Day 5: Romania Crumbles In Qualifications, Russia Finishes First, Black Leads AA

Competition has officially commenced here at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Half of the women’s subdivisions competed today and Russia

Oct 24, 2015 by Rebecca Johnson

Day 5: Romania Crumbles In Qualifications, Russia Finishes First, Black Leads AA

Competition has officially commenced here at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. Half of the women’s subdivisions competed today and Russia is currently leading the way with a 231.437. In second is Great Britain with a 227.162 and in third is Italy with a 224.462.

The day started with a very uncharacteristic performance from Romania. Seasoned veteran Larisa Iordache, who took the silver in the all-around at the 2014 World Championships, underperformed throughout the competition and took falls on both bars and beam. She still managed a 55.698 all-around, which puts her in 9th place after day one.

In the second subdivision, Team Japan proved to be a strong force, displaying big difficulty combined with consistently clean execution.

Team Canada stole the show in subdivision three, bolstered by spectacular performances from team leaders Brittany Rogers and Ellie Black. Rogers had the meet of her life, finishing the session in the top spot on both bars and vault, and said she was “on cloud nine” after the meet.

Black performed in her typical fashion, combining power and elegance in a way you wouldn’t think is possible. Her signature 2 1/2 twist to double back tumbling pass on floor was a crowd pleaser, and she went on to hit the next three events strong. Black finished with a 57.299, putting her in the top spot in the all-around after day one of qualifications.

Moving on to subdivision 4, Great Britain had an outstanding performance. They started on beam, which is never an easy place to begin, but they handled it well. Ellie Downie’s sky-high Arabian on beam pleased the home crowd, as well as Claudia Fragapane ending her routine with a huge double layout. Brazil also fared well and was happy with their finish. However, by the end of the day they fell to sixth, in danger of being pushed out of the top eight by tomorrow night.

In subdivision 5, Russia started on floor and didn’t look as striking as expected, but they sure hit their stride after the first rotation. Maria Paseka competed a huge Amanar and a Cheng, putting herself in the top spot on vault. Team Russia was remarkable on bars, earning a 59.907—over four points higher than any other team before them. Viktoria Komova, Seda Tutkhalian, and Maria Kharenkova all competed lovely beam routines to get solid 14s and secure Russia’s top spot after day one.

In the final subdivision, Germany was the top performing team, totaling a 219.261.

Tomorrow, we will see both the USA and China, as the next six subdivisions take the competition floor.

Routine Of The Day

Sae Miyakawa of Japan on floor:

Lineups/Predictions:

The USA lineups we predicted yesterday have been confirmed.

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

This means that Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas will be competing in the all-around. However due to the two per country rule, only two can qualify for the all-around final. Our prediction is that Biles and Raisman will be the two U.S. gymnasts that qualify.