COMPETITION I

COMPETITION I: Team qualification MEN / Männer

> German

> Dutch

SUBDIVISION 10 / GRUPPE 10 (= last group)
(FINAL TEAM QUALIFICATION STANDINGS)

ROM

GER

BEL

Wanted: Eight teams for the finals...

The last group has the home team, a three gymnast squad from Cuba, the Germans and Romania, a secret favourite for many and surely the only team with a realistic shot at the top 8 here.

The Germans might be harbouring some hopes but have to do without experienced Valeri Belenki, who injured his shoulder prior to the competition, and lack a little substance compared to the other teams.

Belgium and Cuba, despite having a very strong gymnast in Eric Lopez who will be a force to reckon with in the all around final, have no chance of reaching the final.

<< Dragulescu

Rotation 1
As expected, the four Belgians can't do much on high bar. They have strong support in the Topsporthal from their fans. The three Cubans start unconventionally on pommels and a 9,0 from Eric Lopez remains their highest score. The Germans begin well on bars. 8,787 from Stephan Zapf, almost matched by Robert Juckel, Sven Kwiatkowski scores 8,927. Christian Berczes flown in just shortly before the competition proved his worth for the team with a 8,575. Thomas Andergassen masters his nerves and his routine for a 9,162. The Romanians begin cautiously on floor. But then Marian Draguelscu score a super 9,662.

Rotation 2
This fantastic floor routine seems to have set the Romanians alight. Rares Orzata begins on pommels with a 9,237. Dragulescu can't build on that but Dan Potra even scores a 9,362. What follows then is a dream: Suciu 9,625, Olympic champion Marius Urzica is his usual confident self and his 9,762 are the highest score on pommels to date. While the Belgians are worth watching on floor, things begin to fall apart for the Germans over on high bar. Stephan Zapf (8,487) is best, Andergassen slips off on a turn to ellgrip and swings on one arm. Juckel misses his Tkachev and Kwiatkowski his full-twisting Kovacs.

Rotation 3
Gunther Couckuyt (BEL) does well for himself with 8,9 on pommel horse. The three Cubans are brilliant on vault. Charles Leon Tamayo almost surely made the final with a Cuervo with 1 1/2 twists (9,687). The Romanians survive rings, their weakest apparatus, relatively well. Dragulescu scores 9,025, Don Potra 9,462. Meanwhile, the Germans are falling on their double fronts. Only Kwiatkowski (9,05) and Thomas Andergassen (8,725) remain without mistakes.

Rotation 4
The competition is not going well for the Germans with falls on pommel horse. Only Zapf (8,937) and Kwiatkowski (9,337) manage to stay on. At the same time, the Cubans showed powerful routines on bars. Eric Lopez qualifies to the final with a 9,675. The Belgian team can't do much on rings. On the other hand, the Romanians pile on the points on vault with Tsukaharas with 2 1/2 twists: Razvan Selariu 9,0, Dan Potra 9,387, Rares Orzata 9,412 and Ioan Suciu 9,512. The most spectacular vault is performed by Marian Dragulescu. He earns huge cheers for his handspring-double front with a 1/2 twist as well as 9,712 points. Romania goes into the lead after four rotations.

Rotation 5
The Cubans are well worth watching on high bar with elements like a hecht over the bar and Winklers that are rarely performed. They don't manage to generate high scores though.

The completely Wallon Belgian team can't win any ground on vault.

The Germans can't live up to their potential on rings. Only Stephan Zapf can score well with a 9,112. The Romanians are surprisingly weak on bars. Dragulescu is the first to come close to 9 points with 8,937. Marius Urzica scores well above that with 9,587.

Rotation 6
The final rotation of the preliminary marathon has the host team give a solid perfromance on bars. The Cubans are yet again a delight to watch on floor. There is some appalause, but also laughter, in the arena as Abel Drigg hops his Fedorchenko. The Germans redeem themselves with a great rotation on vault. All of them score above 9,2 but no gymnast makes the final. The Romanians struggle hard on high bar and scrape into the final with a bad showing here. Suciu doesn't exactly boost their spirits with a 7,625. Potra has two breaks for a mere 8,25. Marian Dragulescu, who catches a nice Winkler, at least manages a 8,775. Orzata scores a decent 9, 287 despite crashing on his Winkler. Joker Razvan Selariu erases Suciu's result. The Romanians embrace and the scoreboard shows fourth place.

Christian Berczes (GER)

Conclusion:
Belgium has a lot to do to get into the mix of the top teams.
The new gym set up by Janssen & Fritsen right next to the arena offers brilliant training conditions for them from now on. The Cubans have added a lot to these championships. It is a real shame they didn't manage to field a full team. Germany can build on some of the performances but currently has to make do with a 13th place, behind Canada and Switzerland. The Romanians can improve in the team final, but mere flashes of brilliance will not be enough for a medal.

All in all, the level of the preliminary competition was very high in places. The top nations proved that they can perform attractive gymnastics with the new Code of Points. The high number of participating countries and the fact that some of the "smaller" nations are able to move up the rankings leaves room for optimism. Germany crashed badly, its young gymnasts in no way capable of replacing their established stars. (Report: Reinhard Linder / Germany)

Team Standings after 10 groups:

(... 8 teams make the finals!!)

1. BLR 222,132

2.USA 221,420

3. KOR 220,857

4.ROM 219,786

5. UKR 218,757

6.FRA 218,593

7.CHN 217,384

8. RUS
217,384

9.ITA
216,043

10. LAT
215,030