The DRAHHHHMMMS. So, we’re starting with admin drama (the best kind) on this first day of event finals.
On vault, Joscelyn Roberson has pulled out following her injury in the touch warmup of the team final, replaced by Ellie Black. Jessica Gadirova is also out after withdrawing from yesterday’s all-around final as well, and her spot was taken on the start like by Csenge Bacskay.
But, when Roberson withdrew, Leanne Wong would have been no longer 2-per-countried, and she finished ahead of Bacskay in qualification, so the next spot should have been hers. Wong has now been added to the final start list after appeal (most likely explanation being that someone ROYALLY EFFED UP and forgot to add her, but they didn’t want to take Bacskay out of the final, sooooo….9 gymnasts now!)
Love that is says the RULE right above the accounting of what had to happen.
MEN’S FLOOR
Minami – JPN – Back tuck 3.5 to front full – triple double is hit, small hop forward – front 3/1, step – back 1.5 to randi, slide back – back 2.5 to front 2/1, holds the stick – 3/1, step back. Wild. 14.666
Yulo – PHI – back 2.5 to double front pike, hop – DLO 1/1, magical – front 2/1 to super high layout, hop forward – 3/1 side pass, little bounce back – front full to randi, bounce – 3.5 final pass, bound. More landing bouncies. 14.500
Dolci – CAN – front full to double front pike, amazing stick – double double, bounce back – front lay to randi, hop back – double front tuck, little hop – back 2.5 to 1/2 kick out, smooth and stuck – 3/1, little hop. Pretty routine, not as much D. 14.400 and into 3rd.
Dolgopyat – ISR – double double lay, good, hop – front full to front double pike, another small hop – back 25. to double front, hop forward – front 2/1 to layout, clean but hop – double double tuck, small shuffle back – literal balance check in the corner, my favorite – double arabian 1/2 out, hop back. Lots of littles, no bigs. Into first with 14.866
Richard – USA – 2.5 double tuck, short with lunge back front 2/1 to front 1/1, nice stick – double double tuck, also a little short with lunge forward – 2/1, stuck – back 2.5 to front lay, stuck – way way short on his final pass and lands it on hands and knees
Karimi – KAZ – punch randi, a little short, hop forward – front full to double front pike, step – back 2.5 to double front, very good – double double tuck, small slide – 2/1, wobble but stays still on landing – front 2/1 to 1/2, stuck – 3/1, stuck. Nice one. 14.600 and into 3rd place ahead of Yulo.
Hepworth – GBR – triple double tuck, very small movement – front full to double front pike, step forward OOB – front 2/1 to double front tuck, little hop forward – back 1.5 to front lay, lovely – double double tuck, another step back OOB – 3/1, little step back. 14.333 and in 6th.
Hashimoto – JPN – triple double, bounce back OOB – double double tuck, little shuffle – front full to randi, hop – 2/1, stuck – 1.5 to front lay, hop – 3/1, holds onto the stick with a little lean forward. 14.233 and 7th
GOLD – Artem Dolgopyat
SILVER – Minami Kazuki
BRONZE – Milad Karimi
A first world medal for Karimi!
WOMEN’S VAULT
Now we move to the culprit for all this nonsense, the women’s vault final, where we now have 9 competitors.
Biles – VT 1 – USA – Goes for Yurchenko double pike and overcooks it, definitely overrotates, sits it down, can still win but Andrade is in it now. 14.433
Biles – VT 2 – USA – Cheng, solid one, great distance of course, little bounce back. Just 14.666 with a 9.066 E here, So 14.549 average. Andrade qualified with 14.633.
Devillard – VT 1 – FRA – starts with her rudi, chest way forward on landing with what looked like a hand touch on the mat, step back. 13.200 with 7.8 E
Devillard – VT 2 – FRA – she’s posted the DTY today, but only does the full after her initial fall, pretty, hop back. 13.183 average
Wong – VT 1 – USA – her best DTY of the competition, pretty, only small movement
Wong – VT 2 – USA – Goes for the Lopez, pretty solid layout shape, step back, nice. Did not get layout shape and gets 4.2 D credit. Into 2nd with 13.466 average.
Bacskay – VT 1 – HUN – does a Y1.5, nice height, a little stiff on landing with a step forward. 13.400
Bacskay – VT 2 – HUN – Tsuk layout full, pretty solid, a little pike throughout, small slide back. 13.133, and a 13.266 average and into 3rd place.
Miyata – VT 1 – JPN – DTY is excellent – wonderful landing, almost no movement, just a little direction and leg crossing. 14.066
Miyata – VT 2 – JPN – Lopez, shows more of a clear flare in shape than Wong on her attempt, another very solid landing, just off to the side. 13.733, for 13.899 average and into 2nd.
Moreno – VT 1 – MEX – handspring rudi, much better than the AA final, definitely has enough juice, bounce back. 14.300
Moreno – VT 2 – MEX – Does go for the Tsuk 2/1 after posting only the full, nice work, bounce back – 14.033, for a 14.166 average and into 2nd place.
Black – VT 1 – CAN – handspring front layout full is solid again, some knees, hop forward. 14.000
Black – VT 2 – CAN – Tsuk layout 1.5, also very well controlled, small hop forward, will be very close with Miyata.
13.866 second vault for Black, 13.933 average and just ahead of Miyata and into 3rd for the moment.
Yeo – VT 1 – She posted the Yeo but ultimately wisely sticks to the rudi given the serious medal shot she has here, and it’s lovely – small hop to the side. 14.600
Yeo – VT 2 – DTY, great in the air, a little short on landing, hop forward. 14.233 for a 14.416 average, into 2nd, bumping Moreno to 3rd with Andrade still to come.
Andrade – VT 1 – Cheng, wonderful as always in the air, a little steppy on the landing like in the AA final. I guess not that steppy since she goes 15.000.
Andrade – VT 2 – DTY, beautiful, small hop back. That should win.
14.750 average and into first.
GOLD – Rebeca Andrade
SILVER – Simone Biles
BRONZE – Yeo Seojeong
The fall from Biles disrupts the expected podium here. Tough on Moreno since she did so well on both her vaults, but Yeo had the air form edge.
POMMEL HORSE
This final just has the 8 originally qualified athletes in it, like a boring loser. You better make up for it with silly pommel horse nonsense during the competition
Lee Chih Kai took it right to the end of the start clock but did start in time – slams his leg on the horse early, manages to keep it going amazingly in the moment but falls not too long after with a hand slip, does a belly beat between the pommels. Also whirls himself off like a top on his dismount but does make it to high feet. 13.500
And now Whitlock falls in the second spot. Right toward the end of the routine, looked like it was going perfectly. Pommel horse is so preposterous and I love that about it. 14.300 and into first.
Young is up 3rd and is like, it’s actually not that hard. Hits a very clean routine for 14.966. Just down on his qualification score but is a possibly gold result.
Dunkel works through a large pike and leg separation on one pommel but stays on the horse for our second hit of the final. 13.766, behind Whitlock and into 3rd place.
He and Max are now sitting in the incorrect positions on the CHAIRS OF PROSPECTIVE GLORY and it’s stressing me out.
Chiba up 5th, had a hand down onto the horse right at the beginning to save himself but otherwise clean. 14.200 is also behind Whitlock, who remains in 2nd with three people left.
Phew, they fixed the seat organization.
Abu Al Soud has a wild one-pommel circle with a large straddle as his leg clips the pommel. 14.633 is still into 2nd, down a couple tenths from qualification.
Merdinyan has one of the cleanest routines so far, though his D score is not going to be as high as Abu Al Soud’s so we’ll see. 14.600 and just behind Abu Al Soud, which is kind of a drag because it was such a clean routine.
McClenaghan last to go, has to beat 14.633 to get an Olympic spot, which is very doable for him with a hit.
McClenaghan is glorious in the final position. 15.100, which will earn him another world title and the Olympic spot.
GOLD – Rhys McClenaghan
SILVER – Khoi Young
BRONZE – Ahmad Abu Al Soud
UNEVEN BARS
Here we go. Sam trying to say Qiu Qiyuan was her trial of the century.
Jones – USA – stalder full, good finish to stalder shap to tkatchev, clean – toe full, small arch to stalder tkatchev pike, a little close on the catch, connects to pak – doesn’t connect to van leeuwen – toe 1/2 little hesitation – double front, good landing. 14.766.
John has become a Shilese E score evangelist. I actually thought that one had some more small errors.
Nemour – ALG – inbar tkatchev layout, good – pak to van leeuwen, some leg break, stalder full to stalder tkatchev 1/2 to yezhova to shalder shap 1/2 – inbar full to DLO, stuck, nice. Some more leg breaks but got most of her D. Didn’t connect the Nemour at the start. 6.7 and a 15.033 total for first.
Huang – CHN – inbar full, good finish to inbar shap to full, some arch, connects to pak – van leeuwen, good legs, a bit lower – inbar 1/2, pause into healy to piked jaeger, lovely arm position in the air – FTDT, bounce back and additional step to salute on landing. 14.766 will tie Jones, but she’s into 3rd on E score.
Black – CAN – maloney to hindorff, good – Black to yezhova, today it’s hit, a little close on yezhova catch but works through it – van leeuwen, some legs but hit – small pause in full turn – toe on pike 1/2 dismount, small movement.
Scoring Ellie’s routine is the bars judges’ trial of the century.
13.800.
Charpy – FRA – toe full to van leeuwen, clean, good legs together – goes over on her toe full attempt and basically goes a toe 1.75 as she comes off the bar. She was hanging out on the ground redoing her grips, but in the women’s code you can’t do that just to delay anymore, so her coach tells her to get moving – resumes toe 1/2 with a pike to piked jaeger – piked hindorff to pak, clean – van leeuwen, small leg break – DLO, a little low, hop. 12.933
Visser – NED – stalder tkatchev 1/2 to yezhova – stalder full with a pause before second half turn, connects to shaposh to pak – van leeuwen, good leg position – toe full, late into FTDT, hop forward. 14.166 is currently 4th.
Qiu – CHN – healy to ling to layout jaeger, great – inbar full to tkatchev tkatchev piked – pak – van leeuwen, small leg break – FTDT, steps back. Didn’t connect enough and had the dismount step in terms of challenging Nemour, but a lovely routine.
I WAS WRONG! 15.100 and into first! Will be controversial, but I did think her form was far superior to Nemour’s. Figured she lost it on the dismount, honestly.
Veerman – NED – jaeger – stalder tkatchev piked to pak – maloney to bhardwaj, bit of leg crossing – van leeuwen, good leg position – toe full to FTDT, chest down, step. Nice hit for her in a final. 14.200
Biles – USA – weiler 1/2 to maloney, legs, connects to giant full to tkatchev piked to pak, good – van leeuwen, clean – toe full, large straddle, works through it to FTDT, hop. 14.200
GOLD – Qiu Qiyuan
SILVER – Kaylia Nemour
BRONZE – Shilese Jones
Connections making the difference in that bars final. Nemour didn’t connect the Nemour, so she was 0.2 down. Qiu did connect the inbar full, so she was up, and had fewer leg separations. Jones gets bronze on the E score tiebreak, and I do think hers was 3rd best in the final.
RINGS
Hepworth starts for GB, ends up with a lunge forward on his double double tuck dismount, but very solid on the rings again. 14.100
Liu Yang is the favorite here but You Hao just had a brilliant one in the second position, though landed his double double layout in kind of a chest pancake with a lunge. 14.833 and a 6.7 D score.
Petrounias is magical in the third position, super crisp on all his holds and stuck his double double. Excellent. 15.066 with a 6.3 D score. Have to imagine that will clinch the Olympics.
Avetisyan has a small hop on his DLO 1/1 dismount, secure throughout but not Petrounias level and not as much difficulty. 14.433 into 3rd.
Davtyan is up 5th and I prefer his straight shoulder line in holds to a number of others, but did have some more handstand hesitation. DLO 1/1 is great with a stick. 14.700 and into 3rd. Actually gets pretty close to You, which is great.
Tim is giddy about being able to talk about a gymnast from Austria and never says why. Hoeck has another excellent stick on his DLO 1/1 dismount. Some really good dismounts over the last few athletes. 14.566 goes into 4th.
Liu Yang sticks his double double tuck dismount to obviously win.
15.233 with an 8.833 E score.
Simonov finishes with another lovely stick on dismount with a DLO 1/1, good open, clean throughout. 14.666 and finishes in 5th.
GOLD – Liu Yang
SILVER – Eleftherios Petrounias
BRONZE – You Hao