Last Tuesday, I exited the Tokyo Metro and headed across a bridge leading to the women’s team final of the 2011 world championships. Getting in back of a long line snaked around the building, I waited for the doors to open and then did the same two days later for the women’s all-around final. From the paper fans waved by spectators to the video-game-inspired music played between rotations, the atmosphere inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium was colorful and spirited. And of course the gymnastics was amazing. Here’s what I’ll remember most about my time in Tokyo:

The U.S. Women

I was so happy to see Team U.S.A. shake off their problems at national championships and not only win gold, but hit 32-for-32 routines. What more can you say: they were spectacular.

Jordyn Wieber

Wieber’s superb performance at nationals set her up as a favorite for the world all-around title, and she pulled it off, coming back from a mistake on bars to absolutely nail beam, the routine that she needed to ultimately edge Komova. Given Wieber’s cool demeanor and solid performances under pressure, it’s easy to forget that she’s a first-year senior. She showed her mastery of the brutally difficult Amanar, and her beam routine stood up to the code of points while also showcasing delightful originality, like her standing-full, immediate back handspring. Wieber has clearly been working on her artistry—her current floor choreography is fun, and she sold it well. Although Wieber’s win over Komova was questioned by some, the fact is that gymnastics is a sport judged by human evaluators, and last Thursday they decided that she was the world all-around champion. What a thrilling accomplishment for this young athlete.

Viktoria Komova

During podium training, Komova often struggled, and many wondered whether she was ready to contend for the all-around title. But contend she did, missing the gold by a mere .033 of a point. Although it was clear in Tokyo that Komova has yet to completely recover from her recent ankle surgery, she valiantly attempted most of her difficulty, excluding her Amanar vault. Her bars were brilliant, garnering gold in last week’s event final. If she can get the Amanar back and clean up her wobbles on beam, Komova will be a force to reckon with in London. She appeared understandably drained at worlds, but I think as her health improves, her resolve will strengthen. I hope so, since she is a tremendously talented gymnast with stunning artistic qualities.

Sui Lu and Yao Jinnan

On several occasions, Chinese teammates Sui Lu and Yao Jinnan stole the show, both showing a high level of difficulty coupled with excellent execution. The Chinese team owes its bronze medal to the performances of Sui, who came through with world-class beam and floor routines that compensated for her teammates’ mistakes. On the beam she demonstrated true mastery, nailing combination after combination. And she was glorious on floor, combining terrific tumbling, including a whip-immediate triple twist, with flawless dance elements. It’s no surprise that Sui grabbed the beam gold and floor silver in event finals--both medals were well deserved. Yao is an incredibly strong all-arounder, with no weak event. During the all-around final, she performed an extremely difficult and clean bars exercise, a powerful double-twisting Yurchenko, and a delightful floor routine that included a double layout and triple twist. She succumbed to nerves during the all-around and fell on beam, but still came away with the bronze. This gymnast has immense potential and will be one to watch in London.

Catalina Ponor

It’s hard to believe that Catalina Ponor, after being retired for over three years, had been training for only ten months leading up to Tokyo. Athletes who make a comeback often need a significant amount of time to regain their form, but that just hasn’t been the case for Ponor. She’s already performing a double-twisting Yurchenko on vault, a double layout and triple twist on floor, and, most impressively, a full-in off beam. Her success appears the result of both extraordinary natural ability and intense focus. I have long admired her beam work, but it’s even more impressive when seen in person—she is so aggressive and confident, especially on complex skills like her full-twisting back handspring, which has rarely been performed since Dina Kochetkova introduced it in the 90s. I’m excited to see what Ponor will accomplish in the months ahead—she seems intent on getting even stronger.

Other Tokyo Tidbits

One of my favorite routines from the all-around final came from Germany’s Elizabeth Seitz, who threw her original—and unbelievably difficult—full-twisting Maloney, and followed that up with a Def, Jaeger, and piked Tkatchev. She had some form errors, but I give her a lot of credit for pulling off that routine. Even more amazing was the bars work of Great Britain’s Beth Tweddle, who during team finals seamlessly combined a Tkatchev to mixed-grip, Yezhova, Maloney-half, Markelov, and Gienger, all with perfect form. She also capped her routine with a stuck full-in dismount. It was simply breathtaking—it’s such a pity that she had a mistake in prelims and did not make bar finals.

Throughout both competitions, I loved watching the Romanian Ana Porgras, who was exquisite on floor and beam. Porgras blends complex elements with lovely presentation, showing true artistic gymnastics. If only she could master a more difficult vault—an Amanar is a lot to ask, but perhaps at the Olympics she’ll pull out a double-twisting Yurchenko, greatly increasing her chances of all-around success.

MIA: The Defending Champion

While Wieber and Komova made the all-around final fun to watch, I have to admit that I missed Aliya Mustafina. I missed her a lot. I wanted to see her uncommon blend of superior acrobatics and crisp elegance. I wanted to hear her brash pre-meet predications of success, somehow so endearing when she says them. Her bid for the all-around title in 2010 was so determined, so decisive—I love the video of her sealing the deal with an impeccable floor routine set to hauntingly beautiful music. I hope she is successful in recovering fully from her ACL tear—London will be a lot more interesting if she’s there.