Worlds 2018 – Event Finals Day 1

Aren’t you proud of how I used a dude header image even though both men and women are competing today? Me too.

We have the first five of our finals today, beginning with man floor.

MAN FLOOR: Moldauer, Shirai, Dolgopyat, Onder, Mikulak, Kaya, Nagornyy, Yulo, Dalaloyan

WOMAN VAULT: Pyon, Black, Biles, Moreno, Yeo, Liu, Olsen, Chusovitina

MAN HORSE: Kurbanov, Tommasone, Belyavskiy, Xiao, Mikulak, Lee, Nagornyy, Whitlock

WOMAN BAR: Downie, Hurd, Luo, Seitz, Derwael, Adlerteg, Biles, Mustafina

MAN RING: Petrounias, Radivilov, Tovmasyan, Davtyan, Simonov, Nagornyy, Lodadio, Zanetti


Opening fluff about how Simone has never won bars gold. Like a loser.

Mistake on the NBC graphic, Morgan Hurd is not in the vault final you guys.

Men’s floor

Moldauer – FX – front 2.5, small hop – double arabian 1/2 out, stuck, awesome – front 2/1 to front 1/1, stuck – flares – 2.5 to 1/2, stuck again – 2/1, nailed – 3/1, stuck. Well, that was pretty much exactly as well as he can do. Stickity stickity stick.

14.566. He’ll just have to wait and hope the D boys don’t pass him.

Kenzo – FX – triple double, casuall hop back – front tuck full to front 3/1 – continuing to nailed it, small hops – quad, step back – 3.5 to full, lean to hold it – 3/1, small hop. Good one. Got his difficulty and only small hops.

14.866 for Kenzo into first. But not uncatchable by any means. The Russians can get that score if they go clean.

Dolgopyat – FX – double tuck 1.5, small hop forward, front 1/1 to front 2.5, hop – double double tuck, nice control – 2.5 to front 2/1, pretty close to around – a little short on side pass with a hop, little hops on a lot – 3/1, lunge back. No major issues, but not too many sticks, so we’ll see where the E goes.

14.566 for him, but behind Moldauer on E.

Onder – FX – front double pike 1/2 out, short with a lunge – front full to double front 1/2 out, awesome pass but short and another step forward to save it (Tim says he went OOb but did he?) – showing a little more control as we go but those short landings and the OOB will get him – finishes with full in, short, lunge forward. That will not be up will the other scores.

13.833

Mikulak – FX – good first pass 2.5 to double front, hop – sticks the front full out of his second pass – air flares – back 1.5 to front full layout, stuck – 2/1, stuck – 3/1, suppppper short with a bound forward, which will take away the score.

14.233

Kaya – FX – double front 1/2 out, short with a bound – double fornt pike, hop – front 2/1 to front full, small hop – russians – 2/1, stuck, lovely – 2.5 to 1/2, stuck – 3/1, little hop. Got better int he second 1/2, but too many early landing errors.

14.100

Nagornyy – FX – triple back, excellent, small hop – front 2/1 to double front, stuck – double double, stuck – 2.5 to front full to 1/2, small adjustment – full in side pass, a little short with a hop – 3/1, suppppper short as well, two large lunges forward.

Wow. 14.500. No medal. That was amazing until the dismount.

Yulo – FX – double front pike 1/2 out, slide back – potentially under-rotated on his second pass, landed in between the twists but more than 3/4 around I would say, with a step – 3.5 to half, great – front full to front 2/1, stuck, great – 3/1, stuck….until not, step. This was excellent, but that under-rotated pass will be interesting

14.600. Into second place. That will be a medal for him! They gave him the second pass. It was close.

Dalaloyan – FX – front full to front 2.5, solid – front layout to front double pike, stuck – doubel double, small hop – 2.5 to front 2/1 – back 1.5 to front 1.5 – winning hearts with his stag – 3/1, a little short, small hop forward. Nice.

14.900. Into first!

Oh Tim, stop trying to predict…

FINAL
1. Dalaloyan – 14.900
2. Kenzo – 14.866
3. Yulo – 14.600
4. Moldauer – 14.566
5. Dolgopyat – 14.566
6. Nagornyy – 14.500
7. Mikulak – 14.233
8. Kaya – 14.100
9. Onder – 13.833

Honestly, the best routine of the day was “Nagornyy minus the dismount”

A medal for Yulo!


To women’s vault!

Simone’s not doing the Biles, which she wasn’t planning to do, even before the AA final situation.

Very interested to see Pyon and what she throws out there.

Pyon – VT 1 – Splatmanar – very short, I don’t think I’ve seen her hit this vault, but she does go for it. 13.066

Pyon – VT 2 – rudi – gets it around, pretty short this time, forward chest with step forward – we’ve seen her do this one better – “not so pretty in the air” – 14.166

13.616 average

Black – VT 1 – front handspring 1/1 – oh deeep landing this time, too short to pull out her stick with a hop back. 14.000

Black – VT 2 – Tsuk 1.5, pretty good, small hop forward, just a little bit of knees. 14.233

14.166 average

Extended Laurent cam

Biles – VT 1 – Cheng, a little short this time, a lunge forward, even has to pike it down a little bit, very uncharacteristic for her. Still a casual 15.266. That’s high for me. A little expectation scoring versus reality scoring.

Biles – VT 2 – Fab-manar – huge, medium step forward, that’s a Rio Amanar for her. 15.466

15.366 average. That will be gold.

Moreno – VT 1 – rudi – pretty nice, chest up better than Pyon – hop back and to the side – only pikes down toward the end – 14.600

Moreno – VT 2 – Tsuk 2/1 – also pretty good, off to the side and steps out of the area, will get some deduction for lack of distance as well, but should score well and be in 2nd. 14.416

14.508 average. Nice! That will take some quality to beat.

Yeo – VT 1 – rudi – pretty excellent, best rudi of the bunch so far – she did take a lunge to the side and out of the area though – great layout position. 14.533

“She’s got it in her genes, and I don’t mean blue jeans.” NO. TIM. NO.

Yeo – VT 2 – ooooh, comes in really short on her DTY with a large lunge forward. 13.933

14.233 average. I really thought she would medal here. Opening for Chuso now.

Liu – VT 1 – Tsuk 2/1 “and that was funky!” sure was – the landing was pretty well controlled, if a little awkward stagger, usual leg form and outside the area. Lots to take in body position E. 14.100.

Liu – VT 2 – goes for a rudi as well – kind of a big stumble back with multiple lunges back – quite a bit of legs again. 14.200

14.150. Into 4th.

Olsen – VT 1- raggedy ann Cheng but she did get it around – lower, major legs, a short landing with a hop forward. Impressed she got it around because she did not get much block. I said Simone didn’t get much block (for Simone standards), but Olsen got less. 14.600

Olsen – VT 2 – DTY, strong, good height and direction, small hop back, one of the better vaults of the day. 14.433

14.516 and into 2nd.

*whispers* I thought Moreno was better

So will it be Moreno or Chuso for the final medal?

Chuso – VT 1 – oooo, she went for the rudi but that was well short with a lunge forward. Pretty good layout position, usual feet. 14.400

Chuso – VT 2 – she’s now going to have to pull something out for her second vault – Tsuk 1.5 – a little short, not bad, but short with a lunge back.

Sadly, that should not get in for a medal.

And it doesn’t. 14.300 average and 4th place.

Medal for Moreno!

FINAL
Biles – 15.366
Olsen – 14.516
Moreno – 14.508
Chuso – 14.300
Yeo – 14.233
Liu – 14.150
Black – 14.116
Pyon – 13.616


Medal ceremony for men’s floor and another gold medal for Valentina. I mean Artur.

We’re going to need to talk about the shoulder women presenting these medals

This medal stand is HUGE and makes them look like little bugs who have to run a marathon to get into position.

Simone has now passed Caslavska for 3rd place on the all-time world/Olympic medal list


MAN HORSE

Kurbanov – PH – cupping addiction – try to make me go to rehab I said cup cup cup – really nice line in a near-Berki kind of way – super one pommel work, and then falls just before dismount. 13.400

Tommasone – PH – scissor up to precise handstands – really nice russians behind the pommels, great speed – had some good flares going and then bangs his leg on the pommel and has to come off. It was going so well. Gets back up and then immediately comes off again. 11.500

Belyavsky – PH – really struggles on a scissor up to handstand, hand down onto the horse, keeps it going but major error – super difficulty – but not his cleanest work even after the mistake, gets really dumpy in his swing at the end and then doesn’t do his full dismount

They’re going to take 7800 years to figure out this score.

11.833 for Belyavskiy. Just a 4.8 D. They’re like, “You did nothing bye.”

Xiao – PH – great flare work in travel – super speed – no hesitations at all – he’s like, this spiky pommel horse boths me not

15.166. That’s gigantic.

Mikulak – PH – no trouble on scissors or the handstand that got to him in TF – building strong speed – good legs together throughout – big hit.

14.333. Into 2nd. He’ll have to hold on through Nagornyy and Lee, as we assume Whitlock will go ahead. 5.8 D for Mikulak. He got 6.0 in qualification.

Lee – PH – everyone’s favorite because he spreads his legs like a proper pommel boy – grat toe point maintained throughout – spectacular

14.966 for Lee! But he’s behind Xiao.

Nagornyy – PH – I was too busy scolding Tim for saying that Whitlock was battling cleanup, which does not mean going last, but Nagornyy has fallen – he also struggled to het his dismount pirouettes around.

12.533.

Whitlock time.

Whitlock – PH – did have a leg break on one pommel here, but little else significant to take, other than the little hip piking he always has throughout – “Mac Whitlock” – getting better as he goes in his rhythm – super strong dismount – one of his good ones –

15.166.

A tie!

It goes to Xiao on execution, a more sensible tiebreak, but also…Max.

“I would have given it to Sam.” We know Tim. “I mean Max.” Oh. But did you actually?


OK it’s bars time.

Nastia is doing a Laurent commercial.

Downie – UB – arch on first hand – stalder full to piked tkatchev, good – toe tkatchev 1/2 to yezhova, awesome – stalder shap to attempt at hindorff and completely loses her legs, couldn’t do the clear hip for the hindorff in time and hops off. Reumes with toe shap to gienger – FTDT, stuck.

I am ended.

The Becky Ellie cry hug.

13.333

Hurd – UB – inbar Shap to stalder full to tkatchev, nice – Ricna to Pak, lovely – good hs on 1/2 turn on low – stalder shoot – inbar 1/2 – inbar full to FTDT, oh it was so excellent until the dismount was short with a lunge. Before the dismount, it was the best bars routine she had done here

14.433

Luo – UB – toe shap to pak, fab – toe Shap 1/2, only a small leg break – nice verticals on E pirouettes to a super far piked jaeger – DLO, short with a hop forward – good vertical positions, some more leg breaks than usual, and didn’t stick like she did when she got a 14.4 int he AA.

But it’s a 14.500 this time to go ahead of Hurd.

Seitz – UB – toe Shap to Ricna, great – piked jaeger, excellent – piked stalder Shap to Pak, just a touch close but works out – Shap 1/2 – full to FTDT, hop to the side. Nice. A couple handstands.

14.600 for Seitz. They’re all building by a little bit.

Derwael – UB – Nabs, great – Derawl to Yezhova to stalder Shap to Bhardwaj – toe Shap 1/2, great – toe full to FTDT, stuck. Perfect. Your winner.

15.200.

“Shot through a blender for a second”

Ouchie….?

Adlerteg – UB – piked hindorff to Pak, some legs – Shap to bhardwaj, hit, some feet – Shap to clear hip 1/1 to tkatchev, and can’t cast out of it, has to rest against the bar – DLO, stuck.

13.166

If you’re keeping track, Simone needs to score 14.600 to guarantee a medal here.

Biles – UB – Weiler 1/2 to Shap to tkatchev, good speed – toe full late to piked tkatchev to pak, solid – Shap 1/2, hit – some cast handstands – double double, small hop forward. Not her strongest (some handstands, a late piro, didn’t stick) but should get up there.

14.700. So it will be a bars medal for Simone.

Mustafina – UB – stalder full to Shap to Pak to toe Shap 1/2, grat – stalder 1/2 to piked jaeger, strong – toe full to FTDT, stuck. Perfection. She doesn’t have the D to medal right now, but it was excellent.

14.433. Second best E to Nina. Probably should have been the best E. Had a good argument for bronze there.

FINAL
Derwael – 15.200
Biles – 14.700
Seitz – 14.600
Luo – 14.500
Mustafina – 14.433
Hurd – 14.433
Downie – 13.333
Adlerteg – 13.166

A medal for Seitz!


And now…the event everyone wants to end with…..rings?

Petrounias – SR – has a dead shoulder and is still doing this somehow – you know how you do a planche lower to maltese with a dead shoulder? this is pretty much identical to when he’s healthy – super holds – double double, stuck. OK FINAL OVER.

15.366

Radivilov – SR – crushes deer skull between his pecs for 0.2 CV – iron cross directly connected to being diagnosed with only-bicep-ism, where he’ll have to live the rest of his life as a bicep – falls into a swamp on a handstand and then lands short on dismount with major lunge forward. Too many errors.

14.133

Tovmasyan – SR – rises up to plance – down to transformation into steel girder – drinks pint of blood of newt – a pretty large arch on a handstand, DLO 1/1, hop forward

14.766

Davtyan – SR – immediate uprise to planche, and then continues rising into sky – chest hair sprouts its own chest hair on maltese to make sure the judges credit DV – DLO 1/1, stuck – very good.

14.733

Simonov – SR – creative use of neck beard – head pops off like grape between his shoulders while just hanging there (Shayla-ing?), huge deduction – accidentally drives a hole into the center of the earth in a The Core situation – DLO 1/1 with large lunge

14.266

Nagornyy – SR – opens with a difficult triple-vein, three extra veins appear in his forehead that he never had before, well-executed, clean, no ruptures – oooooo left tricep eats the ring whole in the middle of the routine because it was so hungry – doubel double dismount, stuck. Excellent.

14.733. In third on the tiebreak now with Zanetti still to go. I think he should have been ahead of Tovmasyan.

Lodadio – SR – smooth rise up to planche – great cross – makes diamond under armpit – left arm jumps off his body to get its own tattoo in the middle of the routine, but gallops back up before the end – double double with hop –

14.900. Huge. Medal.

Zanetti – SR – pops out of fabrege egg to mount the rings – unfair because he has to hold his arms naturally in a cross position because he can’t put them down – a shark comes out of his trapexius during maltese, SUPER difficult – eats a femur, washes it down with a jar of nails – DLO 1/1 dismount is gorgeous and stuck. Definite silver at least.

15.100

FINAL
Petrounias – 15.366
Zanetti – 15.100
Lodadio – 14.900
Tovmasyan – 14.766
Nagornyy – 14.733
Davtyan – 14.733
Simonov – 14.266
Radivilov – 14.133


Day 1 medalists
MAN FLOOR: Dalaloyan, Shirai, Yulo
WOMAN VAULT: Biles, Olsen, Moreno
MAN HORSE: Xiao, Whitlock, Lee
WOMAN BAR: Derwael, Biles, Seitz
MAN RINGS: Petrounias, Zanetti, Lodadio

80 thoughts on “Worlds 2018 – Event Finals Day 1”

  1. No way should Yulo have been given full difficulty. He did not finish that skill. Also 2-3 steps on the final pass. First time I’ve seen a REALLY bad decision from the judges.

    1. Kazuma and Mikulak tied in difficulty and execution as last qualifiers, so 9 in the final.

    2. Mikulak and Kaya got the exact same difficulty and execution scores in qualifying and tied for 8th, so they let them both compete.

  2. worlds are OVER TOMORROW ? how is that okay? add some events right now!!!!anyway disappointed that Dolgopyat didn’t force doha to raise the israeli flag.

  3. I really love Ellie Black’s leotard. It’s so beautiful and looks very nice on her.

    1. Yes!! She looks great today: the leotard, hair and makeup, everything suits her, super pretty!

  4. Why did we need to dwell so much on that genes comment? Did none of the three of them understand that it sounded creepy? I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that, but they really needed to leave that comment alone and move on.

    1. I didn’t think it was creepy at all. Just a bad dad joke and I thought Terry handled it well “Nastia, did you ever think he was talking about blue jeans?”

  5. Moreno would be in second if she had stepped forward or back, but she stepped out of bounds. I’m fine with that costing her 2nd place because they weren’t that different.

  6. Moreno was better than Olsen. I’d debate if Chuso was better than Olsen – Chuso isn’t the cleanest, but Olsen was a mess. Regardless, I’m thrilled for Moreno.

    1. Olsen’s Cheng was very rough. Her half on was short, her arms were bent, her legs were flying, and she piked down heavily.

      I say this as a huge fan of Olsen. I just thought this particular Cheng should have been no where near an 8.6 E.

      I fully understand that this Code of Point does reward vaulters who can complete difficult vaults, but the execution “bonus” for difficult vaults is too much.

      1. I agree entirely. Part of the issue with vault execution scores is not just that they’re super inflated – they’re also so inconsistent. IIRC Moreno’s Rudi and Olsen’s Cheng got very similar E scores. Just… no.

        But I still do think Olsen deserved to be in front of Chuso on the day.

  7. I agree with you that I would have had Moreno over Olsen. And I’m even a Canadian saying that.

    1. I agree, Moreno was cleaner but she lost it by stepping out of bounds. without the -0.1 ND she’d have been in second so her execution score was higher than Olsen and their difficulty was the same. I think that’s fair.

  8. SAM FINALLY HIT IT YOU GUYS! Here’s hoping he actually gets a medal, gonna come down to Whitlock…

  9. I’m glad they rewarded Xiao’s execution over Whitlock, but Lee’s execution should have been higher. The three medalists were all excellent though.

  10. Luo Huan’s routine was fierce. This energy. Was exciting to watch.
    I LOVE this Chinese team, their attitude, elegance and form. (and I say that being Russian and an obsessed Aliya fan).

  11. Sorry but I still hate Nina Derwael’s gymnastics. I’d rather see some leg separation than FLEXED FEET. Ew.
    So sad for Jonna Adlerteg, I loved her routine so much.

      1. for real. also some people only started to pretend to care about this with nina because so many people don’t ever flex their feet and suddenly only hers is a problem lol just say you stan russians above all logic and go

      2. Lol. First, I just posted earlier on this comment section that even though I am Russian I like this year’s Chinese team better.

        Second, I am by no means a judge, I just say that I HATE flexed feet because I find them UGLY. Am I not entitled to have aesthetical preferences??? I am watching gymnastics for the show, and I don’t like to see flexed feet. If they are not judged harshly, well I think they should 😀 how many are us to be delighted when we see beautiful toe points? From what I see in gym fan comments online, a lot.

        But even from what (the little that) I know of judging, I think Aliya’s EXECUTION was cleaner than Nina’s. Does this mean she should have gotten a medal? Maybe no, because of her low D score.

        It’s my OPINION ; if you think this is “above all logic”, then YOU have a problem with someone being Russian or not, not me 😀

      3. Vastly disagree with that personally. Feet can ruin a whole line. They make a huge difference and it’s one of the most basic form things in gymnastics. Point your feet, point your toes. But I also don’t think Nina’s feet are that bad. Barely notice them myself.

    1. Finally someone who agrees with me! Her execution is way high. Its a super cool routine but with the flexed feet and few leg separations, how is the e score higher than aliyas? I mean Nina definitely still should have won but with a lower e score.

      Also think she’s a pretty gymnast but her floor scores are ridiculous. She has some beautiful dance, but she should have to do some more gymnastics to get a 13.3 on floor.

      1. I don’t have a problem with Nina’s E score. I just think Aliya’s should have been way higher, in the 9’s.

  12. Can Tim start talking about how Simone used to hate bars and wanted to take a chainsaw to bars. We’ve literally heard it now every time she’s competed bars this year. OVER IT!

  13. WHAT did they deduct for Aliya’s execution, haha? A tiny leg separation before the piked Jaeger, and apart from that? It was perfect!!!

    1. I CAN’T BELIEVE Nina has a higher E score with her FLEXED FEET!! HOW? Why? ewwwwwwwwww

      1. Yeah, I love Nina, she deserved the gold, but if her E was 8.7 then Aliya’s should have been significantly higher.

  14. How is Aliya’s execution score lower than Nina? I get her D is too low but I thought Nina’s routine was pretty messy and Aliya’s was so clean…

  15. Not nearly enough differentiation in the uneven bar executions scores. Aliya getting an 8.633 while Simone gets 8.5 and Seitz gets 8.4 is ridiculous. I would have had Derwael, Mustafina, Biles as my podium.

    1. If Derwael got 8.7 in execution, Mustafina definitely should have gotten at least an 8.8 or 8.9. An E score of 8.8 has her tiebreak for bronze and 8.9 has her tiebreak for silver.

  16. Yay! Im so happy with the results for both vault and UB! So many 1sts for some of these countries!! Woohoo! Love it. Although i wouldve liked to have seen Chuso medal, i am beyond thrilled for CAN & MEX. Same with bars. Absolutely thrilled for all 3 of the medalists!! 1st gold for Belgium, and Seitz and Simone first bars medals! Woohoo!!!!

    1. Second gold for Belgium, actually. Derwael was the defending champion.

      1. I don’t know which 2017 World Championships UB final you watched, but in the real one, Fan Yilin won and Nina was third, so she was not the defending champion.
        I know it’s easy to mix up details, but like, if you’re correcting someone else maybe try to be right?

      2. You’re right, Lill. Derwael was beaten by both Fan and Eremina last year. I guess I was confused by the two European titles Derwael has won back to back.

        My apologies, srd1977.

  17. You’re amazing! Wondering where you’re watching that is showing medal ceremony. On watching Olympic Channel on sling and they are not showing it.

  18. You’re amazing! Wondering where you’re watching that is showing medal ceremony. I am watching Olympic Channel on sling and they are not showing it.

  19. Anyone know if this Vahagn Davtyan on rings is related to Artur Davtyan? Or is Davtyan just a common surname in Armenia?

  20. DEAD.
    Best Rings live blog in the history of everrrrrrrrrr.
    People at work are looking at me funny.

  21. Came here for the rings commentary. Wasn’t disappointed. Thank you Spencer!

  22. So glad i stuck for the SR live blog bc that is the greatest coverage ive ever read in my life. Ever. Of any sport. Or of any anything. Omg. Are there awards like espys for live blogging? This should win if there is; wait, this should win regardless if an award exists or not.

  23. omg zanetti is saluting during the greek national anthem in the medal ceremony I’M DYING i love him so much. NOT EVEN PETROUNIAS IS SALUTING.

  24. Simone third now on the all time list? Wow.

    It’s hard comparing to the likes of anyone who competed before about 2000 though. Simone has way more chances to get medals because worlds are now held every year. When Caslavska competed it was every 4 years. When Silivas and Shushunova competed it was every other year.

    Simone is an excellent gymnast and has taken every chance to get medals. Just saying, it’s not apples and apples being compared. We almost need a separate list.

    Great efs today! Thanks for your comments about it Spencer.

  25. I didn’t read the rings part because I don’t usually read rings or pommel horse but then I accidentally did and now I can’t stop laughing at work. This is my favorite thing Spencer has ever written. Thanks for making my life today!

  26. Moreno should have had the silver by quite a margin. Olsen’s Cheng should have been in the very low 8s and not the 8.6 she got. Either way, I’m ecstatic to see Moreno place. She has been plugging away for years trying to get a vault medal and she finally did!

  27. Can Spencer’s rings recap get a medal because I think it was my favorite thing ever even more entertaining than… rings

  28. Love the live blogging, thank you! But are you sure you should be making fun of Tim’s baseball lingo when you can’t get it right yourself? “Batting cleanup” which Tim said, may not mean going last, but “Battling cleanup” which you said…not sure that means anything anywhere.

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