The International Federation of Gymnastics announced the draw for the 45th Artistic World Championships in Nanning, China earlier this week. With 306 women from 63 nations expected to compete, the 2014 World Championships stands to be the most-attended in the competition’s history.
The United States, winners of the 2012 Olympic team gold medal, will begin their competition on beam in subdivision 5. Other top contenders for this year’s team title include Russia (beginning on floor in subdivision 1), host team China (beginning on bars in subdivision 8), and Romania (beginning on vault in subdivision 10).
The event will qualify the 24 best-ranked women’s teams for the 2015 World Championships, which serves as the first qualifier for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Starting Order – Qualifications
| Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | |
| Sub.1 | Egypt | Belgium | Canada | Russia |
| Sub.2 | Singapore | Mix Group 4 | Spain | Netherlands |
| Sub.3 | Brazil | Poland | Switzerland | Azerbaijan |
| Sub.4 | Colombia | Mexico | Ireland | Argentina |
| Sub.5 | Sweden | India | United States | Peru |
| Sub.6 | Ukraine | Hungary | Uzbekistan | Mix Group 3 |
| Sub.7 | North Korea | Germany | Mix Group 5 | Mix Group 6 |
| Sub.8 | Czech Republic | China | Chile | Mix Group 2 |
| Sub.9 | South Korea | Japan | Italy | Mix Group 1 |
| Sub.10 | Romania | Venezuela | Austria | Great Britain |
| Sub.11 | New Zealand | Iceland | Australia | South Africa |
| Sub.12 | Greece | Taipei | Malaysia | France |
Mixed Groups
The number of spots each nation has is included in parentheses.
| Group 1 | Belarus (2) | Latvia (2) | Norway (2) | Georgia (1) |
| Group 2 | Bulgaria (2) | Mongolia (2) | Portugal (2) | Israel (1) |
| Group 3 | Panama (3) | Guatemala (2) | Serbia (2) | |
| Group 4 | Turkey (2) | Vietnam (2) | Lithuania (1) | Slovakia (1) |
| Group 5 | Denmark (3) | Kazakhstan (3) | Dominican Republic (1) | |
| Group 6 | Finland (3) | Hong Kong (2) | Qatar (2) |
Starting Order – Event Finals
The number order in each event final corresponds to the athletes’ placement in qualifications. For example, the first place qualifier will compete seventh in vault finals, last in bars finals, second in beam finals, and third in floor finals.
| Vault | Bars | Beam | Floor | |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| 6 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 8 |
| 7 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 5 |
Article by Lauren Hopkins
The Gymternet 