Hello, and welcome to Gymnastics Insider!
U.S. nationals are underway (day one results, playlist). I am delighted to report that, after one day of competition, Skye Blakely and Claire Pease are tied for first place with a 55.600.
Both thrived on bars and beam, though they’re not in the lead on either event. Charleigh Bullock, currently in third, holds a 14.250 on bars:
Fourth-place all-arounder Hezly Rivera tops the beam standings with a 14.300.
Meanwhile, Jade Carey continues to pace herself, doing easier vaults for a 14.000 average, and is currently placed fifth. Reese Esponda is in sixth, but her 14.450 on floor would make her hard to leave off any team.
It feels strange to say this because it’s rarely the case, but based just on one day of competition, there is a clear top six, and they would form a very strong, well-rounded team. On to day two.
Schedule and how to watch
Sunday, Aug. 9
Juniors — 12 p.m.
Seniors — 5 p.m.
Live stream: Peacock
Broadcast: Sunday 6 p.m. on NBC
Other notes
- Leanne Wong is out. She hyperextended her knee during podium training.
- Jayla Hang won’t compete on day two.
European Championships
Euros kicks off this week (roster). They’ll start Thursday with qualifications, which also serves as the individual all-around final. Then we’ll have event finals, followed by the team final.
Yes, it’s completely out of order, I have no idea why.
Originally, I started this preview with an overview of Russia’s team and what they could accomplish here (mainly, team gold). But on Friday, we learned that three members of Team Russia — Angelina Melnikova, Viktoria Listunova and Anna Kalmykova — had been denied visas to enter Croatia and won’t be attending.
We still haven’t heard from European Gymnastics or the Croatian Federation, though it’s unclear what, if any, involvement they have in these decisions.
This is a gut punch to those athletes, not to mention the start of a royal shitstorm. Regardless of whether you agree with Russia competing internationally, they were cleared by the FIG and IOC, added to the schedule, trained for the competition, booked their flights, etc., etc., and it is simply not fair for them to get refused at the last minute. Plus, these Euros are a qualifying event for worlds, which is the first qualifying event for the 2028 Olympics. This decision could have ripple effects that go way beyond Euros.
While that drama unfolds offstage, starting Thursday we’ll see top countries get team scores for the first time this year, and some new seniors will compete in their biggest meet so far.
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Schedule and how to watch
All times Zagreb, Croatia (GMT+2)
Thursday, Aug. 13:
Qualifications/individual all-around
Group 1 — 9:30-10:35 a.m.
Group 2 — 11:00 a.m.-1:05 p.m.
Group 3 (Russia, Netherlands) — 1:30-3:35 p.m.
Group 4 (Great Britain) — 4:30-6:35 p.m.
Group 5 (Germany, France, Italy) — 7:00-9:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 15:
Event finals — 2:00-6:20 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 16:
Team Finals — 3:30-6:20 p.m.
Streaming and broadcasting schedule
Russia is back…?
Before the aforementioned drama, I would have said it was so exciting to see Russia here, as we haven’t seen them compete as a team since the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Now, not so much.
Italy ran away with this last year, winning the title over second-place Germany by over three points. But this year, they’re dealing with injuries and even with Russia out of the mix, they will have to contend with France.
Reigning all-around European champion Manila Esposito still leads Team Italy, though she’s dropped bars. Elisa Iorio, however, thrives on bars, and Giulia Perotti and July Marano are true all-arounders who will round out the team nicely and could medal in the final. Perotti also has top scores on bars and beam. They will have to make it work without Asia D’Amato, who pulled out this week due to injury.
For France, we finally get to see first-year senior Elena Colas in action on the international stage. Colas is a force to be reckoned with — she scored a 56.550 at this year’s French National Review, and has scored a 14.700 on beam and 14.800 on bars this year. She will lead Team France along with veteran Lorette Charpy. Maïana Prat, another first-year senior, is France’s number two all-arounder who is strong on beam and floor.
Individual finals
In addition to Lyudmila Roshchina, who should still compete for Russia, and the all-arounders from France and Italy, Dutch national champion Naomi Visser will be in the mix for an all-around medal, along with British national champion Ruby Evans and reigning silver medalist Alba Petisco of Spain.
Karina Schönmaier of Germany is the reigning champion on vault, as well as the current German vault champion. She scored a 14.062 average to win that title, and is the one to beat here. Great Britain’s Abigail Martin is fresh off a silver-medal-winning vault performance at the Commonwealth Games, where she earned a 13.799 average. Meanwhile, Teja Belak of Slovenia is a steady presence, with a gold medal performance at Koper Challenge Cup this year with a 13.533.
On bars, expect Iorio to vie for the title, along with Colas, Visser and Perotti. Sanna Veerman of the Netherlands is the Dutch champion and is capable of topping 14.4. Last but not least, Becky Downie is slated to compete after earning a 14.600 on bars at British Championships this year.
Beam is anyone’s game, but I’d like to see Colas make that final, along with Sanne Wevers, who is making a comeback here after winning the Dutch title this year with a 13.700. On floor, Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea should do well here, along with Esposito.
Other athletes to look out for include veterans Pauline Schaefer-Betz of Germany and Zsofia Kovacs of Croatia.
Brazilian nationals
The Brazilian national championships (roster) started yesterday with qualifications/all-around finals, and will continue today with vault and bars finals, and tomorrow with beam and floor.
Top names include Rebeca Andrade, Lorrane Oliveira, Gabriela Barbosa, Sophia Weisberg, Thais Fidelis, Julia Soares, Gabriela Boucas and Flávia Saraiva.
So far, on day one we saw Andrade compete with a beautiful DTY:
We most recently saw this group thrive at the Pan American championships, bringing home five medals, including team silver with a 157.796. Fidelis and Weisberg lead the way in the all-around, with Andrade topping vault and Saraiva specializing in switch ring leaps:
Unlike the U.S., Brazil brought its A squad to Pan Ams. Championships will be an opportunity to see how far this team has come since then, and where some new talent might be able to fit holes in the equation.
The competition is streaming live on the federation’s YouTube channel.
More news
Required reading: ‘It just means more’: Black college gymnasts competing in a divided south (The Guardian).
NCAA eligibility is in flux. It’s all very confusing; check back next week.
Jordan Chiles was on Jeopardy.
Five at The IX: Rebeca Andrade
Rebeca Andrade spoke to Olympics.com ahead of her performance at Brazilian Championships.
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