DTB-Cup: Qualification

On the first day of the 23rd DTB-Cup 2005 the qualifications take place in Stuttgart.
Yesterday, the qualification on vault, ex-champion Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) took over the leading position, the best at uneven bars was the Russian Polina Miller .
Olympic Champion Catalina Ponor (ROM)
succeeded on the beam and ex-World Champion Daiane dos Santos (BRA) won the qualification on the floor.
On the 92 gymnasts of men’s qualifications this athletes were the best:
Floor - Patrick Dominguez (SUI), pommel horse - Zhang, Hongtao (CHN), rings - Juri van Gelder (NED), vault - Jeffrey Wammes (NED), parallel bars - Mitja Petkovsek (SLO), high bars - Vlasios Maras (GRE).

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Reporting from Stuttgart: Eckhard Herholz

Women’s qualifications

Results qualification women

Vault / Uneven bars
It was Oksana Chusovitina from Uzbekistan, with 30 years of age the eldest of the gymnasts and an extraordinary figure of gymnastics out of all who managed to set herself on top of the participants, many of whom only half as old. With 9,262 points at vault, her favourite apparatus, she took over the leading position in the qualification of 24 gymnasts.
Lais Souza (BRA) went on the second position with 9,225 points, followed by Jana Komrskova (CZE) with 9,025 points and Joanna Skowronska from Poland with 9,019. points.
Kim Bui from the German town of Tübingen missed the qualification on the ninth rank (8,825), just as Daria Bijak at uneven bars, who achieved 9,150 points, but missed the national qualification for the Wolrd Championships by a tenth in the basic score (9,800).

Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) was the best at vault

The qualification at uneven bars was dominated by the Russian Polina Miller , who set herself on top of the qualification with a score of 9,531 and left the Chinese Huang, Lu (9,487) and Marine Debauve ( 9,450) from France on the following ranks. The second Chinese Zhou, Zhuoru was fourth with 9,412 points.
Only seven out of 26 gymnasts at uneven bars had a basic score of 10 points.

Beam and Floor
The threefold Olympic Champion Catalina Ponor from Romania has been the unchallenged star of the qualification today. She succeeded on the beam (9,437) with a basic score of 10 points – as the only one - and presented the top performance of the qualification, despite small mistakes. She was closely followed by Marine Debauve (FRA) with 9,412 and Wang, Lili with the same score.
The spectators’ darling seems to become the Brazilian Daiane dos Santos . The Ex-floor World Champion presented the only (!) score above 9 points (9.387, basic score 9,90) on the floor in a rather weak concurrence. Many gymnasts show a lack of contents.

Catalina Ponor (ROM) was the bestgymnast on beam today

The only German, who qualified on the floor was Kim Bui (8,700). Strangely enough, she will not make use of this place in the final, but will use the only Wildcard entitled to the host tomorrow at the uneven bars. Which clause in the rules permits that, stayed unclear so far... ...

It is remarkable that gymnasts from 15 (!) countries will participate in the apparatus finals – of which only one comes from Russia (Miller) and another from Romania (Ponor). The distribution of the final places shows that new times are dawning for the female artistic gymnasts: The Ukraine is on top with five participations in the finals, then Brazil, France and China follow with four participations each.

Results men's qualification

Further information in the .

Men's Qualifications

Floor Exersice
The best on floor was the World Cup winner in Cottbus Patrick Dominguez (SUI) with 9,400 (SV 10) ahead of the Chinese Zou, Kai 9,325 and Daisuke Nakano (JPN/9,212).
Further finalists: Jeffrey Wammes (NED), the World Cup winner in Sao Paulo, Robert Gal (HUN) and Eugen Spiridonow (GER), Brandon O'Neill (CAN) and the only African starter from Tunisia Wajdi Habib Bouallegue . The former floor European Champion Marian Dragulescu (ROM) failed to qualify for the final due to a fall in his second series (8,775).

Parallel Bars
The bars specialist Mitja Petkovsek (SLO) convinced with 9.700, followed by Manuel Carballo (ESP/9,687) and the Chinese Zhe, Feng (9,675). Surprisingly, Epke Zonderland from the Netherlands placed fourth with 9,562 ahead of Vize European Champion Yann Cucherat (FRA/9,537). >br>Further finalists: 6th Vasileios Tsolakidis (GRE/9,487), 7th Ilia Giorgaze (GEO/9,387) and as eighth a gymnast of the host: Thomas Andergassen (GER/9,350).

Vaulting Table
Jeffrey Wammes (NED) presented himself in excellent shape and won the qualification with a superb score of 9,681 points. The German Fabian Hambüchen managed to qualify for his first final at this World Cup – he placed third with 9,593 points. His team-mate Matthias Fahrig also qualified for the final on his favourite apparatus as eighth (9,437).
A good comeback for the Russian Alexei Bondarenko, who suffered a severe injury in the Olympic final and reches the final as seventh (9,444)!
Further placements: 2nd Anatoli Vasiliev (RUS/9,625), 4th Alin Jivan (ROM/9,575), 5th Patrick Dominguez (SUI/9,544), 6th Robert Gal (HUN/9,519).

Rings
The 'Power-Dutchmen' Juri van Gelder does not perform, he celebrates his routine on rings (the highest score of the day: 9,725). A specialist of the highest level, who achieved five of six possible titles in the present World Cup series and who will hardly be vincible here in Stuttgart.
Except the Finnish gymnast, all athletes who qualified for the apparatus final performed routines with a start value of 10 points:
2nd Alexander Safoschkin (RUS/9,637), 3rd Danny Rodriguez (FRA/9,550), 4th Regulo Carmona (VEN/9,537), 5th Matteo Anglioletti (ITA/9,537), 6th Olympic Champion Dimosthenis Tampakos (GRE/9,525), 7th Olli Torkell (FIN/9,487) - and as eighth a representative of the host Thomas Andergassen (GER/9,450)!

Pommel Horse
Marius Urzica performed once again as if coming from another world. He is a most gifted gymnast on this apparatus - and makes a mistakes right at the end of his routine! Therefore, the Romanian did not made the final at his 12th participation in Stuttgart. Unknown Chineses point at Beijing 2008: Zhang, Hongtao won the qualification with 9,737 - in his first international competition...! 'Oldie' Nikolai Krukov (RUS) placed second with 9,662 out of ten points, Ioan Suciu rescues the Romainian honour with a third rank (9,587). The fourth rank is a huge success for the British Junior European Champion Louis Smith (9,562).
Further finalists: 5th Alexei Ignatovich (BLR/9,475), 6th Victor Cano (ESP/9,437), 7th Vid Hedvedgi (HUN/9,387), 8th Alberto Busnari (ITA/9,275).

High Bar
On high bar there were several falls of favourites, too. There are only six weeks left to the WCh and still a high number of instabilities. The strong Jari Monkkonen from Finnland fell off the bar at his second Kovacs somersault, the Russian Andrej Lichovitski left the apparatus at his jaeger layout. Manuel Carballo (ESP) fell at his Tkatchev, Nikolai Krukov (RUS) fell, too, as did the World Champion 1997, Juri Tanskanen (FIN).
Unfortunately, the present European Champion on this apparatus, Fabian Hambüchen from Germany, performed his Tkatchev with too much power – and fell off the bar: He placed as 13th with 9,237. His team-mate Robert Juckel, however, qualified as fifth.
The qualification was won by former World Champion Vlasios Maras (GRE/9,712) ahead of Valeri Goncharov (RUS/9,650) and Aljaz Pegan (SLO/9,500) >br> Further placements: 4th Daisuke Nakano (JPN/9,550), 5th Robert Juckel (GER/9,525), 6th Yann Cucherat (FRA/9,500), 7th Zhou, Kai (CHN/9,487), 8th Christoph Schaerer (SUI/9,425).

Translation: Janka Schmeißer / Florian Schmid-Sorg

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