The uneven bars is an event where gymnasts can show breathtaking pirouettes, release moves, bar transitions and connections. Routines are created with a mix of impressive skills and combinations both from the low bar to high bar, high bar to low bar, or on the same bar. Routines can last as long as two minutes to even just 30 seconds and bonuses are given depending on the skill difficulty level and the connections made into other skills. Nastia Liukin, Aliya Mustafina, Gabrielle Douglas, and Svetlana Khorkina are just some of the top bar workers known worldwide.

 

In this case, we are going to analyze Russian Queen Aliya Mustafina and Team USA’s Ashton Locklear. These two elite gymnasts excel on this event and are both incredible to watch because of their stunning lines, connections, and ability to make themselves look as light as a feather performing on this event. 

 

Aliya Mustafina

 

Aliya Mustafina is the queen on this event and she’s the 2012 Olympic Uneven Bars Champion for a reason. She demonstrates unique style and rhythm and is an absolute beauty to watch on this event.
 

What makes her so unique is not only her impressive connections, but ability to display amazing height, flow, and great skills with style. For example, she competes a huge full turning Shaposh, into Pak straight into stadler Shaposh half turn - which is just one of the huge connections that gains her big bonus points. She floats between the bars and performs these skills with incredible height. She has a stunning high piked jaeger where she gives herself lots of time in the air in order to see bar early enough to catch with ease. Her turns also push nicely in the shoulders so that she turns on top of the bar. In order to obtain minimal deductions performing these turns, the timing must be well judged in order to pirouette on the way up into the handstand in order to finish and show a vertical position once completing the skill. Mustafina does that incredibly well, as well as shifting her weight nicely along the bar showing complete control. Mustafina also performs a unique and rare dismount - a one and a half twisting double tuck. This dismount is known for having a ‘blind’ landing, which means that the landing cannot be spotted before your feet hit the ground. Instead, spacial awareness is crucial in order to know where you are in the air, and feel the rotation and timing as to when you should open out and stick the landing. Mustafina does this extremely well, and leaves a perfect, lasting impression on the judges. At the European Championships this year she posted a score of 15.266 and just recently at the Russian Cup she posted a score of 15.40. Not only is she incredible on this event, but she’s an experienced professional who handles herself very well under huge international pressure. 

Video by YouTube user Zarariel Kyora

Ashton Locklear

 

Ashton Locklear is very new to the international field, which may be her biggest weakness as she has yet to experience heavy international pressure. However, like Mustafina, she has some very nice connections that give her that extra edge in addition to her beautiful lines and elegance on this event.
 

She competes a stoop Shaposh into Pak, straight into toe on Shaposh into shoot over. These impressive bonus connections help towards her starting value. She also competes a very nice jaeger with great height, which gives herself good air time in order to see and catch the bar with ease, and nice swing. Locklear is a beauty on this event because although height usually causes more difficulty on bars, Locklear shows that amplitude doesn’t phase her swing and her long lines, shape, and feather like appearance all display her as an incredible bars worker. She has proven at the Secret U.S Classic, P&G Championships, and Pan American Championships earlier this year that she is consistent and a potential high contender for making the Worlds uneven bars finals in Nanning, China. At the P&G Championship she posted a huge score of 15.850 and she recently won the Pan American Championships bar event final with a 14.975. It looks like Mustafina will be hard to beat, but Locklear could definitely give her a run for her money.

Video by USAG