[SPOARTS!] Comments that don't warrant their own thread 2017-2025

Day 8 Budapest results:
  • Amane Bariso (ETH) wins the women's marathon, with a Season's Best! Top US finish was Lindsay Flanigan, who placed eighth.
  • Marco Arop (CAN) wins the men's 800m. Top US finish was Bryce Hoppel, who placed seventh.
  • Armand Duplantis (SWE) wins the men's pole vault. Ernest John Obiena (PHI) wins silver, with an Asian Record! Christopher Nilsen (USA) ties for bronze.
  • Pierce LePage (CAN) wins the decathlon. Top US finish was Harrison Williams, who placed seventh.
  • Faith Kipyegon (KEN) wins the women's 5000m. Top US finish was Elise Cranny, who placed ninth.
  • Chase Ealey (USA) wins the women's shot put, with a Season's Best!
  • United States wins the men's 4x100m relay.
  • United States wins the women's 4x100m relay, with a Championship Record!
 
Day 9 (final) Budapest update:
  • Yaroslava Mahuchikh (UKR) wins the women's high jump. Top US finish was Vashti Cunningham (whom I literally learned just now is the daughter of former NFL player Randall Cunningham), who placed 11th. Cunningham was fifth during qualifying, but faulted on all three of her jumps in the third round.
  • Victor Kiplangat (UGA) wins the men's marathon. Top US finish was Zach Panning, who placed thirteenth.
  • Jakob Ingebrigtsen (NOR) wins the men's 5000m, with a Season's Best! Top US finish was Abdihamid Nut, who placed twelfth.
  • Mary Moraa (KEN) wins the women's 800m, with a Personal Best! Athing Mu (USA) wins bronze.
  • Winfred Yavi (BRN) wins the women's 3000m steeplechase. Top US finish was Courtney Wayment, who placed fifteenth (out of fifteen).
  • Neeraj Chopra (IND) wins the men's javelin. No US athlete qualified for the final.
  • United States wins the men's 4x400m relay.
  • Netherlands wins the women's 4x400m relay, with a National Record!
 
Biles broke a 90-year-old record winning her 8th US title.

And she did it seemingly on cruise control.

Then again, her cruise control is fifth gear for most other athletes.

Jones and Wong continued to impress finishing second and third respectively, leaving behind their Olympian competition, who otherwise struggled. Chiles fell off beam. Carey flubbed on floor, where she’s the defending Olympic gold medalist, and plainly had a meet to forget. Lee again only competed in two events, but did well on beam.

The competition for the other four spots to Paris is going to be intense.

But Biles’ name is written in permanent marker

… and circled in red pen.

She’s back.
 
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Tuesday and Wednesday next week will be Selection Camp for the National team heading to Antwerp in October for Worlds.

It’s the top 17 (!) finishers at Nationals plus Miller and Zeiss who were the only other competitors with international tournament experience, after Lee declined.

These world competition team selection formats seem to change every year, and I really can’t explain why 19 women would be brought in to try-out for a 6 woman team only a few weeks after THE major national tournament effectively did that already.

… unless this is their way of making sure Carey, who finished a paltry 15th, can make the team without seemingly playing favorites.

Anyway, with that roster, I think Biles, Jones, Chiles, Carey, Wong, and Blakely head to Antwerp.

… Which is what the roster would be anyway following Nationals, just with Carey bumping Roberson.
 
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As we prep for the first day of the US women’s gymnastics team selection camp, I completely neglected to mention and failed to even consider the team isn’t only being selected for Worlds, but also the PanAm games in Santiago a few days later.

This actually changes the calculus considerably.

For example, we could see something like:

Biles, Jones, Blakely, Roberson, Wong, (Alt: DiCello) head to Worlds

And

Chiles, Carey, Jong, Lincoln, Miller, (Alt: Sumanasekera) represent the US at PanAm.

Or really any of dozens of combinations (that start with Biles and Jones at Worlds).

This certainly makes the selection camp process exponentially more interesting.

-Would Carey or Chiles turn down an alternate spot at Worlds to lead the team in Santiago … or vice versa?

-Could the World’s alternate hop a flight from Antwerp after the team finals and be de-jet lagged in time to compete at PanAm?

- Does Jong vacate her “competing as an individual* spot at PanAm to join the US team?

-After the top 6 or 7 gymnasts locked into one of the two rosters, who of the 10 remaining women can earn a team nod and the experience of competing at a prestigious international tournament?

-Does the committee focus on all-arounders or event specialists for the remaining spots?

Gotta say, I was really rather dismissive of the selection camp, thinking it was just a formality, but now I’m all the way invested.
 
Unsurprisingly, Biles secured the first spot on the team to Worlds tonight, (not like she was going to be left off the team in any scenario).

What was surprising is how close she came to being beaten out for the honor by Jones, who came within 0.400 points of the lead after Biles fell on two events (including the YDP on vault).

Sloppy showing from the GOAT, but she got it done. Rest of the team announced tomorrow.

Edit: I’ve since read Biles’ fall on her YDP vault was an intentional rollout as to avoid risking injury. The kind of thing you see when everyone is going through the motions, and why everyone, not just the Goat, was super sloppy on Day 1 of camp.
 
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And here we go

IMG_0890.jpeg


Roberson instead of Carey (which is the right call) and DiCello as the alternate instead of Chiles.

So Chiles can be the leader of the PanAm team (while DiCello pulls double duty on both)

IMG_0891.jpeg

Sumanasekera gets bumped up from alternate to the main team with Carey out (she declined the invite to PanAm … to attend her sister’s wedding). Jong stays as an individual competitor making room for DiCello to brave that transatlantic flight and step up into her true potential. Lincoln gets some international exposure as an up-and-coming All-Around. Miller hones her talent as a bars specialist. And Chiles gets to be the firey leader of her own squad outside of her friend and gym-mate Biles’ shadow.

I love both these teams. This should be fun.
 
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Team USA comfortably in first for the Qualification round at Worlds with a combined total of 171.395

Italy a distant second with 162.230.

Edit: Great Britain eventually took over 2nd, but weren’t much closer with a total of 166.130 with China and Brazil coming in a few points after.

Biles’ YDP vault now officially named the Biles II after she successfully completed it in a world competition. That makes 5 skills named after her.

Good start. Keep it up ladies.
 
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USA wins an unprecedented 7th team gold in a row at Worlds with Wong stepping in for an injured Roberson putting in a shaky but sufficient performance, and Biles cementing things with an emphatic exclamation point with a 15.165 on floor. (Not to under sell this, but that’s really good)

But believe it or not, that’s not the real story of the day. No no, the major news is that finally after more than a decade of waiting, Team Brazil earns a team medal at a world competition, bringing home SILVER in dramatic come-from-behind fashion after Barbosa, Saraiva, and Andrade nailed three consecutive vaults in the final rotation.

Welcome to the elites Brasil!

France also with a bit of a shocker edging out China for bronze in only their second ever world competition team medal (and first since 1950), led by Melanie de Jesus dos Santos, who secured the podium spot with an absolute killer beam routine.

China still trying to figure things out. Haven’t medaled in a world team meet since earning Bronze in 2018, and haven’t placed higher than third since 2015.
 
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Thought I might wait to give someone else a chance, but …

Simone Arianne Biles is now the most decorated gymnast in history, earning her sixth all-around gold at Worlds today, and 34th total world and Olympic medal.

Not even a Soviet tops her name on the list.

Meanwhile teammate Shi Jones takes the bronze, and the party continues for Brazil as Andrade takes silver.
 
Worlds are in the books, and the story from Antwerp is::

Biles dominates. Brazil arrives.

Biles is a Supernova, but Andrade is a star in the same constellation and her Team Brazil is ready to take on the US juggernaut in Paris.

Biles added her 35th, 36th, and 37th World/Olympic medals to her record total after taking gold in floor and beam today, and silver on vault earlier. She comes away from Antwerp with 4 golds and a silver.

Andrade is right there bringing home 1 gold, 3 silvers, and a bronze.

It’s shaping up to be a dogfight in the City of Lights next summer.


]

Vault Final Standings

1. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil, 14.750
2. Simone Biles, United States, 14.549
3. Yeo Seojeong, South Korea, 14.416
4. Alexa Moreno, Mexico, 14.166

(Leanne Wong finished 7th)

-Biles fell backward on the landing, over rotating on her eponymous vault, opening the door for Andrade to take the championship with two gorgeous vaults of her own. Yeo edges out Mexico’s Moreno giving South Korea its first medal on the apparatus at Worlds.


Uneven Bars Final Standings

1. Qiu Qiyuan, China, 15.100
2. Kaylia Nemour, Algeria, 15.033
3. Shilese Jones, United States, 14.766
4. Huang Zhuofan, China, 14.766
5. Simone Biles, United States, 14.200
6. Sanna Veerman, Netherlands, 14.200

-With Lee and Belgium’s Derwael both out, this event was wide open. China really needed to take home a gold somewhere, so very fortunate for them Qiu handled the pressure to nab the event title. Jones was able to tie with Huang for the bronze, overcoming any disadvantage of being the first athlete up.

Big surprise of Algeria’s Nemour taking silver on the event. I don’t know much about her, but I think this is the first World medal for Algeria’s women’s gymnastics team ever.

Beam Final Standings

1. Simone Biles, United States, 14.800
2. Zhou Yaqin, China, 14.700
3. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil, 14.300
4. Sanne Wevers, Netherlands, 14.100

(Shi Jones finished 7th)

-Biles was fluid and nigh-flawless narrowly grabbing the gold over Zhou, while Andrade took bronze to bolster Brazil’s already robust medal count.

Floor Final Standings

1. Simone Biles, United States, 14.633
2. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil, 14.500
3. Flavia Saraiva, Brazil, 13.966
4. Sabrina Voinea, Romania, 13.766
5. Shilese Jones, United States, 13.666

-Biles with back-to-back stellar event performances to take a second gold in the day, with Andrade right on her heels. Brazil’s Saravia showing her status as Brazil’s second star to take bronze.

[\SPOILER]
 
I can. with the expanded knowledge of exercise science, physiology, biomechanics, etc. athletes and coaches have never had more access to all the information and ability the human body is capable of.
 
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