Bars

 

Gabby Douglas

 

(6.4 + 8.75 = 15.15)

 

She unquestionably has one of the very best full spins to elgrip I’ve ever seen – similar to the way Nastia Liukin used to do it but with better form.  I bet she could  easily do another full spin to elgrip out of it.  One suggestion…could she start the routine from the other direction?  It appears she would not hit the low bar, and it would prevent her from having to do that extra kip cast pirouette before the next sequence.  Not that it looks bad, but there’s no sense in doing unnecessary pirouettes with today’s unforgiving handstand deductions.  I love the fact that she generates so much swing out of her Tcatchev that even catching it a little close has no effect on the Pak salto out of it.  She still lets go slightly early on that dismount, but overall, this is one of the coolest bar routines to watch in the world today.  Huge additional points in her corner after her mistakes on vault and beam in the team competition.

 

Kyla Ross

 

(6.2 + 8.85 = 15.05)

 

There’s no question it’s a beautiful routine.  Her longer lines have done nothing but help her overall look on this event immensely.  Of course she can clean up the one form break on her toe-on Khorkina transition, but this is a new skill for her and certainly works quite well into her routine construction.  Note that she’s using many of the same skills as some of the top Russian bar workers, including Komova, Mustafina, and Grishina – but without a Tcatchev and a Pak salto.  It would be nice to see one more release in there, but the difficulty score is quite strong.  She could also work on straighter arms on her casts and the inbar stalder at the beginning…it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s getting slight deductions on these.  Not to be nit-picky, but with her Olympic chances relying heavily on this event, she might as well make it spotless.

 

Peiru Luo

 

My favorite part of this routine is the huge Gienger – that was beautiful!  We don’t see many Giengers from the Chinese, and we never have.  They’ve always been more of a Tcatchev and Jaeger team, but if they can teach Giengers like this, they should do them more often!

 

(6.5 + 8.2 = 14.7)

 

Peng Peng Lee

 

(5.7 + 8.9 = 14.6)

 

This girl has stuck more landings at this competition than any gymnast I’ve seen in a long time.  She didn’t let the slightly close Jaeger rattle her…that was probably the best toe-on full to “Mo” salto I’ve seen her do.  Her overall line and fluidity are just stunning to watch, and she has capped off so many routines here with that same punctuation.  What a star.

 

Chunsong Shang

 

(6.5 + 8.1 = 14.6)

 

Absolutely love the release sequences!  I would love to see way more Tcatchev-Giengers in women’s gymnastics, and way more Jaeger-Pak saltos for that matter.  She might not quite show the flexibility on her elgrip skills as some of the other Chinese bar workers, and of course the low bar skills are a bit weak, but this is a refreshingly dynamic routine.

 

 

Beam

 

Kyla Ross

 

(6.2 + 9.175 = 15.375)

 

It’s hard not to watch this routine and think, “How would this look in the Olympic team finals in London?”  Although bars is the most critical event for Kyla to prove her value to Team USA, I’d say beam is a close second.  She is an absolutely ideal candidate for an Olympic team finals spot on this event, given this routine has the perfect combination of strong difficulty but still relatively low risk, as well as impeccable execution and unshakeable poise.  She has the long lines of a Nastia Liukin and the lightness of a Carly Patterson, and this routine is crafted as carefully as a fine piece of artwork.  Unlike bars and floor, where I feel she could add a couple of tenths in difficulty, I think this routine is just fine the way it is.  She just needs to keep hitting it this solidly over the next few months to continue to build her already strong Olympic case.  And a stuck tucked double back is something we see far too rarely on beam nowadays.

 

Peng Peng Lee

 

(6.4 + 8.9 = 15.3)

 

DANG!!  That is one of the most confident and aggressive beam routines I’ve ever seen.  I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with her.  Who cares about the overtime – she still scored a well-deserved 15.3 for one of the most difficult and innovative beam routines in the world.  Could we see her in TWO event finals in London – beam and floor?  She is absolutely capable of it.  Canada could do some exciting and unprecedented things in these Olympic Games.

 

Tan Sixin

 

(6.3 + 8.75 = 15.05)

 

Much more what she’s capable of than we saw in the team competition.  She needs a few more routines like that under pressure to get her confidence up before the Chinese Olympic selection process…and even then she’s got quite an uphill battle after the hole she has dug herself into.

 

 

Floor

 

Jordyn Wieber

 

(6.1 + 9.025 = 15.125)

 

Pretty typical floor routine from Jordyn Wieber.  I’ve said it so many times, but she has an ability to shake off mistakes unlike just about any gymnast I’ve ever seen.  She had a disastrous beam routine (including a rare fall) right before this, and yet you’d never know it.  This is exactly the type of tenacity that has already led her to some of her greatest accolades, and will serve her quite well in London.  One nit-picky criticism – can she work on not bending that leg so early on the 1 ½ twist step-out?  It’s quite noticeable.  Pause it as she’s finishing the 1½ if you don’t see it in regular time.

 

Peng Peng Lee

 

(5.7 + 8.875 = 14.575)

 

Yet another stuck dismount from Peng Peng Lee.  Perhaps an upgraded third pass for London?  She also may throw a double-layout full out for that second pass, which would be totally spectacular.  This had to have been the best meet of her life.

 

Kyla Ross

 

(5.6 + 8.775 = 14.375)

 

Her growth spurt has really, really helped her presentation on floor as well.  I like this routine way better than her previous one.  Now, what can she do in place of that weak 1 ½ to double full in the third pass?  She could replace the double full with a double back (like she did last year), or perhaps a 2 ½, or change the pass altogether.  I’d even prefer a 1 ½ to front full over that pass.  Ideally I think she could do a difficult combination like a whip to double Arabian in the first pass, but not sure if she’s working anything like that.  I’m also surprised she doesn’t utilize her flexibility a bit more, such as with a Memmel turn.  It’s still a solid routine, but she’s done all of these passes easily for several years now.

 

Thanks to usagymnastics for all the great videos!