SUBDIVISION 1

	VAULT	BARS	BEAM	FLOOR
Group 1	DENMARK	SWEDEN LUXEMBOURG CYPRUS CROATIA	BULGARIA IRELAND GEORGIA LITHUANIA	SLOVENIA
Group 2	CZECH REPUBLIC		—

We’re sans broadcast thus far because the French LIED TO US and Flo LIED TO US. Anyway, here’s what has been happening…

The first subdivision started off slowly with none of the major teams yet competing, though it did nearly bring our first surprise of the competition. After three events, Slovenia was leading the favored Czech Republic by more than a point on the strength of the expected high vault scores and a surprisingly proficient bars rotation that successfully carried out a strategy of low difficulty but not-terrible execution. THE CONCEPT.

Things fell apart for Slovenia on beam, having to count an 8.900 from Hribar, which opened the door for the Czech Republic to pass with a hit floor, which it got, led by a 12.833 from Holasova. The Czech Republic had to count a 10 on both bars and beam and suddenly found itself without expected AAer Lucie Jirikova (who was able to compete only bars), but while it was far from an ideal performance or situation, the Czech Republic still did enough to take a temporary lead.

Denmark also competed in this subdivision. The end. Having to absorb some nightmare performances on bars and beam for 7s, 8s, and 9s put Denmark well back of the other two.

In terms of individual aspirations, Sweden had a very successful subdivision, Jonna Adlerteg opening proceedings with a fantastic 14.600 on bars that will make an excellent case for finals.

Jonna Adlerteg scores 14.600 for this routine. pic.twitter.com/QdPBP6Nifw

— Craig Tilley 🇺🇦 (@CraigTilley95) August 2, 2018

Jessica Castles will also be very pleased with her 13.100 on floor that currently leads the field.

Here are your current team standings:

1. Czech Republic – 143.397
2. Slovenia – 142.397
3. Denmark – 129.696

…and leaders after 1 subdivision:

AA: Aneta Holasova (CZE) – 48.199
VT: Teja Belak (SLO) – 13.816
UB: Jonna Adlerteg (SWE) – 14.600
BB: Teja Belak (SLO) – 12.600
FX: Jessica Castles (SWE) – 13.100

There’s no official AA competition here, but it’s still fun to follow.

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SUBDIVISION 2

	VAULT	BARS	BEAM	FLOOR
Group 1	POLAND	FINLAND	SLOVAKIA	UKRAINE
Group 2	LATVIA	ICELAND	TURKEY	AUSTRIA

The story of the second subdivision was Ukraine. But in a good way this time! Ukraine recorded the top score of the meet thus far on each of the events en route to a final total of 153.163. There were a few too many errors for Ukraine to feel comfortable with this score, but they’ll be watching the other subdivisions in anticipation to see if this ends up being good enough. It could be enough, and that’s a start.

Varinska will also be watching how bars progresses because while her 13.800 is a solid score and the second-best of the meet to this point, it’s not a 14, and there are a lot of 14-capable gymnasts yet to come. But, she does currently lead on beam with 12.733 if that bars thing doesn’t work out.

The other significant development was a sad one for Austria. Marlies Männersdorfer injured herself on vault for a 0.000, and in an all-scores-counting scenario, that was the end for Austria’s hopes here. On the bright side, Austria was able to count a 0.000 as one of its scores and still beat Denmark and Latvia. #saddest

Turkey, Slovakia, and Iceland will not be showering themselves with compliments over their performances today, throwing in far too many 10s on bars and beam to get competitive scores.

Pleased with their performances will be Poland and Finland, currently sitting 2nd and 4th overall. Poland proved that while its domestic scores were bonkers, they weren’t completely misleading as to how it measures up against the rest of Europe, and Finland came very close to beating the Czech Republic, which would have been a major statement. In a day when most countries weren’t living up to their potential, Finland did.

Varinska was the primary entrant into the event finals conversation from this subdivision, probably the only one with hope that her scores will stick around in the final 8.

Here are your current team standings:

1. Ukraine – 153.163
2. Poland – 145.429
3. Czech Republic – 143.397
4. Finland – 143.065
5. Slovenia – 142.397
6. Turkey – 139.729
7. Slovakia – 139.596
8. Iceland – 134.030
9. Austria – 130.097
10. Denmark – 129.696
11. Latvia – 123.396

…and leaders after 2 subdivisions:

AA: Diana Varinska (UKR) – 53.065
VT: Teja Belak (SLO) – 13.816
UB: Jonna Adlerteg (SWE) – 14.600
BB: Diana Varinska (UKR) – 12.733
FX: Jessica Castles (SWE) – 13.100

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SUBDIVISION 3

	VAULT	BARS	BEAM	FLOOR
Group 1	NORWAY	AZERBAIJAN	ISRAEL	NETHERLANDS
Group 2	SPAIN	PORTUGAL	BELGIUM	GREECE

Rotation 1 – Mission accomplished for Netherlands in the first rotation, hitting three routines for a meet-leading 37.932 total, besting Ukraine’s floor mark by nearly a point. Van Gerner’s 13.066 is second on floor overall, behind only Castles.

Despite having to count a fall from Axelle Klinckaert on beam, Belgium put up a huge overall total as Derwael and Brassart take the 1-2 positions in the beam standings with 13.500 and 13.066. Belgium and the Netherlands on track through one.

Spain is the #3 country in this subdivision and will be tasked with trying to beat Ukraine’s 153.163 to have a shot at the team final. Spain went 40.132 on vault, off the pace of Ukraine’s 41.399 on vault.

Smirnova injured herself on her bars dismount and is scratching beam, which means Azerbaijan is out of the team competition, having just three members to begin with.

Rotation 2 – Netherlands kept it rolling on vault in the second rotation, placing Tisha Volleman 1st in the current vault qualification standings, but it’s Belgium that’s stealing the show right now with a 38.899 on floor that beats the Netherlands’ number by almost a point. Klinckaert led with 13.400, currently the highest score on floor by a comfortable margin.

Spain also got the big scores on bars in the second rotation for 38.500, led by a 13.400 from Ana Perez, the #3 bars score so far. That’s more than half a point better than what Ukraine put up on bars and begins closing the gap.

After two rotations of this subdivision, we have a new leader on every event except bars.

After losing Smirnova to injury in rotation 1, Azerbaijan lost Nekrasova to injury in rotation 2, so now they’re down to just one athlete.

Rotation 3 – Belgium’s perfectly acceptable vault rotation of Yurchenko fulls did see the team give some ground back to the Netherlands, but most importantly, we have seen today that this Belgian team can get by pretty well and be a significant contender, even without Rune Hermans. That was the big question coming in, and Brassart has risen to the challenge.

With three hit bars routines, the Netherlands continued cruising, now not even needing to hit a whole beam rotation to feel comfortable about making the team final. Wevers led the bars scores with 13.666, putting her currently in 3rd, ahead of Vera Van Pol and Ana Perez just behind.

Rotation 4 – The Netherlands did not beam as well as we require of them, but it was still more than enough to be in a safe position for the team final, ahead of Ukraine by a casual 5 points. Wevers went 13.366, which puts her second behind Derwael.

As a result of Netherlands being a little iffy on beam, we have a minor qualification upset in that Belgium will qualify ahead of the Netherlands on the strength of Derwael’s 14.400 on bars. Surprisingly, it’s not the top score so far, but I think she and Adlerteg both seem safe (ish..?) right now.

In a BIG OL’ DEAL, Spain used strong floor scores from Perez and Rodriguez at the very end to sneak past Ukraine by just a couple tenths into 3rd. That means Spain is on the bubble right now, and it’s going to be tough for Ukraine to make the team final—though not completely unheard of. Romania is still Romania.

In other remarkable news, Vasiliki Millousi actually hit a whole beam routine, for 13.066, and she’s into 4th place.

Portugal sort of got lost in the shuffle of the top three teams there, but that is a very strong result for the Portuguese as well.

Here are your current team standings:

1. Belgium – 159.331
2. Netherlands – 158.529
3. Spain – 153.430
4. Ukraine – 153.163
5. Poland – 145.429
6. Portugal – 143.795
7. Czech Republic – 143.397
8. Finland – 143.065
9. Slovenia – 142.397
10. Turkey – 139.729
11. Slovakia – 139.596
12. Greece – 139.395
13. Norway – 137.696
14. Iceland – 134.030
15. Austria – 130.097
16. Denmark – 129.696
17. Latvia – 123.396

…and leaders after 3 subdivisions:

AA: Nina Derwael (BEL) – 54.366
VT: Tisha Volleman (NED) – 13.866
UB: Jonna Adlerteg (SWE) – 14.600
BB: Nina Derwael (BEL) – 13.500
FX: Axelle Klinckaert (BEL) – 13.400

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SUBDIVISION 4

	VAULT	BARS	BEAM	FLOOR
Group 1	ROMANIA	HUNGARY	ITALY	SWITZERLAND
Group 2	GERMANY	FRANCE	RUSSIA	GREAT BRITAIN

With one subdivision to go, I’d say that Belgium and the Netherlands are safe, but this is such a deep subdivision, that no other teams are going to feel like they’re surely into the team final.

And now is where it’s going to get gooooooooood…

Rotation 1, Group 1 –
ROMANIA VAULT – Romania will be quite pleased with its two fulls from Iacob and Ivanus and DTY from Golgota, placing 2nd on vault so far, behind only the Netherlands

HUNGARY BARS – Hungary goes 37.699 on bars, 5th among teams so far. It’s not great, and drops ground compared to the bubble teams Ukraine and Spain, but it will keep them in the hunt for the moment.

ITALY BEAM – A 37.666 will do for Italy for the first rotation. They needed mid-12s out of these backups, and they got them for now, with hits from Grisetti and Linari making up for a fall from Basile.

SWITZERLAND FLOOR – I had mostly written off Switzerland post-Steingruber, but Kaeslin recorded a very nice 12.700

Rotation 1, Group 2 –
GERMANY VAULT – Germany has to count an 11.833 from Hofele on vault. NOT good.

FRANCE BARS – Huge scores for Bossu and Charpy 14.1, 13.9 — great for France, bad for Varinska and her 13.800. 41.799, massive score, better than Belgium by a full point.

RUSSIA BEAM – Alexeeva falls first up. I THOUGHT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AMERICAN MENTALITY. Simakova follows her with a fall. Melnikova gets Russia through 1-for-3 on beam, though only for 12.766, which is a disaster, but not a disaster. This is able to be recovered from. 37.432 for Russia currently ranks 5th on beam.

GREAT BRITAIN FLOOR – 12.9 for Kinsella, 12.933 for Simm, and 13.2 for Fenton are very useful scores. GB needs everything possible now to take any pressure off beam in the final rotation. 39.033 is the top floor score of the day so far. Couldn’t have asked for better.

Rotation 2, Group 1 –
SWITZERLAND VAULT – Switzerland goes 39.566, just like Germany, but in Switzerland’s case that’s a solid, hit score.

ROMANIA BARS – Implied doom. Followed by actual doom. It’s a 10.533 for Ghiciuc and a 10.700 for Iacob, and that’s pretty much curtains. Fall from Golgota as well. Romanian bars.

HUNGARY BEAM –

ITALY FLOOR – Once again, Italy gets through on floor, led by a 13.100 from Basile and just enough from Cereghetti and Linari to remain in OK position after two events. 37.866 is better than Spain or Ukraine on floor.

Rotation 2, Group 2 –
GREAT BRITAIN VAULT – Once again, GB getting through well with 13.866 for Simm, 14.100 for Kinsella, and 14.266 for Stanhope’s DTY. This is now also the top vault score of the day so far.

GERMANY BARS – Griesser goes 13.266, which can start to get Germany out of the hole, and then Bui hits for 14.200 to save things a little. The way things are going, that should position her well for finals.

FRANCE BEAM – France got hits in the lower 13s from Charpy and De Jesus Dos Santos that will challenge for finals, but what was apparently a hand-down correction according to twitter still goes 13.366. Highest for France, will make finals anyway. France is doing just fine.

RUSSIA FLOOR – Simakova hits for 13.066, which is a solid score today, but Akhaimova follows with a fall OOB. 11.733 for Akhaimova, another semi-disaster brewing. Melnikova is forced to save the day again with 13.833, top floor score on the day by a wide margin.

Rotation 3, Group 1 –
ITALY VAULT – Sofia Busato injured herself on vault for 13.100. It’s a DTY score Italy needed and would desperately need should they make the team final and will now be without. Yikers.

SWITZERLAND BARS – Various reports of various acceptable mid-12s here and there for Switzerland and Hungary, but not sure yet how the totals are stacking up against the other countries. Kaeslin misses in the final spot for 10.966, taking Switzerland well down.

ROMANIA BEAM – Two misses from Ghiciuc for 11.500 isn’t helping matters after the bars catastrophe.

HUNGARY FLOOR – Watch out for Hungary. They’re hitting and staying in contention with these 12.5s.

Rotation 3, Group 2 –
RUSSIA VAULT – 14.333 for Simakova is an important hit after she was getting 12s and low 13s at Russian Cup, and Akhaimova follows with 14.500. We call these vault scores a quick trip out of trouble. All three Russians go over 14.

GREAT BRITAIN BARS – 13.866 for Simm. The one we were worried about, Stanhope, also goes over 13, but then it’s a lean-against-the-bar miss from Fenton in the final position that breaks everything. She could have medaled. 12.666. Not a huge deal for GB because they were going so well, but the chances of individual medals are going to be slim now.

GERMANY BEAM – Sarah Voss has a catastrophe in the first position to go sub-10. Germany is in TROUBLE. Thankfully, Schaefer goes 13.500, which will comfortably get her into the beam final.

FRANCE FLOOR – MDJDS leads the rotation with 13.733, second only to Melnikova overall, and France continues to cruise. This French team is GOOOOOD. By my count, France has the highest score of the whole competition on all three of its events so far–but may lose out to Russia on vault.

Rotation 4, Group 1 –
HUNGARY VAULT – Long delay before Devai can go, and it’s looking like a critical vault. And Devai gets a 14.800 for a Cheng. It just. Got. Interesting.

ITALY BARS – Keeps chugging along with mid-12s but it’s going to be VERY close with Spain and Ukraine in the end. Italy finishes with a 12.166 from Linari, and by my rough count that puts Italy behind Spain and Ukraine. But we don’t know what that means yet because Germany and Romania had such bad meets. It comes down to Hungary, I think.

SWITZERLAND BEAM – A surprising 13.400 for Ilaria Kaeslin should put her into the beam final. Well now. 149.663 final team total, however. Switzerland is out.

ROMANIA FLOOR – Another miss, this time from Iacob. ROMANIA YOU GUYS. 147.663. Romania is way out.

It’s a 154.130 for HUNGARY! Definitely into the team final with that! That looks like it will knock Italy out.

Rotation 4, Group 2 –
FRANCE VAULT – France (including Devillard) hits vaults, and France finishes with 164.063, nearly five points more than previous leader Belgium.

RUSSIA BARS – Russia hit three whole bars routines in a row. A very impressive final two rotations to make up for a weak first two. Russia finishes with 161.462, which includes three falls. Meanwhile, France was 2.5 points ahead, with either zero or a partial fall (?). Team Final is going to be good.

GREAT BRITAIN BEAM – Kelly Simm hit for 13.033. One hit! It’s a miracle! Fenton and Kinsella both fell after her because of course they did and Britain. That puts GB behind Belgium but ahead of the Netherlands and into 4th.

GERMANY FLOOR – Haven’t heard about Germany’s floor, but reports of two mega-disasters on beam appear to have taken GER out of contention anyway.

So, it looks like our TF qualifiers are: France, Russia, Belgium, Great Britain, Netherlands, Hungary, Spain, and Ukraine.

By my official browsing, I believe De Jesus Dos Santos is the all-around winner in the all-around competition that doesn’t exist. Just waiting on confirmation of event finalists now.

It’s a big surprise that Germany didn’t make the final. Yes, the team was exceptionally depleted but still easily talented enough to be top 5 here, let alone make the final.

Going through the bars results I believe we have Adlerteg, Derwael, Perebinosova, Bui, Bossu, Melnikova, Charpy, and Simm as the 8. Varinska missing out by .066.

Floor I have Melnikova, De Jesus Dos Santos, Klinckaert, Fenton, Golgota, Castles (!), Basile, Van Gerner

Vault I have Devai, Devillard, Akhiamova, Melnikova, Golgota, Volleman, Belak, Voss

Beam I have Schaefer, Derwael, Kaeslin, Boyer, De Jesus Dos Santos, Wevers, Brassart, Millousi (!)

These are confirmed as the finalists now. Yippee hooray it’s over!