Monthly Archives: October 2018

World Championships

Men’s Podium Training Update

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Men’s podium training is super boring, so you obviously weren’t paying feverish attention at all the updates. Understood. Here’s a quick rundown of the developments you missed.

Kohei Uchimura is NOT competing the all-around. He suffered an ankle ouchie last month, and after a rings dismount that left him limping in podium training, he did not perform on vault or floor and will not be competing those events in qualification. In addition to the shock waves this sends through the all-around field, it sours Japan’s chances in the team competition just that little bit more, where China was already coming in as a tentative favorite to regain its title. Japan has won the last two major men’s team competitions.

In further all-around favorite developments, Oleg Verniaiev did not perform on rings in podium training and watered down his difficulty on a couple other events. I’m not necessarily reading a ton into that because of #MensPodiumTrainingThings and how it’s basically a competition to see who can look the most unaffected and casual (compared, for example, to the Hermione Granger Cosplay Contest that is US women’s podium training), but Oleg is still newly back from his 1500 surgeries and expectations should be tempered.

I’m totally digging the look, though.

What I’m trying to say is, China went 1-2 in the all-around final last year, and it might happen again.

Everyone hates the floor because it’s made of granite, apparently.

The US men were fairly #MensPodiumTrainingThings in their session as well, not looking particularly crisp but also not displaying too many red flag developments. Don’t read anything into how nearly everyone fell on horse, for instance, because they weren’t really trying to save those routines or pretend these were competition sets. Continue reading Men’s Podium Training Update →

World Championships

World Championships Qualification Preview

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Presenting far more information than you need about every subdivision of women’s qualification at worlds.

Subdivision 1

October 27, 2:00am ET/11:00pm PT

Team Belgium
Team Argentina
Team Poland
Team Latvia
Individuals from Algeria, Philippines, Guatemala, and Jordan

What to know
Team Belgium: After Belgium’s performance in qualification at the European Championship—defeating Great Britain and the Netherlands—it would be foolish to discount this Belgian squad’s chances to make the team final here, but it will be a difficult climb.

From the perspective of a neutral, having Belgium in the first subdivision is excellent because the team score will provide us with a team final cut-off standard as we watch the later contending teams compete. Any contender must beat Belgium’s score to be in with a shot.

The primary individual priority for Belgium will be getting likely gold medal favorite Nina Derwael into the bars final. Derwael and Axelle Klinckaert are both solid picks to make the all-around final, and Klinckaert has an outside shot at the floor final depending on how the days play out.

Team Argentina: Argentina has come on fiercely in the last year or so, turning itself into a team contender on the back of new senior Martina Dominici.

We haven’t typically given much time to Argentina’s team chances, but this year, the squad is very much in contention for a top-24 place (to advance as a team to 2019) with a solid qualification day. Still, Argentina is a cusp team, so it’s going to take a better-than-average performance. If Dominici is on, she’s also in the mix for making the all-around final, which would be a thing.

Team Poland: Poland is in a fairly similar position to Argentina in that a top-24 place is very possible, but definitely not a given if the team doesn’t hit the majority of its routines. Depth will be a concern as Poland is sending just four competitors, but with Janik’s all-around, the beam and floor of Pihan-Kulesza, and the beam of Jurkowska-Kowalska, the routines should be there for a competitive finish.

Team Latvia: Latvia is sending just three competitors. That would still be enough for a team score this year should they all compete the all-around, but it’s unclear whether the squad will actually do that. New senior Elina Vihrova hasn’t competed the non-bars events since last December.

Individuals: Jana Mouffok, whom we’ve seen at domestic French competitions before, will be representing Algeria for the first time here, Corinne Bunagan from ENA Paramus will be representing the Philippines once again, and Jordan is slated to send a competitor in Ruba Aldaoud. Ana Palacios of Guatemala finished 9th on floor at Pan Ams, breaking 13.

Subdivision 2

October 27, 4:00am ET/1:00am PT

Team Japan
Team Australia
Team South Korea
Team Costa Rica
Individuals from Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan

What to know
Team Japan: Despite the absence of Sae Miyakawa, Japan is fully expecting to make the team final here and contend for a team medal. Based on the scoring shown so far this year, Japan should have ample room for mistakes in qualification while still advancing to the team final.

Individually, Mai Murakami is quite possibly the best non-American contender in the all-around field and will be going for the medal that eluded her so heartbreakingly last year. Murakami should be joined in the AA by another top-10 qualifier from her own team, the question is, who? Who gets to do the all-around in the first place, and who will win the intra-Japan battle for the second spot in the final? My money is always on Asuka Teramoto, but Aiko Sugihara took 6th place in last year’s final, and Hitomi Hatakeda could be in there if she’s given the chance to do all the events instead.

On the apparatuses, Murakami will expect to make the floor final and can medal there, and it wouldn’t be worlds without Asuka Teramoto sneaking into the beam final even though you kind of forgot her there.

Team Australia: We’ve been patiently waiting for the triumphant Australian reemergence into the realm of the world’s best, but it looks like that will have to wait. This current Australian team is extremely injured, and the squad will be without Georgia Godwin, Rianna Mizzen, and Talia Folino in Doha—last year’s three worlds competitors. Australia is likely now just looking to make sure everything goes to plan so there’s no risk of being slammed outside the top 24, as well as getting Georgia-Rose Brown into the AA final, which is a possibility. Continue reading World Championships Qualification Preview →

World Championships

World Championships Viewing Guide

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Let this be your one-stop post for life planning.
(Streaming information is for people in the US.)

I’ll keep this linked on the top menu for easy reference once this post starts getting bumped down by all the live blogs and daily reviews.

October 21
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 1
Russia, France, Romania, Uzbekistan, Peru, Singapore

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 2
Netherlands, Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Austria

7:30am ET/4:30am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 3
Switzerland, Israel, North Korea, Norway, Lithuania, Jordan, Dominican Republic, Slovakia

10:00am ET/7:00am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 4
Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Iceland, Bulgaria, Philippines

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 5
Ukraine, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Qatar

October 22
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 6
Japan, United States, Colombia, Armenia, Serbia, Malaysia, Thailand

Streaming: USA Gymnastics YouTube

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 7
Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, Cuba, Guatemala, Chile

7:30am ET/4:30am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 8
Germany, South Korea, Greece, Georgia, Iraq, Slovenia, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago

10:00am ET/7:00am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 9
Great Britain, Italy, Vietnam, Cyprus, Denmark

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Men’s Podium Training, Subdivision 10
China, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, Hong Kong, Portugal, Syria

October 23
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 1
Belgium, Argentina, Poland, Latvia, Algeria, Philippines, Guatemala, Jordan

4:00am ET/1:00am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 2
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan

6:30am ET/3:30am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 3
Germany, Hungary, Ukraine, North Korea, Portugal

8:30am ET/5:30am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 4
Netherlands, Colombia, Austria, Belarus, Sweden Israel, Qatar

11:00am ET/8:00am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 5
United States, Slovakia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Chile, Ireland, Cyprus, Peru

Streaming: USA Gymnastics Youtube

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 6
Italy, Norway, Iceland, Jamaica, Vietnam, Bolivia, Cayman Islands

October 24
2:30am ET/11:30pm PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 7
China, Romania, Finland, South Africa

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 8
France, Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore

7:00am ET/4:00am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 9
Russia, Great Britain, Brazil, Turkey, Denmark

9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 10
Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, Egypt, Serbia, Syria

11:30am ET/8:30am PT – Women’s Podium Training, Subdivision 11
Czech Republic, Greece, Taiwan, Slovenia, Croatia, Georgia

October 25
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 1
Russia, France, Romania, Uzbekistan, Peru, Singapore

Streaming: NBC Sports

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 2
Netherlands, Belgium, Belarus, Croatia, Finland, Austria

7:30am ET/4:30am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 3
Switzerland, Israel, North Korea, Norway, Lithuania, Jordan, Dominican Republic, Slovakia

10:00am ET/7:00am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 4
Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Iceland, Bulgaria, Philippines

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 5
Ukraine, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Qatar

October 26
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 6
Japan, United States, Colombia, Armenia, Serbia, Malaysia, Thailand

Streaming: NBC Sports

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 7
Turkey, Taiwan, Mexico, Australia, Ireland, Cuba, Guatemala, Chile

7:30am ET/4:30am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 8
Germany, South Korea, Greece, Georgia, Iraq, Slovenia, Ecuador, Trinidad & Tobago

10:00am ET/7:00am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 9
Great Britain, Italy, Vietnam, Cyprus, Denmark

Streaming: NBC Sports

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Men’s Qualification, Subdivision 10
China, Brazil, Hungary, Argentina, Hong Kong, Portugal, Syria

Streaming: NBC Sports

October 27
2:00am ET/11:00pm PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 1
Belgium, Argentina, Poland, Latvia, Algeria, Philippines, Guatemala, Jordan

4:00am ET/1:00am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 2
Japan, Australia, South Korea, Costa Rica, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan

Streaming: NBC Sports

6:30am ET/3:30am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 3
Germany, Hungary, Ukraine, North Korea, Portugal

8:30am ET/5:30am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 4
Netherlands, Colombia, Austria, Belarus, Sweden, Israel, Qatar

11:00am ET/8:00am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 5
United States, Slovakia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Chile, Ireland, Cyprus, Peru

Streaming: NBC Sports

1:00pm ET/10:00am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 6
Italy, Norway, Iceland, Jamaica, Vietnam, Bolivia, Cayman Islands

October 28
2:30am ET/11:30pm PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 7
China, Romania, Finland, South Africa

Streaming: NBC Sports

4:30am ET/1:30am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 8
France, Canada, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore

Streaming: NBC Sports

7:00am ET/4:00am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 9
Russia, Great Britain, Brazil, Turkey, Denmark

Streaming: NBC Sports

9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 10
Spain, Mexico, Switzerland, Egypt, Serbia, Syria

11:30am ET/8:30am PT – Women’s Qualification, Subdivision 11
Czech Republic, Greece, Taiwan, Slovenia, Croatia, Georgia

October 29
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Men’s Team Final

Streaming: Olympic Channel

October 30
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Women’s Team Final

Streaming: Olympic Channel

October 31
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Men’s All-Around Final

Streaming: Olympic Channel

November 1
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Women’s All-Around Final

Streaming: Olympic Channel

November 2
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Event Finals Day 1

Streaming: Olympic Channel

November 3
9:00am ET/6:00am PT – Event Finals Day 2

Streaming: Olympic Channel

 

Stuff and Nonsense

Things Are Happening – October 16, 2018

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A. What a Bono

How’s a person supposed to preview worlds sufficiently when things keep happening?

Anyway, to the surprise of no one, USAG’s interim disaster Mary Bono resigned today as CEO, not quite four days after being hired. Although, the announcement came late Friday, and the next two days were weekend days, so we’re looking more at 1.33 business days at best (no credit as a wolf double). That means there’s still some discrepancy over whether this counts as defeating MLT’s short-tenure record or not. Thoughts and math welcome.

In her resignation statement, Mary spares a thought for the real victim in all of this—herself. For how dare she be forced to suffer at the hands of her own thoughts, words, and actions. Charitably, she also spares a thought for the secondary victim—us—for not getting to experience the wonder that is her. I guess.

The second paragraph is probably my favorite. “I had a storyline to roll out, I tell you! A storyline! Look how calculated to garner sympathy and deflect criticism it was!” That storyline, and the lack of understanding that we the public are looking for qualifications not storylines, is probably what accounts for the board making this bizarre selection in the first place. Continue reading Things Are Happening – October 16, 2018 →