Welcome to Gymna-stick it!
Today, I'm going to list my predictions (hopes) for the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp. While these aren't necessarily going to be the top scorers, these are some of my favorite routines and will hopefully make it onto the podium. Let's begin!
The All-Around
1. Kyla Ross (Highest score this year: 60.5)
2. Simone Biles (Highest score this year: 60.5)
3. Aliya Mustafina (Highest score this year: 59.85)
Why? -I've loved Kyla's gymnastics for a very long time now. She's artistic and clean, though her difficulty isn't the highest. From this previous year, she has put up some high scores in the All-Around. She's strong on beam and bars. Her vault(double twisting yurchenko) is not the most difficult, but she executes it beautifully. Her floor, again, doesn't have the highest D score, but she always executes well. Just behind her, I would choose Simone Biles. After a disappointing meet in the Classics, she came back and won the P&G Championships. She's extremely powerful and dynamic, and is pretty strong on all four events. Simone is an up and coming star for USA Gymnastics, and she has high difficulty and clean execution. For the bronze, Aliya Mustafina is my pick. Aliya is such a beautiful gymnast. I love her style, and she has difficulty and execution to match it. She is also strong on all 4 events.
Vault
1. McKayla Maroney (Highest average this year: 15.7)
2. Simone Biles (Highest average this year: 15.475)
3. Hong Un Jong (Highest average this year: 15.125)
Why? -McKayla Maroney has got to be my top choice. She is THE best vaulter in the world. She fell in the Olympic vault finals, but she truly has the most spectacular vaults. McKayla has a gigantic block, tight form, and she's getting better and better on sticking the landing. Behind her, I would put Simone Biles. She is a powerhouse on vault as well, and has nice height and form in the air. There could be multiple gymnasts for the last spot on the podium, but I chose Hong Un Jong. Although she's not one of my personal favorites, she has an extremely strong chance for the bronze. She has the highest difficulty average, and has nice height. However, I feel like her form, especially her landing, is not as clean as some of the other girls who have a lower difficulty. Another personal favorite of mine for a medal is Giulia Steingruber from Switzerland, who has 2 strong vaults.
Bars
1. Yao Jinnan (Highest score this year: 15.567)
2. Aliya Mustafina (Highest score this year: 15.5)
3. Kyla Ross (Highest score this year: 15.5)
Why? -In the Olympics, Yao Jinnan was 0.15 away from the podium, finishing in 4th place. She has upgraded her routine since, and now has the highest D score in the world, with a 6.9. I'm hoping she'll show her Mo salto in Worlds, although she didn't at Chinese National Games. I never thought I'd see one performed again, but she did it beautifully in training. Yao's bars are beautiful and have a high difficulty score. Aliya Mustafina is the reigning Olympic champion on this event and rightly so. She has high difficulty and beautiful execution. Her dismount and releases are giant and well executed, and she deserves a World medal. I'm hoping for Kyla Ross to get the bronze. She is the best bar worker in the United States, and she has gorgeous lines on this event.
Beam
1. Larisa Iordache (Highest score this year: 15.65)
2. Shang Chunsong (Highest score this year: 15.15)
3. Kyla Ross (Highest score this year: 15.25)
Why? -Beam was hard for me to pick. I ended up choosing Larisa Iordache for the title. She has incredible difficulty and connections. She needs to clean up on her landings, but her form is clean. If Larisa can reduce her balance checks, she deserves this title. Shang Chunsong is a fairly new Chinese gymnast, and her beam work is exquisite. She is confident in her work and has a high execution. Her connections are smooth, but her difficulty isn't quite as high. Again, I chose Kyla for the bronze. She has looked consistent and solid throughout the year on this event. She pays a lot of attention on her execution on every skill, and it shows during her performance. She has strong landings and beautiful form.
Floor
1. Simone Biles (Highest score this year: 15.05)
2. Sandra Izbasa (Highest score this year: 15.6)
3. Mai Murakami/ Larisa Iordache (Highest score for Mai: I believe a 12.8, with a fall. Highest score for Larisa: 15.1)
Why? -My top pick for floor would've been Ksenia Afanasyeva. I love the choreography and dance of her floor exercise, and her tumbling is difficult. However, since she's not going to Worlds, Simone Biles is my pick for gold. Simone is such a powerful and dynamic gymnast on floor. She even has her own skill, a double layout with a half turn. She's been cleaning up all of her landings. If she hits her routine, she will be virtually unbeatable. For the silver, Sandra Izbasa has a strong chance. Sandra's routine at Romanian Nationals was stunning. I enjoyed her music and choreography, and she stuck practically every pass. Her tumbling is clean and precise, and I hope an artistic and beautiful routine can win a medal this year. For the bronze, I couldn't decide from Mai Murakami and Larisa Iordache. Mai is such a beautiful and dynamic gymnast on floor, but she hasn't been able to put together a full routine without any falls so far. However, I love her style and her power. I think she will be ready for Worlds to grab a medal. On the other hand, Larisa Iordache is known to be a powerful and beautiful gymnast on floor already. She has impressive tumbling and difficulty, as well as high leaps and nice dance elements. Both Larisa and Mai are stars for their country, and I'd be very happy if either of them took home a medal.
That's it! These are my choices for the 2013 World Championships. There's a lot of talent this quad, and I'm ready to see who's going to make a name for themselves this year at Worlds. Good luck to everyone who's competing! Comment down below who you think will make it on the podium! Feel free to disagree with my choices. After all, I'm no expert on gymnastics myself.
(Thanks to Uncle Tim Talks Men's Gymnastics for his post on the best scores so far this year.)
Now for my quote of the day:
"After a day of football a gymnast would be sore.
After a day of gymnastics a football player would be dead."
