Glasgow Grand Prix features phenomenal gymnastics heading into World Cup Finals
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, World Cup in Stuttgart and Glasgow Grand Prix.
See all of these routines and more gymnastics at www.wcsn.com.
For Anna’s first vault, she performed a strong Yurchenko double twist. For those of you who are avid gymnastics watchers then you know about Anna’s power and strength on this apparatus. Her body line was beautiful, though she had a small form break with her crossed legs throughout the twist. She finished up with a solid landing with a small deduction.
Anna’s second vault was a round-off entry vault to a half on, front layout half off. She performed this vault quite well. Her stretched body line in the layout half was impeccable. While many gymnasts fail to perform the second part of this vault in a fully stretched layout position, Anna did not disappoint, showing her strength and amplitude.
Elena Zamolodchikova’s vault:
Elena performed a Yurchenko double twist for her first vault. She is known for her strength and power, but not for the cleanest lines. There a small form break throughout. Elena faltered on the landing, costing at least a two-tenths deduction for the steps.
Elena’s second vault was a round-off entry vault to a half on, front layout half off. She lacked amplitude on this difficult vault. The judges look for a completely stretched body, which was lacking. Her body remained pike throughout the layout half portion. Form breaks were evident, in her legs and feet. She finished up with a small hop on the landing.
Beth Tweddle’s bars: 
This was definitely one of Beth’s stronger routines. Her beautiful toe point, clean lines and ability to keep the routine swinging put this routine in contention for gold. What impressed me most was Beth’s ability to hit all her handstands. This shows strength and attention to detail. Something the judges look for and when accomplished, they are certain to reward the gymnast. She finished up the routine with a half-in, half-out dismount with a small hop on the landing. For those who watched the dismount, I am certain that one took note to her impeccable form (toes and legs together). Impressive! Again, her coach’s attention to detail is clear.
Dariya Zgoba’s bars:
Dariya began the routine with a unique mount, which not only captures that audience’s attention, but the judges’ as well. She performed her routine with good form and nice lines. The routine was packed with difficulty, while showing beautiful stadler work, performed in both a straddle and pike position. Though caught, her pike jaegar was sluggish and close to the bar. Dariya did a good job staying committed to the routine and the swing. She wrapped up the routine with a nice double front dismount with a small hop on the landing.
Steliana Nistor’s beam:
This was a good performance; it was packed with acrobatics and nice flexibility but there was nothing eye-catching. Steliana began with a difficult back handspring back full twist with a small bobble on the landing. Then performed a front aerial to back handspring layout, those there was a significant pause following the aerial, which would eliminate any combination bonus. There was a small bobble on her full turn and then she finished up with a solid front and side somersault. She dismounted with a clean double pike.
Dariya Zgoba’s beam:
I really enjoyed this routine! Dariya’s performances are eye-catchy. She began with a beautiful straddle planche, performed flawlessly. Throughout the routine her flexibility was emphasized on an impressive ring leap, a full turn with her leg in at her ear, and her straddle planche mount. Her turn resulted in the largest deduction of the routine, though she fought to stay pulled up and on the beam. Next, she performed a round-off back layout, which had nice amplitude but had an obvious straddle of her legs. Also, there was small deduction on the landing as she lifted her leg to fight to stay on the beam. There were missed connections on two elements, her aerial combination and her front tuck to sheep jump. If these connections were performed well her score would reflect that. Dariya finished up with a double pike dismount with a small hop on the landing and a small (straddle) form break.
Beth Tweddle’s floor:
This hometown girl started off the routine with a strong 1 ½ to a double Arabian with a stuck landing. With this upbeat music, the crowd immediately got into the routine. Beth then performed a difficult double Arabian in a piked position. She flew forward and out of bounds which quickly took her out of medal contention. She wrapped up the routine with a nice triple turn, and ended with a 2 ½ to front full, which was performed with great form. Though she ended this competition with a fall, she should still be pleased with her performances overall. This was a great time for Beth to perform well internationally to build her name prior to Bejing.
Sandra Izbasa’s floor:
Sandra began the routine with a nice combination pass, back 1 ½ to front layout full to front tuck full. Then she performed a tuck full in, showing her back tumbling ability. One aspect that stood out for me in this routine was the unique and fitting choreography for Sandra. Her performance was impressive and I am certain it added to her overall score. Sadly, she faltered her triple turn, but she finished up with strong tumbling. Her 2 ½ to front layout, with small form break) and then a triple twist, with crossed legs throughout. Sandra did a fabulous job fully completing the triple twist but she failed to put her feet together on the landing, which should result in a small deduction. All-in-all, I enjoyed this routine and look forward to Sandra having a strong showing in future competitions.