Priess steps up, Bieger impresses and Ferrari finishes on top
WCSN is proud to welcome Dominique Dawes, three-time Olympian and gold medalist, to discuss the U.S. women’s team performances at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
See all of these routines and more gymnastics at http://www.wcsn.com.
I am certain that in the back of Jana’s mind was the fall from the previous day on this vault during team competition. More amplitude and finishing the vault was key to her making it this time during the individual all-around. She was much more explosive and got her feet under her on the landing. As I mentioned the other day, Jana’s form on this vault is impeccable, this is due to the fact that she blocks (pops) first, then thinks ‘layout then twist.’ This way she can keep her legs squeezed together throughout, instead of crossing her legs, which is a typical error on a twisting vault.
This was a routine packed with a lot of difficulty. She began the routine with a creative mount: jump to handstand in a reverse grip. Jana had great amplitude on her release moves and bar transitions throughout the routine. She did a great job fighting to get back in handstand after over shooting her feet on her Stalder blind change prior to her release move. The fight was impressive, and so was her execution of the release that immediately followed. Though this may have seemed scary for the audience, I can guarantee you that Jana has had to perform this release from worse–that’s what practice is for. You are taught at a young age to commit to a skill and keep the routine going. Finally, there were some form breaks throughout, such as her leg separation on handstands and loose feet throughout. I am certain that in time Jana will clean these form breaks up and then she will she her score rise significantly.
Ashley Priess’ floor: 
I enjoyed watching this routine. It looked like a fun, upbeat routine, and I am certain the audience was entertained. She started off the routine with a solid pike full-in. Ashley ran into problems on her back 2 ½ punch front layout. Instead of starting off with a strong set, she was quick to dump her shoulders back and twist right off the floor. This resulted in her over-rotating the landing of the 2 ½, which makes it extremely difficult to punch front layout out of. She fell to her bottom with both feet out of bounds, all resulting in a major deduction and taking her out of the running for a top all-around ranking. Though this was definitely disappointing for Ashley, she did a great job finishing up the routine with strong dance bonuses and a clean double pike dismount.
Jana finished up the all-around competition with a spectacular performance on the floor. She began with a solid double layout, in a straight body position. Then she followed with a front full step out to a triple twist. There was a form break on the triple, crossed legs throughout. Nice leaps and dance throughout, except for her missed double turn. Sometimes the easiest skills, like turns and solo jumps, can be a gymnast’s nemesis in the competition. I was anticipating her double Arabian. This was the tumbling pass that she had an error on during the team competition. Just as she fixed her problem from the vault the day before, she followed suit with a dynamic double Arabian. She stayed in bounds and completed the pass with ease. The only error that I saw on this pass was a slight form break on her round-off: leg separation. Jana wrapped her performance with a sky-high double pike!
Vanessa Ferrari’s floor:
Now this Italian’s routine was impressive. She performed five — count them five — tumbling passes. She has some serious endurance. I thought doing five passes back in the day was hard. Wow.
Vanessa started out her routine with a double-double or, as some call it, a full-in-full-out. Her form and height were spectacular. Then she immediately turned around and performed a full-in, which is a significantly easier skill then her first pass. Ironically this pass had a form break, a leg separation at the end. It was obvious that Vanessa has a background in dance, or there is a concentration on dance in her daily training. Her form, lines, toe point and dance moves were remarkable. While she did miss her triple turn, which would have given her routine added bonus, her five tumbling passes ensured that her routine was still packed with bonuses. She finished up her routine was a quick triple twist with a small hop on the landing and ending with a flawless double pike, while sticking the landing. What set her apart from the other competitors on this apparatus was her emphasis on her landings and five solid tumbling passes. I am certain we will hear Vanessa Ferrari’s name as a contender leading up to Bejing. Congrats to her being the first Italian woman to win the all-around at a World Championships!