Brace thyself. It’s Russia time. What is this even going to be?

TEAMS: Russia, Argentina
INDIVIDUALS: Kaylee Cole (BOL), Dianne Soria (BOL), Alexa Grande (ESA), Paola Ruano (ESA), Gaya Giladi (ISR), Meitar Lavy (ISR), Lihi Raz (ISR), Cloe Godoy (PAN), Laura Rodriguez (PAN)

I’m so excited for this, either way it’s going to be a treat.

Rotation 1

Akahimova – BB – punchf ront mount, check – round off layout, very solid – switch – sqautty second turn on her wolf double in poop squat pose, but she got them around – side aerial, fine – side somi, solid – she goes for the double arabian and it’s quite good, step forward.

Lilia Akhaimova is a beam specialist you guys.

Shap to bail for Magistrai, just a little leg break, slightly sluggish on shoot to high – catches piked jaeger and tkatchev – giant full – DLO, small hop

12.900 for Akhaimova

Agafonova – BB – candle mount – switch ring, pretty position – side aerial to loso with a check – punch front, very solid – switch to split to back handspring – aerial, small lean – split ring, another check – overturns Y spin by a quarter – double tuck, step back. A “lots of little things” kind of routine. But hit. 13.033

Dominici has a nice piked jaeger – double tuck, little shuffle forward –

Melnikova – BB – bhs loso, fine, smallest lean working out of it – aerial to split to straddle, very strong – kochetkova, check – wolf turn double, nice – side somi, hit – split jump 1/2 from side, once again very solid – double pike, lunge back. 13.366

Three hits. WHAT IS THIS RUSSIA?

Shchekoldina – BB – candle mount, a little leanier than I’d like – side aerial – split to straddle – bhs bhs loso, right on – switch – side somi and grabs the beam – split jump 1/2 from side, short of split – split ring jump, check – double tuck, step back.

That will be the dropped score, but still a really good beam rotation for Russia, the #4 beam score of the competition.

Argentina went 38.866 on bars, which is a solid mark for them.

12.000 for Shchekoldina.

Lavy on floor will finish the rotation – double pike, hop back and OOB – popa, short of position – double tuck, short with a stagger –

Rotation 2

Agafonova – FX – so this should be interesting – nice Memmel turn, definitely around – double pike, two lunges back – switch, split ring – I really think should just have her do a 1 pass routine – double wolf, around – 2.5 to front tuck, step – drops heel a little on the double L – double tuck, bounce back. Well, it was a floor routine.

12.666.

Kaylee Cole vaults a full. Bounce back. 9.775. I mean

Akhaimova – FX – DLO 1/1, bounce back – DLO, a little short, hop forward – double L turn – double Arabian, step – squeezes her way around on a double wolf turn – full-in, shuffle back – things on each pass but no major landing errors, should be a good one.

Dominici – BB – switch 1/2 – bhs loso series, solid – aerial, small check – switch side, a bit of an adjustment – doubel pike, step

Melnikova – FX – DLO 1/1, just a little short, hop – double L to double turn, definite credit – DLO, lunge back – switch ring 1/2 – front tuck through to 2/1, some legs, a little bounce – wolf triple, got it – Memmel, I’ll give it – double pike, hop – another good one for Russia.

Luna Fernandez falls on loso series –

14.100 for Melnikova, which puts her into 1st on floor. Wow.

Shchekoldina – FX – full-in with a bounce back – drops Memmel a little too early for me – double pike, nice and high, scoots back – split leap 1.5 – front tuck through to 2.5, lunge out – stands up out of her double wolf – double tuck, sits it down.

Shchekoldina’s like, “DON’T WORRY I FILL THE TRAGIC QUOTA.”

11.233 for Fernandez – now Magistrati – candle mount – bhs loso loso, knes and feet but solid – switch to straddle to swing down – wolf turn triple and just keeps going and going until she falls off the beam.

11.866 for Shchekoldina.

Russia’s 40.699 is the top floor score so far.

Rotation 3

Pisos – FX – double pike, short, lunge forward – split jump full – double tuck, small shuffle – switch to split leap full, solid leap elements – switch 1/2 – front full, lunge – 2/1, stuck

Agafonova continues doing an admirable job pretending she’s an all-arounder with a 13.400 on vault.

Melnikova VT – DTY, pretty large lunge back – otherwise her normal

14.433 for Melnikova

Akhaimova – VT – rudi – lands it, mushy legs, lunge back, but successful

Tucked jaeger from Lavy on bars – don’t see that anymore

14.733 for the rudi from Akhaimova. VT 2 – Tsuk 2/1, landes it a little deep but fine, lunge back, once again some form, easily will make the final.

Diane Soria fall on a piked jaeger.

Shchekoldina with a really nice DTY, small hop, good height, the best I’ve seen her do that vault. 14.500

Russia will still have to be good on bars to pass France, but they’re up in that territory.

Cole – UB – bail with leg break – toe on to toe shoot – giant full – double tuck, small hop. 10.500.

Dominici – FX – full in, large bounce back – double arabian – switch ring – split leap full – double tuck, very strong, nice position and control, one of the best double tucks I’ve seen in two days – double pike, short with a hop forward. 12.566

Rotation 4

Melnikova – UB – inbar full to Komova to pak to van leeuwen, really nice – inbar 1/2 to piked jaeger, the usual close catch – toe full – FTDT, hop back

Agafonova – UB – toe shap to clear hip to high piked tkatchev to pak – van leeuwen – inbvar 1/2 to piked jaeger – orphan 1/2 turn full turn into FTDT, lunge back

Dominici does well with her DTY, bounce back, nice height –

Cole falls on her side aerial on beam

Spiridonova – UB – inbar full to Komova to pak to van leeuwen – pretty – inbar 1/2 to piked jaeger – orphan 1/2 turn – full to FTDT, stuck. Russia had quite the day. Used it up, obviously.

56.599 puts Melnikova into 2nd int he AA.

15.016 for Spiridonova on bars. Into 2nd place.

Akhaimova is getting a shot on bars – inbar to inbar full, but fake toe ons – Maloney to giant full to tkatchev – hit – bail, leg break, horizontal shoot to high – double front, lunge. She hits too.

Russia hits bars and goes into 2nd place in team, ahead of France.

13.366 for Akhaimova puts her in 8th in the AA and she’s going to make the AA final.

Solid piked full in from Grande on floor but she bounces OOB –

Magistrati will get an AA Olympic spot for Argentina, and Lihie Raz has also moved ahead of Chusovitina, so she’s down to 26th now. Maximum 10 more spots can be won. She needs to stay top 30. Down to the wire. I still think it looks OK. We assume someone from Switzerland, and someone from Hungary, but she then can only afford two more among Turkey, New Zealand, Denmark, Cyprus, Finland, and Singapore. Possible. Interesting. I don’t think Cyprus or Denmark will. So she could afford to be passed by two of Turkey, New Zealand, Finland, and Singapore.