Young Olga in her white leotard and orange hair bows, at her first international competition in Wembley, 1980 I had only been in the Olympiski Stadium, Moscow, for a few moments when it happened: I found myself surrounded by a little army of tiny children, excitedly chattering away in Russian, a language I don't speak. I strained my ears and heard the names : Aliya, Nastia, Ksenia; I was swept along by this blizzard of pigtails, giggles and pretty eyes; and suddenly I lost myself, and started looking for Olga Mostepanova amongst them. She might have been there, but (now in her forties) it is more likely that she was hard at work in her own gym, helping a young gymnast learn how to do a walkover on beam. Mostepanova was always like that, even as a child: her gymnastics appeared like a beautiful daydream, but the reality was infinitely more prosaic. The exquisite plasticity that made her a Champion, the beautiful line for which she is famous, were the product ...
The end of this sport if the judges cannot differentiate those routines!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad for Komova, she is so exceptional when she hits!
But I prefer Spiridonova's routine. I think the composition is better.
Both were clearly ahead of Kocian.
I am American. I agree with this statement. The UB judges were lazy. How can we get the judges to utilize the entire E-score range of 1-10? They seem to believe that a very bad routine is a 7, and that a good routine is a 9.
DeleteThe EF is about crowning the best of the best. It's not about giving participation medals to everyone who doesn't fall.
When I saw it live it appeared to me that Komova, Spiridnova and Kocian's routines were on the same level. However after re-watching it several times i think Kocian and Spiridnova had more little errors than Komova. Kocian's in-bar stalders don't go as deep as Komova's and her legs come slightly apart towards the end of her full twisting double back dismount.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I felt that Shang Chungsong was heavily underscored. Her rountine appeared to be fairly clean yet she only received an execution score 2 tenths higher than Sophie Scheder who practically fell on her dismount
Shang's routine was very clean except for the dead hangs.
DeleteYou cannot deduct for lack of "deepness" of inbar stalders. As long as the feet clear the bar it's fine, but other than you're talking about the aesthetic of the skill which the judges do not deduct for.
Deletehave u looked the code of points? The picture clearly demonstrates a proper inbar stalder...Kocian was closer to toe on.
DeleteI will never forget Komova's reaction after she saw the score board, it's something like "8.766 really? what should I have done more than that to get 9.0 or 9.1?" and if I remember correctly Aliya said the same thing last year!! while the judges have no problem giving Douglas 8.933 in the Team Final and Biles 8.800 in AA Final, what an irony ...
ReplyDeleteJohn
John
John, perhaps you are new to gymnastics, it is not uncommon for EF to differ from AA of TF in what the judges are willing to give. But I agree that Komova should have won outright. Daria was short on all her handstands and had a fugly dismount, Fan has to muscle her handstands and pike the DLO and Kocian has funky foot form and slight leg sep on transfers.
DeleteMimi
No I'm not new to gymnastics, and I compare the judges' scoring pattern to a different routines which is obviously lower than what Komova and Spiridonova presented...
DeleteJohn
For Kocian to get the same execution score as Komova is the greatest joke
ReplyDeleteNow that worlds has ended and I can relax. After that disappointing team final, the event finals were much better. Gold on vault, bars, and silver on floor; not bad at all. Too bad for Seda on beam.
ReplyDeleteVika should have given her spot to Kharenkova since she has no EF. I wonder if the outcome would have been better or possibly a medal if she hits.
ReplyDeleteQueen E.,
ReplyDeleteAre you going to do an article about Afan winning a silver medal on floor after having a kidney infection? Also will you do an article on Maria Bondareva having to retire.
As always I enjoy your blog. Please keep up the good work!