Divide and Conquer

With all the excitement happening in artistic gymnastics one could almost forget that the rhythmic gymnastics World Championship was starting in Pesaro, Italy. Almost. Dina and Arina Averina have gone 1-2 in both event finals, dividing the titles between themselves as the rest of the [thoroughly more artistic] field are left behind in the 17's.

The schedule for Worlds is very confusing this year. So yesterday was qualifications for two apparatus which is normal. The following day usually concludes the remaining apparatus. INSTEAD, day two featured apparatus finals for those who qualified from day one and day three will go back to qualifications for the remaining apparatus. Why can't we just get quals out of the way all at once and then deal with AA and EF finals? Instead of building up excitement as we approach the finals, this schedule gives us ebbs and flows as we transition back and forth. It's rubbish.

Dina Averina- 19.100- GOLD

What do you guys think of her 2-in-1, black swan/white swan leotard (she pulls a string and the black part is pulled down to reveal a white skirt)? She had a wardrobe malfunction because it was supposed to happen in the middle of the routine not at the end...I guess the string didn't work. She debuted this altered leotard in Kazan a month ago and reactions have been immensely negative. The main criticism is that it's kitschy and that she's trying to use cheap gimmicks to make up for her lack of artistic expression. Others don't like it because it's not as nice as her former leo. Thoughts? Here's a closer look at it:

Now that I'm closely examining it, those ruffled feathers make her look like a chicken, not a swan.

My favorite hoop routine (that made the final) was performed by Nevi. She's altered her routines since Spring to aim for higher execution, but I think the reason she'll never get 9's is because her flexibility is average for a rhythmic gymnast so it's definitely affected her e-scores and the propensity of things she gets discredited. Another flaw is that her balance holds are not even one second long sometimes! But I love her for her innovation, musicality, and... just her presence, it's so WOW. I wanted her to win a medal in hoop but she got her moment with the ball for a bronze. Her hoop from quals:

So... Arina has curtain tassles over her bosom. Viner what in the hell are you thinking? She's purposely trying to make the twins ugly or something? This is the second best performance she's ever managed with this routine so I'm surprised it didn't reach 19.

Arina Averina- 18.950- GOLD

They have the most unfortunate leotards 

I'm extremely disappointed Alina Harnasko didn't make any finals. She was underscored in hoop; the same routine scored a 17.2 in World Cups and she only dips into the 16's when she's made costly errors. She's flexible, with great technique, superb handling, and is artistic so she should never score so low without pretty obvious errors happening. That's RG judging for you. At least we have Alexandra Agiurgiuculese to get us through our misery.

Results from Day 2 finals are here.