22nd Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships
Wroclaw (POL), July 16 - 18, 2010

Qualifications Day 2 – Finals Day 1

WROCLAW (POL), FIG Office, July 17, 2010: The world’s elite acrobats continued their crowd-pleasing routines today with a programme full of high level performances in Wroclaw’s Orbita Hall. Organisers report some 1,000 spectators on site watching the championships throughout the day. Moreover, with the Finals being televised by host broadcaster TVP3, TV viewers all over Poland and beyond got a chance to pick up on some of the ACRO hype from their homes.
Qualifications continued in all categories and the day wrapped up with Finals in Mixed Pairs and Women’s Groups.

Mixed Pairs

Qualifications – Combined Exercise
This morning’s Combined was the last chance for competing Pairs to perform before judges in the hopes of placing among the top 8 and resetting the clock to zero in the Final. A chance to show off their skill, Combined exercise is the most difficult for the athletes; this is where they blend dynamic throws and pitches with stability during static holds, an effort that is most often performed on a single arm in Mixed Pairs.

And Belgium, perhaps a bit tired from last night’s impeccable performance, paid a high price this morning for fouling that up. Top Amber Van Rijk fell from a 1-armed handstand while Vanderghote/Van Gelder took a spill from a needle stand, which resulted not only in Belgium’s drop from first position, it opened the way for their team-mates De Roech/Van Rijk to pass them up! Failing to finish an announced static hold, Vanderghote/Van Gelder not only botched their Artistry and Execution Scores with a full point deduction each, their Difficulty score also suffered, and they received a 0.9 penalty for a mere 3 missing seconds.

Thus Americans Allen/Rodrigues reclaimed the lead with a fantastic tango, the ever dynamic Chinese Huang/Zhang in tow. Everyone starts at zero in the Final: so if you want to get an idea of who might end up taking the world title, remember that there’s just one Combined performance to base it on; steer clear of thinking overall ranking. In this exercise the Russians dominated, surpassing the Americans!

Tonight’s Final is looking more interesting every minute; these gymnasts are tired after two days of competition and who knows but it might lead to a few surprises in the end.

Women’s Groups

Qualifications – Combined Exercise
In Women’s, competition is tight from start to finish. The Combined is the best way to present a maximum number of difficulties from the static and dynamic routines, and this morning we observed demonstrations of impressive mastery from every one of yesterday’s groups. In this race for the Final the following gymnasts played well:

Russia’s Shaykhudinova/Stroyonova/Loginova took the lead but made a few mistakes here and there, particularly in their dynamic elements. The Combined was their least successful exercise. At the end of qualifications, they remain sufficiently ahead of their nemesis, Britain’s Miller/Walters/Smith, who despite a strong technical presentation to a zesty tango will need to improve their score by some 0.3 points if they want to take the title based on a single Combined. Belgium, the Ukraine and France (Le Corre/Dupire-Betoule/Eouzan) can all aspire to the podium depending on what happens in the Final. Russia’s and Great Britain’s second Trios, 5th and 6th in the overall ranking respectively, will have to yield their places to Poland, Spain and Hungry in the Final.

Men’s Groups

Qualification – Balance Exercise
The most exciting elements in Balance performances are without a doubt the breathtaking pyramids held for what seems like ages, with interesting transitions from one position to the next. However, all it takes is the smallest tremor and the whole human pyramid will tremble and cause the top to fall.

This is exactly what happened to Belarus’ second entry, and they paid for it with last place. Great Britain 2, by contrast, mastered their stunning formations and were awarded a final 27.153, with rank four after this heat.

Local fans got excited when the Polish Group entered the stage; they were pleased with what they saw. The Quattro moved up one rank as compared to yesterday, scoring a 27.260, and position five for now.

Both Chinese Groups gave gutsy performances of stability in the most difficult positions; their performances placed them at the top where they belong! They hold places two and three for the time being.

Russia 2 have recovered from yesterday’s fall and wowed fans today with a solid four man column. They scored high Execution marks, and their 28.265 earned them second place in Balance as well as a raise in their overall ranking: sixth.

Fans had to wait until the end to see Great Britain’s first Group climb to the top! A clean routine with the day’s highest Artistic and Execution scores secured the apex for this group.

Qualifications for the six Final spots available in Men’s Groups continue with the Combined exercise tomorrow morning followed by the Final at 5:50 pm.

Women’s Pairs

Qualification – Dynamic Exercise
World-class Women’s Dynamic Exercises display powerful, fast-moving artistic elements combined with style and elegance. A true pleasure to watch!

The top of the table remained unchanged following this second heat, with the Pairs from Azerbaijan, Belarus and the Ukraine performing consistently. Ahmadova / Sultanova (AZE) and Sytnikova / Melnychenko (UKR) impressed with the highest marks for Execution (9.250), each Pair working fluidly through their routine. With apparent ease, the Azerbaijanis transitioned from one position to the next with impeccable precision and style.

Artistry was judged highest with the Belarusians (9.250), who stunned onlookers with exacting synchronicity.

Russia’s first Pair animated the crowd with dance music and moves, but they lost points in Execution. Provisory rank five for them behind their compatriots, who presented another clean performance today.

Women’s Pairs present their Combined exercise tomorrow morning and we will see the six finalists again at 5:00 pm.

Men’s Pairs

Qualification – Balance Exercise
As in Women’s Pairs, the top players in this category didn’t change as compared to yesterday. Russia 1, Great Britain and the Ukraine confirmed their leading positions followed by Belarus.

Dressed all in red, yesterday’s top scorers Pilipchuk / Dudchenko (RUS) stunned spectators with yet another superb performance, effortlessly managing the difficulty. They were given the highest Execution mark today, 9.600, near perfection!

Loudly supported by their fans, Upcott / Fordyce (GBR) were not far behind the Russians, placing second with an overall score of 57.005.

Young Ukrainians Pulin / Tarasenko have settled nicely into this category among the favourites, impressing fans with interesting turns and fluent transitions.

Intermediate rank three for these gymnasts, ahead of Kalachou / Fedchanka (BLR).
Bad luck for Azerbaijan; the Pair had difficulty at one point, resulting in a 2.1 penalty and dashed hopes of keeping up with the leading pack.

Men’s Pairs will show their Combined exercises tomorrow morning during the last part of Qualification, and eight finalists will take the stage again at 4:00 pm.

Finals

Mixed Pairs
The Mixed Pairs Final opened with Bulgaria’s Ivanova/Kirov, who presented a beautiful exercise with a Spanish flair. They had a few problems with their dynamic elements, likely due to the top’s knee injury from a few weeks ago.

Belarus’ Kashpanava/Vaitsiakhoski opted for a classical style with the top evoking images of a ballerina. The uncertain execution of several elements would bar their entry to the podium, 4th place.

Third to stand before the judges, Portugal’s Sarnebto/Gradim delivered an energetic programme to a selection of rock ‘n roll: fully mastered elements and appealing choreography that bewitched the public was not enough to flatter the judges (7th).

Sporting a more athletic look, Lithuania’s Koklejava/Sumilo delivered clean-cut execution, and slid into 6th.

Enter Americans Allen/Rodrigues to the applause of a hall full of fans. Dressed in red and black, their tango was simply fantastic and executed without any major mistakes. A magnificent 28.600, which set the bar high for Belgium’s De Roeck/Van Rijk, next up.

The day has not been gracious to these two gymnasts, who suffered a fall at the outset of their programme, on their very first dynamic element (4/4 front handstand to handstand) a mistake that left them with nary a chance. In a gesture of sportsmanship, they finished their routine to cries of encouragement coming from the grandstands.

The podium now depended on China and Russia. The ever magnificent Huang/Zhang in terms of technique performed incredible flight elements; delight was written across their faces as the performed before the enormous crowd, and they gave their best artistically.

3rd behind Okulova/Gurgenidze, with Russia in second despite a strong performance. The Americans powered through two days of competition, and after having conquered the 2009 World Games in Kaoshiung, they’ve run off with the world title from Wroclaw.

Gold ALLEN Kristin / RODRIGUES Michael USA 28.600
Silver OKULOVA Tatiana / GURGENIDZE Revaz RUS 28.300
Bronze HUANG Yan / ZHANG Shaolong CHN 27.858

Womens’ Groups
Hungary’s Meleg/Vincze/Xue and Spain’s Acuna/Garcia/Gomez Farinas will remain in the shadows due to weak difficulties and sloppy execution; the battle for the top began with the Polish Beker/Grzeskow/Kowalska, who, naturally, had the public’s favour. They presented a solid, well-structured exercise with a heightened difficulty level for the final: 6th. France’s Le Corre/Dupire-Betoule/Eouzan fared better today; they played their cards right and proved that their presence in the Final was no coincidence. Some tough competition was still to come, however: with 28.650, Russian Shaykhudinova/Stroyonova/Loginova improved their score in this exercise, placing the bar even higher than before.

But the Ukraine’s Kalyta/Vinnyk/Odintsova were every bit as good at the game; a solid, highly rhythmical performance yielded their best score of these two days of competition: the Bronze medal.

Belgium’s Van Hombeek/Croket/Vanstaen proved that their group wasn’t cursed here in Wroclaw; they regained traction and placed just behind the Ukraine. An arresting Final for the Brits; Miller/Walters/Smith delivered a tango peppered with difficulties (they increased their difficulties for the Final), and with a better Execution score they snatched the Silver from the Ukraine.

This Final was a smash hit, keeping spectators and delegations alike on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

Gold Russia 1 28.650
Silver Great Britain 1 28.320
Bronze Ukraine UKR 28.290

Find detailed results here!

The tournament continues tomorrow with the last part of Qualifications, Combined exercises in Men’s Groups, Women’s Pairs and Men’s Pairs, and Finals in these categories.

Stay tuned!