World Championships Glasgow 2015

Day 4: First Look At The USA Men, Training Days Conclude

Day 4: First Look At The USA Men, Training Days Conclude

Today was the final day of podium training for the 2015 World Championships here in Glasgow, Scotland. We got our first look at the USA men and you can wat

Oct 22, 2015 by Becca Reed
Day 4: First Look At The USA Men, Training Days Conclude


Today was the final day of podium training for the 2015 World Championships here in Glasgow, Scotland. We got our first look at the USA men and you can watch their videos here. We also got a another look into a practice with the USA women in the training halls. 

There was a noticeable difference in intensity level between the men and women during podium training. The women followed a regimented routine with competition-level intensity while the men were more relaxed in their approach.

The U.S. men did go through their lineup and full routines and while they looked strong and confident, they didn’t hit as many sets as expected. They had a few falls and missed skills but weren't shaken by these mistakes.

After Sam Mikulak injured his left ankle a couple weeks ago, Chris Brooks and Marvin Kimble were both flown to Scotland to train with the team. Today, USAG announced that Brooks was selected as the alternate. This last minute change shuffled the lineups and could also affect the mindset of the team, especially considering Mikulak is one of their strongest members. However, many of the gymnasts spoke about the depth of team USA and their ability to easily find an alternate. 

There were many outstanding international gymnasts at podium training including Oleg Verniaiev, Epke Zonderland, and Marian Dragulescu. Some say Verniaiev could even dethrone five-time World Champ Kohei Uchimura. But we won't get a real look at them until they compete in qualifications- Uchimura on Sunday and Verniaiev on Monday.

In the training hall, the U.S. women focused on bars and beam. They were nailing effortless bar routines and sticking dismounts left and right. On beam, there were many wobbles and they weren’t quite as clean as usual. But looking at the bigger picture and the amount of training they have under their belts, it shouldn’t be a problem at all.


Routine of the Day

Today's routine of the day goes to Sanne Weavers of the Netherlands for her gorgeous and unique beam routine. These combos are jaw-dropping! Watch below:



Watch Sanne's twin sister Lieke's beam routine here.


Lineups and Predictions

As we talked about earlier, USA did not announce who would replace Mikulak until today. Brooks told us he wasn't even told until two days ago. This means that just a few days ago the lineups weren't set. While it hasn't been officially announced yet, below is the order that the team performed in for podium training.

Floor: Alex Naddour, Chris Brooks, Paul Ruggeri, Danell Leyva, Donnell Whittenburg
Pommel horse: Ruggeri, Brooks, Leyva, Whittenburg, Naddour
Rings: Leyva, Brooks, Naddour, Whittenburg, Brandon Wynn
Vault: Leyva, Brooks, Ruggeri, Naddour, Whittenburg
Parallel bars: Ruggeri, Wynn, Brooks, Whittenbug, Leyva
High bar: Wynn, Ruggeri, Whittenburg, Brooks, Leyva

On the women's side. Start lists for tomorrow's qualifications were posted today and you can see them here. The start lists for Saturday's qualifications will be posted tomorrow. However, we've made our predictions for the U.S. team from observations in both podium training and training halls. Like the men, this list is unofficial.

Vault: Brenna Dowell, Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, Simone Biles
Bars: Raisman, Douglas, Biles, Madison Kocian, Dowell
Beam: Kocian, Douglas, Nichols, Raisman, Biles
Floor: Douglas, Dowell, Nichols, Raisman, Biles


They Said It

"Everybody's an individual leader and we actually, this year, have a captain on every event. You know, somebody to just kind of lead the way, make some of those executive decisions, last minute things... really every body is a leader in their own way... it's a good mix of the team." -USA Team Captain Brandon Wynn. Watch the full interview here.


Related:
Day 1 Recap: USA Rocks the Training Halls, Russia Shines on Bars
Day 2 Recap: USA Dominates Podium, China Shows Exciting Routines
Day 3 Recap: China and Japan Impress In Men's PT, USA Women Change Lineup
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