The time has come, dear friends, to find out that the US women have won the team final. Well…shortly, we’ll find that out. But also who wins the other medals! You know, the interesting part. Who’s going to fall the least?!?!

For the US women, the lineup news is that Hernandez will be going instead of Douglas on vault. Hernandez scored a fraction better in qualification, and it’s not going to make much difference either way. So there’s that. More interestingly, Hernandez is not doing bars, meaning Biles is competing AA today. I think the US squad has always been more content using Biles on bars in a team final than the general fandom is. Plus, if Hernandez is limited because of her abstomahamstring, her routine is not vital. Biles got a 15 in qualification for what was basically a C- routine for her.

Joining Biles in competing the all-around today will be Mustafina and Melnikova, because of carrying everything, Jade Barbosa, because Brazil is putting her on beam instead of Andrade which doesn’t make anyone feel comfortable, Eythora Thorsdottir, because she needs to do every event all the time, and Ellie Downie, because of ahhhh is everything OK and are we sure about that? At least now she has had actual time to be properly evaluated, now that the glow of “HEROIC STORYLINE, GRIT, GET OUT THERE, WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR NECK” has worn off.

Continue reading Women’s Team Final Live Blog →

It’s already happening. A team final. It’s too quick. We need days of recovery in between these competitions. But for now, remember that qualification was qualification. And meaningless.

Helpfully, Ukraine has all but forfeited the competition by scheduling Verniaiev to go up on only two events today. Thanks, Ukraine. Now we only have seven teams to focus on. It is a logical strategy, though. Their chance at a medal is much, much, much greater in the AA than in the TF, so they’re putting all their Olegs on that. That’s why Ukraine got demoted out of the flag image for this event. Russia got demoted because my image of Russia’s flag was being a jerk and deserved to be punished.

Six of the teams will be putting up a gymnast in the all-around today, with Kohei Uchimura, Deng Shudi, Max Whitlock, Sergio Sasaki, Marcel Nguyen, and Vladyslav Hryko doing all six. The two teams not putting up an AAer, the US and Russia, both looked like they might have to, but they’ve decided to sit Mikulak and Belyavskiy on rings today to give them one event off. Mikulak is probably the better rings worker than Brooks, though Brooks scored higher in qualification. Belyavskiy is a better rings worker than Kuksenkov, so that will be interesting to keep an eye on if things get close.

The only gymnast not competing for his team today is Andreas Toba, for obvious reasons. Everyone else is doing at least one event. Three gymnasts are going on only their specialty: Liu Yang and Arthur Zanetti on rings, and Louis Smith on horse.

Continue reading Men’s Team Final Live Blog →