerges for vault. That will be the telling part.

Only surprise there was Smith with a fall. They don’t do that.

China is doing warmup vault runs in their tracksuits. Wang spotted heavily on both of her vaults – because China. She’s the only one vaulting for China and it’s the saddest.

Miyakawa FX, SHE’S HITTING YOU GUYS. IT LOOKS GOOD…for the first two passes. The double double third pass was raggedy. Pulls around her DLO final pass. Pretty close.

Locklear extremely comfortable with this easy routine for her, though the dismount looks like it’s giving her some trouble. Fine, but not easy breezy. Her knee is basically just a wish at this point.

You may have seen on the stream, Ragan fell on her Ricna.

Murakami on FX, interesting that she’s the first up for them, good big double double, such a floaty DLO as well – very very strong tumbling.

We’ll have the US on bars in this one, and then I’m eager to see Japan’s big tumblers and how that’s looking outside of Japan.

SUBDIVISION 5, ROTATION 1:

Luo Huan not doing floor? She hasn’t done a routine.

WYY on floor, bouncing out of her double double, otherwise fine. She redid her double double after her routine. Didn’t go better.

Tingting is doing a dance through but no tumbling.

Tingting is doing some turns on floor right now with Wang and Luo, so we’ll see…

Carey’s DTT, as her second vault, not as strong and the Amanar because form but solid. Those will certainly challenge if she recreates them.

Second Amanar almost as good as the first, just a pace forward. Reminiscent of camp, the best her Amanars have looked.

Solid DTY from Smith, the first of the real vaults in the US rotation. EXCELLENT Amanar from Carey.

China, winter coats. It’s a billion degrees. Everything is normal.

Here we are. The big one. And by the big one, I mean the US, China, and Japan all lumped together. I’m excited.

SUBDIVISION 4, ROTATION 4:

Adlerteg is on bars – layout jaeger was serious – She had one super late prio, but otherwise this is the best routine I’ve seen from her by a million times

Germany should be fairly happy with how podium has gone. They look prepared. Nice DLO from Schaefer. “Summertime” and then glass breaking for some reason is her music. K…

Devillard adds a Rudi at the end with a big stumble back.

Devillard vaulting – usual DTY, fairly messy. We’ve only seen her vault handspring 1/2s otherwise. MDJDS does her own DTY, chest down.

Interesting that Hungary has had Kovacs going early in their groups, at least for PT. Not trying to build toward her scores.

SUBDIVISION 4, ROTATION 3:

Unlike most countries, Greece would be cool just doing bars.

I’m still not sure if Seitz’s series is supposed to be a layout, but it’s a pike. Some checks from Germany, but they look OK on beam. Alt’s leap amplitude. I’m here for it. Seitz came off on a double turn on her second beam set.

Plyta had some moments in her bars routine but also she’s never going to hit that thing ever. Good moments in her second set, but then a massive smack of the low bar with her whole foot.

I’m in for MDJDS’a DLO 1/1 and massive tumbling.

Good DTY from Kovacs. We haven’t seen Devai yet today. She didn’t vault. Shame.

Charpy does a forward roll out of her double front on floor because she’s just not even with you right now.

Good front pike mount on beam from McGregor.

SUBDIVISION 4, ROTATION 2:

Zhanerke Duisek with that Kristie Phillips beam mount.

No Berardinelli for Italy on floor. Ferrari, Carofiglio, Mori.

Alt does the Zuchold 1/2 on her full routine runthrough, but definitely not to handstand. Shows her new stalder tuck 1/2 dismount as well. Both skills looked comfortable, the question is what they do with the Zuchold 1/2. Very good hit from Seitz to follow her. She’s looking EF ready.

Ferrari’s Carmina Burana floor routine is very LOOK AT ME I”M THE CHAMP

Bui on bars – very comfortable set and pretty Bhardwaj – and then she stumbles all over the place on dismount.

Germany coming up on bars now. Alt balks on her first attempt at the Zuchold 1/2 and jumps off the bars.

Boyer saves a layout. It wasn’t a good element, but it’s a level of fight we don’t often see in podium training except from the US. She’s treating this like a competition. A couple breaks here, and shows her double pike dismount.

Kovacs on floor, spot on a DLO and OOB –

MDJDS on beam – struggles early on a front pike with a fall, off again on a layout, struggling on her first set.

Germany prepped the bars for Courtney McGregor, which was awesome.

I sort of love that TPE is wearing shorts for podium training.

SUBDIVISION 4, ROTATION 1:

Alt with a DTY on vault. Big, flappity, but big.

We have some Ferraring on beam. And it’s very Ferrari, a few checks here and there. She’s not going to get credit for some of these leaps, but that’s normal. Didn’t see a dismount.

MDJDS gets such amplitude on her bars releases, did tuck her legs on a pak to avoid the high bar, stumble backward on dismount.

Boyer fine on bars. It’s not her piece, but solid, no major errors. Charpy is comfortable with shap 1/2s, which helps her build up the difficulty. Close on a release.

Looks like FTY and tucked Lopez so far for McGregor. She’s also showing it piked, the Podkopayeva.

We’re starting with France on bars at the beginning here, as well as Kovacs on beam and McGregor on vault. Eager to see what vaults she’s doing.

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So that does it for subdivision 3. Subdivision 4 will start in not all that long. We’ll have France, Germany, Italy, and Hungary in that group. Looking forward to seeing Alt’s new skills and just whatever is happening with Italy. #BerardinelliforAAchamp

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 4:

Team picture time for Romania. BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.

Steingruber a little more fallsy on beam than she was on the other pieces, but that’s Steingruber on beam. And by that I mean one fall. Hit her front pike.

So that wasn’t great for Romania on beam.

Distraction during Iordache’s beam with Tishkova of AZE blowing out her knee on floor.

Iordache beam – missed her foot on a short side aerial and came off right away – off again on tuck full – and now it’s Cata’s turn. Typical Cata anger beam until the switch ring, which she landed almost completely off the beam, just a scrape of the leg on the way down. And now a redo for Iordache, falls on tuck full again. Falls again on double turn. Falls again on layout full. And she’s done again.

Solid bars from Sanne, just a couple legs.

Crisan fell on her mount and then it looked like she was just going to stop hilariously, but she’s going now. The redo was good until a dismount fall. I like the choreo part where she tries to push her own head off.

Eythora has grips on, so it looks like vault is the only event she’s not doing? At least today. They were looking at her ankle after floor.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 3:

Need to reemphasize that Vostruchovaite is shorter than the low bar by at least a head. It’s not close.

Looks like Mejias of PUR is doing hs tuck 1/1 and FTT as her vaults.

The non-Steingruber Swiss are RIL struggling, particularly on bars.

Steingruber’s bars were Steinrguber’s bars. Double front with a spot. She looks good today, but she’s also getting a lot of spots.

Iordache full bars set – the usual built-ins, but otherwise good – struggles quite a bit on the Fabrichnova the second time, connecting it into the whole routine. Iordache’s third attempt at Fabrichnova, not strong either. Lunging out of it and to the side, has to get caught by coach.

Iordache’s Fabrichnova looks quite good on first attempt. Crisan hits. Looks good-for-Romania.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 2:

Rotations feel a LOTTTT longer today. We’ve had complaints from the gymnasts that they’re not getting long enough on the apparatuses on previous days, but don’t anticipate we’ll get that with this subdivision.

Testing out the scoreboards and using Ponor as their example on bars. Uh…no.

Steingruber adds a DTY with her final touch of the vault, so she’s probably going for her top difficulty. Why not?

Steingruber hits Rudi with spot. Just a FTY for her second vault.

Eythora 3/1 to front tuck gets very relieved claps from the NED coaches. Doing well with this set. Performance is everything, obviously, but she looks able to hit this set without dying.

Larisa hitting her DTY, usual legs, but landing comfortably.

I’m not wild about Volleman’s interpretation of the “free leg held in any position” turn descriptions.

Netherlands to floor in this rotation. Neither Wevers will do floor, so just the two going.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 1:

Charming double arabian from Agata Vostruchovaite on floor, she’s so tiny that she’s able to do with with proper form.

Steingruber looking MUCH better on floor than at Swiss nationals – DLO 1/1 and DLO, comfortable landings. Good set.

Norway has pretty possibilities in handstands on bars, but inconsistency, and also bails. Not so much with that part.

Ponor hit her DLO 1/1 with a spot. Form crazy. Actually it was better than the DLO afterward, which she piked down to control. Crazy legs on twisting.

Sanne’s turns were brilliant on her PT beam routine. Didn’t look like she was trying all her combos. Just a run through. Only struggle was the gainer full dismount.

Iordache with a good double double on floor with a spot. Struggled getting her final 3/1 around, otherwise good.

Dead at Eythora’s side aerial to Korbut as always – Crisan’s floor music actually goes really well with Eythora’s beam. She had one break and didn’t do all her possible connections, but solid.

Sanne is literally just standing on the beam and it’s better than anything you’ve ever done.

Netherlands with not quite the syncho-swimming intro wave from 2015.

Agata Vostruchovaite is one inch tall.

Subdivision 3 features Netherlands, Romania, and Steingruberstan. The best part will be the beginning, when the Netherlands is on beam and we get to see whatever Ponor is going to decide to throw on floor.

Thorsdottir will not be doing the all-around, so NED will have no AAers. Eythora, and Onyshko, being out of the AA reinforces that it may not take a super high number to get into the 24.