Many of the floor exercise routines at the most recent World Championships were like a breath of fresh air, thanks to the updated Code of Points. In 2009, the number of required skills was reduced from 10 to 8. As such, gymnasts had more time during the 90-second routine to focus on dance elements instead of just trying to pack in as much difficulty as possible.
A case in point: the floor exercise of South Korean gymnast Park Eun Kyung. This routine comes off as a bunch of tumbling skills set to music, shockingly devoid of any meaningful artistry. Even the little motions between tumbling passes show a surprising lack of any sort of interesting movement. But who can blame Park? She simply wanted to achieve as high a score as possible within the confines of the Code of Points.
Park Eun Kyung (KOR), 2008 Swiss Cup
Brazilian Jade Barbosa’s Olympic floor routine also received a lot of criticism for its lack of artistry. Barbosa moves from one tumbling skill to another, and one leap combination to another. She does throw in a few little dance moves in between, though.
Jade Barbosa (BRA), 2007 Pan American Games
Under the revised 2009 Code of Points, gymnasts performed 8 skills and had more time to focus on the entire package. One of my favourite routines of the past decade is Lauren Mitchell’s floor exercise from the 2009 World Championships. The routine makes the most of Mitchell’s best qualities. She may not be the most naturally graceful, but her musical sense and and unique style set her apart from the rest. I wish she had won the gold medal with this routine instead of the silver.
Lauren Mitchell (AUS), 2009 World Championships
It’s been a long time coming to see such a graceful Romanian gymnast, and Ana Porgras’s performances at her first World Championships bode well for her future.
Ana Porgras (ROM), 2009 World Championships
Heading into 2010, I look forward to seeing what the new wave of senior gymnasts has to offer. Judging by the most recent World Championships, I think we can expect to see some fantastic floor finals!
In October, I had the opportunity to attend the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships, held at the beautiful O2 Arena in London, England. I attended four sessions: women’s qualifications, women’s all-around, and both days of event finals. Gymbit has asked me to share some of my observations from the stands….
Fashion
Over the course of the competition, several competitors’ choice of attire was noteworthy. Ariella Käslin wore a variety of butterfly-themed leotards, while Tina Erceg caught everyone’s attention in a black leotard complete with a purple tie and white collar and cuffs. Sleeveless leotards were popular, but in my opinion, they make the gymnasts look less polished, although they do highlight the gymnasts’ toned arms and athletic builds. The abundance of blinding sparkles on many gymnasts’ leotards made me wonder why flash photography was forbidden, but I liked the variety of bright colours worn. One final fashion statement was made by Ana Porgras, who donned black-and-white striped socks pulled up to her knees to keep warm between rotations.
Ariella Käslin (SUI)
TIna Erceg (CRO)
Ana Porgras (ROM) and her stripy socks
Successful Returns
Three female gymnasts made remarkable returns to competition. Elsa Garcia (winner of the Longines Award for Elegance) and Veronica Wagner, both of whom missed out on competing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, qualified to AA finals and looked happy and fit. Both crowd favourites, I am sure their gymnastics careers are far from over as they look better than ever. Still a relative newcomer to international competition, first-year senior Youna Dufournet looked much improved from her form earlier this year. She appeared happy and confident, and was much better able to execute her difficult routines. She placed an outstanding 5th AA and looked genuinely thrilled with her surprise bronze medal on vault.
Elsa Garcia (MEX)
Veronica Wagner (SWE)
Youna Dufournet (FRA)
Jordan Jovtchev
As most of the gymnasts in the competition were born in the late 1980s or early 1990s, it was quite funny to see Jordan Jovtchev’s 1973 birth date appear on the screen! He had already competed in his first of five Olympic Games (Barcelona 1992) before many of the female competitors were even born!
Jordan Jovtchev (BUL)
Delegation Support
The large Japanese contingent was out in full force for all sessions of the competition, while the French delegation was vocal and enthusiastic in its support for the French gymnasts.
Audience
The competition had a fantastic turnout and the British crowd was encouraging to the gymnasts and excited to be hosting such a high-level event. Though there was seating set aside at one end of the arena for delegations, many gymnasts (most wearing their team jackets or even competition leotards) were seen scattered around the arena watching other sessions and cheering on their teammates.
Finalists
It is interesting to note that all eight French gymnasts in attendance (Samir Ait Said, Thomas Bouhail, Benoît Caranobe, Yann Cucherat, Youna Dufournet, Pauline Morel, Danny Pinheiro-Rodrigues, and Cyril Tommasone) all qualified for either the all-around or at least one event final. All four American women (Rebecca Bross, Ivana Hong, Bridget Sloan, and Kayla Williams) left London with an unforgettable souvenir: a World Championships medal.
Bross’s Forgotten Bronze
During the women’s uneven bar award ceremony, Rebecca Bross lined up with the other medallists but was left standing on the floor when the announcer failed to call her up as the joint bronze medallist (tied with Ana Porgras). As the other three medallists stood on the podium, about to receive their medals, a member of the U.S. delegation rushed over and frantically flapped her arms at the announcers to alert them of the oversight. Finally, Rebecca was called up to the podium to stand next to Ana, and the crowd rewarded her patience with loud applause.
Uneven Bars Medallists: Rebecca Bross (USA), Ana Porgras (ROM), He Kexin (CHN), Koko Tsurumi (JPN)
Sports Acrobatics
Sports Acro is quite a popular sport in Britain, and several of its top pairs and trios gave demonstrations prior to the medal ceremonies. They wowed the crowd with their strength and flexibility, and no doubt gained more fans in the process.
O2 Arena
The arena is part of a beautiful complex situated right on the Thames in eastern London. There are several restaurants, movie theatres, and an exhibition hall located within the complex, and the large lobby featured an area for children to try out some basic gymnastics equipment. Overall, this was a fantastic venue for the World Championships and will be perfect for hosting events of the 2012 Olympic Games as well.
Outside the O2 Arena
Inside the O2 Arena
Medallists
13 different women claimed the 16 medals awarded (Rebecca Bross, Lauren Mitchell, and Koko Tsurumi each won two), while 19 different men won the 21 medals awarded (Marian Dragulescu and Zou Kai were the only men to win two medals).
So there we have it…another world championship in the record books. I had a brilliant time and made many wonderful memories. See you in Rotterdam for the 2010 World Gymnastics Championships!!
Elsa Garcia (MEX) & Ariella Käslin (SUI) share a chuckle
The 2009 World Championships in London have drawn to a close, and I must say I was extremely impressed with the quality of the gymnastics in this post-Olympic rebuilding year. This competition offered the first glimpse into the next Olympiad, which will culminate with the 2012 Olympic Games in the same O2 Arena.
Kohei Uchimura (JPN) was the undisputed king of the all-around, winning by a 2.575 margin. His form is simply impeccable, especially on the twisting skills. Even in slow-motion, you can see that his ankles stay together perfectly during this Yurchenko 2.5-twist. The direction was superb as well, as he landed square on the line. Note how he spots the ground while heading into the last half-twist.
Marian Dragulescu (ROM) returned from a brief retirement to claim the titles on his best events, floor and vault.
China showed off its enormous depth with three newcomers who won gold: Zhang Hongtao on Pommel Horse (an unbelievable 9.6 Execution score!), Yan Mingyong on Rings, and Wang Guanyin on Parallel Bars.
Here’s Zhang’s routine:
Yan demonstrated unique ways of getting into the strength skills, and he continued to rack up the start value thanks to his jam-packed routine and his full-twisting double layout dismount.
Wang threw every trick in the book on his way to the gold medal:
Zou Kai (CHN) won high bar thanks to his 7.5 Difficulty score. This routine is from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where he also won gold.
American Bridget Sloan’s high level of difficulty and her consistent performances were the keys to her all-around success. In this routine from the preliminary round, highlights include the toe-on piked Tkatchev and the full-twisting double layout dismount.
Kayla Williams (USA) rose to the highest level of the sport in meteoric fashion as she won the vault title.
Chinese He Kexin, who has grown since the Olympics, won the uneven bars title by a massive 1.125 margin. Her D Score alone was 0.8 higher than the nearest competitor.
Deng Linlin (CHN) earned her country’s sixth gold medal of the Championships with this consistent routine.
Beth Tweddle gave the hometown crowd something to cheer about with her victory on the floor exercise. It’s a pity she didn’t qualify to the uneven bars final, as she would have provided the only real challenge to He Kexin’s dominance. While her choreography was the least inspiring of all the finalists, her tumbling and landings were outstanding.
Honourable Mentions:
Daniel Keatings (GBR), for rallying to the silver medal in the all-around and making history for his country, and for earning the Longines Prize for Elegance.
Lauren Mitchell (AUS), for earning silver medals on both balance beam and floor exercise.
Koko Tsurumi (JPN), for proving that it’s not just the Japanese men who win medals! Her all-around bronze was the country’s first for a female since 1966.
Ana Porgras (ROM), for demonstrating a level of artistry not often seen from her country since the 1980s. How unusual to see a Romanian whose weakest event is vault and who swings a mean bar set!
Elsa Garcia (MEX), for being a very deserving winner of the Longines Prize for Elegance and for having a great sense of humour when she crashed her vault in a very ungainly position!
Youna Dufournet (FRA), for overcoming past inconsistencies and having a fantastic World Championships!
Timothy McNeill (USA), for overcoming so many injuries to place 7th overall in his first World Championships.
The BBC (GBR), for showing so many routines and discussing the technical aspects of the sport. I really appreciate how the commentators pointed out the differences in technique in the double-twisting Yurchenko vaults of Yekaterina Kurbatova (RUS) and Kayla Williams. It was also interesting to hear why the judges were deliberating so long over Ariella Käslin’s vault; in the end they gave this Swiss gymnast full credit for the layout position, even though she piked after blocking off the table to gain extra rotation.
No report on the 2009 World Championships would be complete without a tribute to Yuri Ryazanov, who achieved the greatest result of his career in London.
“The final started badly,” he said of Oct. 15’s all-around competition. “After my pommel horse routine the judges deliberated for a long time [because of a mistake on my dismount]. As a result, it reduced my A-score by 0.9. I was 21st of the 24 finalists. I was ashamed almost to tears. But I calmed down and I realized that I had nothing to lose. I said to myself, ‘Yuri, don’t give up, this is not your last worlds, try to look dignified.’ After that I decided to add more difficulty on the remaining five events. And although I had another mistake [on high bar], it was enough to win a medal in the end.” (International GYMNAST Magazine Online)
In a tragic turn of events, Yuri Ryazanov passed away five days later after a car accident in his native Russia. RIP.
(Photo from International GYMNAST Magazine Online)
Over the years, North Korea has produced many fantastic gymnasts. Kim Gwang Suk scored a Perfect 10 on the uneven bars on her way to the gold medal at the 1991 World Championships. This was the last Perfect 10 the world will ever see at a World Championships due to the current open-ended Code of Points.
The highlight of Kim’s routine was the Tkatchev-Counter Kim combination at 0:11 and the lightning-fast 1.5 pirouette to Jaeger at 0:24.
Kim Gwang Suk, Uneven Bars, 1991 World Championships
Olympic champion Pae Gil Su competed in the same era, dominating the field on the pommel horse. Pae exhibited a smooth swing and difficult one-pommel work late in the routine. It was very touching to see the South Koreans waving flags as he dismounted the apparatus.
Pae Gil Su, Pommel Horse, 1992 Olympic Games
Pae was accomplished on high bar as well. Here he performs a Def at 0:19, a Gaylord at 0:26, a full-twisting layout Jaeger at 0:34, and the whole spectacle is topped off with a really cool dismount (it’s a surprise!).
Pae Gil Su, High Bar, 1991 Universiade
More recently, North Korean gymnasts have surprised the world with great success on vault and uneven bars. At the 2003 World Championships and the 2004 Olympic Games, Kang Yun Mi (vault) and Pyon Kwang Sun (uneven bars) scored well in their respective event finals. Kang returned home from the 2003 Worlds with the silver medal.
Kang Yun Mi, Vault, 2003 World Championships
The following year, Ri Jong Song managed to pack many difficult skills into the floor routine he prepared for the Athens Olympics. He started with a triple-twisting double back, ended with a double-twisting double layout, and added some interesting choreography in between (particularly at 0:30). It’s a pity he just missed the event final!
Ri Jong Song, Floor Exercise, 2004 Olympic Games
Current competitors include Hong Su Jong and her younger sister Hong Un Jong, and male teammates Ri Se Gwang and Ri Jong Song. All four qualified to event finals at the 2007 World Championships, with Hong Su Jong earning the silver medal on vault and Ri Se Gwang winning bronze on the same event. Though the men were absent from Beijing, Hong Un Jong represented her country well by out-vaulting the likes of Oksana Chusovitina, Cheng Fei and Alicia Sacramone for the Olympic gold medal.
Hong Un Jong, Vault, 2008 Olympic Games
And now for the vault that inspired this blog! Ri Se Gwang’s name set message boards abuzz after his Kasamatsu full-in back-out was captured on film. This skill was awarded a massive 7.2 A score, giving him a great chance at the gold medal at the upcoming World Championships, even with a landing similar to this one.
In the 1990s, Dominique Dawes captured the attention of gymnastics fans around the world with many fantastic skills: a Hindorff on bars, three consecutive layouts on beam, two flip-flops to a full-in dismount, and back-to-back tumbling on floor. Though her lengthy competitive career spanned three Olympic Games and five World Championships, Dominique’s most successful competition was undoubtedly the 1994 U.S. Championships where she won all five available gold medals (Shannon Miller won all five silver medals, leaving only the bronze medals for all the other gymnasts!). Coached by Kelli Hill in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Dominique was the first Hill’s Angel to achieve national prominence.
“Awesome Dawesome” was on target to win all-around medals at the 1993 and 1994 World Championships and at the 1996 Olympic Games, but untimely fluke falls from this consistent gymnast prevented her from reaching the top of the record books. In 1996 Dominique was part of the Magnificent Seven that claimed gold in the team event in Atlanta.
In the years that followed, Dominique toured around the States with her Olympic teammates and then played the role of Patty Simcox in the Broadway version of Grease. The gym was calling, however, and Dominique regained top form in time for the 1998 Goodwill Games. She retired for good after helping her team to a fourth place finish at the 2000 Olympic Games.
Dominique’s most recent accomplishment was her induction into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, alongside other legends in the sport: the late Viktor Chukarin, Octavian Bellu, Elvira Saadi and Vitaly Scherbo. These days, Dominique puts her talents to use as a motivational speaker encouraging young people to live healthy and active lives. Organizations Dominique has worked with include the Girl Scouts, YMCA and YWCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) (International GYMNAST, July/August 2009).
Check out Dominique’s routines from each of the four events:
