Jinnan's score of 15.675 would have won her the world title on the uneven bars at the 2011 worlds (Komova's score was 15.500). Last year's 'rookie' looks like she could very likely be China's strongest medal contender headed into London. The delightful but painfully inconsistent Huang Quishuang added weight to her olympic campaign with consestent scores and strong second places on bars and beam (and a bronze on floor) in Zibo. Australia's Lauren Mitchell beat Canada's Victoria Moors to the floor title, both are strong contenders for a floor medal with a good performance in London.
Whilst I like many others feel it is great to see Cheng Fei back on the competition floor (no female chinese gymnast has anything like the longevity of Cheng Fei, who is aiming for a landmark 3rd olympics). Her win here was not an overwelmingly convincing one and she still has a mountain to climb to become and individual event contender in time for london. It is unlikely the vault podium this year will include a gymnast with a double-twisting yurchenko (although stranger things have happened!) If she can improve her form and get back full difficulty on floor she could still be an asset to the team campaign, although at this stage it still looks like a struggle for her compared to China's young guns.
Also of interest in Zibo, Hungary's Kristian Berki beat GB's Louis Smith to the gold on pommel horse by 1 tenth of a point. These two are masters of the event and it will probably come down to who is cleanest come Sunday 5th August as to who takes the olympic gold.
See the full Zibo event final results here.
Videos:
Cheng Fei (vault)
Yao Jinnan (bars)
Huang Quishang (bars)
Louis Smith (pommels)
Kristian Berki (pommels)
No comments:
Post a Comment