11th Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships
Rodez (FRA), June 18 – 20, 2010
Qualifications Individual Women, Trios, Groups
RODEZ (FRA), FIG Office, June 18, 2010: C’est parti! After the close of the World Age Group Competitions that heated up the Amphithéâtre in Rodez (FRA) over the past three days, Senior gymnasts took over the stage to kick off the 11th FIG Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships. A total of 220 gymnasts representing 33 countries from five continents have come to take part in this event, among whom 51 competitors in Individual Women, 27 Trios and 17 Groups, which were the first to line up at today’s Qualifications.
The athletes were supported enthusiastically by their delegations and local spectators, who pumped up the atmosphere in the arena and turned this competition into an incredibly unique experience for gymnasts and fans both.
Highlights:
Individual Women
Second starter Qin Zou from China pleased the crowd with her temerity and flexibility, which resulted in an upbeat routine and the lead which she kept for quite some time. Ultimately, she finished on rank ten.
Romania’s Maria Luisa Pavel overtook Zou, performing solidly, but she also missed the Final by a hair’s breadth.
Hailing from Thailand, 21 year old Roypim Ngampeerapong surprised the public with fluent, spirited and creative choreography, placing at the forefront for the moment, and qualifying in 8th position for the Final.
The stars were yet to come when well-known Angela McMillan’s (NZL) fabulous routine (21.050) placed her ahead of the field with a comfortable margin as the only gymnast having crossed the 21.000 line.
Spain’s rising star Sara Moreno, 20, gave a beautiful show and was awarded with the high score of 20.950, which meant an ultimate fifth place and a well-deserved spot in the Final.
2008 world runner-up Cristina Simona Nedelcu from Romania once again demonstrated her fantastic potential, tying with Moreno.
China’s Huang Jinxuan, 2009 World Game Bronze medallist, pleased fans with her original performance and stunning precision. Her routine was given the highest Execution score and a solid rank one.
Ever smiling and high jumping World Champion Marcela Matos Lopez gave a lively show of Brazilian temperament that swept the crowd off its feet! She was the only gymnast to score 9.000 for Artistic, but her lower Execution marks caused her to tie with Huang.
Local fans had been waiting for this moment, cheering enthusiastically for France’s Aurélie Joly, who performed well. However, a .5 deduction was made to Joly’s Difficulty score, resulting in a low 2.800 mark and a total of 19.450, not enough to qualify. Apparently, a required difficulty element was missing in her routine.
Italian Giulia Bianchi, second to last competitor today, climbed high up in the ranking, qualifying in 4th place with 21.000 points and followed by Bulgaria’s Denitsa Parichkova, who also made the cut.
1 HUANG Jinxuan CHN 21.100
2 MATOS LOPEZ Marcela BRA 21.100
3 MCMILLAN Angela NZL 21.050
4 BIANCHI Giulia ITA 21.000
5 MORENO Sara ESP 20.950
6 NEDELCU Cristina Simona ROU 20.950
7 PARICHKOVA Denitsa BUL 20.550
8 NGAMPEERAPONG Roypim THA 20.450
Maria Luisa Pavel (ROU) and Zou Qin (CHN) are on reserve ranks.
Trios
Though they started off well enough, a few mistakes when executing a lift spoiled the hopes of Romania’s second entry to qualify for the Final.
The first French Trio animated the audience with good artistry, but a relatively low Execution score was not enough to make the cut. They finished a disappointing ninth.
Romania 1, the first Trio over the 21.000 mark, started off with an acrobatic element and powered through a dynamic and perfectly synchronised routine. They were rewarded with rank three.
France 2 started off with an interesting pyramid formation and continued on with stunning artistry. The grandstands roared, and increased when the Trio placed a provisional first!
China entered two Trios here in Rodez, both giving highly difficult routines and amazing precision, whereby China 1, who topped the rankings today, baffled spectators with countless artistic elements! The three men performed spectacular swings and breathtaking holding positions.
Russia qualified its two Trios today, impressing with solid and fluent routines.
Vietnam placed seventh, while Italy took a lucky eighth.
Qualified for tomorrow’s Finals are the following Trios:
1 China 1 CHN 22.050
2 France 2 FRA 21.525
3 Romania 1 ROU 21.500
4 China 2 CHN 20.750
5 Russia 2 RUS 20.700
6 Russia 1 RUS 20.542
7 Vietnam VIE 20.386
8 Italy 2 ITA 20.050
On reserve ranks are France 1 and Romania 2.
In Trios, it’s easy to see that female teams seem to be more challenged competing at the highest level than their male competitors. Russia 1, composed of three women, is an exception as is Vietnam’s Trio that has one woman; apart from that, all qualifiers are men. The physical advantage male gymnasts have over female has a significant impact on difficulty and artistry, which makes a big difference in this category.
Groups
The Aerobic Groups heated up the floor tonight, with action-packed performances!
Definitely a highlight, particularly for local fans, was the performance of France 1 with Aurélie Joly, who after a shock in Individuals, seemed to have fully recovered. The Group ranked third behind Russia and Korea, but were pushed down later on to rank six.
The Koreans, who stood out earlier this year in Tokyo where they placed third at the World Series event, presented a unique and flawlessly mastered routine.
Romania qualified with both Groups, an all women and an all men Group. The women delivered dramatic choreography that fit the music well, while the men studded their performances with the highest difficulties and high artistic value, perfectly executed. They came first!
Romania was directly followed by the World Champions of China, who impressed again with absolutely spectacular elements, precision and surprising choreography. They tied with Romania on top of the field, promising an exciting Final!
Fans went wild in the Amphithéâtre, when it was Russia’s turn to present her star Group. Their stunning and powerful performance was awarded with rank four.
Russia’s second entry, all women, qualified in seventh, just ahead of Italy, who grabbed the last spot for the Finals, same as in Trios.
1 Romania 1 ROU 21.300
2 China CHN 21.300
3 Korea KOR 20.900
4 Russia 2 RUS 20.850
5 Romania 2 ROU 20.794
6 France 1 FRA 20.673
7 Russia 1 RUS 20.184
8 Italy ITA 20.181
In reserve: 9 Greece and Argentina.
A detailed competition report (in French only) can be found on the homepage of the French Gymnastics Federation.
The competition continues tomorrow with Qualifications in Individual Men and Mixed Pairs, followed by Finals for Individual Women and Trios.
At the end of Qualifications, winners of the Team Competition will be determined and awarded. The Team Ranking List will be established adding the four best rankings from Individual Men or Individual Women, Mixed Pair, Trio and Group, whereby the federation with the lowest total number of ranking places will be declared World Champion. Medals will also be awarded to the best Individual Men and Individual Women of the medal winning teams.
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