Tag Archives: 2011 world gymnastics championships

Wieber vs Komova…Let The Showdown Begin!

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Andy Thornton
rocky vs ivan drago

Jordyn Wieber, or Viktoria Komova?   The battle between Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin that played out in Beijing was certainly exciting for American fans, but there’s just something about a classic “American vs. Russian” duel on the world stage that absolutely enthralls us.  It seems to perfectly capture that magical spirit of international athletic competition and ...

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Dramatic Men’s Team Final…Did The Judges Get It Right?

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Andy Thornton
high bar judges athens

When a competition is as exciting and unpredictable as this year’s world men’s team final was, the results almost don’t even matter.   For a team like the United States, perspective is everything.  After placing 4th at last year’s worlds in Rotterdam, getting back onto the podium – where it had been back in Athens 2004 and ...

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Surprise, Surprise…And A Sneak Peak At Men’s Team Finals!

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Andy Thornton
john orozco rings 2

Well if the potential of the USA men to hang with China and Japan wasn’t already convincing enough, it is now.   Halfway through the men’s qualification rounds in Tokyo, the USA men’s stellar performance left them sitting in second place behind the host Japanese, who have been expected all along to battle with the Chinese for ...

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USA Men Light The Fire!

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Andy Thornton
jake dalton2

Four-and-a-half points.   That’s how much the USA improved its score in this year’s worlds qualifications compared to last year’s.  It was an absolutely stunning performance – one of the best that Team USA has EVER given in world competition.  All six men were fabulous...on essentially every event.  This year’s team outscored last year’s team on five ...

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Tons of Videos From Women’s Qualifications…USA, Russia, and China!

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Andy Thornton
Mckayla maroney

Here's a link to YouTube user piibunina, who has kindly posted quite a few excellent-quality videos from women's qualifications, including the USA, Russia, and China on all four events! Thanks piibunina!

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Don’t Be Fooled…A Look At The Real Scores From Qualifications

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Andy Thornton
detective

What if…   …we took the top three scores only from the top four teams from preliminaries?  After all, that’s exactly what’s going to happen in team finals.  The only difference is each team will have to pick their best three gymnasts BEFORE they compete, rather than retrospectively picking the top three scores out of five on ...

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Women’s Team Qualifications…Themes From The Top Three

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Andy Thornton
Raisman Wieber

American Rookies Come Through!  The USA faced quite the challenge at these world championships.  This team has suffered numerous recent major injuries to several veterans who would have provided experience, inspiration, and big scores on the world stage: Rebecca Bross, Chellsie Memmel, Mackenzie Caquatto, and Alicia Sacramone…and Shawn Johnson and Bridget Sloan weren’t quite physically ...

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Worlds Analysis: Is Romania In It Or Not?

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Andy Thornton
catalina ponor floor

Romania was solid, but they’ll need to be better if they want a medal.   Catalina Ponor’s performance was simply an extension of the magnificence she’s been displaying in both training and in competition over the last few months.  It’s a comeback so remarkable it’s almost too good to be true.  You can’t tell by watching her ...

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Remembering Rotterdam…The 2010 Women’s World Team Final

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Andy Thornton
dementieva 2010

Anna Dementieva Floor 2010 World Team Finals     Ksenia Afansyeva Floor 2010 World Team Finals     Since the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 and began competing as separate individual nations after the 1992 Olympics, many fans have yearned for some form of the gymnastics that dominated world and Olympic competition in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  When many fans envision ...

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Remembering Rotterdam…Flashback to the Men’s Team Final

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Andy Thornton
chinese men 2010

Chinese Win Men’s Team Final at 2010 Worlds The names were Teng Haibin, Chen Yibing, Yan Mingyong, Lu Bo, Feng Zhe, and Zhang Chenglong…one returning Olympic champion from Beijing, one from back in Athens, a rings world champion, a world p-bars silver medalist, and two worlds rookies.  The results that evening in Rotterdam were no surprise ...

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