Pictured: Aleksandr Balandin

Gymnasts on still rings display incredible feats of strength and make the seemingly impossible appear simple. While this event may not have the high-flying or nail- biting skills like some of the other events, it is still thrilling and can leave you wondering if these gymnasts are even human.

 

At World Championships this year, there are many impressive and talented gymnasts on rings and in this piece we will look at just a few of the medal contenders.

 

Arthur Zanetti - Brazil

 

Zanetti is a rings specialist and boasts an impressive resume. At the 2012 London Olympics, Zanetti won the title on rings beating out China’s Ring King Yibing Chen and earning Brazil’s first ever Olympic gymnastics medal. In 2013, he won gold at two World Cup events and then went on to win gold at the World Championships. Just a few weeks ago, he continued his gold streak as he won the Senior Pan Ams rings title. He has up to a 6.9 difficulty score, incredibly clean execution, and beautiful executed holds. Watch his routine from last year’s Worlds below.
 

 

 

Aleksandr Balandin - Russia

 

Balandin was also in the London Olympics rings finals but he placed fourth, just missing out on a medal. At last year’s World Championships he won the silver medal with a 15.733, less than a tenth below Zanetti. At European Championships this year he tied for first on rings with his teammate Denis Abliazin. Some of the highlights in his routine include an inverted iron cross, uprise to Maltese, and straight arm uprise to a planche. He currently has two skills named after him in the Code of Points- both skills from a vertical hang, pulling up with straight arms to either an inverted cross or a Maltese. Balandin has up to a 6.9 difficulty score. Watch Balandin’s routine from last year’s Worlds qualifications via FIG’s YouTube here.

 

 

Denis Ablyazin - Russia

 

Ablyazin will be looking to make rings finals at this year’s Worlds after missing out last year because of a bad qualifications day. He was part of the 2012 Olympic team and competed in the all-around finals. He has had a successful 2014 thus far, winning first on rings at the Cottbus World Cup as well as tying for first on rings at European Championships. He won a total of four gold medals at Europeans, making him the most successful gymnast at that meet this year. Ablyazin has a 6.8 difficulty score. Watch his routine from Cottbus below via YouTube user Marcos Aurelio.
 

 

Yuri Van Gelder - Netherlands

 

Van Gelder has been referred to as the Lord of the Rings for his remarkable routines and skills on rings. He first made his mark in 2005 when he won the rings titles at both European Championships and World Championships. While Van Gelder has had a rocky career including controversy and suspensions due to drug use, he is determined to continue with competitive gymnastics and is said to have his sights set on 2016 Rio. Watch Van Gelder’s routine from the Doha World Cup here.

 

 

Other notable gymnasts:

 

Donnell Whittenburg is an up and coming U.S. gymnast and is especially skilled at the strength and power events. While he is not a favorite for the rings title, he is incredibly talented and has a lot of new skills and difficulty to all of his events including a layout double double dismount on rings. Italian rings specialist Matteo Morandi has competed in the rings final at the past three Olympics and won bronze in 2012. He just missed out on the 2013 Worlds rings finals by just one tenth and will be looking for redemption this year. Federico Molinari of Argentina also barely missed out on the finals at last year’s Worlds. Molinari had a strong showing at Senior Pan Ams a few weeks ago and placed fourth on rings with a 6.8 difficulty score.


Related:
2014 Worlds Nominative Lists