Moscow World Cup Concludes

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The host Russians won four titles in the finals of the World Stars, a World Cup event that concluded Saturday in Moscow.

The Russian women won three of the four titles, and Svetlana Klyukina was the most successful gymnast with three medals: bronze on uneven bars, silver on balance beam and gold on women's floor exercise.

Germany's Oksana Chusovitina, a former competitor for the Soviet Union, the Unified Team and Uzbekistan, won women's vault with a piked front-full and a Tsukahara 1 1/2. Chinese newcomer Liao Huifan placed second (excellent form on a Yurchenko 1 1/2 and piked front).

"I became a citizen of Germany only in October and so this was the first time I competed in Moscow for this country," Chusovitina said. "But I have not felt any difference in the reaction of the spectators and gymnasts. As before, they greeted me very warmly. So I'd like to come back again."

Despite an extremely low landing on her full-twisting double back dismount, Irina Isayeva eclipsed top qualifier Zhou Zhuoru of China for the gold on uneven bars. Isayeva's routine included an inside Stalder, blind change to piked Jaeger and a Tkatchev to Pak salto.

"I competed today for the first time after a serious ankle injury," Isayeva said. "So consequently in Moscow I did only bars, instead of my favorite event, the floor exercise. On bars I tried to do all my combinations, and only took a small break on my dismount. I did not think about my competitors and whether or not it would be possible to win. I have more training and the World Cup in Argentina ahead of me. I will try to continue in the same spirit."

European balance beam champion Yulia Lozhechko won that event, despite a wobbly routine and a large step forward on a cowboyed Arabian double front dismount. Chinese veteran Zhang Nan had a chance to pass Lozhechko until she fell on a switch ring leap late in her routine.

"I'm happy overall with my performance in Moscow, but in this afternoon's beam routine, not completely," Lozhechko said. "There were many mistakes and wobbles, but probably, due to my base difficulty I got a high score."

Klyukina topped Chusovitina for the gold on women's floor exercise, with both gymnasts going out of bounds. Chusovitina had more difficult tumbling but Klyukina was artistically superior, showing beautiful lines and dance.

Russia's Anton Golotsutskov was thrilled with his gold on men's floor exercise, but admittedly unhappy with his bronze medal on vault. Poland's Leszek Blanik took the gold with good landings on two 7.0-rated vaults: piked handspring double front and Tsukahara double pike. Jeffrey Wammes of the Netherlands finished second with a Yurchenko 2 1/2 and a double-twisting handspring layout front.

Golotsutskov vaulted a handspring double front half (7.0 A Panel) but lost four tenths in start value when he opted for a Tsukahara double tuck (6.6 A Panel) instead of the double pike he has performed in the past.

"With vault I am absolutely not happy," Golotsutskov said. "They condemned me! Being at home doesn't make a difference because the judges are all foreign anyway. Truthfully I should have been second. And so I left the arena even without waiting for the final results. I wished to win two golds in Moscow, so consequently I cannot call my performance on vault good in any way."

The Chinese men picked up golds from Yang Ming on still rings and Zhang Hangtao on pommel horse. Zhang was outstanding, earning the highest margin of victory on any apparatus.

On parallel bars, European champion and top qualifier Mitja Petkovsek (Slovenia) nailed his routine for a 16.100, only to be eclipsed by France's Yann Cucherat, whose hit routine (peach, peach half, giant dislocate, double back; Moy to straddled front flip; stuck double pike) brought him 16.200.

Turkey's Umit Samiloglu upset top qualifier Justin Spring (USA) to take the gold on high bar. Samiloglu performed a Kovacs and Kolman and a tucked double-double, edging Spring 15.350 to 15.300.

2007 World Stars
May 26, Moscow

(complete results unavailable)

Women's Vault
1. Oksana Chusovitina GER 15.000
2. Liao Huifan 14.275
3. Anastasia Marachkovskaya BLR 14.050
4. Anna Grudko RUS 14.00
5. Valeria Maksyuta UKR 13.875
6. Aino Aura FIN 13.400
7. Katja Abel GER 13.250
8. Francesca Benolli ITA 12.975

Uneven Bars
1. Irina Isayeva RUS 15.050
2. Zhou Zhuoru CHN 14.900
3. Svetlana Klyukina RUS 14.250
4. Francesca Benolli ITA 14.050
5. Katja Abel GER 13.450
6. Despoina Grigoriadou GRE 13.250
7. Anamaria Tamarjan ROM 13.000
8. Vasiliki Kopoulou GRE 11.650

Balance Beam
1. Yulia Lozhechko RUS 15.550
2. Svetlana Klyukina RUS 15.300
3. Zhang Nan CHN 15.150
4. Oksana Chusovitina GER 14.850
5. Vasiliki Millousi GRE 14.40
6. Zhou Zhuoru CHN 14.30
7. Federica Macri ITA 14.20
8. Anamaria Tamarjan ROM 14.150

Women's Floor Exercise
1. Svetlana Klyukina RUS 14.600
2. Oksana Chusovitina GER 14.250
3. Andreea Grigore ROM 14.100

Men's Floor Exercise
1. Anton Golotsutskov RUS 15.650
2. Wajdi Bouallegue TUN 15.550
3. Alexander Shatilov ISR 15.350
4. Yevgeny Spiridonov GER 15.300
5. Filip Ude CRO 15.250
6. Isaac Botella ESP 15.100
7. Gael da Silva FRA 14.950
8. Enrico Pozzo ITA 14.600

Pommel Horse
1. Zhang Hongtao 16.100
2. Daniel Popescu ROM 15.600
3. Dmitry Vasilyev RUS 15.350
4. Louis Smith GBR 15.150
5. Nikolai Kryukov RUS 14.800
6. Maxim Petrishko KAZ 13.950
7. Jose Luis Fuentes VEN 13.850
8. Sid Ali Ferdsani ALG 12.650

Still Rings
1. Yan Ming CHN 16.400
2. Yuri van Gelder NED 16.300
3. Regulo Carmona VEN 16.300
4. Timur Kurbanbayev KAZ
5. Konstantin Pluzhnikov RUS
6. Alexander Safoshkin RUS
7. Alexander Vorobyov UKR
8. Matteo Angioletti ITA

Men's Vault
1. Lezsek Blanik POL 16.450
2. Jeffrey Wammes NED 16.175
3. Anton Golotsutskov RUS 16.100

Parallel Bars
1. Yann Cucherat FRA 16.200
2. Mitja Petkovsek SLO 16.100
3. Roman Zozulya UKR 15.450

High Bar
1. Umit Samiloglu TUR 15.350
2. Justin Spring USA 15.300
2. Jeffrey Wammes NED 15.300
4. Roman Kulesza POL 15.250
5. Epke Zonderand NED 15.200
6. Sergei Khorokhodin RUS 15.050
7. Enrico Pozzo ITA 14.650
8. Yann Cucherat FRA 12.950

International Gymnast Magazine Related Features
"Double Break" - Abel profile (July/August 2006)
"Pole Vaulter" - Blanik interview (February 2003)
"On Good German Terms" - short Chusovitina profile (January/February 2007)
"Melbourne Confidential" - includes short profiles on Chusovitina and Petkovsek (March 2006)
"Declaration of Indepepdence" - Petkovsek/Slovenia team feature (February 2001)
"Ring Master" - Safoshkin profile (August/September 2004)
"Ask the Expert - Justin Spring" (September 2006)
"Spring Loaded" - profile (February 2005)
"Ask the Expert: Yuri van Gelder" (June 2006)
"Double Dutch" - van Gelder profile (May 2005)
"Standout" - Zhang cover story (May 2004)
Zhang center poster (May 2003)
Zhang on cover collage (August/September 2006)
Zhou poster (May 2006)
Zhang, Zhou and Chinese team on cover (December 2006)

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