Latest Gymnastics Happenings

An update on all things gymnastics ... 

• Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastic Champions

I've been so busy lately that I never did a blog about the Kellogg's Tour and meeting my amazing gymnasts :) The whole time in Minnesota was really fun! In addition to going to the show, we also went to the Mall of America -- which is seriously just FABULOUS. I'm fairly certain that I could spend an entire week inside that mall. Legit. 

I got Platinum VIP tickets so we got to attend Chalk Talk before the show, which was a Q&A with some of the gymnasts. Aly and Alicia were both there and they are seriously both so hilarious, I loved their answers for everything. They asked Aly what her favorite country was that she's ever traveled to and she said London, then corrected herself after the other gymnasts started laughing. It was so cute. We had front row, right in front of beam, and I've known from attending other gymnastic meets that in gymnastics, pretty much any seat in the lower level is good. Our seats were AMAZING though. We got to see the gymnasts like walking in for their performances when they were up next and have little conversations with each other while they were waiting. It was so cute.

Aly answering questions during Chalk Talk.

Aly and Alicia! Alicia and her facial expressions, LOL.

The show itself was AWESOME. I loved all of the music they used and they did water down the routines a BIT but it was still lots of skills and also the artistic dances and stuff (especially with Nastia) were totally beautiful!!

They first did a group dance in which introductions were done for all of the cast. Each of the cast was on a different apparatus or on the floor dancing.

Nastia during introductions.

Chellsie Memmel is introduced.

After the opening number, the girls performed to Run the World (Girls) and after that the guys performed to Sexy and I Know It. I loved both the performances!

At different points during the show Jordyn, Aly, and Gabby all did modified versions of their London floor exercise routines.

Party Rockin' ;)

Becca, Jordyn, Aly, and Julie waiting to go.

Jordyn :)

Jordyn and Gabby

Okay so sorry for the absolute madness of pictures that is going to occur here, but the beam routine was hands down my favorite part of the entire show!!!! It was GORGEOUS, and I can't remember what music they performed to now, but it was perfect.

The whole show was great and I'm so glad that I decided to go. Afterwards, we attended the meet and greet and I had all the girls sign my program. We weren't allowed to take pictures with them, so Donaldo took pictures of me talking to each of them. We did get to talk to them though, so that was so fun!! McKayla was actually my favorite that I got to talk to! She was so so nice and she talked to me the longest and was asking me questions about myself. She was the first one I met and I seriously love that girl, and I wish her so much success with everything. I also got to talk to Nastia and she is just SO SWEET in person and she is so gorgeous!! Jordyn was fun, I told her that Donaldo (my husband) only wanted her autograph and no one else's and she was laughing with us about it. She also signed these gold medals that we got for getting the Platinum tickets. Then we also got to talk to Aly and with Gabby we were kind of rushed because she was the last person. But I had the most amazing time and I'm so happy that I decided to get the tickets!

• Elise Ray and Shawn Johnson autographs

At the end of the summer, a gymnastics blog and Twitter that I follow Triple Twist/@TripleTwistBlog said that they were having a contest for their one year anniversary (which was in November). To enter, you answered I believe it was 5 questions and then in November they said they were going to pick a winner and the prize was an Elise Ray autograph!! Elise Ray means SO MUCH TO ME, like I think you all know that by now. She is seriously the reason that I fell in love with gymnastics 12 years ago, one of my favorite gymnasts, and she has personally emailed me about a blog I did about her. So I entered and I was just praying that I'd win and on November 17th the girls who run the blog tweeted that I was the winner! I am so so grateful to them, it came in the mail the other day and I absolutely love it! THANK YOU AGAIN GIRLS<3

In June, I renewed my subscription to Inside Gymnastics most especially because they said with a 3 year renewal, you would get an autographed Shawn Johnson poster. This also just arrived within the last couple of weeks and I totally love it!!! I'm looking for frames for both of these autographs and I will most likely put them in my study.

• Dancing with the Stars All-Stars

I was so psyched that Shawn was invited to join the cast of DWTS-AS. Obviously she is my favorite winner of the show, considering that I don't watch the show regularly. I only watched Season 8, which is the year she was on and she and Mark Ballas won the show. 

The difference in Shawn between Season 8 and this season to me was like night and day. It made me SO PROUD to watch her this time around, I remember in Season 8 in the beginning it was all about her trying to find her place and learn how to do everything and this time around she was truly a veteran, giving some of the most stunning as well as the most beautiful performances I've ever seen! Her partner was Derek Hough, and I honestly love him just as much as I loved her with Mark. They were so adorable and both learned so much from each other, its so incredible to see. 

Jordyn, Aly, Gabby, McKayla, and Kyla performed with Shawn and Derek during the finale and I totally was dying. I didn't even know what to do. I love that they were there to help Shawn and to see them all together!!! It was the most amazing thing. I thought that they really deserved the win, but it was so amazing how even though they were runners-up they showed so much sportsmanship at the end and I'm so proud of them and know they really did deserve to win! 

I don't know where Shawn will go from here, but she is going to keep on doing amazing things, that is for sure! 

• Elizabeth Price wins the All-Around at the Stuttgart World Cup

The Stuttgart World Cup was held on Saturday, December 1. Elizabeth Price won the Individual AA with a score of 58.098. Elizabeth was an alternate on this summer's Olympic team after having a wonderful meet during Olympic Trials.

Elizabeth scored a 15.733 on Vault, 14.933 on Uneven Bars, 13.166 on Balance Beam, and 14.266 on Floor Exercise.

I was so happy to hear that she won her first international competition. I think she will definitely be one to watch in the new quad.

Friday Five V.1 : Favorite Moments of London 2012

1. The Fierce Five win Team gold.

This was hands down my favorite moment of the Olympic games. I was so so so happy for these girls, and so proud. Unlike 4 year fans, we on the Gymnternet follow these girls' careers for years and years, and we are completely emotionally invested in them. To see all of their hard work and efforts culminate in the very gold that each one of them aimed for as their goal so long ago was honestly indescribable. It was a magic moment, and definitely the best of the entire Games.

2. Aly Raisman wins Floor Exercise gold.

I've said probably since Aly debuted this Floor Exercise routine that I believed she would win gold in London on this apparatus! I'm so so excited that she had the routine of her life and was able to win it. The floor final lineup was so incredibly talented and Aly was able to outdo all of them. I'm so so happy that she was able to get it!! She is the best tumbler in the world, and now everyone knows it.

3. Aliya Mustafina in general:

UB gold, most decorated gymnast, sportsmanship.

Aliya Mustafina has always been my favorite non-US gymnast .. well since 2010 Worlds, but these Olympic games I grew to love her more than even before. She is truly an inspiration, coming back from an ACL injury a year ago to now being the most decorated gymnast in London with a gold, a silver, and two bronze medals. She performed with focus and determination and honestly was the best display of sportsmanship that I saw at the 2012 games, her adorable hugs followed by her thumbs up! She is amazing. I am so excited that she is training for Rio.

4. Jordyn Wieber's class and strength.

The way that Jordyn handled her Olympic experience was the most classy behavior I have ever seen. Yes, she was disappointed. Yes, there were tears. This did not mean that she was not happy for Aly or Gabby, this was the reaction to a life long dream not coming true. But what did she do? Come out during Team Final and nailed her routines for the team (on a stress fracture no less). She also was in the arena supporting both of her teammates during the All Around and was one of the first to hug Aly after she won the Floor exercise gold medal. Jordyn is a true champion, and if anything, this Olympics just proved that even more.

5. The camaraderie of Team USA.

Social networking is truly a beautiful thing. I love how the entire time that they were in London, the girls were together the entire time as a team, you can really tell that they are all close friends and always will be. It makes you wonder if any of the previous Olympic teams were just like this or were they not so close? It's amazing that they keep us updated on all their goings on even when they are obviously so busy. I'm so glad that this team is so close and I am certain that played a part in how they completely decimated the competition in the Team Final. 

Hope you all enjoyed this! I will try and do it on a weekly basis.

Fierce Five Tribute

16 years ago ...

The Magnificent 7 made history by winning the first Team gold medal in women's gymnastics for the USA. The night was filled with magical moments up to the very end: Kerri Strug's miracle vault landed on one leg. These women set the standard for the future of women's gymnastics in the USA. After their win, the pressure was on all teams in the future to live up to the performances that they gave in 1996.

12 years ago ...

 In Sydney, the USA suffered 2 injuries and a vault scandal that severely affected their chance for an All Around medal. 10 years later, the US was awarded their bronze medals after it was discovered that a Chinese gymnast was not of age to compete in 2000. The bronzes were stripped from the China team and given to the USA who had finished in the dreaded 4th place. No one deserved them more.

8 years ago ...

In Athens, all expectations were for gold, however Team USA would have to settle for a silver. The team scored lower than usual on the uneven bars during team final and had to take Courtney Kupets off of the beam, both which may have contributed to the second place finish. Courtney McCool also did not compete on any event in Team Final, a surprise considering she was one of the two locked spots at Olympic Trials that year.

4 years ago ...

With more injuries (to Sam Pezsek and Chellsie Memmel) hindering the USA in Beijing, the team again finished with the silver when the expectation was gold. In the Team Final, Alicia Sacramone fell off beam in the 3rd rotation, but the USA was still in gold medal position heading into FX, the final rotation. However, a fall for Sacramone and out of bounds for both Nastia and Shawn meant again that the USA would end up taking the silver medal.

2012 ...

The Fierce Five win the first team gold medal since the Mag 7 did 16 years ago, and in completely DOMINATING fashion (5 points). This team came out during Team Final and had the meet of their lives. They got an amazing lead on the vault and even when the Russians closed the gap with their phenomenal bars performances, never looked back. This post is a tribute to them and their careers.

Jordyn Wieber - Team Gold

Yes, Jordyn had a disappointing Olympics. She failed to qualify for the All-Around and did not medal during Floor finals. However, I consider her the biggest hero of Team USA during these Olympic Games. After Floor finals, word got out that Jordyn had been competing on a stress fracture in her right leg since around the time of training camp in Houston, weeks before the Games. Her coach said that she wasn't even able to do landings in practice and their reps were limited. 

This girl is amazing. She and her coach could have used this as an excuse for all of the problems they faced during London (heck, it IS a valid excuse!!), but they didn't, the Trio didn't even say one word about it during FX finals because no one knew yet, and you KNOW they would have talked all about it had they known at the time. She is so strong, and the fact that during Team Final she dug down so deep and hit everything to help her team win the gold medal just amazes me. She has so much class and her parents and family must be so proud of the young lady she is. 

Jordyn has not committed to training for Rio yet. She said she's going to heal, and then tour, then make a decision on resuming training. She has also said that she wants to go to UCLA.

Gabby Douglas - Team & AA Gold

Gabby Douglas came home from London with two of the most important gold medals you can win: the Team gold and of course, the coveted All-Around gold as well! Gabby had an amazing time in London, however, I believe that she has yet to hit her peak. She qualified for two event finals, Bars and Beam, and unfortunately had major errors during both finals. 

But Gabby definitely did her part for the team, hitting on perhaps the most critical routine for her, the balance beam. They decided to put Gabby into the 3 up, 3 count line up instead of Jordyn, and it ended up paying off. She also hit all of her other three routines the night of Team Final, putting in her own huge contribution to the win of Team USA. I'm so happy for Gabby that she was able to win the Individual All Around for her and also for her coach, Chow. 

I don't think that Gabby has committed to training for Rio, but I really hope that she does. I know that she can be even BETTER than she was in London, however, I know that she will be pulled so many different ways after returning to the States, that she may end up getting more into the media frenzy and training will be hard. 

Aly Raisman 

Team & FX Gold, Beam bronze

Aly Raisman was the most decorated USA gymnast at the London Olympics, and I was so extremely happy for her and proud of her. I know she is one of the hardest workers anywhere, so say her coaches, teammates, other coaches, media, etc. Aly was able to qualify into the All Around during the Qualifications, having amazing routines on Vault, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise and also a solid routine on her weakest event, the Uneven Bars. She also scored high enough to qualify to Beam and Floor finals.

During the Team Final, she played her part, scoring a 14.933 on Beam and a 15.3 on Floor. One of my favorite moments of the entire Olympics was her breaking down in tears before her Floor was even over, because she knew that they had won the gold. During the All Around, things were looking good for her up until the Beam. She scored better on both Vault and Bars than she did in Qualifications, and with her best two events, Beam and FX to come, it looked good for her to medal. Unfortunately, she had a few major errors during beam, including grabbing the beam, and scored very low. However, with other falls and errors on beam she was still in the hunt for a medal going into the last rotation. Again she took out her punch layout (the last element of her first pass), and that ended up costing her the bronze. She tied with Aliya Mustafina, but Mustafina won it after they dropped the lowest scoring apparatus and counted the highest 3. Luckily there were better times to come for Aly, taking the bronze on Beam after winning a tiebreaker and then, for the first time in history, taking the gold for the USA on Floor!! I was so happy for her, that was one of my major wishes for these Olympics!

Aly has said that she will continue training. I know that she knows how to train between Olympics at an older age because she has had Alicia as a training partner and I know that she will always have her as a mentor. 

Kyla Ross - Team Gold

Kyla Ross is my favorite of the Fierce Five :) Not only did she do her job for the team at these Olympic games, I strongly believe that she can have a tremendously successful quadrennium coming up and be a contender in Rio in 2016, assuming she stays healthy. 

Kyla had a great Qualifications, except for one small error on the Uneven Bars that left her as a Reserve for the Bars final. She did amazing on Beam and qualified in 6th, and would have made finals had it not been for the controversial 2 per country rule. As it was, Gabby and Aly qualified higher than her, so sadly, she did not end up making an event final. However, that takes nothing away from what she did for the team throughout the Olympics. She was the lead off gymnast for Team USA for Beam in both Qualifications and Team Final. She was rock solid, never wavering. Despite being the youngest member on the team with little to no international experience, she was the most unaffected of the bunch, never letting the crowd noise get the best of her. The queen of stuck landings had a wonderful Olympics. I was thinking, and she reminds me so much of another of my favorite gymnasts, Tasha Schwikert, in Sydney in 2000. Tasha was also the baby of the team, had no international experience, was used as the lead off athlete, performed to the best of her ability, and delivered for the team but did not make an event final.

Kyla has decided to keep her amateur status for the time being. She is going to do "a couple" dates of the Kelloggs tour, but is mainly going to resume training and school. I am so excited to see what becomes of Kyla in the next quad. I compared her to Tasha Schwikert, and after the 2000 Olympics Tasha became the best gymnast in America, winning 2 National Championships, captaining the 2003 World Championships team that won the first team gold at World's ever, and staying in the mix for Athens in 2004. Had it not been for an Achilles injury, I believe she would've made the Athens team. I hope that the exact same happens for Kyla, because she deserves the spotlight on her. She's amazing!! 

McKayla Maroney

Team Gold, Vault Silver

McKayla Maroney was involved in most likely the most shocking upset of the Olympic games in Vault finals. An injured toe prevented her from most likely competing in Floor Exercise during Qualifications. McKayla had a successful Olympics nonetheless.

In Qualifications, McKayla performed only on Vault. She scored a 15.8 and qualified into the Vault final a good 5 tenths above anyone else. During Team Final, she delivered an INCREDIBLE, perfectly stuck Amanar. Everyone believed she should have received a perfect 10 for execution, but of course she did not, scoring still a HUGE 16.233. During the Vault final, she landed out of bounds on her Amanar, but still certainly would have dominated the others and won the gold medal had she not sat down her Mustafina -- which, prior to then, she'd usually been sticking. The last competitor, Sandra Izbasa, was able to put together two solid vaults (though much less difficult), to win the gold. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that McKayla is best in the world at vaulting.

Perhaps this is why McKayla has said that she will be training to try and go to Rio. I really am interested to see her back on all 4 events healthy, I don't even know if she'd do all 4 after this, but most certainly Vault and Floor. It is my hope that she continues training all 4 though. 

These 5 girls came together to win a gold medal, and the moment was honestly so incredible even for us fans, that I can hardly imagine how it felt to be one of them. I'm so so proud of all 5 of these girls. They each did their job for the team, and it was so rewarding for them in the end. I'm so emotionally invested in both this team, as well as in the sport of gymnastics in general, that I found myself in tears so many times during these Olympics -- both tears of sadness and tears of happiness. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for the Fierce Five -- Here's to another successful quad for Team USA!! 

Thank you for reading, and look for a special gymnastics edition of The Friday Five, coming this week!

Women's Floor Exercise Final

Gold - Aly Raisman USA

Silver - Catalina Ponor ROU

Bronze - Aliya Mustafina RUS

The Floor final was definitely my favorite final of these games, with Uneven Bars being a close second.  The lineup was completely LOADED with talent, former World FX champs and Olympics FX champs it was just unbelievable!! I was so nervous for Aly and Jordyn because I really wanted them both to medal and they were up so early in the lineup, which seemed to me a disadvantage.

Up first on the floor was Kseniia Afanaseva. She has beautiful choreography and a wonderful routine, I know that a lot of people were rooting for her to medal, however, she stepped out of bounds on her very first pass. Her whip whip to triple full is completely amazing, but she went out of bounds again on her third pass, possibly with both feet, and scored a very low 14.566. Jordyn was next up, and I was so so nervous for her .. I'm wondering if the stress fracture we just learned of is hindering her more than anyone was letting on because she faltered on almost every landing, and went out of bounds on her stag leap after he triple twist. That is just NOT like Jordyn at all. I'm so sad that this was the way her Olympics ended, with her errors she found herself scoring even lower than Afanaseva.

Aly was up third, and she had the best floor routine of her life!!! She added the punch layout back into her routine and she NAILED that opening tumbling pass and all of her other ones too! She stuck her triple twist as well. I was so so excited and her score was honestly gigantic -- 15.6!! The highest score on floor during the Olympics. I was confident, but with Sandra Izbasa going last there was no way I was ready to celebrate yet.

Catalina Ponor was next and she showed why she was the 2004 Athens Olympic champ on floor, she is honestly amazing!! I believe she was slightly underscored with a 15.2, however, I also thought that it didn't matter because she was definitely not better than Aly. So she went into silver medal position. Next was Lauren Mitchell, and although she is amazing on floor, this was not her best routine. She did respectably well though, and ended up with a 14.833.

Vanessa Ferrari was up next, and as I've said before, I've been so impressed with her these Olympics, and I'm glad that she made it to the event finals. Her routine was good and nice to watch, not a fan of her music though. She scored just a bit higher than Mitchell, posting a 14.9 and putting her in bronze medal position. Seventh was Aliya Mustafina, and I was not expecting her to medal here at all. She gave a wonderful performance though, I believe, her best of the Games so far. I love her music and how dramatic her routine is and her dance is just elegant and beautiful. Much to my surprise, she scored a 14.9, tying Vanessa Ferrari but winning the tie breaker and putting her in 3rd.

I didn't hold out hope of Musty medaling though, because the reigning Olympic champ on floor, Sandra Izbasa, was up last. Sandra's routine is definitely beautiful, but I was not a fan of her music either, it was very slow paced and kind of monotonous. She gave a wonderful routine up until she fell on one of the tumbling passes late in the routine. 

I was so happy for Aly for winning an individual gold medal! She definitely deserves it and I said a very long time ago that I knew that Aly would be FX champion in London. She is simply the best in the world. I was also very happy for Catalina Ponor, what a comeback she's had and to be able to medal with the team and in non consecutive Olympics is just incredible. And of course, I was happy for Musty, the most decorated female gymnast of the London games with 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronzes. She has worked so so hard to get to where she is and she fully appreciates everything. It was a wonderful final to end the Games.

Women's Balance Beam Final

Gold - Deng Linlin CHN

Silver - Sui Lu CHN

Bronze - Aly Raisman USA

The Balance Beam final was definitely not something I would call pretty. There were many wobbles and several falls .. and not just falls, pretty ugly falls.

Sui Lu was up first and she delivered a nearly flawless routine. I was actually very impressed with her in qualifications and if one Chinese was going to win the gold I wanted it to be her. She scored a 15.5, huge score! Catalina Ponor was up next, and while I really enjoyed her beauty and routine, she had many balance checks and wobbles, and to me it just looked sloppy. Deng Linlin was third and to my dismay she posted a score even higher than that of Sui Lu's -- 15.6. That was definitely the highest score awarded on beam throughout these Games.

Larisa Iordache was up next, and she ended up falling off of the beam almost immediately. She managed to get back up and definitely fight through the rest of her routine with no major errors. Next up was Kseniia Afanaseva. She got her routine with no falls and relatively cleanly, however a huge step back on the dismount and a low D score was enough to keep her out of medal contention.

Gabby Douglas unfortunately had a very nasty fall after a broken connection and two major balance checks, and Viktoria Komova, who followed had not only one fall, but also sat down her Patterson dismount!! Honestly I think the worst beam final that I have ever seen!!

Aly Raisman was up last for the USA, and her routine was very solid, especially compared to the others. A few slight balance checks, and a hop on the dismount, but I was sure she'd medal. When the score came up, however, it had her in 4th place behind Ponor, again!! As I got ready to declare this THE worst EF I'd ever watched, Bela and Marta start waving to Mihai from the stands, telling him that he should appeal the score, and he did! They ended up raising her start value to 6.3, resulting in a tie for bronze with Ponor!! And this time, the tiebreaker went in Aly's favor and she ended up with the bronze medal!!

I was so happy for her for getting an individual medal, but irritated that China went 1,2 - and also with all of the falls and errors, this beam final was hard to watch.

Women's Floor Exercise Final Preview

Top 8 qualifiers and scores:

1. Alexandra Raisman - USA - 15.325
2. Sandra Izbasa - ROU - 15.066
3. Vanessa Ferrari - ITA - 14.900
4. Ksenia Afanaseva - RUS -14.833
5. Lauren Mitchell - AUS - 14.833
6. Jordyn Wieber - 14.666
7. Catalina Ponor - ROU - 14.600
8. Aliya Mustafina - RUS - 14.433

What to watch for:

Oh my gosh .. this Floor final is legit SO STACKED. There is so much amazing talent here and so many incredible routines, I'm so so excited to watch it. It's going to be honestly almost ANYONES game here, it's all going to be based on who hits and who does not.

Aly Raisman could most definitely win gold with this routine, however, both in Team Final as well as the All Around she took out the last element of her first tumbling pass. I'm hoping that it will be back in tomorrow as she goes all out for the gold!

Sandra Izbasa is the reigning Olympic champion on Floor from Beijing, and obviously she is a huge challenger for the gold medal. I'm so so proud of Vanessa Ferrari in this Olympics, she is having great competitions and I really hope that she hits tomorrow.

I really want Lauren Mitchell to do well. The Australians didn't even qualify for team final and I would like her to have something positive to take away from London. Gosh what can I say about Jordyn other than that I want her to medal so badly. *Redemption* If she can score what she scored in team final (15+) I believe she can be on that medal podium with some help.

Catalina Ponor is going to be amazing to watch of course, and how can I not root for Musty?! I love so many of them and they are all so so talented this is SO HARD.

My Medal Podium:

Fantasy Medal Podium : Gold - Jordyn Wieber, Silver - Aly Raisman, Bronze - Aliya Mustafina
Realistic Medal Podium : Gold - Aly Raisman, Silver: Sandra Izbasa, Bronze - Jordyn Wieber

Women's Balance Beam Final Preview

Top 8 qualifiers and scores:

1. Sui Lu - CHN - 15.400
2. Viktoria Komova - RUS - 15.266
3. Gabrielle Douglas - USA - 15.233
4. Deng Linlin - CHN - 15.166
5. Alexandra Raisman - 15.100
6. Ksenia Afanaseva - RUS - 15.066
7. Catalina Ponor - ROU - 15.033
8. Larisa Iordache - ROU - 14.800

What to watch for:

Watch for Komova, the second highest qualifier, to come out fighting. This is her last chance for a gold medal .. She is this year's Shawn Johnson so far, with 2 silvers in both the Team final and the All Around and I think we ALL know from watching her reactions after each competition just how much this girl wants a gold medal.

Sui Lu will perhaps be her toughest competitor .. scoring a fabulous 15.4 in qualifications, as well as Aly Raisman if she can work out the kinks in her routine that she suffered through in the All Around competition. Ksenia Afanaseva gave a wonderful balance beam routine in the team finals, which NBC decided not to show us. Get ready to watch her in her first Event Final.

Don't really think that Iordache will be able to challenge due to her injury, but who knows, maybe she will surprise us! I expect another solid routine from Gabby Douglas , although I don't know if it will be a high enough score to medal! I guess we will see. Very excited to see Catalina Ponor on beam as well.

My Medal Podium:

Gold - Aly Raisman
Silver - Sui Lu
Bronze - Gabby Douglas

Women's Uneven Bars Final

Gold - Aliya Mustafina RUS

Silver - He Kexin CHN

Bronze - Beth Tweddle GBR

Wow, the Bars final was a nail biter, just as I assumed it'd be. I said in my preview that I believed Mustafina, Komova, Tweddle, Kexin, and Douglas would be the contenders for the medals.

He Kexin was first up. She definitely got through her set nicely, however, when she connects all of her releases on the high bar, I think she looks a little sloppy when she gets off centered. Overall though, that routine and her huge score of 15.966 had me just praying that someone could beat it. Komova was up second, her routine was going great until she clipped her foot on the low bar just before her dismount .. incurring the big deduction and leaving her disappointed with a 15.666. Yao Jinnan was 4th and she performed a brilliant routine, putting China in gold and silver medal positions.

Finally, the first person to be able to challenge Kexin's score, Tweddle, was up fifth. Her routine was jam packed of difficult releases in combination and actually it was flawless until the landing of her dismount, on which she took two costly steps backwards. She did score a 15.916, enough to go ahead of Jinnan and behind Kexin. 

I was just hoping and wishing for Mustafina to hit it out of the park and she did!!!! She performs her routine so effortlessly, and her combination Pak to stalder to Shaposhnikova with a half was AMAZING as always. She topped it off with sticking her Mustafina dismount named for her. I was just on the edge of my seat waiting to see if it'd be enough to top He and IT WAS!! 16.133! I was seriously ecstatic for this girl, she has come so far so fast and it is her determination and will power that has gotten her here. 

With low scores from both Koko Tsurumi and Gabby Douglas, the podium was set. I'm pretty much satisfied with the way things went down. I would've liked to see Yao in second instead of He, but in all honesty, I think of Beth winning the bronze and most importantly MUSTY WINNING THE GOLD and everything is okay. Love my Princess! 

Women's Uneven Bars Final Preview

Top 8 qualifiers and scores:


1. Beth Tweddle - GBR - 16.133
2. He Kexin - CHN - 15.966
3. Viktoria Komova - RUS - 15.833
4. Yao Jinnan - CHN - 15.766
5. Aliya Mustafina - RUS - 15.700
6. Gabrielle Douglas - USA - 15.333
7. Elisabeth Seitz - GER - 15.166
8. Koko Tsurumi - JPN - 15.033

What to watch for:


This final could go honestly so many different ways. He Kexin is the reigning Olympic Champion from Beijing, but she has many challengers that could take away the chances of her winning a second gold medal on this apparatus.

Beth Tweddle in qualifications and Aliya Mustafina in the AA have the highest Uneven Bars score posted at the Olympics so far -- a 16.1. For these two to get it done tomorrow and challenge for the gold medal, Beth will most definitely have to hit all of her super difficult releases and connections and Aliya will really need to stick her dismount that is named after her.

Viktoria Komova can also score very well on this event, and so can Gabrielle Douglas. I believe there will be these 5 girls (He, Beth, Aliya, Viktoria, and Gabby) fighting for the spots on the podium.

My Medal Podium:


AAAH there is so many scenarios that I want. Mainly I want Beth Tweddle or Musty to win gold (mostly I want Musty because she deserves it so much after coming back from her injury to get where she is now), and I want Gabby to medal. So we will say ..

Musty, Beth, Gabby.

Women's Vault Final

Gold - Sandra Izbasa ROU

Silver - McKayla Maroney USA

Bronze - Maria Paseka RUS

No beating around the bush is necessary. It was the second shocker of the Games for Team USA today when World Champion on the vault, McKayla Maroney, did not win the gold that has been so expected from her ever since she won the World Championship title last year (and probably even before that).

Had Maroney not gone out of the area on her amazing Amanar, which incurred a 0.300 penalty, she probably could have even still won the gold after uncharacteristically sitting down her second vault, the Mustafina. As it was, unfortunately Maroney did both of those things, and it was just one tenth too low for the gold medal.

Sandra Izbasa won the gold, performing vaults with D scores of 6.1 and 5.8, significantly lower than those of Maroney's super vaults. Nonetheless, she performed them cleanly and was able to score enough to take the gold medal. 

I am still proud of McKayla for winning the silver. I feel that there was so much pressure placed upon her to win gold and I think that was her downfall today, or at least a part of it. It looked like she was going very much for the stick, too much so. She has still been an asset to Team USA and is still the best vaulter in the world.

Maria Paseka took bronze, I wish that Chuso could've snuck in, but at this point it is what it is I guess!