ART WC 2009: Second day Apparatus Finals: China added another five medals
ART WC 2009: Second day Apparatus Finals: China added another five medals
China added another five medalsto their record at these championships, making it a total of nine
LONDON (GBR) October 18, 2009: China added another five medalsto their record at these championships, making it a total of nine.
The last day of these championships: men on Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar as well as women on Beam and Floor.
Last minute changes had to be made to the start list since France’s Yann Cucherat, qualified on Parallel Bars, withdrew due to injury. First on the reserve list, Vietnamese Pham Phuao Hung moved into the Final by default. Jeffrey Wammes (NED), who withdrew from the All-around Final on Thursday, got a green light from his doctor to compete in the Vault Final today.
MAG – Vault
Beijing finalist Isaac Botella Perez from Spain opened the Men’s Vault competition. He had trouble controlling his landing on the second vault and scored 15.650. Next on the apparatus was Olympic Bronze medallist and top qualifier Anton Golotsutskov (RUS), who wowed the crowd with two excellent vaults (16.287). Will this bring him a much-expected medal? France’s Thomas Bouhail, Olympic runner-up and reigning European Champion was close on the Russian’s heels, vaulting into second position with an average of 15.775. German Matthias Fahrig, who qualified in seventh and finished 6th in last night’s Floor Final, took a big step to the side on his first vault. However, his second vault was solid and earned an average 15.850 point score that placed him in second position for the time being. Marian Dragulescu, 4th in Beijing and winner of the Floor Final here in London, impressed the crowd with two excellent vaults, flawlessly executed. With 16.575 he took the lead. Jeffrey Wammes (NED) was next – he scored 14.425 and ranked sixth for now. Romania’s second entry to this Final Flavius Koczi, who won Silver earlier this year at the European Championships, vaulted into second position behind team-mate Dragulescu with 16.337 points. Last gymnast on this apparatus, 24-year-old Se Gwang Ri, 2007 World Bronze medallist, didn’t make it to the podium tonight. He scored 15.560 and tied with Botella Perez on rank six.
Final standing:
Gold – DRAGULESCU Marian (ROU) – 16.600
Silver – KOCZI Flavius (ROU) – 16.300
Bronze – GOLOTSUTSKOV Anton (RUS) – 16.200
4. FAHRIG Matthias (GER) – 15.875
5. BOUHAIL Thomas (FRA) – 16.300
6. BOTELLA PEREZ Isaac (ESP) – 15.500
6. RI Se Gwang (PRK) – 15.725
8. WAMMES Jeffrey (NED) – 14.900
WAG – Beam
China’s Yang Yilin, Beijing All-around Bronze medallist, began her Beam routine relatively well but ended up by falling near the end. Her score: 13.125. Elisabetta Preziosa of Italy was next with a wonderful performance that highlighted her uncanny flexibility. The 16-year-old was rewarded with 14.200 points! All eyes then turned to Romania and Ana Porgras, Bronze medallist at last night’s Uneven Bars Final. Porgras qualified in top position but struggled today and ultimately fell from the Beam. Despite a flawless dismount it was unclear as to whether her 13.425 would be enough to hold the top.
Deng Linlin, qualified third and China’s promising star on Beam, showed a spectacular routine that was so perfectly executed it slid her into the lead (15.000 points). No gymnast scored as high in Qualification on Wednesday; this score should secure her the Gold medal. Next up, Koko Tsurumi, who gave a spectacular performance in the All-around competition as well as on Uneven Bars at these championships, scored 14.100 and a provisional rank three. Qualified in second and with an impressive routine, Un Hyang Kim (PRK) put herself in second place with 14.450 points. Ivana Hong (USA) was second to last on Beam; her excellent performance was awarded 14.550, edging Kim off rank two. Finally, Australia’s Lauren Mitchell, fourth in the All-around, amazed her fans with a difficult spin and a very solid and clean routine. She scored a Silver medal winning 14.875.
Final standing:
Gold – DENG Linlin (CHN) – 15.000
Silver – MITCHELL Lauren (AUS) – 14.875
Bronze – HONG Ivana (USA) – 14.550
4. KIM Un Hyang (PRK) – 14.450
5. PREZIOSA Elisabetta (ITA) – 14.200
6. TSURUMI Koko (JPN) – 14.100
7. PORGRAS Ana (ROU) – 13.425
8. YANG Yilin (CHN) – 13.125
MAG – Parallel Bars
The Parallel Bars Final saw China’s Feng Zhe and Wang Guanyin as well as Olympic runner-up Won Chul Yoo of Korea hunting for medals today. Kazuhito Tanaka of Japan, who ranked fourth in the All-around and Qualification, had high hopes for a medal rank. And what about Adam Kierzkowski of Poland who qualified in fourth?
Wang Guanyin opened this final with a fantastic routine, setting a 15.975 point tone for his competitors to parry. Won Chul Yoo was up next, duplicating his qualifying score (15.300). Good enough to stand his ground in this Final? Just behind him was Adam Kierzkowski, who failed to repeat his performance in the preliminaries, scoring 14.325. Top qualifier Feng Zhe, a newcomer to the Chinese team, was at his best here. His solid routine was awarded 15.775 points and rank two, in the wake of his team-mate Feng. The Netherland’s Epke Zonderland put some impressive turns in his routine and scored 15.125. Disappointed spectators had expected a better score for Zonderland. Alternate Pham Phuoc Hung was up next, scoring 14.475. To the cheers of excited supporters, Greek Vasileios Tsolakidis did his job well, scoring the 15.350 points that secured his place in third. Too bad his hopes for a medal vanished into thin air when Kazuhito Tanaka, last to compete on the Parallel Bars, wrapped up a phenomenal routine (15.500) that handed him the Bronze.
Final standing:
Gold – WANG Guanyin (CHN) 15.975
Silver – FENG Zhe (CHN) 15.775
Bronze – TANAKA Kazuhito (JPN) 15.500
4. TSOLAKIDIS Vasileios (GRE) 15.350
5. YOO Won Chul (KOR) 15.300
6. ZONDERLAND Epke (NED) 15.125
7. PHUOC HUNG Pham (VIE) 14.475
8. KIERZKOWSKI Adam (POL) 14.325
WAG – Floor
The enthusiastic home crowd went wild for their star Beth Tweddle, who after a missed Uneven Bars Final was going for the Gold on Floor today. She was the first to take the floor and did an excellent job out there, scoring 14.650. Next competitor Jessica Gil Oritz (CHI) started with a beautiful double layout, but then slipped and landed heavily on her head for the second tumble. The gymnast was taken off the field of play and to hospital; at this point it doesn’t look too serious. Powerful Rebecca Bross (USA), All-around Silver medallist and third on Uneven Bars, gave a crisp routine that put her in second position behind Tweddle (14.125). China’s Sui Lu, second in the preliminaries, pleased the crowd with a lovely, expressive routine. She was awarded 14.300 and rank two for now. Ana Porgras (ROU) had her second chance on Floor after she finished a mere seventh on Beam earlier today. Her routine was evaluated at 14.125 points, tying for third with Bross. But three more gymnasts were still to compete! Russia’s picture of elegance, Anna Myzdrikova, for instance; top qualifier in this event, she is full of expressive and fluid choreography. She ranked a provisional third (14.275).
Australia’s Lauren Mitchell had a fantastic day! She won Silver on Beam earlier today and her lovely Floor routine has sent her to second place (14.550).
When Deng Linlin’s (CHN), the last to perform, score was announced (13.875) and Tweddle’s Gold medal was confirmed, The O2 Arena exploded to the cheers of an animated crowd. Proudly bearing the British flag and accompanied by standing ovations, the new World Champion marched out of the arena.
Final standing:
Gold – TWEDDLE Elizabeth (GBR) – 14.650
Silver – MITCHELL Lauren (AUS) – 14.550
Bronze – SUI Lu (CHN) – 14.300
4. MYZDRIKOVA Anna RUS 14.275
5. BROSS Rebecca USA 14.125
5. PORGRAS Ana ROU 14.125
7. DENG Linlin CHN 13.875
8. GIL ORTIZ Jessica COL 2.975
MAG – Horizontal Bar
The Horizontal Bar Final, often referred to as the most spectacular event in Men’s Artistic Gymnastics, was action packed! The event featured tried and true gymnasts alongside the up and coming, all with a good chance of winning a medal, making this an incredibly open competition.
2004 Olympic Champion Igor Cassina of Italy opened the medal quest with a zesty routine. He scored a dramatic 15.625, the highest score in relation to the qualifying rounds; would it be enough to secure him a spot on the podium tonight? Stylish Aliakandr Tsarevich (BLR) performed gutsy elements worth 14.375. Next up was US American Danell Leyva with a well defined routine that seethed with difficulty. His coach was visibly pleased when Leyva’s routine concluded with a 15.600 point score and a tentative rank two. Up next, reigning Olympic Champion Zou Kai performed flawlessly (16.150) and took the lead over Cassina. All-around Champion Kohei Uchimura (JPN) gratified the crowd with unmatched style and another great routine. His 15.175 gives him 4th for now. The Netherland’s Epke Zonderland took a risk and went for absolute difficulty. His strategy paid off: 15.825 and rank two. Jonathan Horton, US American All-arounder, started off well enough but fell from the bar, mucking up his dismount in the process. 13.250 and seventh. Slovenia’s Horizontal Bar veteran Aljaz Pegan, 2007 World runner-up, was the last gymnast to compete tonight. With 15.500 points he landed 5th place.
A truly crowning moment, this was the concluding event for the London World Championships 2009!
Final standing:
Gold – ZOU Kai (CHN) – 16.150
Silver – ZONDERLAND Epke (NED) – 15.825
Bronze – CASSINA Igor (ITA) – 15.625
4. LEYVA Danell (USA) – 15.600
5. PEGAN Aljaz (SLO) – 15.500
6. UCHIMURA Kohei (JPN) – 15.175
7. TSAREVICH Aliaksandr (BLR) – 14.375
8. HORTON Jonathan (USA) – 13.250
China today added another five medals to their record at these championships, making it a total of nine. They hereby topped the medal rankings in front of the USA (six medals) and Romania (4 medals). With Lauren Mitchell’s two Silver medals and Prashanth Sellathurai’s Bronze on Pommel Horse, Australia ranks sixth, behind Japan (4th) and Great Britain (5th).
Press conference quotes:
Elizabeth Tweddle (GBR): On the loud crowd: ‘The crowd has been fantastic all week. They gave me a buzz and I just wanted to prove that I was one of the best on Floor!’
‘Having the home crowd really helps. I felt I had nothing to lose. I didn’t feel any pressure, I just went out and enjoyed it. To be honest, I think it was one of the easiest Floor routines I’ve ever done.’
On going first, disadvantage? ‘There’s always that worry, but it also means you can get the exercise over and done with and then there was the accident with the Colombian gymnast which sort of put a few gymnasts off.’
On further improvements: ‘I’ve still got stuff to go in on Floor, but my Uneven Bars routine is a pretty high start value so I’ll have to think about what I can add there.’
Marian Dragulescu (ROU): “I was nervous, but very happy we could get the first two places on the podium.”
On continuing to 2012: ‘I’m going to take it year by year, the most important thing is my health. In gymnastics accidents can happen, so I only think about next year.’
Feng Zhe (CHN): On the rank of Worlds and National Championships: ‘I think the two events are the same to us. The national Games and the world championships are both important to us.’
Zou Kai (CHN): On the arena: ‘I was very satisfied with the arena and training hall. I just want to know if the food and the accommodation is ok, that concerns us more!’
On how this medal compares to the Olympic one: ‘It’s hard to compare, the Olympic Gold medal impressed me more, but I have never got a world championship title so this is also important to me.’
Deng Linlin (CHN): ‘I’m satisfied with my performance, although it’s just normal. I wasn’t as nervous as in the previous days.’
On success of the Chinese team: ‘I think our team performed very well, it is perfectly successful.’
On her personal success, how does she feel? ‘It’s a pity that I didn’t qualify for any Final at the Beijing Olympics, so this is a big success to me. I also want to make progress in three years time to win more individual medals, but I hope that our team will be successful too.’
Doctors’ statement on Jessica Gil Oritz’s injury: ‘She is in as stable condition in the hospital. She had to have an x-ray and a scan, but she is neurologically intact.’
Closing Ceremony
FIG President Prof. Bruno Grandi thanked the Organising Committee, who did a terrific job all throughout these championships, the volunteers, the media and the fantastic public that gave its unfailing support to the gymnasts here in London.
Grandi handed over the award for recognition to Brian Stocks, CEO of British Gymnastics and the FIG Medal of Recognition was rewarded to Championships Director Matthew Greenwood, Business Operations Director Steve Brice, Venue Manager Jennifer Marx and Lenn Arnold.
The ceremony continued with the handover of the FIG flag by British Gymnastics to President Grandi, who then passed it on to Gert Sikkens, representing the Rotterdam Organising Committee for 2010. President Grandi finally declared the 41st Artistic Gymnastics World Championships officially closed.
The 42nd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships will take place from October 17 – 24, 2010 in Rotterdam (NED).
