2011 Worlds: WAG TF Preamble

Quick interlude!

Longines has put up the women's team final start lists. Australia's are as follows:

BB: Brennan, Monckton, Mitchell
FX: Miller, Brennan, Mitchell
VT: Brennan, Little, Mitchell
UB: Brown, Mitchell, Miller



Gymnastike is putting up some training videos.

2011 Worlds: MAG Qualification LIVE!!!

Update 6:21 AEDST: If you or someone you know was listening to 3AW Radio in Melbourne just now, yes, that was my mother calling up the evening sports show to give a shout-out to the gymnasts competing in Tokyo.
Yes, she did it without me knowing
Yes, she spoke without any prompting
Yes, she is aware she got the competition days wrong
No, she didn't say Lauren was from SA on purpose, she genuinely forgot!
No, I probably won't get to partake in the cake shop voucher she won.

And now for tonight's competition...

You, just like me, can follow live scoring here and quick hits here or at any of the social media resources I've cited in earlier posts. Gymnastics Australia are updating Facebook and Twitter simultaneously.


You'll have to forgive me, men's gym is really not my strong suit so my attention may waver.

Parallel Bars -

Sam O kicks Australia off with a 13.833. Hooray!
Two for two - Prashanth gets a 13.7, with a step on the dismount like Sam (eek!)
Luke WOW-atowski, I reckon! Sticks dismount for 14.45
Tom P keeps the good vibes going with a stuck dismount for 14.666
Josh just a 14.53 but a commendable routine.
Go Australia, you made it through p-bars superbly!

High Bar-

Luke 'Wadsy' Wadsworth leads off on high bar. Clean but lacking the theatrics of the powerhouse nations. 12.33, eep! That might hurt!
Sam O rocks a kovacs (I love those) 13.533
Tom P clean routine, dismounts with double lay full. 13.33
No boys have come off yet (touch wood). Phil Rizzo would be proud!
Josh 13.3333 (recurring!)
Team anchor Luke Wiwatowski goes up... hoping for the stuck dismount he did in Commonwealth team final... catches his releases a little close, apparently, struggles, one step on layout double double dismount. Good enough for a 12.333 OWCH!

Floor-
Wadsworth leads off again. Near stick on last pass. Clean for 14.00
Sam O - stuck double layout! 13.866
Josh J clean but landing errors 13.733
Luke Wiwatowski - Puts feet oob on one pass 13.633
Floor anchor Tom gets "mostly stuck landings" according to GA! 14.666

Pommel-

Australia's bogey apparatus, but a chance for pommel wunderkind Prashanth Sellathurai to shine.
Jefferis is up first. IG gives me a heart attack, as I read the quick hit "slices through his routine, a tad loose in the legs" as "slices his leg open"! But makes it through, 12.766
Bugger. Wadsworth runs out of steam as has to dismount prematurely
Wiwatowski fares better, stays on, but iffy on the dismount 12.933
Tom also stays on and avoids major form breaks 13.1
COME ON PROSHDOG!
Good reviews from IG, they said he "rips through it" and that it was superb... and it's a... 15.566! This puts him just behind Berki and Smith. Doubtless a finals spot.

Rings-

First up is Wiwatowski for 13.733 (GA says he was wobbly)
Tom good positions, dismount is double back with 1.5 twist 13.833
Josh pikes down dismount and hops, but gets us over the 13's. Scores 14.533!
Prashanth nice job, double lay dismount, 14.433 IG says he is "putting on a strength clinic", haha! Watch and learn, fellow competitors! Prash is the man!
Offord takes a large hop on dismount but made it through. 14.666

Vault-

Luke Wadsworth tsuk double for 15.433 great stuff!
Same in name and vault - Luke Wiwatowski also a tsuk double for 15.366...
Josh has to take a step on landing, 15.2
Tom 15.3
Last up is Sam... 15.366! IG and GA very happy with the effort on his Yurchenko double.
We finish 15th after our subdivision.

Well done, boys. Be proud of yourselves. Now we play the waiting game!

2011 Worlds: MAG Qualification Preamble

Let's hear it for the boys!

Australia competes tonight for a maiden Olympic team berth. We wish them the very best of luck from back home.

The Aus Olympic team website has a feature on Sam Simpson and his Tokyo teammates here.

The guys compete at 6:30pm AEDST and start on parallel bars.



A start list can be found here.

Gymnastike has a couple of videos of the boys in training. Check Gymnastics Australia's Facebook page for training photos.

Update 4:52 AEDST

Pommel scores have been getting better and better throughout the day, with the likes of Smith and Tomassone making steady routines in their subdivisions. Prashanth has his work cut out for him, but here's hoping he benefits from being a later session! *resumes biting fingernails*

AUSTRALIA IS GOING TO THE LONDON OLYMPICS

LET'S PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!!

GA posted the following pic of the team upon learning the news...

AUTOMATIC TOKYO TEAM FINALLISTS
AND LONDON 2012 OLYMPIANS
AFTER 10 ROUNDS OF PRELIMS...

1. USA 234.253
2. Russia 231.062
3. China 230.370
4. Romania 227.228
5. Japan 223.543
6. Australia 221.846
7. Germany 221.163
8. Great Britain 220.553

Lauren Mitchell and Emily Little will contest the all-around final

Lauren is first reserve for the floor final


There is a nifty photo gallery featuring the purple Aussies here.

2011 Worlds: Pick of the Pics

It will be a nervous wait to see if Australia has qualified to the team final (and London Olympics) today. So, have yourself some pretty distractions in the meantime!


Unwatermarked press photos from Daylife/Getty are here.

The Gym Examiner has a gallery of Brigid's photos here.

Gymnastike has the Lauren Mitchell interview from a different side here (with bonus background Peggy!)

Gymnastics Australia have also added photos to their World Championships 2011 album at Facebook.

Update 8:26pm

Word is, the Monckton has been approved for the Code of Points!

There are some Australia photos in the event's Facebook gallery



Update 9:06pm

I am being distracted from James Nesbitt's lovely face to inform you that we're still in 5th going into the last subdivision so to all intents and purposes... AUSTRALIA'S INTO THE TEAM FINAL!

Update 9:19 With the second-to-last subdiv officially over, and only three full teams remaining in the last, I can confirm WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IN WE'RE IIINNN!!!

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification Post-Mortem

Well then!

Not an utter disaster but definite room for improvement. I certainly hope Lauren is ok after her beam slip.

The FIG are very diligent, and have put up video already of Lauren's floor and Larrissa's bars at their channel.

While we anxiously await the standings after tomorrow's qualification rounds, let's not forget our guys are gearing up for their Tokyo campaign as well. Check out Luke Wiwatowski's really quite super duper floor from podium training, courtesy of Gymnastike!

Update, midnight: Yes, I am still awake! And Houston, we have prelims vids!

Aussie fan Ange has made the trip over to Tokyo to cheer on the team.

She is vigilantly uploading videos here.

Smashing stuff. Thanks, Ange... Thange.

Update, 12:43am

Still up.

Inside Gymnastics did a quick interview with Lauren after prelims. Check it out. She comes across as very calm and articulate (and talks upgrades)! Smart girls are smart. Smart and cool.

(photo credit: Brigid McCarthy. More can be seen here.)

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification LIVE!!!

Any moment now...

Just keep hittin' refresh on...
http://www.the-all-around.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=257:2011-worlds-wag-qualifications-3&catid=4:news&Itemid=22


Brigid says "purple shiny leos"!

TA-DA!



Beam:
Little: front, turn in tuck stand, free walkover – ff – layout, CL leap, tuck back, stuck double pike 13.533

Brown: Two for two! Small wobble as well (on side somi) but stays on.
Switch, back tuck. Full turn with leg at head, turns an extra quarter turn but OK. Front aerial, bhs, layout, probably not connected, but smooth enough and no wobbles. Side aerial. Side somie. Roundoff, double full, small hop. 13.266 had a long wait for score.

Monckton: HITS!!! side somi. front aerial. switch+back pike. L turn good. switch 1/2 shy 180+back pike wobble. Dbl pike. (Brigid said her aerial combo was "insanely good"!) 14.166 YAY MEZ YAY YAY YAY

Brennan: front aerial+switch leap+gainer layout, cool! switch 1/2+back tuck. side somi. switch ring. bhs lay wobble. aerial. dbl pike 14.125 the team goes 4 for 4!

Mitchell: Absolutely NO pressure on Loz, of course! bhs+bhs+2ft lay. split+wolf. Mitchell turn wow. switch 1/2 not 180+back pike. front aerial+switch leap "splits the beam!!" (oh no!)comes right back with standing front tuck though, almost like it was nothing. Two bhs to double pike, a little low. 14.033

Floor:
Lauren's warmed-up piked full in to sissone has a good review from Gymnastike. Fingers crossed we can make up ground on floor!

Little: Great full in. Bounce back out of dble back (Brigid corrects this to say full in?). Dble turn-okay, fell sideways a little. Sticks dble twist. Leaps not quite split. Peggy clapping her through last pass. Dble pike, one small jump back. Pretty good! 13.1

Brown: dbl pike. Perfect Memmel turn! 1.5+front tuck+gorgeous stag. Tall, elegant gymnast. dbl tuck bounced back & hands down 12.500

Miller: Good reviews from sources. "IG says: triple turn, tuck Arabian double front to leap, layout front to double twisting front, tuck front full to layout front full to leap, 2 1/2 that barely finished with the music--Again a very clean routine--These ladies look really prepared for this, and they look healthy--5.4/13.60"


Brennan: full in. double tuck+stag. handspring+front full a tad low. stuck double pike and a delayed scissone jump. nice routine. Also 13.600

Mitchell: Again... no pressure! Blythe says: "Lots of "come on, Loz!" from Aussies around the arena. She's got to be Whip to Arabian double front with single stag out, good. But then puts one foot OOB on full in pike. Recovers well with good 2.5 to front layout. She's an interesting dancer -- at times her movements are very fluid, while at others they don't seem so much. Double pike to a little split jump -- that one didn't really work." Scores 14.391, second highest so far.


Vault:
Monckton: FTY one step back. 13.466

Brown: FTY nearly stuck. 13.633

Brennan: Tsuk full 5.2/13.766

Little: Baitova with a jump back. 14.533

Mitchell: Baitova with a crouched landing. 14.3


Bars:
Little: toe on toe off blind to Jaeger, toe on toe off full, double layout dismount (good landing) 13.566


Monckton: Successfully did The Monckton!One intermediate swing on bars -- had to kip off and re kip to handstand on low bar. Good double layout dismount. Only 12.500 though!?

Brown:
"Full turn to Geinger, excellent. Jaeger, very good! She has been so impressive today. Lovely bail to toe hecht and good dismount!" 13.600

Mitchell: stalder blind to Jaeger, toe on toe off full, toe one toe off blind to double front STUCK COLD--13.60

Miller: Also hits! Inside stalder full to Gienger, inside stalder blind to Jaeger, stalder full to immediate tuck full twisting double--14.30--A very nice routine swung very well

Brigid reports the team have gone into a huddle. Mitchell overall AA score 56.324, second behind Romania's Haidu so far.

Onya girls. No beam or bars falls. Be proud, and fingers crossed you make finals!

2011 Worlds: WAG Qualification Preamble

Today's the day!

(Godjira t-shirt by thinkgeek.com. Bad hair by self & bad hairdresser)


Australia's session is in a little over an hour's time. GAH!

I will be cross-posting quick hits here, but if you'd like to follow along without having to put up with me, the people of the gymblogs below will be updating live, as they have been all day:

The All-Around (plus live scores here)
The Gym Examiner

as well as Fulltwist Gymnastics Blog, Brigid The Couch Gymnast McCarthy and The All Around at Facebook.

I already have 4 windows open, I expect to have several more once the session starts!


(If you'd like to kill some time, GA has put up an update from men's podium training, including some routines filmed by Gymnastike. And, it might interest you to know, our own Peggy Liddick took part in the Coaches' Pledge read before competition started today!)

(They have also updated about Worlds broadcast dates on Fox Sports. Yahooo!)

(They further report that vault warmup looks good, as do the new leos! HOMG YOU GUISE IT'S TENSE)

(Super tense... THUNDER JUST STARTED OUTSIDE! And rain! Do not waaaaant.)