LONDON --The US women just finished their qualifying competition in London. Here, six things to know about the meet.
- The US rocked it -- with no major errors, the team is currently 11 points ahead of second place Great Britain (though Romania, China, and Russia -- all chief rivals -- are still to go).
- Jordyn Wieber, 2011 world champ, just missed the cut for the individual all-around competition. Wieber was outscored by Aly Raisman and Gabrielle Douglas, and though she currently sits in third, only two per country can advance. This is devastating for Wieber, who was a favorite for all-around gold. She and her coach, John Geddert, gave no interviews after, but she released a statement saying, "It is a bit of a disappointment. It has always been a dream of mine to compete in the all-around final of the Olympics, but I'm proud of Aly and Gabby and happy that they reached the all-around and that I was able to help the team get into finals. I think from the beginning we were all looking very strong. It was always going to be very close between the three of us doing all-around and in the end it is what it is." I really feel for her.
- Raisman has the highest score on floor right now. She hit her super-hard tumbling, including a back 1.5 to double Arabian, punch layout, and is .4 ahead of any other gymnast on that event, right now.
- The other US gymnasts had too much power on floor -- Douglas, Ross, and Wieber all stepped out of bounds during their routines. It's kind of remarkable that they can still improve from their performance today.
- McKayla Maroney, who sat out a few days in practice due to a toe injury, did both vaults in qualifying and is leading the ranking by almost a point over every other vaulter.
- Beth Tweddle nailed her bar set -- competing release move after release move in front of the hometown crowd, and hitting a tucked double-double dismount. She leads the bar standings with a 16.133. Douglas, with a 15.333 could also make finals. She's currently in second, but the Russians and Chinese are still to compete on bars. Youna Dufournet, another strong bar worker, fell on her set and won't make finals.
Comments
This young lady should be commended on her grace and sportsmanship. It’s the mark of a true Olympian.
Why did only one U.S. women’s gymnast make the vault finals, when they had the top four scores?
@adam: because to qualify for vault finals, you have to do two vaults. Mckayla Maroney was the only US woman to compete two vaults, in order to make the vault finals. The rest of the team chose not to.
So, let me get this straight…..
EVEN BRAZIL, a team who raised the bar to exorbitant heights in the realm of mediocrity during prelims (finishing more than 20 points below USA), STILL gets to send two gymnasts to the All-Around Finals, while World Champion, Jordyn Wieber sits out???
Is THAT how it works?