Women’s Qualifications – Subdivisions 3 - 5
ANTWERP (BEL), FIG Office, October 2, 2013: Qualifications at the 44th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships concluded with the Women’s subdivisions 3 – 5 at the Antwerps Sportpalais in Belgium’s second largest municipality on Wednesday.
Sixteen-year old Simone Biles (USA) outscored her team-mate Kyla Ross (59.198) and Yao Jinnan (57.965) of China, who both competed on Tuesday, to top the women’s All-around field with a 60.133 total. Larisa Iordache (57.865) of Romania and Aliya Mustafina (57.165) of Russia qualified in fourth and fifth place respectively.
Subdivision 3
Biles, the reigning American All-around Champion, competed in the first group on Wednesday, starting on Uneven Bars and finishing on Vault. From the beginning to the end the phenomenal Biles ruled the competition, nailing all four routines rock solidly. She notched the highest scores in the Vault (15.900) and Floor (15.033) preliminaries and made history as the first US female gymnast since Shannon Miller in 1991 to qualify for the All-around as well as all the event finals at a World Championships.
China’s second All-arounder, 17-year-old Shang Chunsong, performed with consistency and her total added up to 56.998, which meant seventh place for her in the end. Her best apparatus was the Balance Beam, where she scored 14.866 to qualify for the Apparatus Final in second place.
The 2010 Youth Olympian and London 2012 Olympic finalist Carlotta Ferlito of Italy also shone most brightly on Beam, qualifying in seventh place with 14.216 points. Her good overall performance resulted in a 14th place that secured her a spot in the All-around final.
Russia’s Tatiana Nebieva competed on the Uneven Bars and Vault only and missed out on the finals. She came closest on the bars, but she had to accept deductions for her unclean dismount and finished ninth.
First-year senior Ilaria Kaeslin of Switzerland impressed with a beautiful set on Beam. It did not score highly enough for the event final, but Kaeslin showed great potential and qualified for the last spot in the All-around final of her first World Championships.
The 38-year-old Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan and Phan Thi Ha Thanh of Vietnam, the 2011 World Silver and Bronze medallists, qualified for the Vault final.
With her best piece being Floor and Vault, the Netherlands’ Noel van Klaveren qualified for the All-around final in 13th place with a 54.999 total.
Subdivision 4
The 2010 World All-around Champion Aliya Mustafina (RUS), who is among the medal contenders in Antwerp, had a rough start to her competition, struggling on Beam, Floor and Vault before finally regaining her customary form on Uneven Bars, the apparatus where she won Olympic Gold last summer in London. Mustafina qualified in fifth place for the event final (14.900) and fifth in the All-around (57.165).
Romania’s Larisa Iordache, the 2013 European All-around runner-up, showed nerves of steel when she absolutely nailed her Balance Beam routine after a long wait for the score of the previous gymnast. She scored an impressive 15.266 to qualify top of the field. Iordache followed up with a superb performance on Floor, where she finished third with 14.500 points. Concluding her overall qualification in fourth place, Iordache is eying an All-around medal in Friday’s final.
McKayla Maroney, a member of the London 2012 Olympic Gold medal winning team, was selected to compete in the All-around competition as the third American gymnast. The defending World Champion on Vault dominated on her best apparatus with an average of 15.641 for her two vaults and qualified easily for the event final. But with her seventh place on Floor and sixth in the All-around, Maroney stayed behind her team-mates Biles and Ross and consequently misses out on the finals.
The 22-year-old former All-around World Champion Vanessa Ferrari of Italy qualified for the All-around, Beam and Floor finals. Interestingly, she had the same Beam score (14.216) as her compatriot Ferlito.
Elsabeth Black, who helped Canada’s London 2012 Olympic Team to record-breaking success, advances to the All-around and Floor finals in Antwerp, while the delighted Ruby Harrold of Great Britain qualified for the Uneven Bars and All-around final.
Roxana Popa Nedelcu will represent Spain in the All-around final.
Subdivision 5
The last subdivision was illuminated by Switzerland’s All-arounder Giulia Steingruber who, thanks to a brilliant overall performance topped off by her solid vaults, qualified for the All-around, Vault and Floor finals.
To the delight of the local fans, Gaelle Mys will join her compatriot Laura Waem in making history for Belgium who for the first time ever have two women qualified for a World Championships All-around final.
Former Olympic Champion Sandra Izbasa of Romania bedazzled the crowd with her magical Floor routine that scored 14.733 and she qualified easily for the final.
The 21-year-old Rebecca Downie of Great Britain performed a strong routine on Uneven Bars, scoring a massive 15.100 to join her team-mate Harrold in the final.
Canada’s Victoria Moors was left disappointed after falling short of the Floor final when she failed to get all the way round on the last somersault of her signature move, the double twisting double layout that drew much attention to her routine. Her qualification for the All-around final might be a consolation for the talented 16-year-old gymnast.
Yamilet Pena Abreu of the Dominican Republic and Chantysha Netteb of the Netherlands both qualified for the Vault final.
The elegant Vasiliki Millousi of Greece, who performed on Balance Beam and Floor, misses out on both finals.
The event continues with the Men’s and Women’s All-around Finals on Thursday and Friday respectively.
