| SUBDIVISION
1 / GRUPPE
1
(9.00 - 11.00 Uhr) |
RSA |
CZE |
GBR |
IND |
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The PEGASES
FESTIVAL HAS BEGUN... |
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Rotation
1: |
Adam
Botha
- Pegases No. 1
from Pretoria, University Club;
3rd AA nationals |
Adam
Botha from Pretoria was the
first gymnast of the world to vault over the new
vaulting table PEGASES.
He scored 8,450 for a layout Tsukahara (SV 8,9).
The
racially mixed South African squad takes the lead with clean
vaults ahead of Great Britain and the Czech Republic. The
Indian gymnasts struggled heavily on rings. They are dead
last with with just over 20 points.
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The 1st
official PEGASES vault in hisory: Tsukahara (SV 8,9) |
Rotation 2:
South Africa stays ahead with stable
routines on parallel bars. Great Britain wins ground on floor
with acrobatic Kanukai Jackson and the Czech Republic has
strong routines on high bar. The Indians are happy with their
vaults but trail behind.
Rotation 3:
The Brits are strong on
pommel horse. But their star Kanukai Jackson falls and endangers
his qualification to the AA finals. Still, Great Britain remains
ahead.The Czechs are second with a great show on floor - not a
single fall! South Africa has some weak points on high bar.
India has only two gymnasts that really do bars.
Rotation 4:
Two black gymnasts dominate
the first group. South African Julian Witbroot shows a high
Arabian double front on floor. And Kanukai Jackson who has been
at the top for a long time. The vault specialist has improved a
lot on the other apparatus in the last months. On rings, he
surprised the spectators with a combination of strength
elelments. The British gymnasts increase their lead to three
points. While only a tenth separates South Africa and the Czech
Republic. The fight for second place goes right to the wire.
Rotation 5:
Kanukai Jackson goes into the
lead in the individual standings with a handpsring-double front
which is not completely successful, but nonethless scores a
9,35. He is followed by his team mates David Eaton and Barry
Ciollie. The South Africans are unexpectedly strong on pommels
whereas the Czechs have a few breaks on rings. They will need an
exceptionally good result on vault to overcome the two points
they lag behind South Africa.
Rotation 6:
The Brits were in a league of
their own in the first group. They seem happy with their 208,085
pts. We'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, when all teams
have completed their competition, to see which place they end up
in and whether their AA competitors Kanukai Jackson, David Eaton
and Barrie Collie make the final.
The Czech Republic wins the dual against South Africa (201,086 :
194,51) a team which showed weaknesses on rings. India
manages 185,51 pts and will most likely be last, like at the
1999 World Champiosnhzips in TIanjin..
Conclusion:
A good competition in the first round even
if none of the teams are contending for a place in the team
final. With the exception of the Indians, all team showed a high
level of difficulty in their routines, some of which were quite
spectacular. South Africa was a big surprise proving that you
can catch up with the traditonal gymnastics powerhouses in a
short time. The judges were very careful with their marks. They
didn't miss even the smallest mistake and deducted ruthlessly.
Will they keep this up in the second group when Russia competes?
| Team
Standings: |
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| GROUP
2: |
1. GBR 208,085 |
2. CZE 201,096 |
3. RSA 194,510 |
4.
IND 185,51 |
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