A random girl's random gymnastics ramblings.

Monday, October 31, 2011

allow me to ladle you a piping hot bowl of this is how it is.


The 2011 World Gymnastics Championships All Around Finals, or How I Learned to Stop Loving Gymnastics and Start Hating Everyone.

It's time like these I wonder what it would have been like had there been internet after the 1992 AA finals.

It's been about two weeks since Wieber beat out Komova by a mere .033, and for the most part, things have settled down.  So why do I even need to write this blog?  My intention, two weeks ago when I capped these pictures, was to do a SCAM-like comparison in order to shut all of the nay-sayers up.  However, since then, the majority of people really have come around, so this seems kind of pointless.  But whatever, I'm bored.  Deal with it.

We'll start with vault.  This event was a treat to watch.  Although Jordyn underperformed her Amanar, for her, she still had her typical beautiful form and tight rotation.  A sub-par vault from Jordyn is equivalent to an awesome vault by most other people.  The landing was a little "clunky," was Tim Dagget would say, which resulted in a sizable step.


I love that I can watch Jordyn do Amanars all day long, and never fear for her life.  I can't say the same for everybody.  Viktoria followed with a lovely DTY.  Her form is very un-Russian, in that it in no way resembles an octopus spinning through the air.  Legs pasted together, no crossing, pretty toes.  She didn't get a ton of distance from the table, but still managed to land relatively upright.  Despite a decent chest position, she still took a noticeable step/slide backwards. 


Vika had a smaller landing error than Jordyn, but since the COP values the Amanar as being one billion points harder than the DTY, Jordyn comes out with the edge on this event.  Despite this being fairly obvious, I have still read the random criticism blasting how "unfair" it is because Jordyn's start value is so much harder.  I know, right?  You can't make this shit up.  Where were these people last year when Russia racked up the points using multiple Amanars (debatable, but that's another rant for another time.)  I thought that was the whole point of this stupid new COP: let's see who can do the most hard shit.  Whatever.  

Click to enlarge, if need be.

Bars.  Not Jordyn's greatest outing.  That said, it wasn't nearly the trainwreck that everyone made it out to be.  She went WAAAAY over on her clear hip 1/1, which caused her to barrel into her bail, which was just a huge mess.  That said, she managed to keep it down to a form break, and most certainly did not fall.  Let me repeat that: Jordyn Wieber did not fall on bars.  No fall.  So the next person who says "She shouldn't have won because she FELL!" gets a punch to the crotch. 

Following that, she got her routine back on track.  She more or less hit the rest of her handstands, and held on to her ridiculously low tkatchev.  That skill needs to go like, yesterday.  She reminds me of when my cat scoots her butt across the carpet.  However, she saved the best for last, and absolutely nailed the shit out of her double layout dismount.  I don't know what's up with the downgrade, but I'll take a beautiful, stuck DLO over just about any other dismount any day.  That's just me though. 

What is important is that despite having a major error, Jordyn came back and blasted through the rest of her routine.  Fuck up in the interior of the routine, and you simply cannot afford to step on the dismount.  Which she did not.  And that's why she's the world champion.


Naturally, Jordyn was to be followed by Viktoria, with her perfect uneven bars body and delightful swing.  Yeah, she goes a little overboard with the inbar stalders (I think I counted five?) but whatever, they're all pretty.  She knows how to hit handstands like a motherfucker.  However, there are exceptions...


She was as late on her inbar stalder full as Jordyn was on her clear hip.  Yeah, the hip angles are different, but those are each .5 deductions.  I love how everyone and their mother, including Tim Dagget's mother, ranted about Jordyn's late handstand, but largely ignored Vika's.  


No one seems to know why in the world she does that messed up 1/2 turn before her dismount.  I don't know why it's there.  It just gives her two chances to not hit handstands.  It makes no sense.  Then, a little step on the dismount.  I know it's just a little step, but I'm betting she wishes she could take back just one of these little fuckers.  One less teeny step, and she'd be the one giving up her NCAA eligibility right now.  You know, if they had that in Russia.  

Could you IMAGINE if the NCAA recruited Russians?  I would die.  Viktoria would go to UCLA, while Nabieva would head straight to Bama, obvs.  Musty to Florida...  I digress. 

So after two events, things seem pretty self explanatory.  Jordyn threw down on vault, while Viktoria was all "Come at me, bro!" on uneven bars.  1-1. 


Up first on beam was Komova.  She opened up with a lovely punch front, followed by her signature pass of LOSO-LOSO. 

Side rant: it depresses me that this pass is like the height of beam passes in 2011.  Don't get me wrong, Vika's performance of said pass is DIVINE.  There is no denying that.  What gets me is that bitches have been doing this pass since, what, the eighties??  Three LOSOs in a row was the norm fifteen years ago.  FIFTEEN MOTHERFUCKING YEARS AGO.  But that was all shot to hell when it was decided that skills shouldn't be repeated, and then further tossed down the drain when dynamic connections were more or less eliminated from the code.  I mean, yeah, I guess you could do LOSOx3, and while it would give you four hundred bonus Spanny-points, it wouldn't get you jack shit in real life.  So what's the point?  Might as well do a front aerial- pause pause pause- arm swing- BHS- LOSO.  Because that's a connection. 

Anyway, right, Vika's beam.  Gorgeous LOSOx2.  Fluffy dance, fluffy dance, and then the arabian.  She manages to land it so upright, it's unreal most times.  Other times, like today, it's a little off, and she bends at the waist to save it.  This is where it all goes downhill for Vika.  It seems as though once she has a bobble, they just keep coming until the very end.  And this routine was no exception.  She fared well on her leap pass of split leap (which I'm not going to cap.  There is no point, we all know she has gorgeous leaps,)- wolf jump.  Wolf jumps are, by nature, very fugly skills, but she manages to make them look pretty and delicate.  

Her L turn was decent, keeping her leg up long enough to rotate the spin, but dropped it before she could connect to her front aerial.  The aerial itself came with a balance check, which she had to upright before she could do her sheep jump, which had, what else, its own wobble.  Lots of bobbles, zero connections.  

Side somi was fine.  Back on track, she went for the double turn, which only got about 1.63 times around.  But since the code only counts halves, she was scored as having done a 1.5 turn.  She eagerly dismounted with a BHS-BHS- high double tuck, which was landed with a low chest and a sizable step backwards.  


Wieber came out and pulled a "Jordyn," and by that I mean she came back after a dismal bar routine and annihilated beam. As she tends to do.  She nailed her "pass" of front aerial-arm swing-one armed BHS-LOSO.  She did it as well as it can be done.  Because let's accept it, this is not a connecting pass, and never has been.  But the code doesn't give a shit about a little thing we like to call DYNAMIC CONNECTIONS.  Suck it, code.  All the same, nary a wobble on the pass. 


I love how everyone likes to bitch about Jordyn not hitting 180 on her splits.  "Lack of split!" they claim.  Well, assholes can suck it, because bitch hits her splits.  Accept that.

The first wobble is on her side somi, and even then it's just a slight arm wave.  Her L turn was amazing, so much so that even Elfi, who is like minutes away from getting Vika's name tattooed on her ass, starts to audibly pant over it.  The next visible error came during her PIVOT TURN.  It was just a super slight waiver, but even still, it's a pivot turn.  I have no idea what is going on there, because she made the exact same error during event finals.  I mean, whatever, I shouldn't judge, but it's a pivot turn.  A pivot turn. 

In a change from her routine from nationals, Jordyn left out the extra half, and stuck with a comparatively easy switch side leap.  She also left out the extra turn she had been adding after the L turn.  Hmmm.  I'd assume those will go back in before London.  Lovely side aerial, then it's time to prep for the full-BHS.

People need to shut up about this full-BHS.  Crediting non-connections has been en vouge for like ten years now.  You think that the world AA final is going to be the first time that the judges are all "Wait a minute, that wasn't connected!"  No.  Unless you stop moving entirely, the judges seem to consider it a connection.  She has a minor balance check after the full, but she never loses momentum.  Those arms keep moving, her body keeps moving.  Do I agree that it is a connection?  No.  Does the code think it's a connection?  Yes.  Thus, she was credited with the connection. (I'm assuming that it was credited.  Who knows what the judges really did.)

It really reminds me of those horrid leaps everyone keeps adding to their passes on floor.  Like, one out of ten are actually rebounded leaps.  The rest are landed, swing arms to set, then a leap.  And those all count.  So until the code figures that out what connections are, people are going to get credited.  Including Jordyn.

Moving on, Jordyn dismounted with her lovely, clean 2.5, with a step on the landing.  Three very minor bobbles aside, Wieber absolutely destroyed her routine.  Komova, while without falls, still had a number of large errors.  Plus, she lost a shitton of connection, so that sucks.  Pretty simple, Jordyn takes beam.  2-1.

Time for the final event: floor.


Being that she qualified in second, Jordyn had to go first.  I love this floor routine so much.  To any asshole who tries to pull the "But that Jordyn Wieber routine should get artistry deductions!  It's not very creative..." card, I only have this to say to you: do less crack.  Jordyn has arguably the most creative and well performed routine in existence today.  It has lots and lots of different movement that utilizes the entire floor.  She uses all sorts of levels.  Some girls do their obligatory "must get my hips near the ground" pose, but Jordyn has multiple moments where she's up high, down low, to the side.  You get it.  She is remarkably expressive with the music.  But above all else, it is entertaining.  She obviously enjoys it.  And when the performer enjoys themselves, it's hard for the audience to avoid having a good time too.

Artistry is such a subjective term.  Too many people assume that ballet = artistry.  It does not.  There are so many different styles of movement that can convey emotion; ballet is but one of them.  So artistry trolls, STFU.

Onward.  Jordyn opened with the Silivas, and aside from a small slide back, it was beautiful.  Her legs, her toes, everything is always where it needs to be.  Her chest was close to being considered too low, but I don't know that it was low enough to garner a deduction.  She followed with her 1.5 through to triple, with which she gave up the same slight slide backwards.  That stick rule is such a bitch.  It is easily the most hated aspect of the current code for me.  Easily.  What was wrong with lunging?  Now most landings resemble little kids trying to march through mud.

Jordyn nailed her triple pirouette, and hit her leap passes.  Her 180 DEGREE leap passes.  Back in August, I watched Jordyn warm up these leaps over and over, working really hard to stick them.  What good is a great leap if you stumble out of it?  The hard work seemed to pay off, because she nearly stuck them cold in Tokyo.  Every little tenth, you know?  No skill ever seems like a throwaway to her. 

Next, Wieber went into her 2.5-punch layout pass, which has given her problems all summer.  This was no exception, and it resulted in a step out of bounds.  As in, she landed in bounds, and took a step out of bounds.  In bounds, then out of bounds.  Some people seemed to think that she landed ass-first out of bounds, and should have just ended the routine there and hit the showers.  In real life, it was just your run-of-the-mill step out of bounds.  Not the end of the world.  Jordyn, being Jordyn, didn't let that phase her, and instead stuck her double pike cold.  I know it's cliched, but it's true: leaving a good impression on the judges makes a difference.  She ended that routine, and her entire night, on the best note possible.  That's why she's the world champion.

The final routine of the night belonged to Viktoria Komova.  She knew the score she needed to win, and it was easily within her reach.  These are the moments that make or break competitors.  Some girls live off of this shit, and others... don't.



Vika opened up with her 1.5 through to double arabian.  And while it was landed much, much better than in team finals, there was still a minor hop.  I know it seems like I'm harping on her little hops and such, but seriously, one of these bitches cost her the title.  She followed with a double tuck.  Is that a place holder for something else?  Why is she doing a double back?  Despite the relative ease of the skill, she still took a huge bounce backwards on the landing.  If you're going to do a plain old double tuck, you'd better stick the hell out of it.  She makes a point of it to then take another step to get into the correct position, like where she would have landed had she not had the huge bounce.  I've never understood that.  She's not the only gymnast to do it, but I just figure, if you've already taken the step, either cover it up or move on.  Each additional step taken is another reminder to the judges that you're not where you're supposed to be. 


I know other people don't like the 80s breakdown of her Swan Lake music, but I live for it.  There just such a delicious Romania-in-the-80s flavor to it.  The bangs, the bitchface, the unflexed wrists.  WIN WIN WIN!  After her sassy little breakdown, Vika stepped into her double L turn, which wasn't great.  It was fully rotated, but the free leg kind of flies up and down throughout the turn.  This was followed by the prescribed leaps and jumps, which Vika again did not stick.  You gots to stick your jumps.  She came THISCLOSE to sticking her triple full, but there was still just the most miniscule of hops.  She almost seems like she lands fine, but then moves her feet as she stands up.  Maybe once she gets some meat on her bones, she'll be able to absorb those landings.  Or maybe it was just the super bouncy floor in Japan, who knows.  All the same, a step is a step is a step.

The next semi-major error in the routine was Vika's Memmel turn.  Side note: it slays me that Memmel, Strug and Gogean each have major dance elements named after them.  Back on topic, Komova both under-rotated and fell out of her turn.  She reminds me of Shawn Johnson, in the sense that she stops to finish every. single. skill.  And while it's not a bad thing, it further exaggerates her mistakes at times.  In this case, she fell out of the turn, lunged, stepped back into her finish position, and did the signature "I'm finished" head bob, which is really just a Russian salute.  Or as the preschoolers call them, a "ta-da!"  I'm being very nitpicky, but it just makes her mistakes seem a bit more obvious.  Khorkina would have improvised some slinky dance move out of that turn, and the judges would have been blown away and added seven Khorkina-points for pizazz.

She ended her routine with the same final skill as Jordyn, with an extremely different result.  While Jordyn's double pike was high and stuck, Vika landed with a very low chest (Yang Yilin-low) and stumbled forward.  And again, instead of moving quickly to correct her error, she stood up very slowly, and then kind of crumpled into her finishing pose. 

Look familiar?


That slow reaction gives the judges all sorts of time to realize and focus on her mistake.  Jordyn left the judges with a stunning final impression, while Viktoria did not.  And that's why she's not the world champion.

While both athletes had their mistakes, Jordyn performed better than Vika on FX.  Landings and sureness of performance both belonged to Jordyn.  3-1.

Jordyn out-performed Viktoria on three of the four events.  While she had a major error on bars, it wasn't enough for Vika to take over with two sub-par efforts.  And really, that's what they were.  Everyone knows that Komova is capable of much better than what she offered on the night of finals, especially on beam and floor.  While Jordyn's routines weren't executed as well as they could be, she was closer to her ultimate potential than Vika was.  Ultimately, that won her the meet. 

Of course, we'd all prefer that every competitor was perfect, and in a race of perfection we'd wait to see who was more perfect on that perfect night.  But the reality is, especially with the code we currently have in place, there are going to be mistakes.  And because gymnastics is not a single-elimination event, even those who make errors are allowed to keep competing.  It's not dodgeball, you don't have to go sit by the wall once you've been hit.  Or in this case, arch your back on a bail.  The great competitors will take that error, and use it as motivation to be even better for the rest of the meet.  Jordyn sure did.  And that is why she is the current world champion.

45 comments:

  1. This artistry troll refuses to stfu, although you ARE 100% right that ballet isn't the only form of artistry. With that being said, grinning and doing a little hip wiggle just don't do it for me. I'm not sure that's Jordyn's fault so much as it is the fault of her choreographer and ultimately the shitty state of gymnastics today, though.

    With that being said, once I saw the actual competition I was less pissed that Jordyn won and more pissed that Vika gave that shit away. Jordyn needs to learn what properly pointed toes are, particularly on her release skills on bars, and Vika needs to learn how to put mistakes behind her instead of giving the fuck up when things don't go her way. They should, like, study each other and learn from each other or something.

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  2. You forgot the similarity between Vika and Payson's floor music, as well!

    Hilarious- yet quite accurate breakdown! Love it!

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  3. Don't listen to the poster above about artistry, Jordyn has the best floor routine in the world in terms of artistry today.

    Excellent analysis, as always. It also proves that Komova was overscored on floor and beam compared to Jordyn. The scores should have been much further apart with the win to Jordyn. She won both in SV and execution.

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  4. Am I the STFU artistry troll? Foll-de-rol ...
    The only dance tradition Wieber adheres to is that of the cheer leader.
    She certainly is more confident and emphatic than Komova, but whether that should win her a world championship is a moot point.

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  5. If Jordyn wasn't so buff and athletey looking, she'd probably get more credit for artistry by the UTubers. That, paler skin and a really sad look.

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  6. First of all, I love love love Jordyn's floor routine. So insanely gorgeous.

    Anyway, that aside, I think that Jordyn totally deserved to win. It's a sign of a true champion that she could put her bars behind her and put out such amazing performances on beam and floor. On floor, Vika knew what she needed to get, and she also knew Jordyn has a higher start than her, so she had less to give away, and she gave up. Well that's what it looked like. To me it looked almost like she thought she had the gold as long as she didn't land on her ass. In reality, it would have almost been better for her if she had landed on her ass and had done a perfect routine otherwise. So many landing deductions alone for her.

    Anyway, that floor combined with a similar situation on beam and a good DTY (again with a lower D score than Jordyn) doesn't make up for a gorgeous bars. Sorry Vika, but Jordyn won this time. Maybe now you'll grow up and learn to fight for things...and if you do lose, don't take your medal off before they've finished taking photos or you're off the podium. It looked bad when Khorky did it, and it looked bad when you did it.

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  7. Loved it Spanny. Thanks for making me smile this early in the morning <3

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  8. Great post! It drives me insane when people bitch about Jordyn's "lack of artistry." Artistry doesnt just have to be Soviets in the 80s! Her routine is unique, well executed, and she sells the hell out of it. There isn't one second when she isn't moving.

    Also, I totally agree with how Vika seems to almost emphasis her errors--especially on floor. When she stops completely in order to correct her mistake, it just brings more attention to the problem. Khorkina would not approve!!

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  9. *standing ovation!*

    Thank u very much, cannot find anything wrong with this post!

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  10. Dare I say it???

    Yes I dare: Jordyn is WAY more artistic then Komova on floor. At least Jordyn moves with the music and the movements fit the music perfectly. It is also entertaining to watch while Komova really puts me to sleep *yawn*

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  11. This is a great post, Spanny, but I really can't wait to read it on someone else's blog. ;)

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  12. Komova totally got that shit from Payson. My opinion stands as in... In even in prelims I knew I heard it on MIOBI... YOU CAN'T TRICK A REAL FAN. (Ie. a former gymnasts who sits on his ass and watches Gymnastics and Gymnastics related things. #nbd)

    As for artistry... Look, sure... Komova has an amazing line and blah blah blah I could suck her dry and what not, but... C'mon, it's like Komova fans are insufferable! Let it go... Move on. The real show down will be next year in London. You can bet your ass Musty, Bross, Shawn, and Wieber will all have their eyes on the AA Gold.

    Personally, I think it's going to end up like this...

    1. Wieber
    2. Mustafina
    3. Komova
    4. Bross.

    Wieber is flawfree. Mustafina is just a diva and I live for her.. Komova will melt down. Bross.... Bross is just not internationally lucky. It's like the judges hate her for her un-hyper extended knees... Her and I have the same damn knee cap problem... SORRY FOR NOT HAVING STRAIGHT LEGS... I mean... Shit, I'm gay... There's nothing straight about me. /endrant

    Love you, Spanny!

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  13. Great post. TOTALLY agree about Jordyn's floor. It is dynamic, well choreographed, pays real attention to the (very well chosen) music and I fail to see what everyone's problem is.

    AND the breakdown is what I thought too. Its not even that I prefer Wieber over Komova (I don't - apart from in terms of attitude), but more that Wieber had the better day, so why the hell would she not be the winner? I find it odd when people blindly back their favourites to win even when they didn't perform to their best, surely it would be a dis-satisfying win?

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  14. *sigh* I love you, Spanny. That is all.

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  15. I hate to use MIOBI as a source, but they actually nailed it on the head and when you posted that picture of Ayla in her finishing pose it pushed it into my mind. There's a difference between having beautiful lines, pointing your toes, not flexing your wrists and PWNING a routine. Payson PWNS her routine in MIOBI because her coach is a hottie and she wants him (which I totally get), Jordyn pwns her routine because she is a BAMF who is like "see this routine right here? It's gonna fulfill my dreams and destroy yours and I'll do it while smiling because I'm awesome" and Vika's is "My choreographer told me to point my toes and extend my limbs, so I do..." and she does it beautifully, but she is very obviously not connected emotionally to her routine, at all. Maybe Swan Lake/80s crack wasn't the right choice for her, or maybe she was just mentally/physically emotionally exhausted, but hopefully she figures it out before London.

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  16. Thank you so much for your spot-on analysis of the competition. I was happy Jordyn won and feel that she was the deserving winner of this competition.

    Komova's carrying-ons really irked me. She is a truly beautiful gymnast, but she went so overboard (as did the entire Russian Federation, crying foul that there were judging issues at Worlds) that I'm now with the camp who wants to see the Russians lose in 2012 just because of their attitutes alone. They can suck it.

    -Megan in LA (gymfan1079)

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  17. The people who have not changed their minds yet never will, IMO. I'm not talking about people who think that it was too close to decide or whatever, I'm talking about the people who even after watching every routine again will still say that Viktoria should have beaten Jordyn, no question about it. That implies a bias that no amount of proof can change.

    The second time I watched the competition, the results made much more sense. When it is live, I am more caught up in the drama of the competition, and I see the big mistakes. It makes sense, therefore, that I thought that Viktoria should have won. The second time I watched it, I was looking for every single error, subconsciously counting up tenths. That is how I finally became happy with the results (I was okay with it a few hours after the competition, and thought that it could have gone either way).

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  18. Spot on! I never did find out - was Vika sick, or just really tired, or...? I never saw a single moment of Worlds where she looked anything other than totally miserable and like someone was hiding just behind the vault with a gun to make her perform. She's obviously capable of being a fantastic gymnast, but it was a bummer watching her draw so much attention to every minor mistake by drooping, frowning, moping, stumbling, etc. In her floor exercise in TF it looked like she was sulkily walking from place to place at times.

    (And I know it's nitpicky, but I HATE HATE HATE her lanky, greasy bangs in her face. It destroys the whole graceful, beautiful package. I mean, would you go to the ballet to see classically trained dancers in gorgeous costumes and their hair looking like they just rolled out of bed?)

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  19. To those that think Jordyn Wiber has artistry (let alone better artistry than Komova): I have a prime piece of beachside real estate in Kansas to sell if you'd like to take a look.

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  20. For those who found themselves asking "What is an artistry troll?" look no further. See above.

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  21. Spanny I will love you forever if you can put together a side by side comparison of Maroney's and Mustafina's 3.5 twist on floor. The way you did with Amanars from the American Cup.

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  22. Jordyn does not have good form on her Amanar. Are you serious?

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  23. Did you just say that Jordyn didn't connect her skill but it's okay because judges don't always deduct for that with a straight face?

    What the judges do or don't do is irrelevant. What they are supposed to do is all that matters.

    I am sick of this artistry debate. It's an excuse. Miller had more artistry in her pinky than Gutsu had in her entire body but Russians think Gutsu should have won because she had a tiny bit for difficulty.

    Than they say Khorkina should have won because she is an artist. Carly was a bot.

    Now it's Viktoria should have won and Jordyn has no artistry.

    Stupid fucking Russians.

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  24. I think the truth is with the performances both of them gave, it really could have gon either way. In terms of D scores, its a matter of getting "the benefit of the doubt", in E scores, how much the judges hammer each mistake. The nature of the sport means theres easily a +/- 0.2 (at least) for a routine depending on the judges, it just fell on Jordyn's side that night.
    I sorta expected Jordyn to go to Worlds and absolutely OWN it ala Musty last year, sadly that was not to be.
    I'm happy that Jordyn won, but I wish she did it more derisively. She could have.
    As for Viktoria, I love her gymnastics too, all floaty and light and hopefully she'd look less miserable with more recuperation time from her injury. And get new routines for London! The new bars composition is absolutely mangled, the half-turn (gets her facing the right way) but breaks the flow of the routine completely. The techno Swan Lake was theoretically a good idea, but judging from Tokyo it did not have a favorable response. The James Bond one from last year might have worked better, it was more "fun", which is what audience respond to these days. Look at Aly Raisman, can't dance to save her life, but Hava Nagila is catchy enough for everyone to clap along.

    But above all, hope everyone stay healthy.

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  25. I agree Jordyn should win, if there is such a thing, but nevertheless is happy that Jordyn won.
    But the whole "fuck Russia" because of their attitude is frankly annoying. Sometimes it comes down to an emotional statement or two, and even just a different culture really, and everyone just goes ballistic. Komova NEVER said anything bad about Jordyn, her personal coach admitted she made a lot of mistakes... well the head coach did say something about the winner-with-mistakes is wrong (which is just ridiculous), but it was a night of high emotions really.
    But when Americans' make similar blunt comments, they are just being honest. John Geddert certainly wasn't the most diplomatic and correct on his blogs, Martha said she thought Aly should have won floor... and nobody seems to have a problem with those statements.
    I'm just pointing out that Russians attitudes are not that horrible and unforgivable. They do come from a different culture, talk differently, and then everyone just bash them for their diva-attitude. Just saying, people should be more open-minded, this fuck-russia thing doesn't reflect well either.

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  26. I have no problem with Jordyn winning (personally I prefer Komova's gymnastics but that's just personal preference), but I don't see how the 3-1 argument work, how that justify Jordyn winning. It's not like some tennis match, with an winner declared each round. Last quad, arguably Nastia was better than Shawn on *just* bars too, 1-3, and she won.
    Really it came down to those little tenths, a single step really. Jordyn handed Viktoria the victory on bars already, but Vika just couldn't keep herself together and handed it right back.

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  27. Great recap Spanny! Hilarious and on point as usual.

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  28. As a dancer, I agree. While Viki's dance elements (e.g. leaps, turns, toe point, etc) are technically exceptional, her total composition is weak. Her choreography is uninspired and her expression is soulless. She shows more expression at the end of her routine (when she thinks she won).

    Jordyn clearly has no classical training in dance but I prefer her more dynamic, expression-filled, unique choreographed routine to Viki's. Sure, it's a little campy but I think she knows that and knows that it works for her. So, kudos to her and her coaching staff for knowing that.

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  29. "Last quad, arguably Nastia was better than Shawn on *just* bars too, 1-3, and she won. "

    Not on the day of the AA final, sweetheart. Nastia outscored Shawn on bars and beam and tied on floor.

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  30. The Russians seemed to forget that their "winner with mistakes is wrong" comment contradicted their 2010 TF World Championships win.

    JUST saying.

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  31. Last time I checked, dance was not limited to ballet. Personally, I think gymnastics would be very boring if everyone only had balletic FXs. If I want to see balletic looking, smooth routines, I watch rythmic gymnastics. Some people will not be happy unless a balletic Russian wins. They need to get over themselves, grow up, and realize Russia is just one country in this great big world of ours. I really like both of these young gymnasts. They each have great but different qualities. It all comes down to who can hold it together on the day it counts.

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  32. The artistry trolls are not even (usually) worshipping fluid dance. What they like is thin, androgynous body shape and flexibility. They certainly don't like clean form as their worshipped gymnasts have some of the worst form on twists and toe point and the like.

    Besides it's a sport...

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  33. Besides Kohei is better than all those bee-hatches. Except for Maroney. That Amanar!!!!

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  34. Nastia was over scored on every event in 08. The judges had decided the winner before the competition. Nastiafan101 is a fucking Nastia fanatic and his opinion is bull shit.

    I hate defending Shawn but idiots like Marcus/Nastiafan need to be put in their place.

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  35. Actually he has gotten a lot better since he got code-y. I like how he breaks down stuff. I don't know enough to opine on right/wrong, but I really think the approach of scoring a routine, to have the debate is the right way instead of Rick's general impressionism (I would not trust Rick to judge...he does not know the code!)

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  36. I am not really a Komova fanatic, and am truly happy Wieber won, and her expression was so touching. (it's a bit sad I have to preface this in order to not be labelled a Russian troll).

    That said, I don't really understand the whole Wieber is more "artistic" than Komova thing. Why does the admission that Wieber is less artistic than Komova implies she doesn't "deserve" to win? It's like all the Wieber fans is trying to defend her as some artistic-goddess or something. Every gymnast has strengths and weaknesses, Wieber is a gymnast with great power, good form. NOT a particularly good dancer, her motions/leaps are quite heavy, her shoulders are stiff... so unless smiling more has became the new definition of artistry.. That said, it doesn't make Wieber any less of a winner, especially in this COP (no ROV reward)

    Komova's routine did not sell as well as Wieber, maybe because fans have taken a liking to catchy music with strong beat.. BUT the whole techno Swan Lake thing, how a lot of movements is influenced by the ballet's motifs, its pretty nifty actually. Just because she doesn't smile much and is less "perky" than Wieber, doesn't make it any less artistic really.

    I don't think in today's gymnastics, artistry influence placing much, that said, I don't see how people think Wieber is more "artistic" than Komova. Is there really a need to make her some "perfect" gymnast better than Komova in every way to justify her winning?

    P.S. Why does everyone equate Russians (or Soviets) with "balletic"?

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  37. Seven khorkina points! EPIC WIN as always. That HBIC was epic at "dancing" out of mistakes. Still, LOVE Komova's unflexed wrists, part of why her lines are so gorgeous. Do you know if she has butt-shelves LOL?

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  38. Holy shit thank you for being the person to FINALLY mention the fact that Jordyn has 4 very difficult passes, and Komova is doing a DOUBLE BACK TUCK. This is the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS and you are throwing a fit that you didn't win, soooo WHY ARE YOU DOING A DOUBLE BACK TUCK, VIKA!?!?!

    End rant. THANK YOU.

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  39. hahahah this is such a riot!!! thank you!!!!

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  40. I'm late here, but so sick of Americans not making the distinction.

    GUTSU WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    PODKOPAYEVA WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    OMELIANCHIK WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    LATYNINA WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    LYSENKO WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    BOGINSKAYA WAS NOT RUSSIAN!!

    And so on.

    SOVIET is a very, very different thing to being Russian. Many, MANY Soviets had no Russian in them whatsoever.

    So, so sick of the 1992 debate too. It’s the Americans who come off looking like poor sports.

    That said, Komova’s behaviour this year has turned me completely off being a fan of hers.

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  41. I should add that it was Ukraine's national anthem playing for the AA and beam gold medals in Barcelona 1992. The USSR was already gone.

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  42. Great post!! I think we should all move on now and look foward to London. It's going to be a showdown!! Who will come home with the gold? Komova?,Wieber?,Musty? or even Jao Jinnan?
    It all depends on Musty's injury but if she's back and as strong as she was before, she could easily be in contention. Otherwise, Wieber is a hell of a competitor: she's alwready proved that.
    That said, Komova was not even at her full potential at worlds, she was recovering from an injury. If she hits and if she gets her amanar back, it's a likely win.
    You can't count out Jao though because let's not forget: if she hadn't fallen off beam, the scores show that she would be the world champion right now, not Wieber.
    But there are other competitors out there, like Bross(if she recovers), Huang or Porgras.
    Who will win? Who will complete the podium?
    I simply can't wait!!!

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  43. Viktoria - WINNER!!!!!

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  44. "Jordyn deserved to win" HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA are you living on Mars, idiots?

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  45. Rewatching some youtube vids of Worlds and found your blog. Love the recap. I personally am a fan of the more balletic type gymnastics (because I love ballet) but I do love Jordyn's floor routine. She does a great job of playing to her music, and selling the performance. She just doesn't have the ballet body and would probably look silly attempting a more balletic type FX. But at the same time she plays to her strengths with her dance elements, has fun,and is fun to watch. She really deserved this win for a solid overall performance.
    Komova gave up too many points with her little bobbles, hops and balance checks.
    I would like to point out to all the people saying that Komova stole her FX routine/ending pose from MIOBI that pose is the actual ending pose to "Dying Swan" one of the dances from the ballet Swan Lake. Since the Russians are known for their ballet training it is more likely that is why that pose and many of the dance moves were selected directly from the ballet rather than copying a television show. Just my two cents. Anyway, thanks for the great read.

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