More Senior Jesolo Videos!

Here are some more videos and commentary from some of the top gymnasts at the recent Trophy Jesolo meet, including former world all-around champ Vanessa Ferrari and a few of the Americans and Russians:

Cassie Whitcomb Floor 2010 Jesolo

I see her as a possible alternate to the world team (along with Amanda Jetter), but nothing more just yet.  She and Amanda both are solid and clean all-around gymnasts without a real standout event – ideal for a 2nd or 3rd alternate spot.

Morgan Smith Floor 2010 Jesolo

Morgan Smith Beam 2010 Jesolo

I had never watched her much until this meet…she definitely impressed me, especially on beam.  I love the power and height on all of her skills there.  I’m guessing on floor she’s working on connecting the 1 ½ through to the double Arabian, which would give her an additional tenth in connection (0.2 vs. 0.1), and she definitely has some ability there.  She’s certainly one to keep an eye on.

Kytra Hunter Vault 2010 Jesolo

Aly Raisman Vault 2010 Jesolo

Two of our best vaulters without a doubt.  Raisman’s twisting position is so similar to Sacramaone’s!  I hope both of them are working on a 2 ½ as well as a strong second vault.  It will be interesting to see these two battle both Kayla Williams and Sacramone for spots on the world team.

Vanessa Ferrari Bars 2010 Jesolo

Well certainly not quite the difficulty we used to see form her, but she’s starting to get that “crisp” look that we haven’t seen since 2006-2007.  She has looked so sluggish for the past couple of years, and you can still see some of that on the low dismount.  It looks like she’s more motivated and in better shape than she has been in a long time though.

Vanessa Ferrari Beam 2010 Jesolo

Pretty strong routine!  I love her planche – it’s always been very flat.  This also looked more confident than I’ve seen from her in a while.  Like Semenova, she’s a good competitor on beam even when she’s not in top form.

Vanessa Ferrari Floor 2010 Jesolo

Also the strongest tumbling she has shown in a long time.  I serisouly doubt we’ll ever see a double-double from her again, but her landings and overall power is coming back.  She actually made that 1 ½ to front full look very nice!

Tatiana Nabieva Vault 2010 Jesolo

It really is about time she cleans up her form here!  We’ve seen her compete a 2 ½, so she should be making the double full look a lot closer to perfect than this.  If she does, I expect her to be an all-around threat at both Europeans and Worlds this year.

Anna Myzdrikova Floor 2010 Jesolo

I really think she needs to stop landing with her arms completely down on each pass – she’s made a habit out of that, and not only does it not look good, but look at what it makes her do on that 2 ½ to barani.  Her arms after the 2 ½ are TOTALLY down, and it makes her barani go straight into the ground – just like she did in the worlds event finals last year.  Such a shame she also took out both of the passes that make her world class on this event – the whip to double Arabian and triple full to back tuck.  She will need to put them back in to make the world team this year and also get back into medal contention on this event. The routine is quite mediocre without them.

Ekaterina Kurbatova Floor 2010 Jesolo

Pretty clean, but very nteresting that she dances for a FULL 30 SECONDS after her last pass!  I’m sure I’ve never seen that before.  Obviously she only uses 3 passes instead of the now-standard 4, so she will need to consider upgrading.  I think many of us didn’t expect her to remain one of the top Russian gymnasts for these next couple of years, but she is hanging right in there.  With her strong vault and bars and some upgrades on floor she could possibly be on both the European and world teams this year.

Tatiana Solovyeva Beam 2010 Jesolo

Ramilya Musina Beam 2010 Jesolo

I see both Solovyeva and Musina as “bubble” gymnasts on the Russian team.  They’re not quite up there yet, but they are inching quite close to European and world team contention.  Nice form, body line, and overall look from both.