
Women’s NCAA week four – recap and rankings
‘From the sidelines with Amy’ – weekly recap feature of the top women’s NCAA teams in the country.
Gymnasts from five different countries won gold medals on the last day of competitions in Liverpool, England, as the 51st World Championship came to an end.
Armenia’s Artur Davtyan earned the men’s vault gold medal, while Zou Jingyuan from China reclaimed the parallel bars title. Brody Malone of the U.S. topped the field on high bar. In the women’s finals, Hazuki Watanabe of Japan earned gold on balance beam, while Jessica Gadirova of Great Britain took the floor title.
“Since the fall of the Soviet Union this is the first gold for Armenia at a World Championship. We got third on pommel horse (on Saturday) and now we have gold”, the vault champion Davtyan said. The Tokyo Olympics vault bronze medalist posted 15.05 average for his two vaults to earn his very first world medal at age 30. “This success is thanks to our coaches and our unity. We have been through a lot of difficulties, and I am thankful we were able to achieve this gold medal.”
Carlos Yulo of the Philippines nearly defended his vault title from a year ago, but came just short and had to settle for the silver behind Davtyan. Yulo scored 14.950 for a well landed piked Dragulescu and a Kasamatsu double twist second vault. Igor Radivilov from Ukraine earned his fourth vault medal from a world championship taking the bronze with 14.733.
China’s Zou Jingyuan upgraded his difficulty in his parallel bars routine and combined with immaculate execution, posted 16.166 for the win. The score was the highest of all competitions in all events during the entire world championships and received 9.266 in execution.
“This is the first time I did this 6.9 difficulty routine. At first, I just wanted to stick with the original plan, use the 6.5 difficulty and perform it perfectly… But I decided to perform the harder routine to challenge myself. I am satisfied with my performance”, Zou said. It is the third World gold medal on parallel bars for the Chinese, who is also the reigning Olympic champion.
Lukas Dauser of Germany took the silver medal on parallel bars with a score of 15.500, followed by Carlos Yulo who earned the bronze with 15.366. The silver medal is the first world medal for the German, who was also second at the Olympics behind Zou.
In a very competitive high bar final, Brody Malone of the U.S. earned the gold medal with a score of 14.800, ahead of the Olympic champion Daiki Hashimoto. The current all-around champion, Hashimoto, recorded 14.700 for the silver, which is a repeat result for the Japanese from last year’s worlds. Malone’s medal is his second world medal, after winning the bronze on that event a year ago. The 2019 world champion on high bar, Arthur Mariano of Brazil, earned the bronze with 14.466.
Initially an alternate on the team, Hazuki Watanabe became the second consecutive world beam champion for Japan (Urara Ashikawa won her gold in 2021), after topping the field on that event with a 13.600. “At first, I was the reserve for the team, but when there was an injury, I got a chance to compete at this world championships. That was my first surprise. Now I have a medal too. It is all a bit surprising”, Watanabe said.
Ellie Black of Canada earned the silver medal with 13.566 followed by Japan’s Shoko Miyata who posted 13.533 for the bronze. The top qualifiers to this event, Ou Yushan of China and Skye Blakely from the U.S., both had falls in their routines and couldn’t reach the podium.
In the women’s floor final, home crowd favorite, Jessica Gadirova outperformed the rest of the field posting 14.200 for the gold medal. “I’m just so relieved and just so shocked – I can’t believe it”, Gadirova said. The gold medal was the third medal in Liverpool for the Brit, after her silver with her team, and a bronze in the all-around competition.
Jordan Chiles of the U.S. earned her second individual silver medal in Liverpool by posting 13.866 for a well delivered floor routine. “I just did what I know I can do, whether I got a medal or not. Getting the silver makes me really proud. I could cry again”, Chiles said.
Olympic champion Jade Carey of the U.S. and newly crowned all-around gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil tied for the bronze medal with 13.733. It was Andrade’s first world medal on floor, and Carey’s second after earning a silver back in 2017.
For complete results of the individual event finals click here.
‘From the sidelines with Amy’ – weekly recap feature of the top women’s NCAA teams in the country.
Rising Canadian gymnastics star Felix Dolci told International Gymnast Online that he attributes his dominant performance at the recent Elite Canada competition in Saskatoon to the gains he has made since last fall’s World Championships in Liverpool.
‘From the sidelines with Amy’ – weekly recap feature of the top women’s NCAA teams in the country
2022 world team silver medalist Ondine Achampong of Great Britain has in sight the fulfillment of her potential as a leading all-around gymnast at the domestic and global levels.