14th Worlds of Aerobics 2016

* SUNDAY, June 19
♦♦  Saito makes history for Japan as Aerobic Gymnastics Worlds end
FIG coverages --- : Gymnasts from four nations claimed a share of World gold as the 2016 Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships ended Sunday evening in Korea. While Japan's Mizuki Saito and Italian Mixed Pair Michela Castoldi and Davide Donati and France's Step Aerobics team all recorded firsts for their countries in their respective categories, China regained a title.
II HIGHLIGHTS - AEROBIC DANCE & STEP AEROBIC

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II HIGHLIGHTS - INDIVIDUAL MEN & WOMEN

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♦ Saito scores historic gold for Japan
Mizuki Saito figured a single tenth could make the difference in the men's individual competition. The 19-year-old Japanese gymnast, second to Hungary's Daniel Bali in qualification, added a dash of difficulty for Saturday's finals, gambling that the change could bring him gold. Turns out Saito didn't need anything extra to put his name in lights: By a margin of 0.125, Saito became Japan's first men's World champion in Aerobic Gymnastics, and the first Japanese gymnast to win Aerobic gold since Yuriko Ito took the women's title in 2002. Despite the best Artistry and Execution scores in the field, 2014 World champion Ivan Veloz was unable to contend with either Saito or silver medallist Bali in terms of difficulty. But his improved routine Sunday did allow him to leapfrog Korea's Go Kyungmin for the bronze.

♦ Italy imposes in Mixed Pairs
For Italian duo Michela Castoldi and Davide Donati, a day made the difference between chocolate and gold. The twosome qualified to the Mixed Pairs final in fourth place, but their improved effort Sunday night assured the "Romeo and Juliet" of Italian gymnastics a happy ending. The Italians did get some help from top qualifiers Sara Moreno and Vicente Lli: The Spanish pair was light on difficulty in the final and finished eighth, a disappointment for the World Games champions, who were aiming to regain their World title from 2012. In their place, the challenge came from Hungary's Daniel Bali and Dora Hegyi, who finished with silver by a mere 0.025, ahead of China's Yu Yangyang and Hua Feiyang.

♦ Group domination for China
China (Ma Chao, Li Lingxiao, Pan Lixi, Xu Xuesong and Ma Dong) left no doubt of its superiority in Aerobic Group finals, taking gold by nearly a full point, leaving Italy (Paolo Conti, Sara Natella, Michela Castoldi, Davide Donati and Emanuele Caponera), Romania (Gabriel Bocser, Bianca Gorgovan, Lucien Savulescu, Lavinia Panaete and Dacian Barna) and Hungary (Fanny Mazacs, Dora Hegyi, Daniel Bali, Balazs Farkas and Panna Szollosi) to fight for the remaining spots on the podium. The theatrical Italian sqaud prevailed over Romania for silver by a single tenth, shutting out the Hungarians. China last won World Group title in 2012 before losing it to Romania two years ago.

♦  France steps up for gold
Shut out in Group competition, the French (Aurélie Joly, Gavin Jourdan, Florian Bughalo, Océane Ropital, Marine Vandroux, David Orta, Marion Bognitscheff and Nicolas Garavel) contented themselves to reigning as kings and queens of Aerobic Step, holding off 2014 World champions China (Fu Yao, Huang Chengkai, Huang Zijing, Wang Ke, Zhang Huiwen, Zhao Ming, Shou Minchao and Yang Qiaobo) to claim gold by half a tenth of a point. The world title is France's first in Aerobic Step, providing a golden sendoff for team leader Aurélie Joly, who interrupted her retirement to come to Incheon.

♦ The World Games 2017 Aerobic Gymnastics qualifiers announced
The Incheon Worlds are the sole qualifier in Aerobic Gymnastics for The World Games 2017, to be held in Wroclaw, Poland in July 2017. The top five nations in Mixed Pair, Trio, Group, Aerobic Dance and Aerobic Step from the qualification round automatically advance to The World Games, with a sixth nation added taking host country participation and continental representation into account.
* The list of qualifiers has been published on the  >> FIG website here. +++

* SATURDAY, June 18
China tops team rankings, Bali best man as qualification rounds end at AE Worlds
INCHEON (KOR), FIG Office, ---
♦ The Chinese flag was raised over the crowd the Namdong Gymnasium Saturday afternoon in recognition of China's team title, the first gold medal handed out at these World Championships. China topped Aerobic powerhouse Romania for the team gold, which is determined by athlete rankings from the qualification rounds. Surging Korea, a crowd favorite in Incheon, delightedly received bronze. Chinese gymnasts finished among the top three in qualifications in five of the seven Aerobic disciplines in Incheon.
Yu Yangyang (Women's Individual) and the Chinese Men's Trio both enter the finals in gold medal position.
♦ Bali beats the crowd
The upward trajectory of Daniel Bali's career hit a new high Saturday morning as he posted the top score in Men's Individual qualification, putting him on track for gold in Sunday's final. Hungary's Bali, the bronze medallist at his first World Championships two years ago and a junior star before that, turned in a technically superb exercise to assert himself over the rest of the field. After an admittedly less-than-perfect first routine, reigning World champion Ivan Veloz of Mexico qualified fourth to the eight man final, trailing Bali and challengers Mizuki Saito of Japan and Hanjin Kim of Korea. There were no such clouds on the horizon for Bali, who capped off an excellent morning by qualifying in bronze medal position in Mixed Pairs with partner Dora Hegyi.
♦ Spain spices things up
With six World Championships between them, Vicente Lli and Sara Moreno don't lack for experience. The years of competition served them well Saturday morning as the Spanish duo served up polished routine to lead the qualification round in Mixed Pairs. Lli and Moreno rose to the challenge posed by newcomers Takumi Kanai and Riri Kitazume of Japan, taking the lead in qualification with 0.275 to spare. If Moreno and Lli pull out a win, it will be their first World title as a pair since 2010.
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* Friday, June 17
♦♦ Korean gymnasts out in front as Aerobic Worlds begin
INCHEON (KOR), FIG Office:
The host nation made the most of the first-ever World Gymnastics Championships held on Korean soil Friday, jumping out to lead in two of four categories as the 2016 Aerobic Worlds began in Incheon.
Difficult routines served with a large side of creativity characterized the Korean efforts in Aeorbic Dance and Trio, where Korean teams qualified to Saturday's final in gold medal position. Meanwhile, China's Yu Yangyang led the women's field, while a surefooted France was first in Aerobic Step.

♦ Korea dances to the top
Tasked with leading things off before their public, Korea's Aerobic Dance team (Lee Jongu, Lee Kyungho, Kim Eungsoo, Han Jaehyun, Lee Seung Hyun, Kim Munsu, Im Seyun and Park Hyunmin) didn't disappoint: The eight-man squad's creative take on "Rhapsody in Blue" had spectators in the Namdong Gymnasium screaming like they were at a pop concert. The judges were also impressed: Korea earned the top Dance score of the day, over China and Romania. Defending World champion Russia, who incarnated American cowboys to take World gold two years ago, proved less effective as Irishmen in Incheon. Despite an energetic 'Lord of the Dance'-themed routine, Russia sits an ignoble fifth heading into the final.

♦ For France, a small step in the right direction
Led by veterans Aurélie Joly and Nicolas Garavel, the French Aerobic Step team (Gavin Jourdan, Océane Ropital, Florian Bughalo, Marine Vandroux, David Orta, Marion Bognitscheff, Garavel and Joly) were steady in their strides to turn in the discipline's top performance of the day. Though France finished a step ahead of reigning World champion China, it was a baby one: a mere 0.025 points separated the two. Mongolia, whose sixth-place finish two years ago was a disappointment for the team, exacted a measure of revenge, their precise performance placing them third ahead of Russia.

♦ Three's the charm
They performed to a medley of "Mission Impossible" and the James Bond theme, but there was nothing stealth about Korean Trio Ryu Jusun, Kim Hanjin and Go Kyungmin, whose hit routine landed them squarely in first place. The routine was a delight for Ryu, the veteran of the pack, who knows what it is to win World gold, having tied with the Chinese in this category in 2012. China, for its part, qualified second to the final, just holding off a strong new threesome from Japan. A mistake on a strength hold will keep reigning World champion Romanian Trio (Oana Constantin, Anca Surdu and Andreea Bogati) out of the final. The Romanians will count on their second Trio, who qualified seventh, to do them justice in Saturday's final. Yu the woman to beat After a fourth place finish at the 2012 World Championships, China's Yu Yangyang sits first after the qualifying round, proving her win at the Suzuki World Cup earlier this season was no fluke.

Yu Yangyang topped Romania's Oana Constantin and France's Aurélie Joly, who in taking second and third repeated their classification from the 2014 Worlds. 2012 World champion Sara Moreno of Spain ranked fourth, a mere half point behind the leader.
>> first results after Day 1  (Longines)
*source: f i g

* Competition at the Aerobic Gymnastics World Championships continues Saturday, June 18 with finals in Aerobic Dance, Trio and Women's Individual, as well as qualifications in Mixed Pair, Men's Individual and Group competition.

7^th AEROBIC's World Age Group Competitions
  - Incheon / KOR;  2016, June 13 - June 15 -

♦♦ FINAL RESULTS - AGE GROUP 1
♦ Boys, individual
The little Anton did a great routine. Captivating and without stopping even for a second, filled the whole stage with his energy. He has difficult moves for his age, but it was very well executed. His body line is beautiful!

1 - Anton Kolobov (RUS)    - 19,200
2 - Changseop Song (KOR) - 18,950
3 - Damir Manafov (RUS)    - 18,700

4 - Giang Nam Tran (VIE) - 18,650
4 - Miquel Mane (ESP) - 18,650
5 - Ahmet Turmamis (TUR) - 18,350
6 - Jinho Shin (KOR) - 17,850
7 - Ippo Imamura (JPN) - 17,300 (fall and line deduction)

♦ Girls, individual
Daria was impressive. Her routine was the most creative, her AMP's are very good and fix perfectly with music. It is impossible watching her and don't be excited with her movements. This girl know how to conquer the judges. She will be the one to beat in the next World Age Championships for sure.
1 - Daria Tikhonova (RUS)   - 19,900
2 - Ekaterina Gridina (RUS) - 19,600
3 - Yui Sakurama (JPN)       - 19,350
3 - Ha Vi Tran (VIE)             - 19,350

5 - Borislava Ivanova (BUL) - 19,300
6 - Kanon Miyajima (JPN) - 19,250
7 - Ilona Gorgenyi (HUN) - 18,850
8 - Vanessza Ruzicska (HUN) - 18,800

♦ Mixed pairs
Beauty and the Beast (can I call them this way?) was cute. Good choice of music for this age, the public - and especially the judges - can recognize and stay together with them. This mixed pair have a lot of future, they must stay working together.
1 - VIETNAM - 19,100
2 - RUSSIA 1 - 19,050
3 - RUSSIA 2 - 18,950

4 - KOREA 2 - 18,750
5 - KOREA 1 - 18,500
5 - TURKEY - 18,500
5 - MONGOLIA - 18,500
8 - MEXICO - 17,900

♦ Trios
1 - RUSSIA 2 - 19,550
2 - JAPAN 2   - 19,500
3 - RUSSIA 1 - 19,050

4 - BULGARIA - 18,850
5 - HUNGARY 2 - 18,850
6 - TURKEY - 18,750
7 - KOREA 2 - 18,350
8 - VIETNAM 1 - 18,250

♦ Groups
The russian group must have the hardest APM of all groups. These girls don't stop, doing such a creative moves all the time. The routine was charming, excellent for this age!
1 - RUSSIA    - 19,450
2 - JAPAN     - 19,300
3 - HUNGARY - 19,250

4 - KOREA - 18,750
5 - BULGARIA - 18,750
6 - VIETNAM - 18,500
7 - GREECE - 18,450
8 - MONGOLIA - 17,450

♦♦ FINAL RESULTS - AGE GROUP 2
♦ Boys individual
Che Thanh is almost ready for his senior career. He already have big elements in his routine, showing power and ability to increase in the next years. Maybe the next senior champion is here!
1 - Che Thanh (VIE) - 20,800
2 - The Gia (VIE)     - 20,250
3 - Tom (FRA)         - 20,150

4 - Marcello (ITA) - 20,050
5 - Davide (ITA) - 20,025
6 - Petr (RUS) - 19,950
7 - Sho (JPN) - 19,700
8 - Vicente (ESP) - 18,550

♦ Girls individual
Ayse is strong and, just like Che Thanh, already have big moves in her routine. She just have to keep training and showing flawless routines to continuing catching her medals. Some people don't like Kaolyanov style, but I like it. Her lines is so clean and maybe if she was not the first on the stage she could got a second historic medal for USA here.
1 - Ayse Onbasi (TUR)             - 20,750
2 - Darina Pashova (BUL)       - 20,400
3 - Nu Thanh Thanh Ton (VIE) - 20,150

4 - Nicole Kaolyanov (USA) - 19,950
5 - Klaudia Bokonyi (HUN) - 19,750
6 - Aude Mendes (FRA) - 19,650
7 - Mifu Kaneko (JPN) - 19,500
8 - Maria Estefano (ESP) - 19,050

♦ Mixed pairs
Big fight between Russia and Vietnam today. The both countries ended up the competition with four gold medals, lefting only two gold medals for Turkey and France. And, at this time, they were tied, but Vietnam had a better execution. Maybe this two countries - and some people are surprised about Vietnam - are the greater potentials today.
1 - VIETNAM 1  - 20,250
2 - RUSSIA 2    - 20,250
3 - VIETNAM 2 - 20,000

4 - BULGARIA - 19,800
5 - TURKEY - 19,650
6 - KOREA - 19,350
7 - RUSSIA 1 - 19,050
8 - SPAIN - 18,650

♦ Trios
One more gold for Vietnam. I don't know wich is the secret of vietnamese coaches, but it is working!
1 - VIETNAM - 20,500
2 - TURKEY   - 19,900
3 - ITALY       - 19,850

4 - JAPAN 1 - 19,700
5 - JAPAN 2 - 19,550
6 - RUSSIA 2 - 19,400
7 - KOREA 1 - 19,350
8 - BULGARIA - 19,300

♦ Groups
Big surprise for France! After did a good competition in the last Europeans, the french team keeped on high level, responsible for two medals today - group and a third place with Tom Jourdan
1 - FRANCE     20,150
2 - VIETNAM - 20,050
3 - ITALY       20,000

4 - HUNGARY - 19,850
5 - JAPAN - 19,825
6 - KOREAN - 19,550
7 - SPAIN - 19,550
8 - RUSSIA - 19,400