Dhe first piece of good news is: The gymnastics team final is completely open, excitement is guaranteed. Six of the eight qualified teams, which no longer include the eliminated Germans, theoretically have a chance of winning the title, every team is good for a medal. And a medal in this World Cup final is worth more than the metal plaque that will be awarded this Tuesday evening: The top three teams will also win their place at the 2024 Olympic Games.
The US gymnasts won the qualifying round by a good two and a half points, and there are also only two and a half points between the second-placed Brits and the sixth-placed Chinese. Two and a half points is comparatively little: since 2014, when Simone Biles was in the team for the first time, the USA have won every team final, sometimes with a seven, sometimes with six, sometimes with a lead of nine points. That’s kind of like the final of the soccer World Cup ending 10-0, in other words: pretty boring. Only die-hard US fans and Biles admirers could gain much from this competition.
They sometimes fall off the device
The current US team consists of three gymnasts who also compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competitions, including 2021 Olympic floor champion Jade Carey. A novelty for US gymnastics, because until now gymnasts who accepted a scholarship in the popular university league were almost automatically dismissed from the national team.
But six years after the uncovering of the abuse scandal surrounding Larry Nassar and the resignation of the Karolyis, changes are also becoming visible here. The gymnasts seem much more relaxed, they laugh and yes: they sometimes fall off the apparatus. Everything was almost unthinkable a few years ago. In addition, the 34-year-old Chellsie Memmel recently became team boss. She knows the system that needs to be changed only too well: in 2005 she became all-around world champion, in 2008 she was part of the Olympic team that was preparing on the notorious Karolyi Ranch. Last year, the mother of two caused a stir with a short comeback, with which she wanted to advertise that adult women can still do gymnastics very well.
Full concentration: Emma Leonie Malewski from Germany in Liverpool
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Image: dpa
The second piece of good news is that the Team Finals are a manageable affair for everyone involved. Three gymnasts from each nation start on each device, all three ratings are included in the final result, after almost three hours the decision has been made. The qualifying days before were torture, especially for the judges: for almost 14 hours, until after 11 p.m., they had to evaluate gymnast after gymnast on Sunday, around 200 in total. And that despite the fact that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) had promoted a qualification via continental title fights for the first time with the explicit argument that the qualifying days were too long.
The number of teams eligible to start was thus more or less halved. For example, the African Gymnastics Union has only been allocated a single entry, as has Oceania, which has only two federations. “We solved a problem and created a new problem,” acknowledged FIG Secretary General Nicolas Buompane when asked how this quota came about. However, he left open what problem the FIG had solved with the new mode. Donatella Sacchi, the chief judge of the FIG, formulated diplomatically: “The problem is to apply the same standard to all gymnasts from early morning to late evening, we have to pay special attention to that.”
The German gymnasts started in the eighth of ten rounds on Sunday evening. The way the young team – by the way the only one in long suits – around Elisabeth Seitz presented itself can be described as the third piece of good news: great stability, good execution, combined with a team spirit that you could hear and see. An important aspect for national coach Gerben Wiersma, who said: “I’m really proud of these gymnasts.” With just one fall – Lea Quaas got off the beam while doing a split somersault – a total of around three and a half points more than he had predicted.
In the final result, this means twelfth place in the team. Karina Schönmeier is also second reserve for the all-around final on Thursday and Elisabeth Seitz qualified for the parallel bars final on Saturday. “Of course, I also have an eye on our placement,” said Wiersma, for whom a place among the top eight nations is the declared goal, but who currently has to do without a few experienced gymnasts.
The three newcomers on the international stage seemed very enthusiastic after their competition: They “really stuck together” and the whole thing was “a lot of fun”. Elisabeth Seitz, who will be 29 next Friday, said she felt “a bit like a proud mom”. What did you give the youngsters? “You should have fun. You train every day in the hall to be allowed to go out into an arena like this one day, and that happened today.”
