2012 was an exciting year for the sport of artistic gymnastics. As we move closer to the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, a fact struck me.

The last Worlds to be held in Belgium was in Ghent in 2001. Both the 2001 Worlds and 2013 Worlds happen to be one year after an Olympics.

For the next two weeks, we will look at how the sport has changed since 2001 and how last year’s Olympics could shape the medal outcome at this years Worlds.

 
Let’s start with the medals for the women. Below are the medal winners from the 2000 Olympics and the 2001 World Championships.

2000 Summer Olympics

 

Team Final

 

Gold: Romania

Silver: Russia

*Bronze: China

 

All-Around

 

Gold: Simona Amanra – Romania

Silver: Maria Olaru – Romania

Bronze: Liu Xuan – China

 

Vault

 

Gold: Elena Zamolodchikova – Russia

Silver: Andreea Raducan – Romania

Bronze: Yekaterina Lonaznyuk-Russia

 

Uneven Bars

 

Gold: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Silver: Ling Jie – China

Bronze: Yang Yun – China

 

Balance Beam

 

Gold: Liu Xuan – China

Silver: Yekaterina Lonaznyuk – Russia

Bronze: Yelena Produnova – Russia

 

Floor Exercise

 

Gold: Elena Zamolodchikova – Russia

Silver: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Bronze: Simona Amanra – China

 *NOTE: In 2010, the International Olympic Committee stripped China of their team bronze medal and awarded it to fourth place United States. However, for the purpose of this blog, we will keep China in third as that is how it was going into the 2001 World Championships.

 

2001 World Championships

 

Team Final

 

Gold: Romania

Silver: Russia

Bronze: United States

 

All-Around

 

Gold: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Silver: Natalia Ziganshina – Russia

Bronze: Andreea Raducan – Romania

 

Vault

 

Gold: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Silver: Oksana Chusovitina-Uzbekistan

Bronze: Andreea Raducan - Romania

 

Uneven Bars

 

Gold: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Silver: Renske Endel– Netherlands

Bronze: Katie Heenan – United States

 

Balance Beam

 

Gold: Andreea Raducan – Romania

Silver: Ludmila Ezhova – Russia

Bronze: Sun Xiaojiao – China

 

Floor Exercise

 

Gold: Andreea Raducan – Romania

Silver: Daniele Hypolito – Brazil

Bronze: Svetlana Khorkina – Russia

Russia and Romania dominated the 2000 Olympics and were able to carry their success to the 2001 Worlds. Romania was the strongest country over all at the time and would be for the next four years. The United States also started making the move into the top three. It was the first time the U.S had won a Worlds medal since the 1995 Worlds. Brazil also started winning medals and would again in 2003. The silver medal for the Netherlands was the first for the country in several decades.

 

Below are the medal winners from the 2012 Olympics.

2012 Summer Olympics

 

Team Final

 

Gold: United States  

Silver: Russia

Bronze: Romania

 

All-Around

 

Gold: Gabrielle Douglas – United States

Silver: Viktoria Komova – Russia

Bronze: Aliya Mustafina – Russia

 

Vault

 

Gold: Sandra Izbasa – Romania

Silver: McKayla Maroney – United States

Bronze: Maria Paseka – Russia

 

Uneven Bars

 

Gold: Aliya Mustafina – Russia

Silver: He Kexin – China

Bronze: Elizabeth Tweddle–Great Britain

 

Balance Beam

 

Gold: Deng Linlin – China

Silver: Sui Lu – China

Bronze: Alexandria Raisman–United States

 

Floor Exercise

 

Gold: Alexandria Raisman–United States

Silver: Catalina Ponor – Romania

Bronze: Aliya Mustafina – Russia

 

Twelve years later, the United States is the most dominate country. Russia fell a bit after the 2000 Olympics but made a steady comeback and is once again a serious contender for gold medals.

Romania also made a comeback after struggling for the last couple of years.

The only former powerhouse team that has continued to struggle is China. They have won several team bronze medals at Worlds. However, they often have falls and other costly mistakes that keep them from silver or gold. At the 2012 Olympics, the team placed fourth. They are much stronger individually.

In Antwerp, the team gold could go to either the United States or Russia. The U.S could also win vault and floor exercise