USA Women Finish First In Qualifications At Gymnastics World Championships
USA Women Finish First In Qualifications At Gymnastics World Championships
The last six subdivisions for women’s artistic gymnastics qualifications were today, giving us who will advance to the all-around, event, and team finals.
The last six subdivisions for women’s artistic gymnastics qualifications were today, giving us who will advance to the all-around, event, and team finals. There was a ton of action in the arena, but here are the top three biggest headlines from day two.
U.S. women take first at team qualifications
The United States absolutely swept the team qualifications, ending with a score of 174.205. China was in second place with a 169.161, putting the U.S. more five whole points ahead. Russia came in a close third with a 168.050, but no one came close to first place.
The U.S. started on floor and gave their best performance of the day, ending with the highest team score at the event by almost three points, a 43.233. The U.S. took the top three places on this event, with Simone Biles in first, Sunisa Lee in second, and Jade Carey in third. Lee and Carey both scored a 14.2, and Biles scored a phenomenal 14.833.
They then went to vault, where they also took the highest team score of the session with a 44.932. On bars they were not as dominant, Sunisa Lee managed to place third with a nearly flawless routine that scored a 15.000. Beam was their final event, and unfortunately both Grace McCallum and Lee had one fall each. Many gymnasts from different teams fell on beam today, so the U.S. still managed to take second on the event, behind China.
The U.S. is well on its way to winning its fifth consecutive team final and will compete for it on Tuesday, Oct. 8, against the other top seven teams.
Teams and individuals qualify to finals and Tokyo
The top eight teams qualified to team finals, meaning that the U.S., China, Russia, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Italy made it. The top 24 gymnasts qualified for all-around finals, two per country, and the full list can be found here.
Jade Carey (USA), Simone Biles (USA), Alexa Moreno (MEX), Elissa Downie (GBR), Yeo Seojeong (KOR), Shallon Olsen (CAN), Liliia Akhaimova (RUS), and Qi Qi (CHN) qualified to vault finals.
Nina Derwael (BEL), Daria Spiridonova (RUS), Sunisa Lee (USA), Elisabeth Seitz (GER), Rebecca Downie (GBR), Liu Tingting (CHN), Simone Biles (USA), and Angelina Melnikova (RUS) qualified to bars finals.
Simone Biles (USA), Li Shijia (CHN), Liu Tingting (CHN), Flavia Saraiva (BRA), Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA), Sarah Voss (GER), Elsabeth Black (CAN), and Anne-Marie Padurariu (CAN) made it to beam finals. Kara Eaker’s score was lowered after an inquiry about her score, dropping her to 10th place and keeping her out of beam finals. After further inspection, her ring shapes did not get credit.
Simone Biles (USA), Sunisa Lee (USA), Angelina Melnikova (RUS), Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA), Liliia Akhaimova (RUS), Flavia Saraiva (BRA), Roxana Popa (ESP), and Nina Derwael (BEL) qualified to floor finals.
Multiple gymnasts were kept out of event finals due to the two per country rule, including Chen Yile from China on beam and Jade Carey (USA) on floor. As in the past, many have displayed outrage at this rule.
The 2-per country rule NEEDS to go.
— Jordyn Wieber (@jordyn_wieber) October 5, 2019
France, Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Japan, and Spain qualified to Tokyo, along with the U.S., Russia, and China, which had already qualified. Spain qualifying and keeping Brazil out of the competition was a huge surprise to many, and the biggest upset of the day.
Simone makes history once again
Simone Biles showed her triple double on floor, landing it with a slight hop backwards out of bounds. As she showed this skill on the competition floor, it will now be named after her, the Biles ll. She is the first woman to ever compete this skill at worlds.
She also competed her new double double beam dismount, officially competing that at worlds for the first time ever.