In “Olympic qualification is done so PEACE OUT” news, Larisa Iordache and Vanessa Ferrari have both withdrawn from today’s AA final, Iordache pulling out with a kidney infection, which seems fun. They are replaced by Naomi Visser and Zoja Szekely in the lead group (Alice D’Amato declined the two-per-country replacement of Ferrari).

Let’s all just be glad we’re done with those qualification streams and now get to enjoy a real broadcast that a professional made. Olly doing some poetry about dreams. Joined by Blythe for their tag-team ASMR special.

Especially with Iordache’s withdrawal, we expect Melnikova and Listunova to run away from the field considering the margin they had even with beam falls in qualification.

Streaming link.

Third replacement! Jutta Verkest is in for Steingruber.

All Germans in full unitards today. Power to the sleeved pant.

Rotation 1

Szekely – VT – Hungary – quite a piked Yfull, hop back. 13.200

Listunova – VT – Russia – in queen-of-diamonds inspired tie leotard, and so very glad we’re cutting away from her to see Verkest on bars. Anyway, she goes 14.466, which indicates a hit but not the cleanest.

Verkest – UB – Bel – clear hip to maloney with al ittle leg break into pak – van leeuwen is solid – toe full – 1/2 turn to piked jaeger, solid height – a bit late on 1/2 turn – FTDT, chest a tad down, lunge forward. Nice one.

Bachynska 12.066 on beam.

Hautala – FX – FIN – succssfully pulls around a triple wolf turn – DLO is verrry short, leg slips back out from under her for a fall, and the added trauma of an OOB on the slip – double pike with a step – straight jump double is around – wolf double – front tuck through to 2/1, stuck landing. Good turns, but that DLO was not on today.

14.733 for Melnikova on vault.

Gadirova – UB – GBR – Tkatchev 1/2 with some feet into yezhova, which is solid – maloney, clean – van leeuwen, a little leg break – giant full – FTDT, hop back – another hit for her here.

Pihan-Kulesza – FX – POL – back 2.5 to front tuck, stuck, some legs in 2.5 – split leap full and she hurt her LEG AND HAS TO STOP

Joining Seitz on bars midway – piked jaeger very strong – piked tkatchev to pak, clean and comfortable – van leeuwen, small leg break – toe full into FTDT, hop forward. 14.033

Maggio 14.233 on vault. Morgan 13.633

Melnikova VT replay – solid DTY, chest up, medium hop back.

Kuusikko – BB – FIN – comfortable work on bhs loso loso series – aerial, pause before side aerial but hits both, check on side aerial – bhs bhs 1.5 dismount, hop forward

Lieke with 13.300 on bars. Bui just 11.766 on beam.

Raz – FX – ISR – full in first pass, lands with at least one foot OOB – held leg double, falls out a tad at the end – split full – 3/1, pulls it around, hop, some leg crossing – switch ring to split leap full, may not get ring credit for the switch ring – front tuck through to double pike, chest down –

Martins – UB – POR – piked tkatchev, good – clear hip tkatchev 1/2 to yezhova, hits it – toe full to maloney to pak, veyr clean pak – van leeuwen, keeps legs together well – DLO, small hop. Really clean work! Nice one. 14.225

Maggio VT replay – hits a Y1.5 – slightly short, small hop back – bent knees and a bit off to the left

Morgan VT replay – FTY – clean and comfortable for her – just a slight pike throughout and some flexed feet, small hop back.

Listunova VT replay – DTY – solid, medium lunge back, a wonky knee on her block and some bending throughout.

Slevin – FX – Ireland – double pike, little hop, good – split leap full to switch 1/2 – wolf double, around – 1.5 to front full, hop forward – popa with a slide back – 2/1, scoots back – good work, no large breaks.

It will be Melnikova, Listunova, Maggio as the top 3, having done vault, but then it’s Martins and Seitz with their strong bars work.

Rotation 2

Petit – FX – France – falls out of a Memmel just before the end, so risking credit there – comfortable double tuck, hop back – front tuck through to double full, small hop – switch ring to split ring, good position on the switch – double pike, step back, chest somewhat down – finishes with a clearly around wolf double.

Listunova – UB – inbar shaposh to Ricna, hit, just a tad close on catch – inbar full to pak to stalder shap 1/2, strong – inbar 1/2 to jaeger, good – orphan 1/2 turn short – FTDT, legs a bit crazy as per usual, hop forward. 14.333

Bui – FX – GER – wolf double to choreographed roll out (Paseka such a trendsetter) – DLO a little short with a hop forward, she stuck that perfectly in qual – double pike, small slide back – split leap full, nice split position reached – 2.5 to front, another little hop – switch 1/1, pulls it around – double tuck, hit. Another very good floor showing.

Gadirova hit beam for 13.500

Maloneikova – Inbar full to inbar shaposh to pak to van leeuwen, wonderful combination – inbar 1/2 to piked jaeger and falls! Hands not near catching, way too close, just raps them along to bar as she comes down – finishes with FTDT, hop. 13.733

Mokosova – VT – SVK – hits a yfull – lots of piking – medium hop back

Kuusikko – FX – Finland – DLO, but hits hers, slide back – split jump full is good – 1.5 through to 2/1, small hop, some leg crossing – leg-up full to split full – front full, step forward – double tuck, short but just does save it with a step forward

13.033 for Bui on floor, 12.933 for Seitz on beam which is a deal for her.

Raz – VT – ISR – hits a yfull, some piking but not as much as the other ones we’ve seen – hops sideways across the mat on landing

Paulsson – FX – Sweden – wolf turn 2 and a something, will get double credit – double pike, staggers back some – double tuck, another somewhat larger bounce – switch 1/2 and split full – front full, dances out, knees – split leap full – 2/1 gets somewhat ragged with a step back

Morgan – UB – GBR – piked jaeger, solid – Ricna to pak, hit, some feet – maloney to bhardwaj, hit, only small leg break in bhardwaj – van leeuwen, good – full turn – toe front 1/2 dismount, hop back. Another efficient showing. 13.733

Vihrova – FX – Latvia – full in, hit, crunched over but secure landing – front tuck through to double tuck, again only a small slide – wolf doubel was a problem, got about 1 5/8 around – and then just fully fell on a Memmel turn! Got too spinny and a hand down – split leap full – double pike, step forward – switch 1/2, rather short. What a weird one!

Verkest – BB – Portugal – loso mount, step back but good – bhs loso loso, secure – switch to split ring leap, shows actual ring position – aerial, small check – wolf triple very smooth – wolf double is shakier but around – side aerial, tad short, waits to place second leg – 1.5, medium hop forward. So good! 13.500!

Bachynska – FX – Ukraine – full in, hop forward – double arabian, a bit short, steps back to control – Memmel turn, around clearly, and no fall – switch ring to split ring, clean positions – double pike, hop back – switch 1/2 – double tuck, step back. Nice to see a solid hit from her.

After 2, Listunova and Melnikova retain 1 and 2 by a clean margin, then it’s Morgan, Seitz, and Gadirova. Maggio had a miss on bars for 11.8 to drop her well back.

Rotation 3

Melnikova – BB – hits her switch to switch mount sequence this time instead of having a psychological attack in the middle – bhs loso, solid – aerial to split to straddle, comfrotable – bhs 1/1 – wolf double and FALLLLSS, gets wolf crazy and spins off – side aerial, good – split jump 1/2 from side – double pike is nice. Everything but the wolf was fab. The wolf was sadly hilarious.

How will her placement withstand two falls today?

Kuusikko – VT – Finland – hits a very solid y1.5 – small step to the side, some knees – good work.

Visser – BB – NED – bhs mount is smooth – split leap to side somi, hit, split leap a little short – split jump 1/2 from side is quite nice – also overcomes the odds and hits a straight jump full – side aerial to bhs, check, step back – double turn is like buttah – switch to sissone, good back leg on switch – 2/1, small hop – looks like she just did finish before over time. Good hit. 13.233

Gadirova got 13.700 on floor and we didn’t get to see it. Melnikova 12.833, gains on her qual score still. Her wolf turn was still stronger than this mask wearing.

Morgan – BB – GBR – loso mount, very secure – bhs loso loso, arm wave correction, quickly covered – switch to switch 1/2 to Korbut, good – wolf double, slightly turvy but fine – aerial, check – side aerial, hit – split jump 1/2 from side – 2/1, small hop. A couple more checks than in qualification but another very solid beam. 13.433

Wevers – FX – NED – tries quad turn, falls out of it – double tuck, small step, nice position – 2/1, bounce back – switch ring to split leap full – pulls around that double L to full turn, not her strongest Memmel turn position – rudi, secure. A bit more ragged floor than she would have liked but a hit. 12.533

Checking in with Raz on bars – good pak – shoot to high – toe on to giant full to 1/2 turn to piked jaeger, can’t cast out of it, has to rest against the bar to resume – double front, lunge back.

Maggio went 13.400 on beam.

Szekely – BB – HUN – bhs loso, large leg-up check but keeps it on – switch to wolf, good – wolf 1.5, presuming an adjustment from a double attempt – side somi, hit – split jump 1/2 from side – aerial, small waver – side aerial, check – back full dismount, off to the side with a step. Survived.

Petit – VT – France – hits a yfull, clean at the start, loses her legs at the end, hop back

Listunova – BB – Russia – wolf triple, hit – fhs to front tuck, a stagger on landing with a hop forward but stays on – switch to split ring leap to bhs, smoothly done – aerial to split ring jump – split jump to bhs 1/1, step back – double tuck, large lunge back. Well, that should seal a title for her as long as she doesn’t turn to liquid on floor.

Gadirova also has an excellent shot at a medal here as she gets to finish with her DTY.

Paulson – VT – Sweden – clean yfull, best yfull of the day so far, good lauout, small hop back

Vihrova – VT – Latvia – yfull, finds a good landing on that one, some more piking though

Heduit – double arabian, a little deep, pulls out landing – double tuck, slide back – double y spin, clean – switch ring to split leap full, bouncy on landing – front tuck through to 2.5 steps forward OOB – wolf double, also around, getting full turn credit – double pike, hop back.

Listunova will have a 1.6 edge on Melnikova heading to floor.

Gadirova is 8 tenths behind Melnikova despite Melnikova’s 2 falls (sigh), so she won’t be able to pass if Melnikova has a good floor, but Melnikova needs to have a good floor, and Gadirova is the favorite for bronze at this point.

Rotation 4

Visser – FX – NED – 3/1 to front tuck, triple is a little crazy and short, but that’s the idea connecting into front tuck – double L turn, then double Y to illusion, patiently pulls her way through on that combo – double tuck, very solid landing – switch ring to split leap full – switch 1/2, little hop – 2/1, secure. 12.533

Seitz is done with 53.398 after a yfull, clean, large bounce back.

Morgan – FX – GBR – held leg double to double turn, held leg was good, double tuck regular was a little short – double tuck, solid, hop back – split ring full got kind of crazy on landing – 2.5 to front pike, hop forward – wolf double, hit and around – switch ring – switch 1/2, not bad – front full to stag, stag fairly low . Good. Another super solid day for her.

Wevers – VT – NED – very secure landing on yfull, small hop, tiny amount of piking. Lovely. 13.566 for a 52.265 final.

Verkest is done with 52.132, which is going to place quite well today.

12.766 for Morgan. Goes ahead of Seitz with 53.565.

Gadirova – VT – GBR – hits her DTY, great height, a somewhat large lunge back though. Clean in the air.

14.600 for Gadirova gives her 55.100, which will get a medal.

Maggio – FX – Italy – pulls around a rushed but complete wolf double – DLO, legs apart, hit – front loso to double pike, good secure landing – split ring leap to switch ring, hits her 180s – whip whip to double tuck is verrry short, large lunge forward – back full to immediate back 1.5, hit with a hop.

Petit for France falls on her piked jaeger, takes it too far. Hits it upon resuming – finishes DLO, lunge back.

Maggio is done with 52.366. Shots of them extracting her from her cast of leg tape.

Bui – UB – Germany – pause in cast hs – good piked jaeger to pak – maloney to bhardwaj, nicely done – van leeuwen, legs breaking there – toe full to gienger, great height – double pike dismount, hop forward

Listunova – FX – Rus – DLO and nearly falls on it, low knees with a lunge forward – double y spin – whips to 3/1, pulls it around fairly well – double L, topsy but around – wolf triple is comfortable – front full, hop back – switch ring , lovely – switch 1/1, good position, a little short on landing – double tuck, chest down, hop forward. Well, she didn’t turn to liquid but it was kind of close…

Still 13.866 for Listunova fora 56.731 that will win the AA title.

Melnikova – FX – Russia – she’ll need to do only about what Listunova did to take silver – DLO 1/1 is solid, hop back – double L turn to double turn, smooth – DLO, another smallish hop back – switch to switch ring 1/2 – front 2/1, lunge to the side – wolf 3.25 – falls out of double y attempt – double pike, small stagger.

Well, she had a disaster of a day but that should be enough to get her the silver medal because this sport is such a mess.

14.133 for Melnikova to take silver.

FINAL
1. Listunova 56.731
2. Melnikova 55.432
3. Gadirova 55.100

Morgan in 4th, Seitz 5th, Maggio 6th.

Replacement athletes Visser and Verkest end up 9th and 10th.

Big days for Listunova, Gadirova, and Morgan. British selection is going to get interesting, as it always does, given that the British women’s program is so well known for it’s transparent, logical Olympic team decisions. No problems on the horizon.