Here's some press about last night's apparatus finals gold rush:
ABC News
Sydney Morning Herald
"Wow, that's cool, it kind of hasn't sunk in yet," Mitchell saidSydney Morning Herald (2)
Rising Perth star Lauren Mitchell will start as a red-hot favourite to create history in Delhi by becoming the first artistic gymnast to win five gold medals at a single Commonwealth Games.The Australian
TheAustralian (2)
Herald Sun
Now, its interesting that some of the press is saying Lauren could go on to be the first Aussie gymnast to get three golds in one Commonwealth Games but... didn't Phil Rizzo do that in 2002?
FIVE golds, now wouldn't that be something!
She is the first Aussie WG gymnast to win 3 at a single games. That's probably what they meant.
ReplyDeleteThe opposition really has to be looked at, B teams from both England and Canada so nothing for the girls to compete against, need to see results at Worlds, that will be the real test and a reliable competition to rank the team and athletes at this level.
ReplyDeleteAnon 11:55
ReplyDeleteWhinge Whinge Whinge...never happy give them a break...Let them enjoy the moment.
No doubt the competition isnt very high standard especially bars as its Lauren weakest apparatus but the girls can only compete against who they are put up against. Well done.
ReplyDeleteIt's not whingeing...it's putting things in perspective. Beating up on second grade competition is nothing to get too excited about.
ReplyDeleteThat said, good on them for going out there and competing well. The real question is how their performances will stack up on a world stage against meaningful competition.
We are not 'beating up on second grade competition.' We are simply saying the girls did well. Judging by their routines, and ability to perform on the last 2 nights. Not judging by the position they came.
ReplyDeleteSo as a matter of interest, how do the scores at Comm Games stack up against world best at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI think the US has AA scores around 60. That would be at US comps though so I don't know how indicative that would be. People on other forums are saying that comma scoring is quite lenient. Don't know if that is true.
ReplyDeleteAt visa champs Rebecca bross averaged just over 60 for 2 days. Next was Larson on 58.8 and 58.2. So I guess Laurens score is competitive with all but Bross. Will be interesting to see what happens when they have the same judges. Bring on worlds I say!
ReplyDeleteI'm stoked with how well the Aussie men and women have done at the CWG! I know the field is not as talented as what the world at large has to offer but I've also noticed our women watering down their routines quite a bit (judging from what has been said on this blog). A number of reasons for this have been raised; I'm wondering if it doesn't have something to do with Delhi belly? Perhaps not the full-blown illness Georgia B and a couple of swimmers have had, but more just feeling a bit unwell. If I were Peggy I would want my girls to be careful and safe, rather than trying to throw big skills, while not 100%. Especially because they need to be in top shape for Worlds.
ReplyDeleteBearing this in mind, I'm very impressed by their performance so far and can't wait to see them (hopefully) at their best at Worlds.
16.225 for He Kexin at nationals on bars but next closest in high 14's. 58.6 for Porgras (Romania) at a tri nation friendly although she only scored 57.8 at nationals. These were some of the scores I found. This page http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/#2010 gives more if anyone has the time and inclination to look further. The main thing I noticed was the depth of the Americans. Bross out in front but then several between 57 and 58. Not much info on the Chinese but none of the other teams seemed to have as much depth as the US including obviously AUS. I think worlds should be great and the aus team will do well and look world class.
ReplyDeleteAlthough we all realise that the other nations may not have sent their A teams, I think we'd be doing well even if they had. Let's not forget that Allana Slater won gold in the Vault final in Manchester 2002 - yet Vault was NOT Allana's strength. This is the beauty of the Commonwealth Games - it is competition for the Commonwealth nations, who aren't traditionally the super powers in gymnastics.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I agree that Lauren may not have beaten the likes of Beth Tweddle on bars but how many other English or Canadian gymnasts would be stronger than Lauren? Not too many, I would argue.
I view Commonwealths as a significant step UP from Nationals. Sure, it is arguably a significant step down from Worlds or Olympics, but there's no getting away from the argument that Lauren is almost certainly one of the top 10 AA gymnasts in the world.
If she was doing poorly, we'd have something to complain about. The fact is she's winning gold medals. Good on her!
Yes well said, Lauren may not be a great competitor on bars we know she is world class in AA, beam and floor.
ReplyDeleteI think Lauren is a VERY good competitor.
ReplyDeleteThat's right Wolfie. Lauren is a world-class competitor and with hit routines would have medalled in the AA, beam and floor regardless of who she was up against. At last year's Worlds she was the top AA'er and beam worker in the Commonwealth and on floor only Beth Tweddle scored higher. It's only bars where she may have been a bit lucky. The only Commonwealth girls to score higher than her there at last year's Worlds were Larrissa Miller who didn't make the team, Brittany Rogers from Canada who is injured and wouldn't have been there anyway and Beth Tweddle. So even if England & Canada had sent their best teams, it may not have made all that much difference to Lauren's results anyway.
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