Nikita Nagornyy 3/1 Tuck || Memorial Blume 2016

It's been a while since we've seen the 3/1 tuck being performed on floor. Cool.

Rio 2016 Olympic MAG/WAG Event Finals & Final Thoughts PART 2

Uneven Bars Results
1. Aliya Mustafina 15.900
2. Madison Kocian 15.833
3. Sophie Scheder 15.566

Aliya Mustafina is the Queen of uneven bars. She is the 2x Olympic champion on this event. I am really happy she won! Madison Kocian in 2nd and I think this was her best routine. And Sophie Scheder! Wow I forgot that she was in this finals. I have always knew about her and even blogged about how much I liked her routines. I wasn't expecting her to medal at the Olympics. This is a great win for her.

MAG Vault Results
1. Ri Se Gwang AVG 15.691
2. Denis Abliazin AVG 15.516
3. Kenzo Shirai AVG 15.449

Man this finals was exciting to watch. Two new crazy vaults were performed. Igor Radivilov was 2nd to perform and he attempted a 3/1 front tuck! This guy is crazy gutsy. He was awarded the full 7.0 difficulty but I read he will not get it named after him since he fell. Then there was Kenzo Shirai. After his disappointing floor finals he came back with a crazy 7/2 (3.5) Yurchenko! I am happy Kenzo was able to medal individually. He also had the highest execution in this finals. Ri Se Gwang is another fearless competitor. He is truly the champion because he did two vaults that is named after himself. His vaults may not look pretty but they are crazy difficult. I'm happy he won. Then there's Abliazin who maybe could have won if he stuck his Ri vault. I think he could of but who knows. In this case it's still nice to see him medal for team Russia.

Balance Beam Results
1. Sanne Wevers 15.466
2. Laurie Hernandez 15.333
3. Simone Biles 14.733

As always this was a nerve wrecking event to watch. Simone could have won this event but she grasped the beam and almost fell from front tuck. I was so nervous. In the end she was able to win 3rd. Laurie had a chance to win after Wevers but her execution and difficulty was not quite enough and she had to settle for 2nd. Then there is Sanne Wevers! I absolutely love her beam routine. Very unique and beautiful with all the difficult turns. The judges took quite a long time for her score and when it came out I clapped in happiness. I think it was the suspense that made it all exciting. Sometimes Wevers is inconsistent but this was her year. So happy for her. In a lot of ways this was probably my favourite win of this Olympic gymnastics.

Parallel Bars Results  
1. Oleg Verniaiev 16.041
2. Danell Leyva 15.900
3. David Belyavskiy 15.783

Again I was disappointed with the Chinese guys Deng Shudi and You Hao. Deng was shaky and lost lots in execution. You Hao was doing really well up until his difficult double front 1/2 out. So close he was but it was not meant to be. It's also clear to see which style the judges like. Danell performed very well and stuck his landing. I'm happy he won after from being an alternate. Belyavskiy won 3rd. His routine is nice and its awesome how he got 3rd in such a difficult finals. Never giving up and fighting is the name of this sport. Then there's Verniaiev. He had an error issue with handstand but his routine has good difficulty and execution through out to make him win. It also didn't hurt that he was a major favourite to win this event. I'm happy he can leave with a gold medal from these games.

WAG Floor Exercise Results 
1. Simone Biles 15.966!
2. Aly Raisman 15.500
3. Amy Tinkler 14.933

This was another good finals. I really enjoyed watching Wang Yan on floor. I think she was low balled on this event. She deserved a better score. Through out this competition I have been impressed with Wang. She hit all her routines through out the games. Very impressive. Amy Tinkler was a nice surprised. How nice that Great Britain won an individual medal on the WAG side. If it wasn't Claudia Fragapane to qualify and medal it was a nice surprise to see Tinkler do it. Aly Raisman was simply amazing. I really like her on this event. This is her forte. This is her event. Her third pass sticking a DLO gah. She was not able to defend her 2012 title because Simone Biles was also amazing. Biles difficulty is out of this world! Such difficult tumbling and very energetic routine. Simone Biles won her 4th gold on this event in Rio. Wow.

High Bar Results 
1. Fabian Hambuchen 15.766
2. Danell Leyva 15.500
3. Nile Wilson 15.466  

This is always an event to look forward to. I'm disappointed that Kohei fell in qualification but there were great guys in this final. Sadly Zonderland was not able to defend his title. His friendly rival friend Fabian Hambuchen was first up and killed his routine. It was a thrilling and exciting routine. This was his last time to compete as he is retiring. What an amazing way to end his competitive gymnastics career with an Olympic gold medal! He now has all the collected medals of bronze from 2008, silver from 2012 and now Gold. That's cool. Danell Leyva was also amazing to see on bars. It's nice to see him medal again. Some people are calling him the silver prince. Nile Wilson fought and did a great job to place 3rd. Never give up because you never know what can happen. It's great that Great Britain has been winning several individual medals. That is a success for their program.

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.

   

Team Japan MAG Wins Rio 2016 Olympics

Full Results
1) Japan 274.094
2) Russia 271.453
3) China 271.122

It was a thrilling and intense competition. I am very happy Team Japan won since 2004 Athens. They have been wanting this for so long. Of course all teams dream of winning gold and Russia was close to winning. They were amazing yesterday too. They hit all their routines and did the best they have ever did. And after 16 years later they made the podium again with a new team for silver medal. In honesty I never thought Russia would have medal so it was exciting to see. China was able to win bronze. As of late they have not been doing the best but if they have not made some costly errors they could have been close or maybe won. But China has been lacking consistency and difficulty in some apparatus during this quad. It'll be interesting to see how they develop their program for the future. I'm happy China was able to medal. I'm happy about this whole finals.

Aliya Mustafina Rio 2016 QF UB

After her disappointing fall from beam it was nice to see her bars. I've always mentioned that she'll try to get a d-score of 7.0 but 6.8 is nice. It'll be a very competitive bar finals. I really like Mustafina's bar routines. I am counting on her to win bar finals. Very lovely routine. Cheering and rooting for Aliya Mustafina.

Ksenia Afanasyeva Retirement

I haven't been blogging here for awhile so I'm a bit rusty. According to Russian media the Rodionenko's has said Afanasyeva retired due to health issues. To my knowledge Afanasyeva has not said anything about her retirement yet. I wish she would say something or the media would at least have a quote from her. But for sure she will not be in Rio 2016.

Afanasyeva has been a huge part of the reason why I am a gymnastics fan. Without Afanasyeva not competing I will still find joy in watching gymnastics. I have so many reasons why I adore Afanasyeva but I don't know where to begin and explain. Sometimes you don't have to explain so much. I just know that I had a lot of fun watching Afanasyeva compete. She is definitely my favourite gymnast. And I am glad that I have gotten to know this gymnast existence. I wouldn't know what I would have been doing all these years if I have never known about Afanasyeva. But I have no regrets that I have became a huge fan of hers. I wish her all the best.

One of my favourite moment was when she debuted her Amanar at age 21! I never thought it would be possible. It was definitely one of my favourite highlight of this quad too. In a lot of ways she kept gymnastics pretty entertaining and exciting when she did this.

She's mostly known for floor and beam but she was truly an All-Around gymnast. She doesn't get much credit for her bar routines but she was pretty good on this event. I still always remember her as the first Russian gymnast to do the Van Leeuwen or toe shap 1/2 on bars. In many ways her bar routine composition started all the craze for the standard Russian bar routines we see today.

And now for the floor routine that is widely known and respected for being the best floor routine of the 2012 quad. It's not so much about the tumbling. It's about the artistry and style. There's not much to explain but many fans from this quad will understand why this floor routine was named the best floor routine of 2012. She had lots of history and so did that quad. When I saw her perform this routine for the first time I knew I would love it forever. So badass with the Kill Bill sirens. So badass.

Thank you Ksenia Afanasyeva.

Simone Biles 2016 USA National FX Day 1

Hot damn this floor routine is amazing. Biles is amazing. Even though we see her being amazing all the time it's still always feel new and refreshing. She makes gymnastics exciting to watch.

Kohei Uchimura: In his own words

Wanted to share this from FIG:

Japan MAG Rio 2016 Olympic Team

 Kohei Uchimura 

 Ryohei Kato 

 Kenzo Shirai 

 Yusuke Tanaka 

 Koji Yamamuro 

I'm very excited to see this team in Rio. It's the same team as London's 2012 Olympic but Shirai replaces Kazuhito Tanaka. This will be the first Olympics for Kenzo Shirai. I'm wishing this beautiful gymnastic team all the best. 

Fan Yilin 2016 Chinese National UB EF

Fan could really well be the Olympic gold medalists on this event in Rio. If I can recall correctly her routine is currently the highest difficulty on this event in the world. I know many Chinese have big difficulty like hers in China but I don't think I have seen any other international gymnast with a 7.0 difficulty this quad?

It is a typical Chinese routine with pirouettes but it's a beautiful routine. This style clearly works for China. There's not much to complain since almost every federation has their own unique type of style. Whether it's the whips from Russia or the wolf turns from USA. It's the twisting and pirouettes from China.

7.0 + 8.734 + 0.1internal bonus = 15.834

  

Mao Yi's 2016 Chinese National AA FX

Mao is one of my current favourite Chinese gymnast. She can twist good. Depending on how well she performs this in Rio and on the Olympic judges style preferences. She could be able to make event finals in Rio. Well I hope she does.

6.4D + 8.6E + 0.2internal bonus = 15.2

Sanne Wevers 2016 IAG Beam

That triple turn.

55th NHK Results & Videos

Uchimura easily won this competition. He scored here 93.35! The first score is from 70th All Japan combined with NHK. Tanaka did beat Kato here but with the combined total Kato won in 2nd. Uchimura and Kato are officially locks for the Olympics. The full team will be announced at the 70th event final competition in June.

Full results here

1) Kohei Uchimura - 91.3 + 93.35 = 184.65
2) Ryohei Kato - 89.4 + 90.7 = 180.1
3) Yusuke Tanaka - 89.050 + 90.95 = 180.0

Here are some videos that most likely won't be deleted (click here).

And here is the youtube upload by labflapper  of Uchimura and Kato:

Simone Biles Pacific Rim 2016 || New Floor Routine

She is amazing. After watching this routine several times I can say I really like this routine. There does seem to be some parts where she does not follow the music rhythm but she still sells the routine with excitement and energy. She should no doubt be the gold medalist in Rio. 16.050 was well deserved!

Ksenia Afanasyeva Russian Championships 2016 New Floor Routine

This was from event finals where she tied with Angelina Melnikova for 14.567.

What can I say? Well for starters my judgement will be clouded since I'm an Afanasyeva fan. I can say I really like the music even if the folky parts are not my favourite. I especially like the beginning parts with the beat boxing sounds. I do feel a bit tired of her routines having the same dance through passages. It's become predictable where she will dance. In pictures she looks gorgeous with her movements but here she does seem to be doing less dancing. But still, there seems to be something professional about how Afan moves when she is fully committed to her routines. Here she was not fully well prepared for this competition. It makes me wonder why she even competed.

From what I hear she will compete at Europeans. This routine can improve more as she prepares better. For now it just seems sluggish but has time for refinements. It reminded me of her 2015 routine where I was not so sure but when she performed in Glasgow FX EF I actually liked her routine. We'll see how this new routine unfolds.

  

Seda Tutkhalyan Russian Championships 2016 BB QF

This routine is currently the hot topic at Russian Championships. Mostly because Tutkhalyan upgraded to a full in pike dismount and was consistent. Russia really needs a beam routine like this. Let's hope for their sake that Tutkhalyan can stay consistent and hit her routine every single time.

  

70th Japanese AA Championship Videos and Results

Click for Full Results

Thanks via from a1tumbling and gymfanjapan.

Here are the videos. Yusuke Saito did 2/1 Kovacs on HB. Link

1. Kohei Uchimura 91.300
2. Kenzo Shirai 89.700
3. Ryohei Kato 89.400

Interesting that Kenzo Shirai is moving up in the AA rankings.

Sanne Wevers 2016 Cottbus World Cup QF BB || D-Score

Very lovely and interesting routine. Some may say she overuses many same skills but this is a unique and different kind of beam routine than we are use to seeing. She is very good at turns and the first double L-turn is named after her. I think she did everything she intended to do except she can connect switch leap into Kochetkova.

Im just practicing putting her difficulty together since I want to keep understanding the code of points. Also this routine is pretty hard to understand when you don't understand the CoP well. I'm sure I did this correctly.

Wevers Turn (E)
2 Aerial Cartwheel (D) 0.1CV
Front Aerial + Wolf Jump (D) 0.1CV
L-turn + 1/1 Turn + 2/1 Turn (C+A+D) 0.2CV
Split leap+Straight Jump 1/1
Switch Leap (C)
Kochetkova (D)
Layout Gainer Dismount (D)

Dance = E, C, D, C
Acro = D, D, D, D

3.1 + 0.4CV = 3.5 + 2.5CR = 6.0 D-Score

Throwback Thursday || Kohei Uchimura's 2009 HB EF

Clean and beautiful routine. It's always nice to appreciate Kohei for routines like this. It's also nice to see how much difficulty he keeps adding each year yet still be able to have clean gymnastics. This was one of his easier routine and he didn't medal but I like his work.

Catalina Ponor's 2016 Doha World Cup BB EF

She's back in time for the Olympic year. Romania really needs her. I like her confident and aggressive style. In my opinion the difficulty is a bit lacking to contend for a gold in Rio but anything can happen in this crazy sport. Sometimes execution and consistency can outweigh a more difficult D-score. Not a fan of the switch ring leap but everything else is good. She still makes gymnastics interesting to watch. Good luck to her and team Romania.

D5.9 + E8.75 = 14.65

  

Maggie Nichols 2016 American Cup Floor Exercise

She moves stiff and kind of awkward but this was absolutely my favourite routine from American Cup. Very stylish and artistic.

Double Throwback Thursday

In the wake of Ross's and Maroney's retirement here are some of their routines that I liked. Admittedly these routines don't feel like 4 years ago to me. Time has really gone by.

Kenzo Shirai 2016 Baku World Cup FX

Today he only did the triple double tuck salto. Though it's still really hard to do. I'm guessing his namesake skill the triple double layout will be a rare skill for him in competition now. I feel he will play it safe for the Olympics. His difficulty is still high without it.

His score 7.5 + 8.65 = 16.15

Flavia Saraiva 2016 Baku Cup - BB QF

This is only from qualification but this routine was good. Saraiva was almost credited all her connections. With Rio coming up close this is a beam routine to watch. She has the potential to win gold in her home country on this event.

Flashback Friday - Romania's 2004 TF FX Rotation

This is my favourite Olympic floor exercise rotation for the team gold.

Happy 21st Birthday Viktoria Komova

After all these years she is still one of my favourite gymnast.

I truly think Komova should have only won UB gold at 2015 worlds. Such a beautiful routine.

Also it's a routine like this that makes Komova a special gymnast.

 

You Hao & Fan Yilin Documentary

 Saw this link from tumblr http://m.cctv.com/dc/v/index.shtml?guid=9f5975e589cb4cce84a03c7ff6782c7a&code=860010-1145020500

It's a documentary on You Hao and Fan Yilin. There are English subtitles. They were the only Chinese gymnasts to win gold in 2015 world championships. I found this documentary good for the You Hao part. There's not many fans and news about China's MAG. It's good to get to know things about their team. And it's especially good that I got to know more things about You Hao. It's something worth watching since this time of the season is slow gymnastic news.

Just Because...

An inspirational Gabby Douglas video edit. I hope she makes it to Rio 2016.

Happy New Year 2016

Happy New Year to all my readers. Best of luck for 2016!

I'm not sure if anyone still reads my little blog but thank you. I don't know what will become of my blog but I hope to still update it once in a while. May you all succeed in 2016!