Gymnastics News: Ukrainian Gymnast Attempts Whip to Quad Twist

Recent footage has emerged on Oleg Verniaiev's Instagram account that shows a Ukrainian gymnast trying to perform a whip direct to a quadruple twist! That move is sure to be one of the most dangerous and crazy elements ever attempted on floor. This move makes the triple back tuck look like a junior gymnastics move.

The rundown is the gymnast is far from being able to fully execute that combination and could seriously hurt himself trying. The whip and entry are fine but when he goes for the quadruple twist he gets to three and a half and face palms. The quadruple twist has only been in the mens CoP for less than a year, which surely means it's not an easy move to rotate. To see a gymnast already attempting to add it in combination is crazy. The attempt kind of reminds me of when Tatiana Nabieva was attempting an Amanar vault and landed and then did an extra twist - the judges aren't fooled that easily.

In addition Oleg is seen attempting a whip to triple and half twist. He is much closer to nailing his jump but looks like he could hyperextend something in the process.

Analyzing Claudio Fragapane

It has recently come to my attention that the British media is billing Claudia Fragapane as the next floor champion. The British analyst used to be very unbiased back when their teams were horrible but now that their teams are competitive everything is changing. It is sad that things are evolving this way and I hope that they can manage to bring back their fair analyzing for the Olympics because the US analyst are incompetent with actual analyzing of the performances.

Claudio Fragapane is quite the innovator on floor, she has some skills that are hardly ever done on that apparatus and they appear as though she's breakdancing or something of the sort. She is definitely not a typical gymnast or a pixie type gymnast but at the same time her form isn't there either. I saw both of her performances at the Euros and thought that her form could have been better yet the judges didn't overly call her out on that.

She was given a 6.0 D-score and 14.766 E-score on both qualification and team final. She must be commended for sticking almost all of her landings some of which were really complicated. Her first tumbling pass is a full twisting double layout - an H rated element. Followed by a double layout, which is valued at an F. The problem with doing big elements is that in today's gymnastics combinations and bonuses are everything. A gymnast can do two whips into a double arabian with a stag jump out and get the same eight tenths without risking landing deductions.

My real criticism of her is that her toes aren't pointed as much as they should be - Aly Raisman's aren't either and she still won the gold medal. I find that her splits don't really look like they are fully hit but maybe it is just her body that makes it look like it isn't hitting the full split. Then there is the fact that her D-score is only 6.0, that is not nearly as high as it should be if a gymnast intends to win on floor. It is just not going to happen, that D-score needs to be at least 6.3 to challenge some of the big guns like Simone Biles, Larisa Iordache and a healthy Ksenia Afanasyeva.

Check her at the Euros 2014 below. Do you think that she was given too high of an E-score or just about right? I think that it was probably a tenth too high but those sticks make judges forget a lot.

Gymnastics News: Bulimar Out, Tan Sixin Retired, Mexican National Team Named

The race for a team medal at this year's World Championships has just gotten a little bit easier with the announcement that Diana Bulimar is out. Diana's knee gave out according to MCSMaria's blog and was flown to Vienna for immediate treatment. This comes as a shock news especially given that she had recently announced that she had overcome her fear of vault and because she had missed last year's world due to an injury. Diana is now becoming the Romanian Vika Komova - she just can't catch a break.

Without Diana Bulimar on the Romanian team there are very little chances that the team can seriously compete for a medal. The team was already over reliant on Larisa and Diana for the bulk of their scores. Without Diana the team will need to add for apparatus rotations to the team and I don't know where they can find them. On the positive side this will make it that much easier for the Russians and British girls to medal.

Let's wish Diana a quick recovery, which the reports are saying the injury is nothing serious but will definitely keep her out of the Worlds.

With the Youth Olympic Games fast approaching, Triple Twist Gym Blog did a run through of where all the top gymnasts, that were competing there, are now. The most surprising gymnast on that list was Tan Sixin, not for being on the list but for being marked as retired. Tan was not a great all arounder but was a great beam worker something that the Chinese team is not in short supply. She was a reserve for the 2012 Olympic games yet never saw any significant international competition - save for the 2011 Worlds. Sad to see her go so quickly into her career.

The Mexican national team has been named for the Worlds - a bit too early to be naming World teams. The stand outs on the team are definitely veteran Elsa Garcia and Alexa Moreno. Elsa was last seen last summer when she won the silver medal at the Universiade Games in Kazan on the floor apparatus. Alexa Moreno is a even finalist on floor back in 2011 and performed well at the Universiade but did not take home a medal.

It shall be interesting to see if any of these ladies have improved their difficulty levels to challenge for medals. The team is not a medal contender but rather a team that is working with veterans and new additions. In all honesty the team is a good ten to twenty years from becoming a competitive team if the organization gets its things together. In previous years fighting between the coaches and decisions on representatives have caused uproars.

Breaking Down: Gymnastics Turn Combinations on Floor

The current CoP was updated to reward turn combination but not just any turns can gain the connection bonus. The CoP will only reward a very limited kinds of turns and will only give out one tenth bonuses for any turn combination on floor. For those that don't know what a gymnastics turn is then you should check my previous post here.

The CoP states that a turn worth a D or higher connected to a turn worth a B will earn a one tenth bonus. The specific turn being discussed here is a turn that is performed on one leg and not the turn that is performed on a back or another way. The other method of gaining a one tenth bonus is by performing two B elements in connection without a step.

The current queen of turn combinations is Ksenia Afansyeva, she performs two different complex turn combinations. She can perform a double attitude turn, Semenova, into a double turn - a D turn into a B turn. The second combination that Ksenia is capable of performing is a double turn with leg held at horizontal into a single turn with leg held at 180 degrees. Combining a difficult D turn into a B valued turn. Ksenia really attacks this combination turn and almost goes for a double to double combination. The video below will show that she gets a good 1 and a half turn on the second turn.

There are very few other gymnasts that have these turn combinations down but one that is doing them is Maria Kharenkova who does the same horizontal leg turn as Ksenia. I've noticed some of the US gymnasts are doing turn combinations as well but none are really working on anything extraordinary. 

I'm almost certain that I saw Anastasia Grishina training a double turn with leg at horizontal into an illusion turn but I lack the video to proof that. If anyone has any videos of combinations being done please leave a link in the comments and I will update this post. 

Breaking Down: Gymnastics Turns on Floor

Gymnastics turns have evolved rapidly since the elimination of the 10.0 CoP back in 2005-2008 cycle. Back then gymnastics were only ever doing simple double turns and sometimes single complicated turns. The only real exception was Chellsie Memmel, who was performing a double turn with leg held at 90 degrees. It was poorly performed when compared to modern day gymnasts but a complicated turn nonetheless. A turn is a move that is classified as a dance or non-acrobatic element on floor and gymnasts can only count a minimum of 3 non-acrobatic elements in a floor routine - they can do more if they wanted.

The basic turn is a turn on one leg with the option of having the free leg below horizontal. This is the turn that is often performed with ease on the balance beam. The CoP varies with the values it rewards for this particular spin but one single turn is worth an A, double turn a B, triple turn a C and a quad turn an E. There are two gymnasts that are actively attempting the quad turn and they are Aliya Mustafina and Larissa Iordache. Neither of them are consistently hitting the fourth turn but Aliya has gotten 3 and 3/4 way round.

Just thinking about spinning around on one leg four times makes me dizzy. These gymnasts attempt hard elements and then dance their way into a complicated jump.

The turn with leg at horizontal is the turn that I consider to be the most difficult to execute. As the name says it is a turn with the free leg in a horizontal position. The turn has the option of the support leg being straight or bent - so don't assume there is a deduction for bent legs.

The real difficulty with this turn is that one is carrying their free leg around for a turn or a double. There is no option to have your hand holding it up like there is in some of the other turns. The other problem with this particular turn is that the gymnasts tend to elevate it more than horizontal or drop it below horizontal. It is a very finicky turn.

This particular turn has two options in the CoP so far, a single turn worth a B and a double turn worth a massive D. I'm sure there will be a triple turn in this position sooner or later. I haven't heard anyone actually training it though. Ksenia Semenova and Maria Kharenkova are the two gymnasts that perform this turn and both connect it to a B element for a bonus.

The turn is at the 29 second mark in the video.

The third turn is a turn with the leg held at 180 degrees. The turn must be performed with the free leg held upward in a 180 degree position throughout  the turn. This turn has acquired the name Memmel turn because the double turn is named after Chellsie Memmel. This is a turn that every Russian gymnast seems to want to attempt with quite a few actually completing it. With so many Russians successfully competing it it is almost the Russian turn in my books.

The CoP has a single turn, in this position, worth a B and a double worth out of a D. The triple turn is provisionally valued out of an E. The FIG came out with that because Aliya Mustafina submitted it but was not able to complete it at the 2013 Worlds. I'm sure that Aliya, Anna Rodionova or some other Russian gymnast will perform it in a competition by the end of this cycle.

The fourth turn is an attitude turn, it is commonly called that because the free leg is held in a position associated with attitude - that's what I found online. The turn is executed with the free leg held back in attitude - knee of free leg at horizontal throughout but bent upwards. It is quite difficult to explain how this turn works unless you see the actual picture or a video. 

The single attitude turn is worth out of a B and the double is worth out of a D. The double is named after Ksenia Semenova, the 2007 World Champion on uneven bars. The only person performing it is Ksenia Afanasyeva, a gymnast from the same town as Semenova and trained by the same coach. This turn appears to have a certain technique that is hard to pick up and is the least performed in double but is more seen in a single turn.

The next turn is a seldom performed and it is a scorpion turn. I believe it is called that because the gymnast holds their leg in a way that looks very much like a scorpion. The CoP stipulates that the gymnast must hold their free leg backward and upward throughout the turn. The single turn is worth a B. It is a very difficult turn to execute and thus is hardly done yet not rewarded sufficiently for a gymnast to attempt it.

The only gymnast that I have seen perform this turn on the floor was Anna Pavlova back in 2008. After watching her performance a few times I almost thing that she was going for a double scorpion turn but couldn't get the force to rotate it.

The illusion turn is an actual turn even though its name makes it sound like it isn't actually one. This particular turn is more typically performed on the balance beam but is gaining a presence on the floor with the updates to the CoP. The code stipulates that the gymnasts must perform the turn through standing split without touching the floor with their hand or hands. Halfway into the turn the gymnast will have one leg at 180 degrees.

If the thought of doing one of those turns sounded difficult then doing two in a row should be even more difficult but that's now what the CoP says. A single illusion turn is worth out of a B and a double out of a C - yes, a C! That's a sure way to kill anyone actually training the move, maybe the FIG things that it's a dangerous move and needs to not be rewarded.

The tuck turn is making a comeback with Simone Biles performing it and in the recent past by the Australian Lauren Mitchell. The tuck turn begins in a tuck stand with the free leg either bent or held at a horizontal position. If the gymnast does two turns held at horizontal then it is worth a D  and a triple an E but if they do a double with the free leg bent then it's worth a B. A single of either version is worth a sad A.

Below is a video from YouTube that shows all of the turns in the CoP. Thanks to MostepanovaFan for making such a great video.

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.

Analyzing Predictions for The US World Championship Team

Andy Thornton, a writer for American Gymnast,  has come out with a list of his predictions for the US women's national team for the World's. I decided that to analyze his choices and see what potential D-score they could perform at the World's. Andy's predicted team is as follows,

Projected Six-Member Team: Simone Biles, Kyla Ross,  Rachel Gowey, Madison Kocian, MyKayla Skinner Brenna Dowell

Alternatives: Maggie Nichols and Amelia Hundley 

As a fan of gymnastics and as someone that generally knows most of the gymnasts, I had to scratch my head because I hadn't heard of some of these athletes. I looked on YouTube and found their D-scores and some of their performances so far this year. Last week's US Classic revealed a lot and that is probably where Andy is basing his predictions off of. Below is a table showing how he predicts the rotation assignments will be.

The easiest rotation to predict is vault, the US team has a strong batch of gymnasts all capable performing 6.3 vaults or higher. The vault that will be done the most is going to be the Amanar - two and a half twisting yurchenko. The only exception on the team is going to be Skinner's Cheng vault that starts out of a 6.4. The problem with her vault is that she scores much lower than the other gymnasts performing an Amanar. She scored 15.00 compared to high 15's for the others.

Biles is going to perform an Amanar, D-score 6.3. Skinner will do a Cheng, D-score 6.4. Dowell will likely be the third vaulter on the team, that's my opinion not Andy's. She did a mediocre to good vault as opposed to the sat down Amanar that Gowey did. She will do an Amanar as well, D-score 6.3.

Note: Skinner runs the risk of being given a zero if both her hands don't touch the vaulting horse. She has the tendency of only pushing off with one hand. It is an odd technique that so far has worked for her but a recipe for disaster.

The uneven bars is by far the weakest rotation for the US national team and the hardest to predict. The strongest gymnast on this apparatus, Kyla Ross, was coming off an injury and watered down her routine. She left out an inbar stalder with a half turn and could thus had a few tenths less than she would have otherwise. She will likely have a routine of 6.6 for the World's - that's what she had last year when she won the silver medal on this apparatus.

The other two team members will likely carry a D-score of around 6.3. It is really hard to tell what they are holding back on but that seems to be the difficulty these three gymnasts are toping at. Biles and Kocian are my picks for this rotation based on their consistency so far.

The balance beam is unpredictable because gymnasts are rewarded various D-score based on hit connections. Kyla Ross is fluctuating from a 6.1 when she hits all her connections to 5.7 when she doesn't. Her routine hasn't been evaluated by international judges and can't really be predicted so far - remember Jordyn Wieber's varying D-score from 2012. We can assume 6.1 for the purposes of this assessment.

Simone Biles is the real star of the balance beam for the team when she hits. She is quite consistent but lacks that finishing touch on this apparatus. That really doesn't take much away from her given that she does some of the biggest moves on the beam. She's going for a 6.3 D-score. Her form is what's going to do her if her lack of connections don't.

Gowey is a beam specialist in my book, she does some of her most complex work on this apparatus and is only good on the others. She was given a 6.3 D-score on this piece and didn't even throw down some of the biggest moves like Simone. Her form will certainly be called out at World's but at national events expect her to receive massive scores.

The floor, I predict that the World title will be won and lost on floor. That goes for all the other national teams as well. The floor received the most drastic overhaul since the last cycle and gymnasts who aren't Simone Biles and Ksenia Afanasyeva have all failed to crack the15.00 mark multiple times at an international event since the beginning of the current cycle.

Simone Biles, if from what I'm lead to believe, from the US scoring system, has a 6.6 D-score. That is crazy for a gymnast that lacks many of the connected dance elements like a Ksenia. The scary thing about this gymnast is that she sticks most of her jumps and they aren't easy ones. The bad part is that she doesn't get called out for poor toe-point and form on some of her leap-spins.

Skinner on the other hand has the difficulty but lacks the form and consistency that Biles has. If the US team puts her on the lineup they are going to be taking a big risk that could pay off or cost them the gold. The mistake would need to be massive but it is still a risk nonetheless. She has a D-score that hovers around 6.3 and is bolstered by her double twisting double layout - the Moors. That element is worth nine tenths but her form is very piked that she could easily see more deductions than points.

The team will likely go with Ross for the third spot, she has upgraded her floor routine this season. At the US Classic she didn't under-rotate any of her jumps - something that she was having problems with in 2013. Her new first tumbling pass is a whip to double arabian. She appeared to have some minor issues with the landing and was hovering the line - not a good sign if she wants to add a stag jump to it. Her D-score is hovering at 5.7 but could easily be pushed to 5.8.

The run-down is that these numbers are points higher than any other national team the US team will be facing against. It is safe to say that the team could win with one fall but would open the door to another team with two falls. There won't be any other team that will have three Amanars on vault - there just isn't any nation training it like the US.

These predictions are quite solid by Andy and utilize the best gymnast available in the right places. Now to see if Marta will actually do this or go experimental. Only time will tell!