Qualifications took place on the 22nd and 23rd of February, with the finals scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The Chinese Federation sent a really strong team to this event:
Lui Tingting, selected to be a member of the 2016 Olympic team (replaced by Tan Jiaxin due to injury) was one of the sensations of the qualifying round. She was noticed for her beam work featuring front tumbling connections, featuring a good mix of acro and dance elements, well connected trough choreography (14.666/6.2)
Luo Huan, 2000 born and a very successful junior, was first on bars, showcasing stunning pirouette work, flawless elbows and body position and precision of execution (14.400/6.0).
Wang Yan a 2016 Olympian and finalist in Rio, had the best scores on vault, presenting the highest difficulty in the competition with her Tsukahara double and Rudi. She also dominated the floor qualifications with her new floor routine (13.433/5.4): double layout, triple full to punch front, 2 1/2 to layout front and double pike.
There were also some big names competing for the host nation. Emily Little, Worlds team member and 2012 Olympian (2016 World Cup circuit favorite), qualified for the vault, beam and floor finals. Georgia Rose Brown (also a Worlds team member) will compete again in the bars final. Also in contention for a bars medal will be Rianna Mizzen (member of the team for the Olympic Test Event) who qualified with the 2nd score. Naomi Lee, silver medalist on vault at Massilia Cup last November qualified to the vault, while 2015 Worlds team member Georgia Godwin qualified to the floor final.
The Olympic beam champion, Sanne Wevers who traveled to Melbourne to compete on her favorite event, and presumably to test her routine composition for the first time under the new code. She had a watered down routine, losing some of her planned connections, although still incredibly elegant and graceful with beautiful turns. She qualified with the third score for the beam final (13.866/5.4).
Wan Yang on floor:
Liu Tingting in the highlight routine of the qualifications:
Rianna Mizzen on bars:
Here are the qualification results:
Article: Bea Gheorghisor
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