I’m splitting up the women’s competition live blogs by subdivision to try to make things a little more manageable. In this subdivision, the deal is Australia and Ukraine attempting to set a challenging base team score that perhaps one of the 12 team favorites might not be able to match.

TEAMS: Australia, Ukraine
INDIVIDUALS: Marina Nekrasova (AZE), Yamilet Peña (DOM), Camil Betances (DOM), Snadra Contreras (DOM), Rifda Irfanaluthfi (INA), Amenaghawon Melvin (NGR), Annabel Agba (NGR), Ting Hua Tien (TPE), Lai Chin (TPE), Fang Ko Ching (TPE)

In rotation 1, Australia has to survive beam and Yamilet Peña has to survive her double front, so it should be a barrel of laughs.

We’re a few minutes away from starting, but Philipp Boy is here, so haven’t we already started?

Tisha Volleman has a Spieth commercial where she pretends to really love beam and Sergio Sasaki has a commercial telling us all to join Circque. This is what’s happening in the arena right now.

Intros time. No special introduction choreography for Australia or Ukraine, although Bachynska is dabbing in her creepy rotation intro photo, and Varinska is doing finger guns. Oh Ukraine.

Rotation 1

Folino – BB – switch to split, a bit short – annnnnd she off on her acro series – resumes with switch ring, fine –

Looks like Fedorova fell at the same time, so we’re off to a great start. Resumes and hits tkatchev, dismounts with just a layout.

So pressure on both Australia and Ukraine now.

Yamilet Peña goes for the double front and, I mean, she basically fell but it was one of those where she butt scraped the ground and then popped back up. Better than PT I guess?

10.400 for Fedorova.

Radivilova – UB – tkatchev to Pak, hit – toe on to Stalder Shap to gienger with some crazy legs but caught – front giant full to a super-close jaeger – double front, stuck. Back on track? Ish?

11.233 for Folino.

Pena fell on her second vault and stumbled off the mat, such a jarring landing and she looks potentially hurt. She’s limping around now.

McDonald – BB – hits her loso series, check – full turn from side position – side aerial, good – switch to split to bhs, lean correction – split jump 1/2 from side position and keeps it on, large bend forward at the hips. 2/1, bounce back. Very tentative routine (You know, all your Olympic hopes rest on hitting stuff), but she stayed on.

Bachynska – Full to Shap – Pak – shap 1/2 – toe full to tkatchev, good – short hs on high bar – piked jaeger, nice – stuck double arabian dismount, really nice routine.

She was following 12.966 for Radivilova.

12.166 for McDonald. That will count.

Godwin – BB – switch split mount – side aerial, very solid – wolf turn triple, got a little teetery in the third turn but hit – side somi – bhs to back pike, super solid – aerial, strong – switch to sissone, tight but hit – wolf double (at least she doesn’t do them back to back) – double pike, lunge back, but solid routine. Australia really needed that.

A bars hit for Varinska! Following Bachynska 13.100, Varinska hit her tkatchev 1/2, finished with a full into FTDT, small hop. Ukraine got through the early disaster and will have three useful scores to count.

Clean full on vault from Rifda.

12.866 for Godwin. 13.733 for Varinska to set the pace on bars.

Nedov – BB – bhs bhs layout to 2 feet, only the smallest check – aerial to split to sissone – split jump 1/2 from side – switch switch ring and an amazing save, her foot was off but she quickly stepped forward to turn what should have been a fall into a check – front tuck – double pike, hop forward.

So Australia will have three hit beam routines to use, even with a lower score counting.

39.799 for Ukraine. 36.265 for Australia after 13.100 for Nedov. So work to do for Australia, but we knew there would be after this rotation.

I’m still so depressed that the rotation music is “Right Round” instead of 58 “ROTATION” remixes.

After bars, Bachynska has .633 to make up on Varinska in the race for an all-around spot.

Rotation 2

Brown – FX – Pretty front 2/1, crazy cowboy on double back but landed – it’s all about the turns anyway – good double L – 2/1 – hit.

Osipova – BB – loso mount, hit – bhs loso series, hit – side somi, hit with arm wave – side aerial, solid – aerial to split to straddle with an arm wave – double tuck, step back. Strong start for her. Minimal checks.

Well, Peña is taped up and back out to try to do bars. Let’s see about that. Toe 1/2 to front giant – toe full to gienger that got negative amplitude, but she hit it – DLO, piked, lunge back.

13.300 for Brown on floor, giant score.

11,933 for Osipova’s beam is really harsh unless I missed something.

Nedov – FX – full in with a bounce back, unclear if she kept it in bounds (no flag people) – double tuck, huge bounce back well out of bounds with multiple lunges and almost off the floor entirely – switch ring to split leap full – double pike, another bounce and OOB again.

Radivilova just does avoid a fall in her beam with a large leg-up wobble. Well crappit. She sat down her double pike dismount.

11.466 for Nedov on FX. That will need to be dropped.

Folino – FX – nice floaty DLO but did land a little short with a hop forward – double tuck, bounce back – wolf turn double was trouble, awkward with a plant foot shuffle as she get it around – 1.5 to layout is clean – switch ring – split leap full – double pike, bounce back. Hit.

12.483 for Folino. Still waiting on Radivilova’s score. Long wait.

Godwin – FX – wolf triple, smoothly done and excellently walked out of actually – double front – huge bounce forward and OOB, multiple lunges – DLO was very strong, good control, just some straddle-banana in the air – switch to split leap full – wolf double, fine – front full – stumbles out of Memmel – double pike with just a small bounce. I fear Australia needed a big number from this routine, and the OOB will ensure that won’t happen.

13.033 for Godwin, still not terrible, but Brown was their best floor, and it probably shouldn’t be that way.

Every other event is done, and we’re still waiting on Radivilova’s beam score.

Bachynska is now an old lady waiting up here to do beam.

It’s finally an 11.300 for Radivilova. Osipova’s 11 will now count.

Bachynska – BB – front handspring to front tuck and falls. OH UKRAINE. Aerial is good – lone bhs – split leap to side aerial, comfortably hit – switch ring – full turn, just a bit over-turned – double tuck dismount, two steps back.

11.966 for Bachynska. No 12s so far.

Varinska – BB – huge opportunity for her to get her Olympic spot now – bhs bhs layout, excellent, right on – switch ring, leg up check – switch to sissone – full turn – aerial to split ring jump, very solid – side somi, strong – split leap to side aerial, good – 2/1, small hop. Excellent routine.

That was a very “You hoes can eat my farts, I’M going to the Olympics” routine.

12.966 for Varinska. That Varinska’s routine didn’t beat Nedov bodes well for Nedov, at least so far, but it’s soooooo early.

38.816 for Australia on floor, 36.865 for Ukraine beam. Australia moves ahead by three tenths in total. Varinska leads the AA slightly ahead of Nekrasova.

Rotation 3

Nedov starts with a well controlled full on vault, solid landing, just some piking. 13.533.

Osipova – FX – piked full in, legs apart and a slide back – double pike, same with the legs but very solid landing – split jump 1/1 – split leap 1.5, probable credit – front tuck through to 2/1, two steps, both small – switch 1/2 a bit short – double tuck, jarring landing and a large bounce back

Brown also will just a little hop back on her full – 13.566.

Folino has better distance on her full than the first two but also a larger bounce back. 13.566.

Godwin stuck her Tsuk 1/1 to finish out the rotation. Australia did as well as it could do on vault, but the lack of difficulty…

11.900 for Osipova. 13.866 for Godwin.

Radivilova – FX – 1.5 through to 3/1, pretty nice, just a bit staggered on landing – double arabian to stag, super secure, really well done – double pike, minor bounce back – switch ring – pretty routine, well done

Nekrasova falls on her loso series on beam. She had a good day going on the first two. She had suffered a couple more large breaks in addition. Hits double tuck dismount.

13.066 for Radivilova

Varinska – 1.5 through to 3/1, bouncing around on landing and corkscrew legs – double L to illusion, leaning out of the double L but it works into the illusion – 2.5, hoppuy but looked like she stayed in – switch ring is nice of course – heel drop on double Y attempt – double tuck, a bit short, hop. OK but just OK.

10.300 for Nekrasova beam.

Two falls for Rifda on beam so far. 8.733. Yikers. Her execution score was in the THREES.

12.700 for Varinska.

Yamilet immediately off beam on her mount.

Bachynska – FX – full in – solid, small boucne back, good chest position – double arabian, good, a hair deep, with a hop – memmel, good, credit – switch ring to split ring, lovely toes – double pike, again well landed, just a small slide – there’s a lot of dying in the middle of her choreography, which feels fitting – double tuck, has to cowboy pretty significantly but once again a fine landing.

After Yamilet’s second fall on beam, she’s just done I think. Stops her routine.

Yamilet Pena 1.191 on beam. LIFE.

The final routine will be Betances on beam – aerial with a check – bhs loso series well off the beam and right to her butt on the mat. switch and switch 1/2 attempt, Off again on a side aerial, and then again on an L turn attempt.

Peña sitting atop the stretcher getting wheeled out of the arena.

Anyway. Bachynska went 13.233 on FX.

Australia has opened up a lead of 2.3 on Ukraine, though Ukraine still gets to go to vault and will gain a ton of ground there.

Godwin has moved ahead of Varinska in the AA for the moment. Varinska has a huge buffer on Bachynska now after what happened on beam.

Nekrasova trying to recover from her beam 10 with a floor routine now. Nope. Piked full in to her hands and knees. Hits double Arabian.

Varinska with a hit full on vault – 13.500

Nice side somi from Agba on beam.

Osipova – VT – completes her 1.5 successfully, bound forward

Nedov with a lovely pak to Shap to bail in her routine – full on low bar, shoot to high – just a layout dismount. 12.800 for her.

Hit 1.5 for Backynska for 13.866

Radivolova – Lopez – good, pretty solidly laid out and just a bounce back

McDonald – UB – AUS – small pause in weiler 1/2 but works it out – toe shap to clear hip to tkatchev to Pak gets wayyyyyy too close to the bar and can’t continue, has to hop off.

Ooooh Radilova’s Lopez got downgraded to a Pod, and it was not thatttt piked. It’s going to be a bloodbath for some other people.

41.298 for Ukraine on VT. Now we know that Australia needs to break 39 on bars, which is about a 13 average, so will need to improve on Nedov’s 12.800.

Godwin – UB – weiler 1/2 to Maloney to Pak to toe shap 1/2, good – gienger, strong – giant full double pike, small hop. Good. They’ll have to drop the 11 fro McDonald, so that helps. 13.566 for Godwin, that’s the score they need.

Australia is back by 1.4 now. Will need a 12.650 from Brown to pass Ukraine, which is doable.

Brown – UB – Toe full to pak to Shap to stalder full to Maloney to gienger – hit – some form momenbts, but hit the whole series – jaeger, only a hair close – double front, small hop back. A hit!

Now it’s time for Ting Hua Tien on beam, the Asian champ.

Ting – BB – aerial, solid – switch ring with a check – noooo, she fell on her series. I was hoping for a big upset final for her after finishing 12th on beam last year.

13.633 for Brown on bars, obliterated the score she needed.

Team standings after 1
1. Australia – 157.945
2. Ukraine – 156.961

So Australia is the one setting the mark. There are still definitely 12 teams that can beat that score, but Australia has at least positioned itself as the team to take advantage of an error.

It’s Godwin, then Varinska in the AA, so they will be the Olympic qualifiers if their teams don’t amke it.

Lai Chin finishing us up for the subdivision on beam – pretty double turn, squat to hold it – has bhs loso loso, pretty as well – this is nice work, though I’m converned her tendency to squat on all her landings to hold them will be destroyed – double pike, short with a step.

Even with the beam problem, Ting Hua Tien went 48.398, which is the best of the non-team AA performances, though it’s not exactly a big number.

Sadness for Bachynska, as I don’t see a route to the Olympics for her now.

On to SUB 2!