GYMNASTICS: Melbourne’s Hisense Arena hosted day one of the World Cup Gymnastics Finals tonight, with the men competing on Floor, Pommel Horse, and Still Rings, whilst the women took to the Vault and Uneven Bars.
Only the highest scorers on each apparatus were invited to compete in this exclusive event, which saw some of the world’s best battle it out for World Cup glory.
Competitors in tonight’s final earnt their place based on a top eight finish in qualification rounds held earlier this week.
Japanese superstar, Kenzo Shirai, or as he is fondly known ‘The Twist Prince’, spun and soared into the gold medal position on Floor with his 14.700 scoring routine. His performance in the final was just shy of the 15.100 that he scored in qualification. Jile Mu from China took home the silver with a score of 14.466, ahead of Turkish Ferhat Arican with 14.033 in third.
Local legend, Luke Wadsworth, nailed his landings much to the delight of an enthusiastic home crowd. He scored 13.666 and finished up in sixth. The 2016 Australian National Champion on Floor; South Australian Chris Remkes, placed seventh with his 13.533 score.
Chinese gymnast Yan Wang came fifth in the women’s Vault at the Rio 2016 Olympics and she didn’t disappoint an enthusiastic Melbourne crowd that packed into Hisense Arena. She took home the first of many gold medals for China, with a score of 14.250.
They say it’s the little things that make life big, and Australian, Emily Little, certainly made a big impact on vault with her magnificent 14.199 scoring performance. Little, who represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympic Games, took home the World Cup silver. Little’s teammate, Naomi Lee, also pulled off two powerful vaults. She came third with her final score of 13.383.
2012 Olympic Gold Medallist from Hungary, Krisztian Berki, performed an awe-inspiring routine on the Pommel Horse, his pet event. He scored 14.933 to be awarded Hungary’s only World Cup gold for this 2017 Melbourne meet. The Chinese occupied the other two spots on the Pommel podium, with Jingyuan Zou and Hao Weng coming in second and third respectively, with their scores 14.433 and 14.333.
Australians Remkes and Tone took falls on the second apparatus final for the evening. Remkes scored 11.800 and Tone scored 11.633, for their performances on the Pommel.
Defending his 2015 World Cup victory, Guanhua Wu scored 14.866 and won a gold medal on the Still Rings, alongside fellow Chinese, Jinghuan Zou, who achieved the same score – despite the best efforts by the judges to break the tie, the compatriots could not be separated. Turkey’s Ibrahim Colak took home a bronze, just 0.5 points behind the Chinese athletes.
Michael Tone was the sole representative for Australia on the Still Rings. He performed a clean routine into a beautifully stuck dismount landing, which earned him 12.600 and seventh place.
It was looking like sixteen year old Chinese sensation, Huan Lou would be crowned the winner on the Uneven Bars, but right at the last minute her teammate, Tingting Liu, stole the show. Liu got the golden glory with her score of 14.300. Lou fell short with 13.866.
2016 Australian national champion on this apparatus, Rianna Mizzen, dazzled with her impressive release connections in front of a vocal fan base. She bagged the bronze with her score of 13.433.
Melbourne-based Georgia Rose-Brown exhibited her beautiful long clean lines and nailed her double front dismount, a landing she fell on during qualifications. She scored 13.066 to come fourth.
Day two of the Melbourne World Cup finals – the final day of competition for the 2017 Melbourne World Cup - will take place tomorrow night, showcasing Rio Olympic Champion, Sanne Wevers, on the Balance Beam. The closing round of Finals will see the top contenders take to the arena in the Men’s Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar, and the Women’s Beam and Floor.
Gymnastics Australia
