Russia were magnificent in the second half of the competition and they finished on first place with a total of 116.897. They were not error-free but still they looked like the full package: they had the difficulty, the amplitude, the technique, the spark.
Aliya Mustafina led her team with confident routines, showing a focus, composure, serenity even, that reminded of the best days of her career. The beam routine was a variation of what she had presented since 2013 and had a couple of wobbles, more noticeably on a side somi; also on the nitty gritty side, some of the leaps could have been more convincing. On floor she debuted her double layout with flying colors, her super-combinations and pirouette work looked good; her second pass was landed outside of the bounds, her twisting form (that she was said to have been worked on correcting over winter) does not look all that improved. Without wanting to sound too critical, her music was new and she didn’t seem connected to it or to be working the choreography. But these corrections that she can still make only mean that her scores today are far from her true potential on these events; also, the interpretation of the music on floor will come with time and stamina, undoubtedly. (BB 14.566/6.1; FX 13.966/6.1)
Mustafina on BB:
Mustafina on FX:
Komova did not have the same issues with her floor choreo although the music seemed much less inspiring, but her landings went a bit wild, either too low (DLO) or stepping OOB (arabian, triple twist) (13.300/5.9). On beam she has most of her London skills back: solid L turn to aerial walkover to sheep jump (to wobble), good arabian, the same superb loso-loso combination, with the exception of the Patterson dismount but with the addition of a Y turn. She had a few wobbles but overall looked very reliable on this event. (14.233/6.0)
Komova on BB:
But the most secure on this event looked Seda Tutkhalyan, who was also the top qualifier for the apparatus final. Her routine included a layout to two feet (great flight) and a layout full (14.6/6.3). Some of the leaps were less convincing, but the flair displayed and the flow (here and on floor) were charming (13.6/5.7 on floor).
Seda on BB:
Germany also managed to maintain their second place, although they looked understandably less impressive than the top ranked (110.397 total). Their star was Sophie Scheder with very good execution on floor (13.266/5.0) followed by an event final-worthy beam routine (14.133/5.4). Leah Griesser also scored for Germany – on floor (13.266/5.2) and beam (11.766/5.2).
Scheder on FX:
The most moving performance of the day was delivered by third place Netherlands (110.099 total). The superb Lieke Wevers managed some absolutely amazing floor and beam routines. Her floor has a very smart composition and is very artistic; her superb execution managed to overshadow the more difficult tumbling others might have had (13.900/5.4). Her beam was a similar story: there were no really flashy elements but the connections, the composition and the execution were breathtaking (14.066/5.6). Also scoring for the Dutch were Celine van Gerner on floor – 13.00/5.0 and on beam -13.7/5.7.
Lieke on FX:
Lieke on BB:
The next five teams placed within less than a point – 108.831 to 107.964 – France (4th), Italy (5th), Switzerland (6th), Romania (7th) and Great Britain (8th).
From within this pack, Romania had a few good executions, which was much needed after yesterday’s bars drama. Andreea Iridon hit her beam routine and managed to qualify for the event final (14.10/5.7), while Silvia Zarzu made a point of hitting each and every note and landing of her final routine, floor. Silvia had missed beam, (and remember that yesterday she fell on bars and had mistakes on her DTY), so the fact that she qualified for the floor final with the second score, behind Mustafina, was the much needed break (13.933/5.7). Laura Jurca also had a much better day, scoring for Romania both on beam (13.4/5.6) and on floor (13.700/5.7).
Laura Jurca on FX:
And here are a couple of other routines to watch:
Giulia Steingruber FX:
Teea Ugrin BB:
Kelly Simm FX:
Marine Brevet BB:
Here are the top 10 countries:
1 Russia VT 30.099 (1) UB 30.066 (1) BB 29.166 (1) FX 27.566 (2) Total 116.897 2 Germany 28.066 (7) 30.000 (2) 25.899 (8) 26.432 (9) 110.397 3 Netherlands 27.933 (10) 27.500 (4) 27.766 (2) 26.900 (4) 110.099 4 France 28.233 (4) 26.466 (8) 27.266 (4) 26.866 (5) 108.831 5 Italy 28.066 (7) 27.132 (5) 26.933 (6) 26.666 (7) 108.797 6 Switzerland 29.266 (2) 25.966 (9) 27.066 (5) 26.466 (8) 108.764 7 Romania 29.133 (3) 24.233 (12) 27.500 (3) 27.633 (1) 108.499 8 Great Britain 28.199 (5) 26.633 (7) 26.366 (7) 26.766 (6) 107.964 9 Hungary 28.132 (6) 27.832 (3) 25.232 (10) 25.966 (10) 107.162 10 Belgium 27.699 (13) 26.766 (6) 25.133 (12) 27.200 (3) 106.798
Related:Euro Games Day 1: Results and Report
The Competition within Competition: Mustafina vs Komova
Euro Games: Qualification Results
Article by: Bea Gheorghisor
Photo Cover: today’s podium, via UEG on Facebook