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![]() Germany topped Belgium, Switzerland and France in a junior women's international held Friday in Wallisellen, Zürich, in conjunction with Sunday's Swiss Cup. Germany topped three of its neighbors in a junior women's international held Friday in Wallisellen, Zürich. Held in conjunction with the annual Swiss Cup, the friendly tournament brought teams from Belgium, France and Germany to gain international experience. The very young lineup included several gymnasts born in 2005 and one in 2006, all hopefuls for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Germany scored 145.350, topping Belgium (143.250) and the host Swiss (141.650). A young French squad finished fourth (136.050). The forgiving rules allowed up to six gymnasts on each event but with only four scores counting for the team total. Team Germany led from the first rotation, despite three falls on uneven bars. The German women were most impressive on balance beam, earning the highest event total of any time after vault. Julia Birck (12.850) and Emma Malewski (12.750) taking the two highest scores, with Birck's 5.1D score the highest of any event. Aiyu Zhu had the top mark of the day with 13.050 on vault and finished second all-around (48.700). She also had the only mark above 12.000 on uneven bars (12.150). Belgian junior 'A' champion Stacy Bertrandt, a 13-year-old from Brugge, led her team to second and won the all-around title (49.050). Belgium surprising struggled on bars but outscored the field on floor exercise. Noémie Louon finished fourth all-around. Belgium sent four gymnasts born in 2005. Kéziah Langendock, whose coaches include former Belgian standout Julie Croket, was the top finisher among Belgium's 2024 group in 11th. Led by Lilli Habisreutinger, the Swiss had the top team total on vault. Habisreutinger brought another medal for the Swiss by finishing third all-around (48.000). Anastassia Pascu, daughter of well-known Romanian-born coach Nicuşor Pascu (former head coach of the Romanian men's team), finished eighth all-around. Anastassia, born in 2004, trains at the regional training center in Bern. The French brought a very young squad, none of whom will be eligible for Tokyo but are part of the training squads for Paris 2024. Impressively, the team placed second to Germany as a team on balance beam, with Mathilde Bylebyl and Djena Laroui finishing third and fourth, respectively, behind the Germans. The youngest member of the meet, Maily Planckeel from Dunkerque, was only born in 2006 and was this year's Espoirs champion. (She received a 0.00 on vault only because of a planned spot from her coach on her Yurchenko.) The junior match is part of a growing trend of hosting smaller events alongside established international meets on the calendar, that will hopefully continue with more junior meets joining World Cup events. This is a desirable format that is win-win for organizers and fans, but most especially for the young participants who get a chance at not only representing their countries at an early age but sharing training time with some of their idols. Action continues Sunday afternoon with the annual Swiss Cup at Zürich's Hallenstadion. External Link: Official website 2017 WAG Junior Belgium/France/Germany/Switzerland
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