Category Archives: Stuff and Nonsense
Things Are Happening – May 23, 2023
2022 US Nationals – Men’s Day 2 Live Blog
We’re on to the conclusion of the men’s competition, where the first day was dominated by Brody Malone and…that’s about all we can say for sure. The rest of the hierarchy is still sort of a big old mess. Asher Hong and Donnell Whittenburg took 2nd and 3rd in the bonus standings, while the non-bonus standings had Yul Moldauer moving up into 2nd and Hong in 3rd.
The highest-scoring team from the first day (using the non-bonus scores because the bonus is nothing) would have been Malone, Hong, Colt Walker, Stephen Nedoroscik, and Ian Lasic-Ellis. For whatever that means. I’ll be keeping an eye on whether that maintains tonight.
Shane Wiskus is the one I’d say needs to have a good day today because…he’s not among any of the people I’ve listed so far in either the top AA standings or the highest-scoring team. On the first day, PBars was his only really big score, and the top athletes are already quite deep on PBars. Similarly, Moldauer’s one big result was pommel horse, which makes a good case for him because this team needs horsies (especially if you’re afraid of putting a one-eventer on the worlds team), but he’ll want to get back up there on events like floor and PBars today.
Matt Cormier is on the start list today after his vault scare on day 1. All taped up but going.
MyKayla just told the crowd that they’re announcing the worlds team tonight. BREAKING NEWSSSSS.
Khoi Young has scratched the competition today.
MyKayla has readjusted tonight that her highest score was a 15.350 instead of a 14.500.
Rotation 1
Wiskus – FX – double double tuck, small hop back – 2.5 to double front, just pulls it out, deep landing – botches front 2/1, can’t punch out of it, falls – 2/1, stuck – randi with jelly legs, lots of stepping – 3/1 dismount better, small step – not what he wanted.
Meanwhile, Lasic-Ellis had a couple big moments of leg separations on horse but stayed on, and Whittenburg hit rings, little hop on double double lay dismount.
Loos has a larger leg break on a Russian travel on horse but otherwise solid.
13.650 for Lasic-Ellis.
17.348 for Whitternburg on rings. LOL. Just 12.700 for Wiskus on floor.
Bock – HB – hits kovacs and layout tkatchev – tkatchev, nice and high – tak – stalder – DLO 2/1, loses his legs just a bit at the end but a nice stick. 13.550
Diab – FX – front 1/1 to double front, pulls it out, a little deep – some crazy legs in second pass – DLO, holds the stick with a swim and lean forward – 2.5 to front lay, gets a bit soft in sticking – 2/1, stuck – 3/1, leg crossing, chest forward, hop
Richard went 14.705 on PBars with a 6.0 D.
Liang dismounts rings with tuck 1.5, a little short, has to lunge back to save it.
Hong – FX – front full to double front pike, hop – DLO 2/1, nice, slide back – front tuck full to double front, stuck, excellent – good flare position – 2.5 to front layout, stuck, great crisp layout position – 3/1, a little forward, hop. Great.
Whittenburg’s rings without bonus was still 15.400. It was 14.900 on the first day.
Moldauer – HB – zou li min – tak 1/1, good finish, some knees – atak 1/2 – catches Kolman well – tkatchev, hit – hop full – rybalko, a bit late – DLO 1/1, good open, hop forward. That will help his AA dreams.
Walker stayed on pommel horse today, though it nearly all fell apart on the dismount, he just got it done with some crazy body form.
12.800 today.
Malone has some of the typical hip position things, some feet and amplitude on PH. No problems. Down 6 tenths on the first day. Maybe a little more than typical.
Burkhart has a hesitation getting up to handstand after his initial scissors but the flare work is all smooth, rushes to get his dismount done and does.
Moldauer goes 13 on HB.
Rotation 2
Loos – SR – maltese, hit, rises to planche – hits inverted cross – straddle sit lower to maltese – good planche position – pretty secure handstands – double double tuck, hop back. Should be happy with that one. 14.207
No issues today for Hong on pommel horse.
Fred Richard fell on layout tkatchev.
Colt Walker goes 14.200 on rings.
Malone – SR – good flat matlese work – planche, low legs in that position – straddle sit to planche – larger bounce back on double double.
13.250 for Hong on horse.
Moldauer – FX – randi hit – front 2/1 to front full, stuck – double arabian 1/2 out, stuck – nice flare work – 2/1, good stick – 2.5 to front lay, small hop – 3/1, holds the stick, ever so slightly under. Much better than day 1.
Malone goes 14.200 on rings.
Whittenburg’s score has been adjusted way down on rings. 6.0 D score instead of 6.6.
9.0 E score for Moldauer and a 14.7 on floor. That helps a lot.
Burkhart with a medium hop back on double double rings dismount.
Whittenburg – VT 1 – struggles landing the Ri Se Gwang today, does but a huge lunge out of the area and multiple steps. 14.15
Whittenburg – VT 2 – Kas 1.5 – good, hop forward. 14.350
Whittenburg still got 15.930 with bonus for that first vault. But 14.150 without.
Hong’s PH has been raised 2 tenths to 13.450.
Rotation 3
Ricahrd – FX – 2.5 double tuck, stuck excellent – front full to double front, a little deep, hop, not large – double double, hop back – 2/1, stuck – 2.5 to front layout, hop forward – 3/1, larger lunge back
Diab nearly hung onto the stick on his DLO 1/1 rings dismount, ultimately took a hop.
Colt Walker hit his handspring randi, though his chest was a little down in a way that looked fairly ouchie.
Malone with a solid Kas 1.5, medium hop forward, good height
Cormier ditches the 4/1 today on floor. Good landings on what he did.
Hong lands a double double layout rings dismount. Hop back.
Moldauer was going through perfectly on pommel horse until the dismount attempt, can’t get up to handstand, tries to do something, and ultimately flops off.
Looks like they’re going to say that was a dismount and he will not go back up and finish.
Just 13.255 for Moldauer on horse, with bonus.
Whittenburg – PB – healy, hit – peach, peach 1/2, some legs in diam – front straddle to arms – double front 1/2 out, high, hop back.
Lasic-Ellis – VT – really nice landing on his handspring double front
Loos – VT – struggles on his randi today, deep landing, chest down, hop forward
Wiskus sticks double double rings dismount. 13.950
Halfway done, it’s Malone, Whittenburg, Hong, Richard, Walker, then Moldauer.
Hong – VT 1 – another strong Ri Se Gwang, step back.
Nedoroscik clips his leg on a pommel on a pommels Russian and has another large leg break that he works through – so it’s a hit routine but not his best.
Hong got 15.050 without bonus on his first vault, but his luck runs out with his second vault with a 14.200.
Phillips 15.300 on PBars without bonus, was going at the same time as Hong and Nedoroscik, which was not super helpful.
Sun has trouble on a Makuts, has to muscle up out of it.
Still a 14.2 without bonus for Nedoroscik, but not what he wanted.
Good stick on double double rings dismount for Moldauer with an arm swim.
Nice Bhavsar from Waler on Pbars – tippelt, good height – healy – stutz, maybe a little short, double front dismount, hop forward.
Wiskus went 14.250 on his Kas 1.5
Whittenburg – HB – tak 1/1, hit, late – tak 1/2 – layout tkatchev – insane stalder rybalko – front stalder – yam, some piking – DLO 2/1, landed, hop forward. 13.100
14.7 without bonus for Walker on PBars. 13.8 non bonus for Moldauer on rings.
Malone on Pbars somehow manages to get his diam 1/2 without going over on one rail, some sort of magic – ends up with hop forward on doubel front.
Nelson hits his triple back on floor, just a bounce back.14.050 without bonus.
Loos – PB – tcuk 1/2 to arms, good – healy – diam, good vertical, arm placement – stutz, comfortable – double front, little movement.
After 4:
1) Malone, 2) Hong, 3) Whittenburg, 4) Richards, 5) Walker, 6) Moldauer, 7) Wiskus
With Malone running away with the AA and Hong currently in first on FX and VT, looks like they’ll clinch their worlds spots today barring some sort of disaster that drops Hong out of 2nd.
Walker – HB – tak 1/1, late – tak 1/2, pretty good – Kolman, hit – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – yam, some piking, the usual – DLO 2/1, forward landing, hop. 13.800, good score for him.
Moldauer with a solid Kas 1.5 – hop to the side.
Malone – HB – Cassina, nice and high – Kolman, solid – layout tkatchev to tkatchev to piked tkatchev, strong – tak 1/1, goes over the wrong way – tak 1/2 – legs on hop full – DLO 2/1, bounce back. So a major error in there.
Artlip cringing on his rings dismount, looking very ouchie.
Malone just 13.850 on HB without the bonus. Which still makes him the best high bar worker in the field.
Wiskus – PB – peach 1/2 – peach – tuck 1/2 to arms is solid – healy, smooth – diam, good vertical position – front straddle to arms – bhavsar, strong – tippelt, very slight hesitation – double front, hop. A good one.
Lasic-Ellis goes crazy on a tak full and all but falls against the bar.
Whittenburg – FX – front 2/1 to double front, large lunge forward – DLO 2/1, nice landing – front full to double front pike, small hop – 2.5 to front layout, tucks it around – double double tuck, a ltitle forward, hop – FTDT, hop. A hit today, largest landing error on first pass but no disasters.
14.9 without bonus. 15.695 with bonus.
Loos – HB – yam – tkatchev to piked tkatchev, hit – tak 1/1 quite late and some legs – tak 1/2 is solid – triple back is landed, hop.
Hong – PB – peach – bhavsar, nice swing – tippelt, some pause up to handstand – hits makuts – diam, right on – stutz, secure – double front 1/2 out, holds the landing well. Continues having a great day.
Good double double tuck rings dismount for Richard, nice stick.
Hong 14.850 without bonus. Richard goes 13.450 on rings.
Rotation 6
Malone’s lead over Hong has shrunk (Hong is ahead on the non-bonus day 2 scores but still has to do high bar), but Malone stays pretty comfortably ahead. Whittenburg is 3rd, then Richard, Walker, and Wiskus moving ahead of Moldauer for 6th.
Malone – FX – front full to double front pike, small hop – 2.5 to double front, a little deep, holds onto it – double double tuck, small movement – front 2/1 to front lay, tucks it around some – 2/1, forward, little hop – 3/1, hop. Solid, not his best, typical of today.
Moldauer through PBars with a good hit today, which could help him move up a spot, or 2 if things fall right.
Whittenburg through a solid pommel horse set for him. Great day overall.
Malone 14.750 FX without bonus. Moldauer 14.70 on PBars without bonus.
86.050 today for Malone without bonus, which is down 7 tenths on day 1.
13.000 for Whittenburg on horse, which is like 50. He’ll go 83.7 today without bonus, big improvement. Moldauer 83.750 without bonus, up 0.550 on day 1.
Wiskus – HB – inabr – Kolman, caught, some legs – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – zou li min – tak 1/1, not bad – tak 1/2, aslso a little late – DLO 2/1, somewhat deep, lunge forward. 13.450
83 without bonus today, won’t pass Moldauer on the overall standings.
Hong will need an 11.4 on high bar to finish 2nd.
Hong – HB – tak 1/2, good – catches Kolman, elobws on swing though – Kovacs, another struggle swinging out of it with lots of elbows but did – pike tkatchev – finishes double double layout, hands down. Well, it’s going to be closer than he wanted it to be.
Richard got 14.000 on vault, which is enough to put him into 3rd for the moment (until Hong’s score comes in)
Cormier is limping after completing his vault today, but he did not die.
Colt Walker will finish just behind Moldauer in the final AA standings.
Skirkey had big trouble on PH today for an 11.
Hong didn’t get it! 11.050 is his HB score which means he will finish 3rd.
Whittenburg will get the 2nd automatic spot to worlds with Malone by virtue of his first place rings and second place vault.
FINAL:
1) Malone – 176.590
2) Whittenburg – 171.571
3) Hong – 171.210
4) Richard – 169.166
5) Moldauer – 169.139
6) Walker – 169.049
7) Wiskus – 167.429
2022 US Nationals – Men’s Day 1 Live Blog
I’m here in the arena for the first day of men’s competition, where we will see who the bonus system has given an 80.96 million in the quest for a national title.
If you’re looking for me, I’m directly under the rings. I have been placed right next to rings and pommel horse, obviously in some sort of cosmic prank.
We’re introducing the USAG rebrand, where the logo is now a different shape than it used to be, representing that everything is fixed.
Intros now. Because like 1.5 people train at the OTC now, the top men are more dispersed into different rotation groups than they usually are.
The meet DJ is stationed right below the flag, so during the anthem, it looked like everyone turned and saluted the DJ. As it should be.
Brandon Wynn is explaining addition to us.
Rotation 1
Ah Chow nearly sits a front double pike on floor but pulls it out. Ends up falling on dismount.
Whittenburg – PB – healy, good – peach to peach half, a little position but fine – diam, slightly late it looked from my angle – front straddle – double front 1/2 out, small hop. Good.
Hit for Malone on rings.
Hong – VT 1 – successfully lands his Ri Se Gwang, chest pretty far down with a hop to the side, but it’s hit. 16.630. You know, like you get.
Hong – VT 2 – Kas 2.5 is strong, by that I mean hit, lunge to the side and out of the area. Some legs.
Burkhart clipped the rings with his foot on his dismount but it didn’t seem to affect the skill.
Wiskus hits his Kas 1.5 on vault with a step back.
I have basically no view of pommel horse because it’s behind the rings athletes, which is my definitely real excuse for not live blogging it and there’s no other reason.
Dallas Hale with a good stick on a Kas 1.5
Loos with a good rise from Maltese to planche on rings. Plance positions look very solid – good stick on double double dismount. Strong routine.
Moldauer 14.789 on horse, for what it’s worth.
Richard – HB – Cassina, hit, caught a little close, Kolman, has more than enough time – layout tkatchev – tkatchev to piked tkatchev, a bit close on the last one – rybalko – tak full gets crazy in body position but pulls it out – take 1/2 – nearly collapses in hop full, lots of elbow form – DLO 1/1, hop.
Hit double double tuck rings dismount for Young. Hop back
Walker – Rings – good planche work to start – vertical handstands Yamawaki jonasson to L sit, comfortable – double double tuck, sticks it with an arm wave. Crisp routine
Karnes hits a Kolamn on HB – layout tkatchev to tkatchev – tak – stalder – DLO 1/1, some piking large lunge forward
Lasic-Ellis has a big lunge back on his rings dismount.
Christopolous with hands down in his final pass on floor.
A couple stuck passes from Simmons on floor, including a nice DLO – finishes with a 2.5, some legs, hop to the side.
And that ends the first rotation. Asher Hong’s vault number puts him in first. There was no bonus applied to his second vault score.
Moldauer has the top non-vault score with his 14.789 on horse, featuring .489 in bonus.
Rotation 2
Cormier – FX – goes for the 4/1 first pass, a little under rotated but hit – 2.5 to double front, stuck landing – double double tucked, hit, hop back – loses some leg position on fare work – 2/1, stuck – 2.5 to a struggle, looks like he tucked a layout to get it to his feet – 3/1 final pass, lunge forward
Loos – VT – nearly sticks his handspring randi, ends up with a little hop forward
Hong – PB – peach, pause before bhavssar, solid – tippelt, smooth hs – makuts, works through it – healy, looked like a little muscle u – hits diam and stutz – double front 1/2 dismount, lands a bit in a ball position but hits it
Drake – JB – hits Yamawaki – Kovacs, somewhat close but swings through it – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – blind to front stalder
Walker – VT – a bit more ragged in his randi than Loos but also hit, lunge back –
Drake finishes with a pretty smooth DLO 1/1, floaty, a bit of pike, hop.
Richard – FX – 2.5 double tuck, nice, small hop – front full to double front, very deep, lunges forward – some air flare work for you – double double tuck, small shuffle back – 2/1, forward, step – 2.5 to front layout, clean layout position – 3/1 dismount, step to the side.
Wiskus hits his double front PB dismount. He goes 15.149, which will put him in 5th place for now.
Bischoff can’t get up to handstand on his PH dismount, he’ll get back up and try again –
Watanabe is here. Feel like the FIG president shouldn’t say, “I’m looking forward to your victory in 2024” but you know. He showed up, he gave you a wave. Feel bestowed with glory.
Lasic Ellis lands deep on his handspring double front on vault, lunge back.
Phillips – VT – Y2.5, hop forward, good direction.
Artlip of Penn State giving you a butterfly for your sins.
Malone – VT – Kas 1.5 is hit, nearly able to hold onto the stick, step with an arm wave and a bit of direction.
Whittenburg – HB – tak full, late – tak 1/2 – giant full – layout tkatchev, hit – stalder ybalko, some crazy legs and late finish position – zou li min – Yam, high – DLO 2/1, stuck landing. Nice. The usual leg form things and late positions, but a really solid hit for him.
Flores finishes out the rotation on rings with a stuck double double.
Hong retains a large lead over Loos, then Walker, then Moldauer, then Wiskus. Malone in 9th, which reflects rotation order more than anything else.
Rotation 3
Hong – HB – Falls on his Kolman, can’t get his hand over – resumes with a clean Kovacs – layout tkatchev – german giants, gets out of them – double double layout, fine. 12.300
Bock sits his vault.
Wiskus – HB – somehow catches Cassina, low and legs but successful? – Kolman is more comfortable – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – tak 1/1 is very late – tak 1/2, solid – hop full – DLO 2/1, chest forward, hop.
Young holds onto his double pike PB landing
Liang falls on floor, even with fitting shorts. His drawstring is OVERT now. Like, yes buttheads, it is secure.
Walker finishes PBars with a clean stutz and a stuck double front.
14.095 for Wiskus with .895 bonus.
Lasic-Ellis large lunge forward and additional step on PBars landing double front.
I have no idea what’s happening but MyKayla keeps yelling “turkey sandwich.”
Whittenburg – FX – front 2/1 to double front, falls. Drag. Big double double lay –
Phillips – PB – diam 1/2, hit – stutz, loses some body position, arm placements – diam, good, secure – makuts work is hit well – front straddle to arms – step back on dismount. One shaky moment, otherwise very nice.
Moldauer with a hop to the side on his Kas 1.5 landing
Nedoroscik seriously eats MyKayla’s turkey sandwich on one pommel in this routine – huge leg break on a Russian travel but keeps it going for a hit.
Malone looked very crisp on PB from this angle, hop on double front.
Pretty and stuck double pike from Sun on PBs.
Landon Simpson just landed a pass fully to his side-back on floor.
Burkhart with some crazy legs in a diam but his front straddle to long swing is very nice – double pike, hop.
Walker, Hong, Moldauer, Malone, Wiskus are now the top 5.
Rotation 4
Wiskus – FX – double double, lunge back, in bounds – 2.5 to double fron is a big struggle, lunge forward OOB – front 2/1 to layout, small hop – 2/1, small hop – randi, short landing, step – does stick a strong 3/1 final pass.
Walker – HB – tak 1/1 quite late – tak 1/2, slightly crooked – Kolman is strong – one arm giant for the fans – layout tkatchev – tkatchev – Yam, high, some pike – DLO 2/1 is fairly rough, short landing, large lunge forward.
Pretty Stalder positions from Lasic Ellis – excellent stick on double double layout. Really good.
Phillips hits Cassina and Kolman on high bar – crazy tak full and now has a very strange dismount, hand must has slipped? he bailed out in the air and went to his back. He’s showing the judges his grips
Diab sticks a nice DLO on floor. 2.5 to front lay, small hop. Stuck 2/1. Finish 3/1 hop back.
Walker is still ahead of Wiskus, but we have some major players to come.
Malone – HB – zou li lin is good – Cassina, nice and high – Kolman, comfortable – layout tkatchev to tkatchev to piked tkatchev – 1/2 to tak 1/1, good finish as far as tak 1/1s go – tak 1/2, solid – full turn – DLO 2/1, small hop. Excellent work.
Whittenburg stays on pommel horse,w hich will be the win.
Looks like Moldauer fell on PBs but it was when Malone was going on HB and I didn’t see on what.
Burkhart falls on Yamawaki.
Hong – front full to double front pike, hop forward – DLO 2/1 is absolutely fab, stuck – front tuck full to double front, stuck landing but deep – wide arm handstand – 2.5 to front lay, nearly holds the stick, small hop – 3/1 dismount, a little under, hop forward. 14.726
15.716 for Malone on high bar like you get. 1.116 in bonus.
Loos – HB – Yamawaki, hit – tkatchev to tkatchev piked, good – somehow works out tak full, lots of legs and crooked but he somehow ended up going the right direction – “WHAT THE HECK” direct quote from the gymnasts watching – and then he goes on to fall on dismount.
Malone moves into first, followed by Hong, Walker, Moldauer, and Wiskus.
Walker hit first pass – with a hop forward on 2.5 to double front – just a front lay front full third pass – 2/1 is stuck – 3/1, a little short, hop. 14.100
Fall on vault from Cormier. He’s being helped off by training staff but smiling, and now walking under his own power, so that seems encouraging.
Whittenburg has one handstand hesitation on rings but otherwise very good of course, double double layout dismount, hop back.
Malone – FX – front full to double front pike, stuck – 2.5 to double front tuck, deep, lunge forward – double double tuck, hop back – front 2/1 to layout, hop – 2/1, little hop – 3/1, bounce back. 14.616 with .366 bonus.
Moldauer – HB – tak 1/1 – tak 1/2 pretty late – Kolman is hit, legs – rybalko – DLO 1/1, pretty open, stuck landing.
Fred Richard is wearing the OOFOS on the floor. Someone knows who Business Daddy is.
Loos had a chest down stagger back in his first pass on floor but was otherwise solid –
Hong with a fall on pommel horse. 12.200
Richard with a Kas 1.5 vault, small hop.
Bock lands a double double layout HB dismount, some knees, lugne froward. He had some issues swining out of a Kovacs earlier.
Wiskus with a pretty solid horse routine.
Now it’s Malone, Walker, Hong, Moldauer, Wiskus – Walker taking second over Hong now after Hong’s pommel horse.
Rotation 6
Whittenburg – VT 1 – lands his Ri se gwang – hop to the side. Strong. 16.380
Whittenburg – VT 2 – Kas 1.5 second vault – a little under, hop, some legs but fine.
Diab – Rings – up to planche, some position hesitation, hip angle and lower legs – roll to maltese – front pikes to maltese – straight planche position, lower to cross – good final hs – DLO 1/1, pikes it down a little, hop back.
Watched the judges in action there just taking that to pieces.
Moldauer – punch rnadi, little hop – front 2/1 to front 1/1, holds the stick – double front 1/2 out, very solid – good flare work – 2/1, bounce back – back 2.5 to just a front pike, over with a lunge forward – 3/1, a bit crunched over, hop.
13.750 for him on floor, so he will lose to Donnell in the all-around on the bonus system rankings.
Looks like it was a scoring error on Diab’s rings routine and he did get 15.245. His whole fan section was next to me going full Sanne to see if they could figure out what happened to his D score when it was originally posted as 4.2.
14.450 for Hong on rings.
Wiskus – good maltese position, a bit more hesitation in the next one – yamawaki jonasson to l sit is comfortable – some hs arching – gaining some swing in the rings there – double double tuck, some chest, step forward. 13.900
That will put Wiskus ahead of Moldauer but behind Whittenburg.
Colt Walker is off early on his horse routine. Resumes and has a second fall in Russian travel.
So, no surprise here that Brody Malone is in first, his score with the crazy bonus is 88.942. Hong is second, which is a very strong result for him. The big surprise right now is Whittenburg in 3rd with a fall on floor, even if we do have to parse the bonus, ahead of Moldauer and Wiskus.
Ouchers. Walker at 9.600 on horse which drops him all the way to 10th.