Videos From 2014 Worlds Qualifying

The women's qualifying sessions have concluded and all the gymnasts have competed and no one team had a clean day. The closest team to going error free was the US team but they ended up having quite a few issues on their last piece - the uneven bars. The other teams had errors here and there on one or more apparatuses and lacked the difficulty

Russia Qualifying Video,

US Qualifying Video,

China Qualifying Video,

Romania and Great Britain Qualifying Video, 

Worlds: Podium Training

As of the writing of this post 3/4ths of the rotations had their podium training and their performances have filtered out. I will focus on what has come out via Twitter, blogs and YouTube. The main focus will be on the US and the Russian team because those teams have gotten the most coverage at this moment.

The Russian women's team had their podium training first, they're a couple of rotations before US. The consensus with regards to this team is that they are going with consistency over spectacular routines. The team began podium training on floor which is their general weak spot since this year's Euros and it still is but not as much as before.

Floor Lineup: Aliya Mustafina, Alla Sosnitskaya, Maria Kharenkova, Ekaterina Kramarenko, Daria Spiridonova.

Aliya had all kinds of mistakes and only did three tumbling lines. She also had issues with her triple Y turn. I don't know what to think about it because I expected her 2013 routine with upgrades. She revealed in an interview that she was working on upgrades on floor but that wasn't shown. I'll have to reserve judgment for now.

Alla and Maria had issues with their turns and they seem to always have some issues with them but should work them in - probably miss the connection though. There haven't been upgrades on any of their Russian Cup routines.

Ekaterina has prepared a simple routine that leaves little room for mistake and probably won't have a big mistake given the easiness. I think it could score much better than Daria's Euro floor routine. Daria looks more consistent with her tumbling but her floor turn was a flop in training.

Vault Lineup: Alla, Aliya, Tatiana Nabieva, Ekaterina, Maria

Alla is seriously working the Cheng vault and will likely try to perform it in competition. It is much better than someone would think from the Russians and I'm surprised. I think she's just recently been working on it but it's getting there.

Alla, Tatiana are both working on double twisting yurchenkos. They are clean and with very minimal steps on landing. Form is an issue for both of them but that's always been the case. Ekaterina and Maria's routines didn't make it to YouTube. I'm assuming a double and a single respectively.

Bars Lineup: Aliya, Daria Spiridonova, Tatiana, Ekaterina, Maria

Aliya looks like she's hiding what bars set she will be performing or is seriously behind in training. I think it's somewhere in between. Only one simple change or two needs to be made to the routine she's been performing for the past year. Daria on the other hand is doing the same 6.4 routine and has cleaned up her handstands and form. She's sure to break 15 if she sticks her landing.

Tatiana has a cleaner routine and while she lacks difficulty she's more likely to stay on than not. Going with her is a safer bet than with any other gymnasts but that's just what I got from the routine. Ekaterina was just as clean and with the same difficulty which should make for a good competition between those two. Maria on the other hand fell on her van leuween transition but was otherwise extremely clean. She has upped her difficulty and if she can hit her routine it could get a good score.

Beam Lineup: Maria, Aliya, Ekaterina, Daria, Alla

The only videos that didn't make it online where the beam training and all I can go on is by what was mentioned online. Maria did some solid routines and that's all I know, I don't think anything new. Aliya has her Russian Cup combinations going but she's keeping what she's going for under wraps. Then we have Alla doing a good beam set? That's what was said by a very reputable gymnastics site but I can't believe it until I see it.

I decided against writing about the US team as there is a lot of information online already on them. They all executed their routines well and did mostly what they did at US nationals.

News! News! and News!

There is so much news coming out and not enough of the real substantive material that people actually want to know. We know all of the teams have arrived and that they've been working out at the practice hall but we don't know what they'll be performing. The small videos that have come out are of the Chinese gymnasts training very basic stuff and not really making many mistakes. We are no closer to knowing what the gymnasts will be putting out than we were last week.

I have to applaud the Russian team for not using social media since they've arrived in China. The most that has been put out is one or two pictures and that's that. The pictures I do have of them training were taken by a nosey coach from another squad - you know who you are! Check them out below and the Russian ladies aren't looking prepared for the camera.

For more pictures of the Russians please visit Arabian Punch Front.

Japanese men were expected to win the team event but word from podium training is that they have a super weak lineup on still rings and a very weak set on parallel bars. We did know that they have some major players that can score massive scores but can they take the low scores? I don't know considering the Chinese are coming on strong and are at home. I'm a bit surprised they didn't at least bring a still ring specialist given the six member team.

Word on the internet is that the US team is rock solid and more than their usual self. This could be good or bad if they end up leaving their best on the podium training and not the on competition day.

Chilean gymnasts Tomas Gonzalez hasn't been rock solid on floor but on vault he's a beast. He recently posted on his instagram a stuck Tsuk double piked, 6.0 vault. The vault is not easy to stick and if he's doing them like that he's going to gain that Kristian Thomas execution quality reputation. This vault also stands out because of the word on the internet that the vault is not as good, some of the top vaulters are struggling on this horse/springboard.

Gymnastics News: Teams Arrive to Nanning

Teams are starting to arrive in Nanning and some much sooner than others. It appears that the US team was probably one of the earliest team to arrive. On the men's side two US male gymnasts were spotted in Nanning, Danell Leyva was one of them. I don't assume that two of the guys were going to fly out by themselves which should mean that they are all there. The US women are also in Nanning as a photo of them surfaces online. The picture features them next to a giant statue of the official mascot of the Nanning Worlds.

If you look closely you might spot a bandage over the leg of one of the gymnasts. I think that the gymnast in question is Ashton Locklear. I find it quite strange that she would flash the injury as all the other gymnasts have their legs covered. Either way an injury to her leg won't make much of a difference given she is a bars specialist.

The Romanian national team released a few images before they left for China - at least I think it was before. I think that they would look a bit sleepy and tired if they had just arrived from a very long flight. They look in very good spirits but besides Larisa Iordache I can't name any of the gymnasts on that team.

Team Russia boarded a plane earlier today and a few pictures from some of the national team members have shown that. It appears as though Alla Sosnitskaya and Daria Spiridonova have been assigned seats together. Another image shows Tatiana Nabieva and Aliya Mustafina drinking something at a coffee shop.

There is no word on the men's national team for Russia but it's probably safe to say that they were on the same plane. I was lead to believe that the team would be there by the 27th of September which would mean they had to leave on the 26th.

Frances men's national team has arrived a few days ago and so has Chilean gymnast Gonzalez, first name escapes me right now. It seems he was training with the French team in France before heading to China.

Team Azerbaijan is also China bound as the very lovely Oleg Stepko has posted a picture of him at the airport waiting for his flight.

Gymnastics News: Alla Sosnitskaya Working a Cheng Vault

Russian gymnast Alla Sosnitskaya, vault and floor specialist, has rocked the gymternet with a leaked video of her performing a decent looking Cheng vault. The Cheng vault is valued at a 6.4, one tenth higher than the Amanar vault. With the addition of such a vault the Russian team's chances are looking much better not only for the team event but for maybe a vaulting medal.

If Alla is able to perform the Cheng and the double twisting yurchenko she will have the same difficulty as MyKyala Skinner, my favorite to win a medal on vault. If she does have this vault ready she is sure to make vault finals more interesting considering how many gymnasts are performing high difficulty vaults. We only need to look back three years to find a time when there were only three gymnasts doing difficult vaults and the champion was a given.

On the team side of things a Cheng vault would bolster a lineup made up of double twisting yurchenkos. This vault performed at a medium level would score at least a 15. That 15 is equivalent to a stuck double.

On other news I will start to post more as podium training gets under way in Nanning.

Gymnastics News: Komova Out, Afanasyeva In & Out, and Nabieva Maybe In?

Over the last couple of days information has been filtering out from the Russian camp and primarily from the mouth of Valentina Radionenko. The major news revealed was that Komova was ruled out of the 2014 Worlds because of the danger of preparing a second apparatus was too great. At first I thought she was fragile and something might be wrong but the more I read the more I realized that she has been ruled out over the two apparatus rule. The two apparatus rule is a freak rule made up by Valentina and one that she is sticking to no matter what.

The rule seems to have emerged since last year's World and the previous one - back in 2011. The Russian team would send strong gymnasts but would end up with many injuries and the team would be left in an uncomfortable position. Since that time the team directors have wanted a team made up of gymnasts that can fill in if an injury were to emerge to anyone. I think that it's an idiotic move when the team is made up six members as opposed to the Olympic standard five.

I think that Komova can add a high standard bars set with a high probability of a hit routine. If it was up to me I would make room for her but then again they might not be able to have that privilege. All I want to say is that I hope that Ekaterina Kramarenko better be used on at least one piece to justify her inclusion.

The second big news of the first article was the sudden reappearance of Ksenia Afanasyeva. Valentina mentioned her as a possible replacement of the now injured Maria Paseka. Along with Ksenia, Tatiana Nabieva's name was mentioned. It was thought that Ksenia was working on a vault and a floor routine for the Worlds. A few days after the original article came out the doctors ruled her out. It appears they had a major mock meet and it probably showed everyone what we all had assumed. It is really in Ksenia's best interest to do what she wants and not what Valentina wants - we know how it ended last time.

Maria Paseka is nothing to Valentina and it shows by the way she is spoken about. It appears Maria twisted an ankle or injured it in some way resulting in swelling but not a serious injury. Valentina mentions a lack of confidence and so forth which lead to her removal. There was a real good reason for her lack of confidence and that was her horrible Russia Cup performance. It wasn't horrible but for where she's supposed to be it was to me. The sad thing is that her business is being aired out in the open like nothing is wrong with that.

Nabieva is the only real option unless the emergence of Polina Fedorova is a serious option. The Polina option shows that the team is searching for a beam worker and not a bars worker. Tatiana is weak on beam and Fedorova has only ever shined on that piece if with low 14s. That's not convincing to me which explains why I think that Nabieva is a likely candidate to fill that last spot. I only hope that she doesn't fall of the bars like she did in 2010 and upgrades her difficulty.

The Russian camp is a serious mess and it is screaming 2013 all over again. There has got to be something wrong with the way something is being done in Russia. More news is sure to filter out and I'll withhold predictions until then.

Breaking Down: Triple Turn With Free Leg Held at Horizontal

Mexican gymnast Ana Lago is back from a bad ACL injury a few years ago and is practicing some seriously good moves. Ana is quite good on floor and won a medal at the Pan Am games a few years back - I think she won gold. Too much hasn't come out with regards to her or for almost any of the Mexican gymnasts for that case.

Ana posted a video of her performing the triple turn with ease and elegance on her Instagram account. It was seriously good, she is probably going to do a turn out of it to get that one tenth bonus. Given the way the CoP works this move is likely to get credited as an E - similarly to the triple twisting with leg held at 90°. That move is the one that Aliya Mustafina is training and now performing.

If she performs it at the Worlds the move is likely going to be named after her and that's a big achievement when only two elements are named after Mexicans. The one move that I do know is the Magaña - a triple back tuck off the uneven bars.