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.

Russian World Team Preditctions

Russia Cup has not completed but I have decided to release my predictions for what the team will likely look like. I will definitely be updating based on the performance of gymnasts during this week's remaining days of competition. This year World team will consist of six team members as opposed to the usual five that will take part in the Olympic games. The format is six team members, up to five take part on each apparatus, in the qualification, and four scores count. The team all around is three up three count.

The team will likely be as follows,

World Team: Aliya Mustafina, Maria Kharenkova, Alla Sosnitskaya, Maria Paseka, Viktoria Komova and Daria Spiridonova.

 Alternatives: Anna Rodionova, Tatiana Nabieva?

On vault the team will be anchored by Maria Paseka's very shaky Amanar, two and a half twisting yurchenko. The vault is a mess of a vault but it is something she is landing and the team really needs someone that can anything more difficult than a full twisting yurchenko. Aliya is expected to do a solid double twisting yurchenko that will boost the team's vault scores. Alla Sosnitskaya is a respectable double twisting yurchenko as well but it wouldn't stand up against Afanaseyva's or Grishina's. Maria Kharenkova is likely going to attempt her single twisting yurchenko and Daria Spiridonova might too.

The uneven bars appears to be a much more solid piece for the Russian team and they are likely to have more than three solid routines to choose from. Aliya Mustafina is the lead on this apparatus, she is the defending bronze medalist, and is expected to bring a 6.7 bars routine. The return of Viktoria Komova is going to give Russia a 6.5 plus routine with a good reputation. Daria Spiridonova is likely to be third on bars with her solid 6.4 routine. She did well at the Euros and should try and use some of that success to lead her at the Worlds.

The fourth gymnast that could partake is Kharenkova who was spotted working a 6.1 bars routine. She made a mistake during qualifications of the Russia Cup but could have hit that routine. There is also Maria Paseka who is known to swing bars with a very limited difficulty but should be able to get through a routine.

The beam is a more tricky piece to predict but the top two are almost a given, Kharenkova and Mustafina. Kharenkova has established herself as a specialist on this apparatus and has so far been good enough to make the team. Aliya on the other hand is the reigning world champion on beam and would certainly be performing on this piece. She has a 6.4 routine with the potential for more connection bonuses.

The question really surrounds who will be that third gymnast as the options are limited. Komova seems to be the ideal option and would be great for the team but can she prepare a piece for this apparatus? The other option is Daria Spiridonova, she has good form and has some difficulty but can she hit when the team needs her? The head coach doesn't appear to have said faith in her and will not likely be performing on this piece unless they require her.

On the final piece, the floor, the Russian team has a couple of options and will be determined on the qualifications. Aliya is going to compete this piece and given her good track record on this piece she is good for the team. I only hope that she will be able to perform her high difficult routine at this year's Worlds. Then Maria Paseka, Alla and Maria Paseka will compete for the two final spots. At this point it is a real toss up and the best scores are going to dictate the moves that Russia makes.

Do you agree with my decisions? Leave a comment.

Opinion: Russia Needs Maria Paseka

Maria at the Olympics.

The sorry state of Russian gymnastics, at the current time, means that Russia needs Maria Paseka more than anything now. Maria Paseka is far from being an elegant and polished gymnast but what she lacks in execution she makes up in difficulty. As many of you might remember that she trains the very difficult Amanar vault and while she isn't consistent with it, it is a risk the Russian national team needs for now. Russia took the risk at the 2012 Olympics and it paid off when Maria came home with a Bronze medal on vault.

Maria is the Russian gymnast that blew up Twitter with her looks. During Team Final men and women were captivated by her beauty and tweeted their admiration. Sadly for her she was only able to barely land her Amanar vault keeping her team in contention.

Maria is back in training and this time she is working on a second vault, a Rudi vault. The Rudi is a difficult vault to explain so I shall leave that for another day. It is the vault popularized by Alicia Sacramone who was known for performing it throughout her career. It is worth above 6.0 which makes it a very rewarding vault if a gymnast can land it. Below is an video of Maria training it and it appears as though she is very close to landing it on regular surface.

Vaulting isn't just the reason that the Russian team needs Maria, it is the floor that she could be critical. The Russians have a very weak floor lineup, with Aliya and Vika coming out of surgeries they are likely going to be absent from floor. Ksenia Afanasyeva is definitely out of Worlds and that leaves very few options. They have two promising new faces in Alla Sosnitskaya and Maria Kharenkova but both are fresh and need more time to upgrade their floor routines to compete with the international stars.

This is where Maria comes in, she was shown training some of the hardest tumbling passes in recent videos. She does a double layout stretched with ease, a double arabian tucked with command and can land an arabian double piked! I can't think of any other Russian who has ever trained that tumbling pass. On top of that she has dance elements that are good - a double turn with leg held at 90°.

The potential is there and if she can convert on vault and floor at the Russian Cup she is sure to make the Russian national team for Worlds. Do you guys agree with my opinion? Let me know and if you disagree tell me why.

-Via Alyssia Spaan on YouTube.