Any sport which involves flipping multiple times head over
heels is awesome. You should watch it. End of post.
Well, of course it isn’t, because I am far too excited to
stop there! I have been following WAG since 2015, when I discovered that a
routine is the perfect length for a revision break, and that watching people do
super-human things doesn’t have to be tied to the marvel cinematic universe.
Of all the years of gymnastics I have seen, this year seems
special. And that’s why i want to encourage you to give it a try this season,
and maybe to tune into the ever approaching gymnastics world championships (October
25th to November 3rd)
Reason 1: Simone Biles!
Biles is back! This world championship will be her first
international competition since Rio 2016, where she captured 4 out of 6
available gold medals and a bronze. Read that again. That’s an incredible medal
haul, and on top of three years of proving herself the best in the world by
winning the all-around competition, normally with massive, unheard of margins
of victory. So, after Rio, she took a year off, joined the fight to bring down
her one-time abuser Larry Nassar, travelled, went on dancing with the stars
(American strictly), and then resumed training. Now, she’s back. And, somehow,
better than ever before. In her very first competition she upgraded her
routines, getting straight back to being the best in the world.
Let me explain why she is so good. In WAG, there are two
components to the score, execution and difficulty. Execution is out of ten, and
difficulty is technically unlimited, being made of the skill value of the 8
hardest elements in a routine. Typically,
a reasonable difficulty is about 5.5, and an excellent difficulty creeps into
the 6s. Biles immediately comes in with the most difficulty in the world on
three out of the four apparatus, and is still hitting a big number on her
weakest piece, the uneven bars. She couples this with some of the world’s best
execution, meaning that when she hits, she hits big. And, being one of the most
consistent gymnasts I have ever seen, you can just presume she will hit.
All of this means that she can fall several times in the all-around
final at worlds this year and still win, even though the rest of the
competition is very strong. And she knows it, which means that she can truly
relax and enjoy her performance. Expect big skills, big smiles, and top scores
across the board, and she’s teased even more upgrades. It’s possible she could
debut two never-before-seen vaults this year, a new balance beam dismount, and
she has already shown off the hardest skill performed on floor, the Moors. This
involves her flipping backwards twice, keeping her body perfectly straight, and
twisting twice as well before landing on her feet. And she, of course, does it
better than anyone else ever. She is the best gymnast of all time, and she’s
returned to competing. That would be enough of a reason in itself, but...
2: Morgan Hurd
Morgan Hurd would be a big enough sell for me on her own.
The reigning all around champion from 2017, she has chosen to keep most of her
upgrades for worlds, and chosen to focus more on execution this year. Still,
the fact that she can also do a Moors, that she has a beautiful beam routine
and can swing bars as well as anyone isn’t what you’ll know her for. Because
Morgan Hurd is one of the world’s biggest Harry Potter fans, and has been
hailed by JK Rowling herself as “a real hero in glasses!”
Of course, that’s the other thing you might know about her.
Rather than opt for contacts as many gymnasts do, she chooses to sport her
specs, using a strap to keep them on when she flips and twists.
And Hurd is a performer, she sells exquisite floor routines,
her smile is engaging. Working on her execution this year has really benefitted
her, and when she adds her difficulty back in, she has a good shot of getting
multiple individual medals a well as the team gold which the US is almost
certain to get. Even with all her upgrades, it’s really unlikely she can
challenge Biles, but her performance is likely to be better. Definitely one to
watch.
3: The team from the Netherlands
It might seem strange to include this point here. The Dutch team isn’t in the
top three, there’s even a realistic chance that they won’t get through to the
tram final. Their difficulty is a long way off being at the level of the US,
Russia or China. There execution is good, but not so incredibly good.
What sets them apart is their performance. They have a
history of bringing out amazing floor routines, gorgeous bars, beam routines
with innovative choreography. Eeythora Thorsdottir somehow manages to make her
zombie themed floor routine look elegant and artistic, while Celine Van Gerner
stunned the gymnastics world by performing her “Cats” floor with full broadway
style makeup at Euros this year. Unfortunately, both of these stars are taking a break to let long term injuries
recover, but the rest of the team will be bringing the same style and
creativity, and will be hoping to be rewarded for it after winning a bronze
team medal in the european championships. There’s lots to see here, and even if
you don’t watch the whole competition, I would sincerely recommend watching a
few of their routines.
4: Mustafina
Very few gymnasts have ever returned to the sport after
having children. Aliya Mustafina, 2010 all around champion, two time olympic
gold medallist on the uneven bars and Queen of gymnastics is now officially one
of them. And it’s wonderful.
Part of Mustafina’s brilliance is that she is so incredibly
unpredictable. In the qualifications for a competition she might compete
routines virtually unrecognisable from anything she has shown before, fall
three times and barely qualify to finals, and then she will show up looking
absolutely amazing, smash the competition and win medals left, right and
centre. This year, we haven’t seen her compete for several months, as she’s
been troubled by injury, but she is back in time for Worlds. This means that
no-one knows what state she is in, and whether she will be able to pull off her
customary “I only peak in finals” trick. My biggest hope is that she gets her
bars routine together, because I miss seeing her gorgeous pak salto (a
somersault between the two bars, where you release the high bar, flip, then
catch the low one. One of my personal favourite skills, when performed
correctly, i.e. how Mustafina does it), especially when she connects it to a
transition back up to the high bar.
Basically, she could show up, do one event and fall twice,
or come back ready for the all around with upgrades, a thousand and one stuck
landings and a new never-before-seen skill. With Mustafina, the uncertainty is
half the enjoyment.
5: Team GB
The Downies are back! The two veteran sisters have both
returned to competition within the past few weeks, with... mixed results. I
don’t think that from what we’ve seen, neither of them is at 100% yet, but
there’s still time before worlds for them to work on stamina and get their
consistency back. And, by the way, Becky Downie, the elder sister and bars/bam
specialist has show herself capable of performing one of the hardest bars
routines in the world. Seriously, it’s cool.
Speaking of gorgeous bar work, Georgia-May Fenton is another
great gymnast here. Back for her second worlds, she’s bringing world class
execution, great difficulty and some awesome work on the other pieces
(particularly beam) as well.
This team will suffer however, because of injuries. Amy
Tinkler, olympic bronze floor medallist is out, as is Claudia Fragapane. These
two were vitally important in supporting the team in getting high floor and
vault scores, and I think missing them, and with Ellie Downie’s floor routine
still a big question i think the team might suffer here.
Even so, the individual performances are sure to be a worthy
consolation. It’s looking really quite likely that two British women will be
competing in the bars final, and possibly picking up a medal.
This is the most exciting year since I started watching
gymnastics. New talents are rising, veterans are returning with upgrades, and
some skills which were once whispered of as impossible are becoming really
quite likely. If I have piqued your interest with this post, I strongly suggest
you tune in during the world championships, there are often YouTube streams, as
well as BBC coverage available on iPlayer.
Truly, I believe there’s something in WAG for everyone to
enjoy, the physical prowess, the elegance, the beauty, the big skills and the
drama. Expect to see all these, and more playing out from the 25th
of October.
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