Russians lead after the first day of the team competition
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Welcome outside the competition location in Patras |
The German team consisting of Johanna Gabor, Lisa Ingildeeva and Daria Stolbin is in 14th place.
In total, 117 individual gymnasts from 50 countries are participating. The team competition goes on for four days, the winning team will be ascertained on in the evening of the 19th of September.
Opening ceremony yesterday at the antique open air theatre: The flags were carried by athletes. Daria Stolbin carried Germany's flag into the round
Photo: Dirk Zimmermann
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Jelena Meyerzone (LAT) with spectacular element |
In the individual ranking (qualification for the all-round final) titleholder Olga Kapranova (RUS/18.350) is at the moment in the lead, ahead of her team mate Vera Sessina (18.075) and the Belorussian Inna Shukova (17.900).
Both Carolina Weber (AUT), ranking 15th, and Johanna Gabor (GER), ranking 18th, are well positioned for the further rotations of the qualification for the all-round final of the best 24 athletes.
For detailed results see Results / Ergebnisse.
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Li Hongyang aus China -team China in the interim on 7th place |
The very good 15th place after the first round is a first step in the direction of the Austrian gymnast's great goal: Olympic qualification.
Ukraine, Rope:
Desastrous performance by Natalya Godunko - she leaves the exercise space in tears and apparently even injured...!
Anna Bessonova - elegant and charismatic, but she lost her apparatus!
Russia, Hoop:
Perfect performance by the perfectionist Vera Sessina...
World champion Olga Kapranowa also gave a fabulous performance.
Olympic champion Alina Kabayeva also didn't lose her apparatus, however a red flag was shown, evidently because she stepped over the boundary of the exercise space.
A solid start for the German team
Daria Stolbin had to fetch her hoop from outside the exercise space after loosing it: 13.050.
Lisa Ingildeeva showed a good exercise without loosing her apparatus and scored 15.175 points.
Johanna Gabor got the best possible start to her WCh competition, with a practically faultless performance, and with a score of 15.700 points has every chance of qualifying for the all-round final.
Even if the team ranking should not be given too much weight after the first of four rounds, nobody doublts that the Russians will defend their title, even at this early stage. This is true especially because Olaga Kapranova and Vera Sessina presented fantastic exercises and have thus rightly achieved the first and second place of the individual ranking.
The somewhat surprising fourth rank for the Ukraine, who are held to be Russia's greatest rivals, is a result of the rope exercise of Natalya Godunko which went so dreadfully wrong - however in the end two scores out of a total of twelve will be struck out.
Ranks 7 for Georgia and 8 for Korea are more of a surprise - but after all there are another three rounds on three more days.
Olympic champion Alina Kabayeva did not have quite such a god start (now ranked 7th) and will have to do her best to stand up to the competition from her own country in the next few days. Only two gymnasts can reach the finals....
Two ladies showed the audience today how charisma and sporting prowess can be beautifully combined: Anna Bessonova (UKR, at present 4th) with the rope and Almudena Cid (ESP, at present 8th) with the hoop.