Iordache Builds Momentum Heading Into Worlds

Nothing that happened in the AA final was much of a surprise. The most pleasant realization was Shelgie staying motivated throughout each event and finishing just off the podium behind Ellie Black. Today we saw her at her competitive best. I'm also ecstatic for Asuka who showed her federation she's one to be taken seriosly and not tossed to the side in favor of Sugihara and Murakami. She bested her domestic AA score by over two points and that's impressive considering international scoring is meant to be stricter. She really performed so beautifully and gave it her all on the competition floor.

Daria...well...it's a shame isn't it? But she's known for choking on her own potential and just a day after showing some good beam work she peeled right off on the loso mount. Strangely, it was the mount and dismount that were terrible, while the beam work within was great, and I can't believe I'm gonna say this but she could end up 3rd of 4th in the beam final (assuming Black and Iordache do their absolute best). I'm impressed she's nailed the side aerial combo two days in a row as well. On bars she upgraded to include an inbar and connected the pak to a van leeuwen; in consequence of the higher difficulty- and better handstands- she received a 14.4, which she surely could repeat for a gold tomorrow.

Lilia comforts Daria after FX

Bars was my favorite Shelgie moment because she's improved enough to make me beam like a proud mama. The first time I saw the footage I was smiling as if I myself  was accountable for correcting her pak. But it wasn't just her pak that was great, some of her handstands were terrific and there was an effort to keep her legs glued together and toes pointed. 8.4 in execution? Sounds fake. Furthermore, I like that coaches decluttered her ambitious 2016 beam and kept things simple, things they knew she could do. It makes her work across the beam a lot calmer though not necessarily any cleaner. Ah well. If she can continue not falling she can finally work on fixing those built in deductions, just like her bars. I'm a believer.

Larisa Iordache dominated across the scoreboard but I confess I'm not as convinced as the judges want me to be that she's as good as 56.75. I don't know what it is about Larisa but [I personally feel] she always gets a score bump right before Worlds. It's easy to sound like a sore loser (ahem, this is a blog dedicated to the glory of Russia) but I can assure you I never expected our girls to get on the podium if others did their job so what I'm about to say doesn't emanate from any feelings of resentment towards Lari. At least I've seen other comments which prove I'm not alone in my thoughts. I thought her 9.0 e-score on vault ought to have shown better control than she did and it was off to the side, over the outermost line on the mat. Her supposedly improved bars had so many leg separations and late pirouettes I can't conceive of how she's getting scores so near to what our European bars champion receives. And why on earth is she receiving a 14.0 with a fall on beam and an element that obviously shouldn't have been counted toward her d-score? It's ridiculous to think that we have a CoP with one less core requirement, and without that extra five tenths she's still receiving a score she would've gotten for okayish work last quad.

I mean, it's obvious why everyone pegs her as a lock for AA and medals everywhere else but I just don't feel she actually executes things the way her die hard fans thinks she does. A matter of opinion. Now floor, that was a masterpiece (14.050). Absolutely phenomenal. I'll never warm up to the frenetic pace of her work but I can certainly appreciate her performance presence, her charming flourishes, and her accurate and difficult tumbling lines. I thought her floor score was more than fair. I only hate that Asuka has a tenth less in difficulty yet was rewarded six tenths less for similar execution. They both had several stuck passes, accurate but low landings, and dodgy dance turns. Normally these types of debates are what makes gymnastics fun but I can't help noticing how often Japan gets low balled and I've lost a lot of trust in this sport (because of Rio).

In terms of EF's, my prediction is Larisa will take beam gold since the judges clearly are itching. Asuka will take silver (I'm guessing Ellie's overdue for a fall) and Zhenya or Daria will take bronze. On vault, I think Paseka will clinch gold, Ellie silver, and Rogers a bronze. Pretty straight forward podium, that one. On floor, I think it'll be Larisa, Daria E., Asuka, and then Lilia in fourth. On bars, I think Daria S. will win, Kim Bui will take silver, and Larisa will win a bronze. I think Kim Bui can beat Daria actually. She didn't do her best work in quals but while it's true she can do better I'm not sure she's in shape to do so. She seems very sluggish and tired, I wonder if she's injured or recovering? I do feel a sort of way about Larisa's generous scores but I'd be a fool to ignore them, so she can certainly win a gold medal on bars as well.

So these were my feelings on the AA. It's been a long time since a Universiade has proved so exciting. I gotta be honest one more time guys. It should be obvious that I want Lena or Melks on top of that All Around podium in October...but if Larisa doesn't improve over the next four weeks I don't think she deserves to beat Ragan Smith either, assuming that rival does what she's capable of.

Yes, the day has come when I feel Larisa might get more pity scoring than the overscored American team. Damn.