It’s the first day of men’s qualification. I’m here in the arena, and I’ll let you know what I’m seeing. New updates at the top.

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Annnnnnnnnd, we’re done. That was the most depressing subdivision in the history of gymnastics.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 6

Lytwyn – HB – Yamawaki to mixed – good Kovacs shape but falls – DEF, hits that – good vertical finish in stoop full – DLO 1/1 with small step.

Lytwyn will be the last routine of the day.

Payne – HB – CAN – Kovacs hit – that layout over the bar that I always forget I can’t identify – some crazy rybalkoing – nice flare layout release – finishes double double layout with nearly a knee down, large lunge forward.

Lin – HB – Cassina hit – Kolman hit, both comfortable – layout tkatchev 1/2 – pause on HB and has to go over and improvise – sticks double double layout.

Dalalaoyan did a hilarious little foot touch before his double front pike 1/2. Falls on the next pass, so really the hilarious little foot touch is the highlight here. Struggling with landing position on some other passes. Hop on 3/1.

Xiao Ruoteng did an excellent job of not dying, which has put him second AA.

Zhang – HB – Cassina is nice – falls on Kolman. Well that’s that.

Belyavskiy – FX – double front 1/2 out, excellent – DLO 1/1 with hop back – back 1/5 front 2/1 with a step – good passes until OOB on second to last – Mustafina legs on 3/1 but controlled.

Nagornyy – FAB triple back and then falls on his second pass because everything is awful. Have I mentioned? Struggle landing on 3/1 as well.

This will be a fairly short rotation because literally everyone has scratched because they’re all dead. Four stops, and then Kohei, Nin Reyes, and Frasca with vault injuries.

Frasca of France lands his vault completely off the mat and hurts his ankle. Add it to the list.

We’re very excited that Milad Karimi, an actual egg who competes for Kazakhstan, is currently sitting 7th on floor.

One more rotation to go.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 5

Vecsernyes of the throwback dismount fame is up on HB – stoop 1/1 – stoop 1/2 – Kolman withcrazy legs – tkatchev – tkatchev 1/2 – Yamawaki – nice line – repping for the talls – dismount over the bar with a hop forward.

Jackson Payne just did an…interesting back straddle salto on PBars that I don’t super understand. Double pike with lunge back.

Zou finishes PB with a good double front 1/2 out. Ignatyev falls on HB.

14.208 on HB for Belyavskiy is a good score for today. Puts him in 4th.

Dragulescu – VT 1 – the Dragulescu, remains one of the best incarnations of that vault, certainly among the ones we’ve seen today. Great second vault as well. Round off 1/2 on 2/1.

Kenzo – FX – layout and tucked triple doubles? Because sure why not – crazy sideways punching that doesn’t matter because he’s Kenzo – casual quad twist final pass.

So just in this subdivision we’ve had four people who weren’t able to continue routines because of injury, which doesn’t count Kohei, who didn’t stop in the middle.

Nin Reyes – VT 1 – Tsuk full in right to his face. So that wasn’t awesome.

Lovely high Kovacs from Nagornyy. That was a treat. Sticks a double double layout as well. Yay!

Another major significant knee injury. This time for Clay Mason Stephens on floor. Not a good injury. He also had a funky knee landing on vault, but the other knee.

Leggy leggy snap snap is up on rings and it’s all heartwarming. Hit routine.

Tanigawa is up first for Japan on floor because of Kohei’s withdrawal. punch front 2/1 to double front, sits it, also OOB. Double front pike 1/2 out is much better, quite secure, as is the regular front double pike. I guess someone likes front tumbling! Shame about the first pass because the rest has been quite secure. Hop on 3/1.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 4

Belyavskiy up on PB – good Tippelt and Bhavsar – a little too far past handstand on one rail – good double front 1/2, small hop.

Little baby Kazakhstan just did a really excellent floor routine! He’s in sixth on floor!

I enjoy Eltcov’s line on pbars – double front 1/2 out, good control.

But, like, what are we even supposed to do now?

A hit routine from Bertoncelj on horse.

Kohei was supposed to go in between those two. He did not. He has scratched high bar because he is super injured.

MIYACHI ON HB – catches the Bretschneider, does just a Cassina after it (JUST a Cassina) – hits a regular Kovacs – leg break in a stoop 1/2 – hop forward on DLO 1/1.

Kenzo – HB – Yamawaki – falls on a layout Kovacs. I hate everything. Sticks DLO 2/1. A LOT of very vocal coaching coming from the coaches observation box for Japan. Isn’t this not allowed?

Azerbaijan knee injury on floor and is stopping. OH GOOD MORE INJURIES.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 3

Liu Yang finishes us up on rings – so still, so smooth – and then botched the dismount, DLO 1/1, large lunge forward, very large deduction there.

Double twisting double tuck rings dismount from Xiao Ruoteng, seemed like he was finishing it comfortably but then landed a little too short with a hop forward.

Good stick on rings from Scott Morgan.

Dalaloyan – VT 2 – lands Dragulescu, in a ball, but lands it – in ahead of Penev by a touch into the vault final. Eddie on the bubble with some real vaulters still to come.

Kohei – PB – arches on one rail but saves it – peach 1/2 – double tucks – tucks 1/2 are good, we’re waiting for this dismount now – double pike with an “I hate my life” stumble with a couple steps but he landed it upright. Don’t worry, his ankle’s just about to fall off.

KOHEI’S ANKLE IS NEXT UP ON PBARS

Nagornyy VT 2 – also didn’t do the Tsuk vault he planned, just pulled out of it and attempted to land somewhat safely. Maybe he hates this vaulting table as much as Whittenburg.

THEY ACTUALLY ACCEPTED AN INQUIRY. Axel Augis on HB.

Kenzo PB – wonderfully quick swing – hitting his handstands – double front 1/2 out, no trouble small step. Good set.

Nagornyy – VT 1 – handspring double front right to his seat – hand slipped on the table, smartly just decided to do the double front rather than the Drag, but fell on it

Lin Chaopan stuck a double double layoutish dismount on rings.

Belyavskiy – VT – terrifyingish Kas landing, underrotated, large lunge to the side and back out of the area.

Watch out for China’s ringsies in this rotation.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 2

Meanwhile, Weng Hao went 15.033 on pommel horse to go into second.

Asato – VT 2 – his vault run is like one inch long – stuck handspring randi. Dayum. That will work. Eddie getting pushed farther down……..

Asato – VT 1 – Tsuk full in like a crazy person. Lands in a ball shape but does land it. 14.533.

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, YOU GUYS?

Kohei – VT – A, that is a ridiculously difficult vault, a Kas 2/1, but he HURT himself, short landing, jammed ankle, limping around.

Kenzo’s into first on vault because obviously.

Kenzo Vault 2 – Kas 1.5, very clean, easy looking for him, step forward.

Kenzo Vault 1 – oh, just casually stuck a TTY. Don’t worry about anything. get out of my way, I’m Kenzo. 15.233

Boulet of France comes off HB on a Cassina that wasn’t super close.

Kneed Dragulescu on vault from Remkes of Australia.

Xiao follows with his own hit horse routine. Good start there. 14.866 puts him into third. he does not have the same low circle issue as Lin.

Lin Chaopan on horse circles very close to the horse so that it basically looks like he’s going to sit down on the horse every single time, but gets through cleanly 13.833.

So after one rotation, everyone has broken into 75 different pieces.

SUBDIVISION 3, ROTATION 1

Nin Reyes has been waiting through this to go on HB. He’ll get to go now. Catches his Kolman, somehow catches his Cassina with absolutely insane legs – layout tkatchev and tkatchev 1/2 – DLO with lunge.

They’ve inflated the temporary spinal stabilizer and have been able to carry Groza out so the competition can continue.

So while Groza is being tended to with a potentially massive injury, our PA announcer comes on and goes, “HEY HEY HEY” like a deranged clown.

We’ve finished the other events. Groza is still down on the floor. Spine board is coming out now. You could see how hard he jarred his back when he came down.

Groza came off HB on a stalder tkatchev and jarred his back it looked like, medical team is out again for the second time this rotation.

Kallai on horse – YOU WILL NEVER BE BERKI TO ME – hits, some leg breaks and angle shape.

Axel Augis has lovely line and saltos on PBars, meanwhile Romanian bars is Romanian bars, no matter the gender.

Scott Morgan – FX – very straight body position on DLO 1/1 – front full to front 2.5 with stepOOB – a little short on DLO with a hop – back 2.5 to front full, some ragged legs in there – full in, small hop.

Great stuck dismount from Tanigawa on rings. I did notice his hips quite high in a planche, but that dismount was a treat. 14.433 won’t make it back.

Cournoyer on FX, good support for Canada here – nice double front to front tuck – 2.5 with a lunge – 1.5 to 1.5, a little forward – holds his Japanese handstand well – 2/1 hoppy – full in, OOB.

Kohei – rings – very Kohei, one hesitation in a handstand late but minor – double twisting double tuck dismount with a hop back.

We’ve been waiting 16 years for Kenzo’s rings score. 13.766

Belyavskiy hit horse during that for 14.666. Now Eltcov – clean, good line and then struggles up in his dismount, lowers his hips and then goes back up for a very complex dismount but will get hit for that hesitation.

Xiao Ruoteng had one struggle landing with a large lunge to the side. Final 3/1 was good.

Ruben Lopez of Spain fell on high bar and is being immediately attended team by a medical team.

He’s up now with his mouth covered in a bandage like from Christmas Story when the kid had to have his tongue removed from the pole.

Lin – FX – double front pike 1/2 out – hops forward and OOB on second passs – quite short on double double with a lunge forward – front full to front 2.5, with legs and a hop to the side – 14.100

Hit for Nagornyy on horse.

Kenzo is starting us off on rings, even thought he’s a little stick baby and isn’t supposed to be good at this, but he can do it!

China is pulling a UK and only introducing the people who are going on the first event. (Japan and Russia same. It’s a total trend now.) Also, Lin’s giant warmup jacket makes it look like he’s wearing no pants.

The PA announcer literally just Halloween cackled through a silent arena…

Lord and butter there’s still another subdivision left. And it’s the best one!

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 6

Valle of Mexico on horse is the last competitor in this subdivision, which has been endless.

Molinari ofArgentina is another good strongie on rings but then he died on his dismount.

Naddour – rings – he did a rings. It was hit. (Can you tell it’s the sixth rotation?) short on dlo 1/1 dismount, though, with a medium pace forward.

Whittenburg – rings – actually starts to swing and struggle a little more in handstand than we should see from him – a little uncharacteristic there, but just a small hop on the double double lay dismount. 14.633 and into 4th.

Moldauer – rings – oh our special little broomstick – small hop on double double tuck dismount. Good set. Five good-enough events today, just the mistake on horse. High bar wasn’t great but it was never going to be great.

Yusof with a stumble back on his double pike vault.

Vega Lopez – FX – frotn 2.5 and OOB – front double pike with lunges – lovely DLO 1/1, good open – front 2/1 to 1.5 – a little hoppy and short on landings here and there but good form – small hop on 3/1.

We open with Nile hitting his Kas 1.5 to finish a pretty strong day for him that should rank well in the AA standings.

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 5

Kevin Cerda opens double double on floor – very clean work – 2.5 to front full, small hop – back 1.5 to front 1.5 – sticks double arabian – loses his legs a little in final 3/1. Good one.

Naddour – PH – “I’m still the ONE who can do pommel horse, love Alex.” 14.966, into second behind Whitlock.

Rydberg of Denmark just flew directly off the podium landing his final floor pass and it was amazing. Denmark is bring it with the comedy floor.

Kimble – PH – had some good one-arm work and then came off immediately after doing something good. 2 falls out of 2! And a second fall for him. 3 falls out of 2!

Fuglsig’s legs went crazy on his final pass and he did a little dance around in a circle on his landing, which I enjoyed.

Moldauer – PH – I love everything about Yul Moldauer’s legs, you gem – and then he fell. Because why not at this point? Got back up and rushed through the dismount as well. Not one of his better sets even with the fall notwithstanding.

Thailand just did a double arabian to sit split cover up on floor and I’m all about it. I meant to do that double arabian to my hands!

Tulloch also on rings, his one action of the day – strong and clean in his movement to connected strength holds  – only a pretty significant arch in his final handstand – small hop on DLO 1/1. Good.

Wilson is up on rings, but sadly I’m not at and angle where I can see hit little purple face, which sort of defeats the purpose of Nile on rings. DLO full with a step back.

This competition is dead to me. What, we still have to do more? Ugh, fine.

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 4

14.633 for Penev means he’s getting two-pered. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Wrong. Stupid. Boo. I hate everything.

Penev – FX – DLO 2/1, near stick, just a little shuffle – a couple hops on landings, not large – back 2.5 to front 2/1, super clean – sticks double double tuck – back 1/5 to front full to front 1.5, excellent – a little short on 3/1 with a hop, but still a very good one. Great form. A couple hoppy landings but also a couple good sticks.

15.033 for Whittenburg, now he’s into first on floor.

Whittenburg – FX – front 2/1 to double front  tuck with a lunge – excellent front double pike second pass – DLO 1/1, small bounce – back 2.5, stuck landing – this is one of his good floor sets – stuck final pass double A 1/2. Excellent.

14.700 for Moldauer on floor. That’s first on floor, and puts him currently first in the in-progress AA standings. Well deserved.

Moldauer – FX – frotn 2.5 with a bounce – double arabian half out, very small hop – back 2.5 to front full, comfortable – flares are fast and extended – landings getting more secure as he goes – 2/1, easy – small hop on 3/1, just slightly under. Very clean set. Hopefully rewarded in E.

Eddy Yusof comes off on horse. He’s the one having a rough day. Three missed routines in four rotations.

Braegger goes on horse  – struggles up to handstand at one point but makes it – same on his dismount with a little too much of a pause but otherwise solid.

Exhausted hugs for Kevin Cerda after finishing HB.

Whitlock – PH – he’sa step above in his confidence and ability to work through those spindles and so many different shapes. Good hit! That was more like it than floor. They’ll have that set into the final no question. Easily into 1st.

Wilson – PH – Wilson goes through smoothly. A little pike in his hips throughout, but no breaks or hesitations and a clean overall set.

Hall – GB – PH – loses his leg form on one of his travels but keeps going through his dismount with a hit.

It hasn’t been a super fun day for GB except for a couple sets from Nile that will be borderline final, and now they have to go to horse. But, that’s their good one.

Also Pablo Braegger is currently leading the in-progress AA standings. So that’s happening.

“I appreciate the effort.” -Carol Angela. Yeah. Exactly.

Well, everyone’s a little broken here after the Whitlock and Mikulak mistakes taking them out of those finals.

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 3

Kimble – HB – Liukin, hit – layout tkatchev to layout tkatch 1/2 – pauses in swing but works through it – will get hit for pirouettes – tkatchev – tkatchev 1/2 – DLO 1/1, holds onto the stick.

Mikulak – HB – hits Cassina – and Kolaan, both good, and then he falls on a tkatchev. A TKATCHEV YOU GUYS WHY. Redoes into tkatchev 1/2 and hits, Zou Li min – hop full – I think he should have done his new dismount because WTF at this point, but no. I sort of love that he’s still in 7th.

While Seligman fell on horse, Ude went through successfully and is into third.

There should be a “finishing with a 3/1” penalty on men’s floor.

Braegger – FX – starts front 2.5 – cheats full twist around out of second pass – double double tuck is good – double arabian, small hop – 3/1.

Whitlock – FX – punch front 2/5, good – double double tuck and stuck – 2.5 to front 1.5, just got that 2.5 around to punch cleanly but he did – air flares giving the people a thrill – FALLS on his fourth pass! Large bounce out of triple full.

Seligman falls on horse!

Wilson – love the way he opens out that front double pike second pass, high and comfortable – 2.5 to layout is good. Good controlled landing on his final 3/1, better than most of those final 3/1s today.

Vega Lopez – VT 2 – Kas 1.5, small hop. Into second ahead of Penev, who drops to third.

Hall – FX – First two passes strong – Lands OOB on his combination pass – can get a little Ponory in the twisting department – two steps back on 3/1. Not having an awesome time on a couple of those passes – but 13.733 puts him into 5th. Good difficulty

Moldauer – HB – yamawaki – zou li min is good – very late full twist – stopp 1/2 is OK – lovely kovacs as always – hop full and 1.5 – DLO full and holds the stick – good, but we’ll see what they do with the pirouettes. 13.066. Yeah.

The US men move to HB and the GB and SUI group moves to floor.

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 2

Whittenburg – PB – peach, peach 1/2 good vertical – high releases, catching them mostly well, hits double front 1/2 out. Strong one. Into 5th with 14.766.

Hegi – HB -glorious difficulty and higher than most in all his releases, which allows him to catch them more easily. Does a def, so automatic points for that. Sticks dismount. Excellent. 14.333 for Hegi. Right in with Braegger and Srbic but third. I’m not used to such low HB scores overall.

Wilson – HB – Hits Cassina – hits Kolamn – layout tkatchev, tkatchev – tkatchev 1/2 – stoop full very late – stoop 1/2 is good – couple small steps on double double layout dismount. Saves that rotation for great britain. Solid set. Just 13.933. I thought it was better than that? Oh well.

We really have seen SO many people not come close to landing vaults. Not necessarily dangerously, but like, you’re never going to land that 2.5 not on your back.

Hall – GB – HB – ridiculous fall on his opening release. He’s fine but definitely did a straddle flail salto in midair as he peeled off the bars. Continues with a Kovacs and Kolman, great on his massive mid-routine difficulty – sticks landing.

Fraser – GB – HB – yamawaki – good Cassina, followed by a Kolman, every so slightly sluggish swinging out of it but fine, then misses his layout tkatchev. Shame. Finishes double double lay, fine, late twisting technique.

Kimble – PB – holds on one rail well – had a couple loose body positions in handstands in there, but he hit a PB routine at worlds! It’s a miracle!

Bragger – HB – strong Cassina – hits Kolman as well, fingertips – good layout tkatchev and tkatchev 1/2 series – layout tkatchev 1/2, stoop full a little late – step forward on double double lay. Good. 14.433 puts him into new first place.

Likhovitskiy’s PH routine is 17 hours long but hit. Just lost his shape late in the routine but nothing major.

Yusof stuck his double double lay dismount on HB but had fallen earlier in the routine. Bad day so far.

Moldauer – PB – great high front straddle – very clean peach 1/2 – such nice handstand finishing positions on most of his stills – layout 1/2 andtuck 1/2 are both hit – double front 1/2 out, near stick, small step. Good one for him. 14.633, into 6th.

The US jumped up to start prepping the PBars the moment Nile finished his routine in the last routine, and they’ve still taken the entire allotted time to prep them.

This is a big HB rotation with the Swiss and Nile.

SUBDIVISION 2, ROTATION 1

So, a solid rotation for Penev, but no one else will be too pleased with that. Braegger’s 14.800 on PB is also a solid score, though it’s already 4th with the best subdivision still to come.

Just a 14.200 for Nile, mostly because of those early hesitations in handstands.

Nile – PB – peach half, travels on the bar with a hand, but saves it, just a couple hesitations after turns early – hits Bhavsar – tippelt is good – double front dismount with a step. Fine, but not his best.

We’re seeing a LOT of really bad vaults. Bad DTYs and double fronts. A lot.

Hall – PB – peach – tuck 1/2 skills, from swing and from arms, buth quite good – has to tuck his straddle front salto a little – very clean stutz – holds stick on double front. Good.

I missed Tin Srbic on HB while Purvis was going, but his 14.366 puts him into first.

Purvy – PB – peach to one, holds it well – full twist – peach – loses himself on a full pirouette and clatters onto the bars, ultimately realizing there was no way to save it and comes off. NOOOO.

Gutierrez of Argentina just vaulted off the podium!

El Maraghy of Egypt is getting no punch on any of his connected twisting elements on floor and just going sideways.

Hegi – PB – peach 1/2 – struggles on one rail but works it into a healy well – half twisting tuck is good – PBJaeger and Tippelt are solid – comfortable after that early error. Double front 1/2 out with a step.

14.800 on PBars for Braegger.

Whittenburg – VT 2 – falls on tsuk full in – never had the landing, falls off the padding and onto the podium. So no final for Whittenburg, but Penev is in 2nd.

Whittenburg – VT 1 – just a double front with a large lunge forward. 14.066.

Penev into second on vault, ahead of Verniaiev, behind Radivilov.

Eddy Yusof fell on PBars while Penev was vaulting.

Eddie – VT 2 – Lands his ro 1/2 on double full in the competition version! Much better than in the touch, obviously, but also one of his better attempts at what is definitely his weaker vault.

Eddie – VT 1 – Shewfelt, not his very best, clean, a little off direction and a crossover step. He can stick that one.

Moldauer – VT – Kas 1.5 is quite clean because Yul, hop forward.

Eddie fell on his first attempt at the 1/2 on, double full in the touch warmup. Get it out of your system?

Only Purvy, Hall, and Wilson came out for the intro for GB, the ones who will be going on the first event.  Weird. All the other complete teams came out.

Guatemala’s gymnast is the tiniest human in the world.

The US starts on a very important event with vault given that both Penev and Whittenburg are going there.

The second subdivision is the USA, GBR, SUI subdivision, and that will be the primary focus.

The big news from the first subdivision was Manrique qualifying ahead of Oleg for the all-around finals. In the mixed zone, Oleg was very cagey about adding more difficulty for later in the competition but seemed to indicate that he would add things here and there.

Major medal threats Petrounias on rings and Oleg on PB are both in the lead by a billion tenths on their events.

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 6

So it will be Manrique qualifying to the AA final ahead of Oleg by over a point!

Bretschneider – HB – Cassina caught – tries the Bretschneider I (the tucked one) but falls – we can’t have nice things. Stoop 1/1 – stoop 1/2, some late handstands in here as well – double double lay with a step back.

Rittschik – GER – HB – Kolman caught – Kovacs is easy – stoop full is usual late – solid dismount, hit routine.

Radivilov – VT 2 – Tsuk double pike is good enough, step to the side and out of the area. Sounds like the world has broken when he lands, which is normal.

Radivilov – VT 1 – good high dragulescu as well – a step back like Oleg, TWINSIES, perhaps a slightly bigger step back.

Larduet – PB – His number is flapping off distractingly throughout this routine – strong bhavsar and PBJAeger – comfortable on stutz – STUCK landing. He had a FANTASTIC day.

Verniaiev – VT 2 – not so great, nearly knee down

Verniaiev – VT 1- strong dragulescu from him as well, step back but not a large step. 14.833.

Leru of Cuba has a very high PBJaeger, just holds the stick on his double front dismount.

Herder HB – Yamawaki – layout tkatchev – tkatchev, doing the skills but not a lot connected – late 1.5 twist – falls on doubler double layout dismount.

A Davtyan FX – not the most complex routine but good amplitude – finishes 3/1 with a step like most do.

The benefit for Oleg here is that he gets to vault, but Manrique is on PB which is among his best.

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 5

Fuentes Bustamante on horse will be the last competitor of the 5th rotation. Oh god. There’s still another rotation after this. Invented an entire circle series in straddle position, so that was fun. Falls just before dismount.

It’s a nine-tenth lead for Manrique over Oleg with one event left.

Radivilov – ring s – so he’s like strong, but the large lunge back on the double double tuck dismount won’t be his friend.

Nguyen – PB – series of double backs, strong and well swung out of – huge tuck 1/1 dismount with just a small step. That was a pretty good set. Like most, a single iffy vertical but had control the whole time. 14.933. Second on PB for now. Just a billion tenths behind Oleg.

13.800 for Oleg on rings. So it’s back to advantage Manrique with Manrique left to go on Pbars and Oleg left to go on vault.

Oleg getting going on rings – my side view of rings that I thought was bad is actually really good for judging handstnds and control of swing. You can really see who’s swining all over the place – Oleg did not do that and stuck his dismount. Back on track.

Rittschik – GER – PB – goes over on a turn to one rail and has to kip back up – dismounts with good double pike.

Some really short-of-twist landings on vault today (just saw one from VIE) that look like you’re going to tear your everything.

Manrique VT – FAB dragulescu, very high, just a hop back.

Herder – PB – GER – arches a stutz but saves it – double front dismount with large lunge forward –

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 4

Jamaica is in the crowded rotation and Beckford is always last for them, so he has been doing most of his routines with no one else around. He can double front, prefers front tumbling (I say that because his 2/1 side pass was the weakest landing)  – double front to 1/1 – good double arabian finish. Better set.

Daniel Williams of Jamaica just had an “I stepped on a bee” landing on floor, looked like it might have been an injury but he’s continuing the set with no apparent ill effects. Maybe a cramp or something.

Oleg moves back ahead of Manrique by two tenths after four events.

Clean double pike dismount on PB from A Davtyan. Petrenko comes off horse. Oleg’s having an only-OK day, but the other Ukrainians are having a reee-ough time. Hit for Sienichkin, we think. It was one of those “are you falling or dismount?” endings.

Oleg – horse – lovely one-arm swing – good curcles between the pommels – allowing a little too much of a pike to creep in through the middle of the routine but works through it – It’s a hit routine!

Manrique – Rings – holding strength positions well, smooth transitions, one struggle handstand – stuck dismount! He’s ONNNN today.

Yu of TPE just vaulted a Yamilet Pena.

Kadirov of UZB was hinging out in a U-shape on one rail for a wait but was not giving up, stayed on PB.

Herder – GER – VT – a little deep landing on a double front with a hop back.

Manrique now ahead of Oleg by three tenths. Oleg hasn’t fallen but has been a little trashy on the last couple events, particularly floor. Pommel horse now. Moment of truth.

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 3

Beckford – HB – good height and shape on Kovacs but doesn’t catch, JAM coaches can’t believe it, nor can I really. High DLO 2/1 dismount with a step back.

Pakhniuk – 2.5 twisting double tuck first pass is good, OOB on second pass – then falls on 2.5 to front full. Not a good day on either of his best events today.

14.200 for Manrique on PH. Third overall there.

Long wait for Oleg’s score. 13.233 with two OOB deductions.

Larduet – PH – was at the same time as Verniaiev on floor, but he hit and I didn’t see any major errors.

Verniaiev – FX – no punch into second element of first pass, just gets it around but lunge OOB – double double was stronger – OOB again on a front double full – hop to the side on 3/1. Not his best.

A Davtyan VT – falls on handspring 2.5

Saw Dolgopyat bouncing OOB at least once on floor, but good twisting speed and bigger difficulty than we’ve been seeing. Just holds onto a stick on his final 3/1.

Fuenmayor hands down on HB dismount.

Sorokine just holds onto a cowboyed double front first pass on floor. Simpler passes are fine for him, like 1.5 to half, but we won’t see much of a score here.

Mosa for QAT just clattered to the floor with a thud on PH.

Tai for Jamaica just did the most insanely shapped HB dismount. It was laid out, piked, and tucked all simultaneously.

Yudenkov – FX – double front 1/2 out, low but fine, 2/5 to 1/2 – slightly hoppy but secure on his landings – sticks double full side pass – 3/1 dismount with hop back. Fine.

Ukraine is moving to floor now, and probably some other people. Like Manrique on horse.

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 2

Reiss Beckford finishes up the second rotation with a double puck dismount with a step on PB.

Reinhardsson for Iceland is not bad at all on PB. Threw some real skills, hit verticals, and nearly stuck a double pike.

Oleg six tenths ahead of Manrique.

PB is the late event this time, but there are also a thousand more people on PB than the other pieces in this rotation.

Petrenko – UKR – HB – layout Kovacs – fall, no chance, about 1500 miles away from the bar. Hit a Kolman, but then falls again on a Kovacs. Nope nope nope. Third fall on the dismount.

Larduet – FX – Front double pike, high with a hop – huge MANBILES, also a small hop, basically small hops out of every pass but nothing major – didn’t hop more than shoulder width on any of this landings.

Leru is up on floor. Leru OOB on a double front –

Artur Davtyan on rings now – tuck and pike positions look good, secure handstand out of them – nearly sticks double double tuck dismount, has to hop forward.

Other Davtyan follows, one significant arch from this angle, but very very smooth in all his transitions through strength elements – but he is struggling to hold some of these handstands still – DLO 1/1 dismount with step back.

Bulgaria is having a no no no good day.

Verniaiev – HB – Yamawaki 1/2 – tkathev 1/2 – stoop 1/2 good vertical – tkatchev 1/2stoop 1/2 in pretty late – Yamawaki – comfortable, just some quite late verticals – large bound forward on double double lay. Two hits. 13.366.

Nguyen doing a press handstand on floor got a huge cheer from the crowd? Bless.

Pakhniuk – HB – stoop 1/2, good vertical – tkatchev – tkatchev 1/2 – super super late on on a full twist, he’ll get hit for handstands in there in several places.

In this rotation, we’ll have the Ukrainians on HB, Davtyan on rings, and Manrique on floor.

SUBDIVISION 1, ROTATION 1

THE FIRST ROTATION IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!

Merdinyan – PH – such a high circles position – just spreaking his legs and circling and spindling for days – a little dumpier on circle between the pommels – one form break, but a hit and no one has compared to his difficulty, speed, and position so far. 14.433 for Merdinyan.

A Davtyan – PH – good rhythm, very quick hands on the end of the horse, confident one pommel work – fake-o dismount but should be the best score so far as it was the only good routine on horse so far. 13.866.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Just make up scores at this point. I don’t even care!!

Carol has resorted to telling the audience about the virtues of instagram, so yeah. This rotation has been rough.

Shaulov of UZB on horse – he had good rhythm at the start, then completely slowed down and allowed a major pike in his body position throughout his circles toward the end. Fake-o horse dismount.

Kadirov of UZB next on horse – attempts a circle in handstand and comes off immediately – a couple leg separations in travels – good difficulty on dismount.

We’ll see how long this score takes…
Faster.

Aleksandrov next. Wishing it were Alexander Alexandrov, just being like, “I’m going to do horse now.” Loses his legs on a couple travels but does well to keep it going and not come off – alllllmost got theough the whole thing – lost form again going into his dismount and had to come off before completing a dismount. Will remount.

We finally got a score for Dimitrov! It’s a miracle!!!!

Metidji – PB – nice secure Tippelt, comfortable with that type of skill as the bhavsar was nice too, many variations on that skill – pace back on double pike. Respectable showing.

We’re done on vault, HB, rings, and floor for the first rotation. One more on PB. And we still have one routine done on PH and no scores.

A couple OObs from Dunkel on floor for Germany.

Sorokine for Israel on PBars, not fair going after the the Ukrainians as it makes his legs look like trash. The Ukrainians are rail straight.

Air flares from Herder on floor get a big roar.

We’re literally still waiting on the first PH score??????

Pakhniuk on PB – struggles slightly to hold his peak to one rail – struggles again moving to one rail losing shape on legs, some tense mistkes here – double front half out dismount is great but a couple leg breaks in there should take the score down.

Kas 1/1 from Fuenmayor with a hop to the side.

Stuck DLO 1/1 dismount from Leru on HB.

Oleg – PB – WONDERFUL LEGS, HOLDING HIS POSITIONS WELL AND SECURELY – THAT HUGE TIPPELT THAT I LOVE – STRONG Bhavsar – (just realized I was in caps, not intentional, uncle tim did not take over) – pace forward on dismount, but a good set. 15.466.

The judging delay on the first horse routine has been 700 hours.

Larduet – HB – going at the same time as Petrounias. Planning! tkatchev 1/2, stoop 1/2 to layout tkatchev to tkatchev 1/2 – stalder rybalko is usual stalder rybalko lateness, some late piros in here but nothing major – massive dismount (triple twisting double lay?), larrrrge lunge forward.

Petrounias – SR – my side view of rings emphasizes how still Petrounias keeps the rings compared to the others. Holds the stick on the dismount with a lean. Good set. 15.4000. You know, NBD.

Yudenkov is the first on PB for Ukraine – peach to one could be held longer- stutz is solid, good vertical and toes, an arch after a full twist, good stick on back full dismount. Solid start, though he has better teammates coming up.

Tseng for TPE fell on punch front full out of his second pass, but the adorable Taiwanese children in the crowd don’t seem to mind.

Carol-Angela: “I have never seen an event like this.” That is objectively false.

Warmups for first rotation now. We’ll be keeping an eye on Ukraine on PBars, as well as Manrique on HB, Petrounias on rings, and Merdinyan on horse. A pretty packed first rotation with medal contenders on medal events.

For the moment, Carol-Angela is telling us about which event is the most thrilling and high-flying. This is a gigantic arena, so it’s going to look perpetually empty, but for a morning subdivision of men’s qualification, the crowd is not too bad. Qatar and Algeria have small but loud contingents.

It was coincidental this time, but I have a terrible view of rings. Oh, look how that worked out. The other events I can see pretty well, particularly HB. So that’s all that really matters.