Rio 2016 Olympic MAG/WAG Event Finals & Final Thoughts PART 1

Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic games has come to an end. It felt like it went by quickly. There were lots of happiness and disappointments. But for the most part I am satisfy with how everything went.

Team China came out with no individual medals but two team bronze medals for MAG/WAG is something to be proud of. Their program is still one of the top level powerhouses. China would have liked to win individual medals but most of them did not performed to their best abilities, especially the men. I do believe the Chinese WAG scores have been low balled through out the competition but I also believe that everyone deserved their placings. Also disappointed with Team Japan individually but they got the coveted MAG Team Gold and AA. 

I am liking that team Great Britain and Russia won many individual medals. I was not having much expectations for MAG Russia but they really proved themselves. I think this was one of the interesting and exciting things to see at the Olympics.

At the Olympic level it is the best competition to win but also as gymnastics fans we know more beyond what we see at the Olympics. We know the true beauty and work of these gymnasts. Olympic games does not necessarily define a gymnast. The Olympic games doesn't always showcase all the best gymnasts in the world. All these gymnasts are winners for competing in such a tough sport. Sometimes we don't agree about placings because we are so passionate and knowledgeable. But when the results are sealed and done there is not much we can do.

Somewhere there is a new gymnastics fan because they watched the Olympic games. In time, hopefully they realize it's not always about winning and placings. In my opinion it's also about marveling about the beautiful strong powerful skills and performances that they do. Watching your favourite win is an added bonus. Everyone is bias for whatever reasons. But we also need to find a way to feel stress free. We should try to see the beauty in everything.

MAG FX Results 
1. Max Whitlock 15.633
2. Diego Hypolito 15.533
3. Arthur Nory 15.433

The only surprise about this podium was Arthur Nory. I'm a bit confused about his name as I've always been calling him Nory. In this sport you just got to do the best and things can work out. I am happy for Nory. I am more happy for Hypolito. He had so many disappointments in past Olympics that this silver probably feels like a gold to him. His routine is full of multiple saltos which makes his routine exciting to watch. Then there's Max Whitlock. He is also a twisting machine like Kenzo. There is no surprise he won. He has scored very good on this event in the past. I am disappointed that Kenzo did not do the best he could but that's how this sport is. You just never know what is going to happen.

PH Results
1. Max Whitlock 15.966
2. Louis Smith 15.833
3. Alex Naddour 15.700

It was going to be a battle with teammates Whitlock and Smith. I thought Smith was actually going to win but Whitlock's difficulty outdid Smith's routine. I really like French man Tommasone but he had a few small errors and America's Alex Naddour was able to do his best routine to go over him. Gah I just like Tommasone elegance.

WAG VT Results     
1.Simone Biles AVG 15.966
2. Maria Paseka AVG 15.253
3. Giulia Steingruber 15.216

Well this final was intense because these women attempted some very difficult vaults. Chusovitina and Dipa Karmakar both did Produnova vaults. It's nice to see Karmakar place 4th for India. And lets talk about HONG UN JONG! She attempted the triple twisting yurchenko vault! She has guts and is badass. She fell and was not awarded TTY but it was still exciting to watch. I know safety is important but all these women were walking off being bosses. Maria Paseka does not have beautiful vaults but I am happy that she successfully medal because that was her only event she competed in Rio. When it came to Simone Biles I was rooting for her so hard because her vaults are so beautiful to watch. I'm happy she won. And Steingruber medal in 3rd is great for her and Switzerland. Her vaults are always powerful. This was a nice medal for her since later on she had a disappointing floor finals.

Still Rings Results  
1. Eleftherios Petrounias 16.000
2. Arthur Zanetti 15.766
3. Denis Abliazin 15.700

The strengths of these men are incredible. It really makes me motivated to work out. I was disappointed with the Chinese men. It really makes me miss great Chen Yibing who I still believe was robbed in 2012. Denis did a commendable job on rings he always has been a good rings worker. Zanetti was last up so he knew what he had to do for the win but his routine was not as crisp and precise as Petrounias. The lord of the Rings was rightfully Petrounias.

Rio 2016 MAG & WAG All-Around Results

MAG Full Results 
1) Kohei Uchimura 92.365
2) Oleg Verniaiev 92.266
3) Max Whitlock 90.641

I finally have time to quickly blog about this. I think I used all my excitement and energy on tumblr.

The MAG AA was exciting! I did saw it live. I had so many emotions. There were points where I gave up and accepted that there would be a new champion. But then when it came to highbar I knew Kohei was able to do it. He is world champion on highbar. He really performed enough for the win. When he perfectly stuck his dbl dbl dismount I knew it was his gold medal. He did all that he could and he really brought it at the last minute. He was not gonna lose his AA streak. Kohei is AMAZING! Winning 8 major consecutive AA titles in a row! In an interview he said this Olympic games will be his last time competing AA. I am going to miss seeing him compete AA but I am still excited to see him compete as a specialist. He is really motivated for Tokyo 2020. Kohei is a hero to many and he is my hero too.

His rivals Oleg Verniaiev and Max Whitlock definitely put pressure on Kohei. Oleg was also amazing. At times I started to accept that he would of won but it was not meant to be. His highbar has always been a weak event for him. He has a huge fan following and for the next quad he can be as dominant as Kohei has been. It'll be exciting to see if he can.



WAG Full Results 
1) Simone Biles 62.198
2) Aly Raisman 60.098
3) Aliya Mustafina 58.665

On the women's side I was only able to watch the first two rotations. I later watched the last two rotations on replay. It was no surprise that Simone Biles won gold. She was amazing. I kept saying ooh and wow when she kept sticking her floor passes. She is an amazing gymnast. She completely dominated the 2016 quad. And she can very much as well do it in the next new up coming quad. This girl is on fire! When I saw Aly and Simone get emotional after their floor routines I started to get emotional too. Usually I am not an American fan but I am slowly becoming one. They both did the best yesterday night. I am happy for them. And then there is Aliya Mustafina. Her strong bar routine and strong competitive mentality helped her to secure the 3rd place. I am happy she can win AA 3rd again at Olympics. Still rooting for a gold medal on bars for her.

   

Max Whitlock Doing Gymnastics in Paul Smith Suit

Cool :)

 

Just Because...All Kohei Uchimura 2014 World Championship Routines

Plus you get to see Yusuke Tanaka's floor routine :P.

I think the only person that can cause an upset to Uchimura is Verniaiev and possibly Whitlock. We haven't seen much of Whitlock but he'll start to compete more in the next coming months. Then there are his own teammates like Kato and Tanaka. Kato recently had a mishap at a college meet but hopefully it's nothing serious and he can resume normal training. Either than that I don't think guys like Mikulak can even make top 3. Well anything can happen but he'll have to over come other guys before even getting close to 1st.

   

Kohei Uchimura Golden In MAG AA || Nanning 2014

Full Results

1) Kohei Uchimura (JPN) 91.965
2) Max Whitlock (GBR) 90.473
3) Yusuke Tanaka (JPN) 90.449

This was a nice competition. I watched the Chinese feed. There were no doubts that Uchimura would reign again. He's won 5 world AA titles now! But I think it's best to say he won 6 major consecutive AA titles in a row. He has not lost since 2009. Not to be negative but I felt he was lowballed on some scores, just saying. I'm not surprised Whitlock came in 2nd. He did a good job. It was a good idea that they replaced him over Niles. I'm most happy for Yusuke Tanaka. He's somewhat been in the shadows of his more famous teammates but he managed to get third. I was cheering really hard for him to get 2nd. Although I knew he had tough competition from Verniaiev and Whitlock. I felt bad for inconsistent Verniaiev. He was close to making a podium finish. The hands down on rings, nervous floor and the out of bounds really cost him the difference. He could have gotten 2nd or I dare say first? Nah Kohei is the best but it'll be interesting to see how the next world championships be like. Whitlock and Verniaiev are younger but Uchimura will not back down.  

The 2013 European AA MAG/WAG Winners

Max Whitlock 2nd, David Belyavskiy 1st, Oleg Verniaiev 3rd

Larisa Iordache 2nd, Aliya Mustafina 1st, Anastasia Grishina 3rd