Saturday, June 28, 2008

Olympic Team Trial Day 1

Observations from Day 1 at the AIS courtesy of inside sources (please note that scores and standings were not announced):

ROTATION 1: Floor

Olivia Vivian - good routine. Out of Bounds 3rd pass.
Amber Fulljames - out of bounds 1st pass. Low landing 2nd pass.
Melanie Jones - low landing and crooked 2nd pass but just stayed in bounds. Same kind of landing on 4th pass.
Emma Dennis - stuck 1st pass. Clean routine.
Georgia Bonora - clean routine but out of bounds on last pass.
Shona Morgan - stuck 1st, end and 4th passes cold. Great routine.
Ashleigh Brennan - I think mucked up 2nd pass. Only a full twist forward and kinda ran out of it. Out of bounds 3rd pass.
Lauren Mitchell - overrotates and out of bounds 1st pass. out of bounds last pass. Other than that, clean routine.
Dasha Joura - perfect double layout. Stuck 2nd, 3rd and 4th passes. Great routine!


ROTATION 2: Vault

Amber - handspring front pike. Small step forwards.
Melanie - Tsuk 1.5. Low landing. Step backward and off to the side.
Emma - Baitova. Fell short. Landed on hands and knees
Georgia - Yurchenko 1.5. Small step.
Shona - Yurchenko 1.5. Small step. Just stayed inside the lines.
Ashleigh - Tsuk full twist. Pretty much stuck.
Lauren - Yurchenko 1.5. Good landing, small step forwards.
Dasha - Baitova. Good height, small step backwards.

Olivia didn't vault.


ROTATION 3: Bars

Mel - Fell on Gienger. Missed going over the bar on reverse giant so had to change direction and extra swings. Long routine. Double layout dismount ok. Small step.
Emma - Good routine. Hit majority of handstands. Small jump on landing out of double front.
Georgia - Good routine. Had no swing on transition to high bar. Kip from almost dead hang. Small jump on dismount.
Olivia - missed going over the bar in giant full. Extra swing in the wrong direction. Had to fight over the bar on last front giant. No speed into double front dismount and sat it down.
Amber - missed first release. stuck dismount.
Shona - good routine. Just a small step on her dismount.
Ashleigh - fell wrong way on first handstand on high bar. Did extra swings and whilst starting to restart swing smacked shins into low bar. Other than that, it was an okay routine. Small jump on dismount.
Lauren - great routine. Hit almost every handstand. Small jump backward on dismount.
Dasha - great routine. Just step on double front half dismount.


ROTATION 4: Beam

Emma - extra step backwards after flip layout. Wobbles after standing back tuck and full turn. Large step to the side on 2.5 twist dismount.
Georgia - step after side aerial. Step after double tuck dismount. Good routine.
Olivia - nice backward walkover to back layout series. Wobble after side somersault. Low landing on dismount. Jumped backward into squat to avoid sitting down. Good routine but slightly cautious.
Amber - wobble after switch ring leap. 2 steps backward out of front aerial. Step forward out of double tuck dismount.
Mel - wobble on front mount. Solid front pike. Fell on switch leap half turn. Wobble on side somi. Fell off after back layout. Front full dismount. Looked like layout but had bent knees.
Shona - low landing on back layout. 2 step and small wobble. (not sure whether that was as a result of the low landing on layout?) Great full twisting Korbut. Step backward out of double pike dismount. Overall nice routine.
Ashleigh - good routine. Small wobble after switch ring leap. Very controlled. Slight movement after dismount but no major dramas.
Lauren - great leaps. Front aerial to 2 feet into back tuck. Nice double turn down close to beam. 2 flips to double pike dismount. Step on landing. Great routine.
Dasha - backward step out of flip layout. Slight wobble after side somersault. Bit of a low landing on double tuck dismount. Two steps and a wobble. Overall great routine.


Many thanks to source/s.

Looks like the girls are really feeling the pressure and some are handling it better than others. Olivia and Ashleigh were clearly having an up and down day, and there were some surprise OOB's (poor Lauren and that pesky piked arabian!).

Good luck for Day 2, ladies.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Olivia did a "Nistor/Liukin" on beam.
I really must say that the Waverley 3 looked like they would all be on the team based on their performances today, particularly on beam and bars (well, I know Shona's a definite). Dasha and Shona wore different leotards to everyone else to distinguish them as the "Olympians". They all wore the same green/gold/white combo but the others wore the white on one sleeve leo Amber Fulljames is tiny compared to the others. Ashleigh had no bandaging of her legs, so I guess the stress fracture rumour was a load of crap.

Anonymous said...

Thank goodness for that hey anon! When I read that she whacked her shins on the bars I was thinking omg she already has bad legs!

Sounds to me that almost everyone has a nervous first day, which I am disappointed with but totally expected. I hope they can all iron out the kinks for day 2.

As with team USA this team is pretty easy to pick now. I think it will be the Waverly 3, Dash and Loz and Ashleigh. Shame for Olivia - she always had me two sided - one day I would think she was totally right for the team and had the goods and earnt ehrself a spot on there (which I was even more happy about because I know she'd be the great team leader, which was something I think they seriously lacked, and needed, in Stuttgurt last year) and then the next day I was thinking no way! Emma should be taken over Olivia.

Which do you guys think is the more consistent? Peggy wants consistent doesn't she? Or will she take aged and experienced over promising and inexperienced?

Larissa

Anonymous said...

I think they need to pick the best team for the prelims format 6-5-4. It will be interesting who is the alternate - a two event specialist like Olivia, or somebody who can be somewhat reliable but is a weaker AA gymnast then those on the team (I can see Amber fulfilling this role potentially despite her fall on bars yesterday). I really felt bad for Mel Jones after her bars yesterday, she looked so disappointed - and it can of felt like there was a feeling in the air of "oh, she won't make the team now" in the crowd (well, at least where I was anyways)....I'm going again today as well :)

Unknown said...

Love the blow, by blow account, makes me feel like I was almost there!! Keep up the good work :)

Anonymous said...

Well as an elite gymnast myself and looking at the nine girls that got chosen at National Championships which were held in May, I think everyone of them deserves a spot. Too bad there are only six. I have 99% feeling in me knowing that Dasha and Lauren will easily make the team and a 95% that Ashleigh will make it. I think Olivia has a better chance than anyone else as she is older, wiser and more professionally experienced than alot of the other girls. I think she will make the Olympic team. Unfortunately i just don't think that Melanie and Amber will have the opportunity that the other 6 girls will have. Thats my opinion though. I may be totally wrong. Oh yeah and I don' really think that eotards have anything to do with it...... Why? Because Lauren... yeah well she is kind of a definate too.
But all in all i wish all the girls my luck and hope they can pull it off in Day 2!

I do know one thing for sure Peggy always makes the right descision. Wise and no regrets. So whoever she picks for the 2008 Olympic team it will be great just like the rest of the teams she has picked!