Larisa Iordache of Romania has won her second all-around title in the same number of weeks at the World Cup held in Glasgow, Scotland this afternoon.

Iordache finished with a 59.232 and had the top score on all four events. She was nearly three points of Canada’s Ellie Black, who had a fantastic day to earn the silver medal with a 56.432 (especially with her incredible beam routine). Jessica Lopez of Venezuela, last week’s silver medalist in Stuttgart, earned the bronze medal with a 55.899.

Beginning on vault, Iordache hit her typically solid DTY with a great block, dropping down from the sky to nearly stick the landing for a 15.0. Her one big issue on bars was her straddle Jaeger caught a bit close, but her stalder full, van Leeuwen, Church, Maloney, and full-in all looked strong, and she earned a 14.433. Her beam was masterful, with so much confident on every skill, including her bhs tuck full and bhs layout. She took just a slight step back on her triple full dismount, earning a 15.166. She finished on floor with a very strong routine, including an excellent tucked full-in, stuck piked full-in, triple full, and double pike, earning a 14.633. She has become an unbelievably consistent gymnast this year, and I think will join Catalina Ponor and Sandra Izbasa as one Romania will never want to let go of.

Black competed her handspring layout half on vault, showing some leg separation on the pre-flight and a slight pike in her body for a 14.2. Her bars had some form issues (especially on handstands and some leg separation in her giant full), but I love her clear hip to Shang and her Jaeger to pak, and she hit her Moors dismount to earn a 13.833. On beam, she finally hit everything the way she needed, including her tricky bhs tuck full and double turn before nailing her 2.5 for a huge 14.833. She finished with a 13.566 after a solid floor routine, where she hit a 2.5 through to double full (a smart idea to not try the triple), front full to double tuck (her heel went OOB but it was otherwise fine), and a front double full to stag. A truly excellent day for the Canadian who never quite seems to have luck on her side.

On vault, Lopez had a pretty stellar DTY with a hop back for a 14.8. I love that she’s becoming more consistent here, as it really boosts how competitive she is internationally. Her bars weren’t her best…she looked like she was working a bit too quickly, and had a few botched handstands and some late pirouettes. Her Tkatchev to Gienger was great, but pak was messy in her piked Tkatchev combination, her Maloney had some rough form, and she stepped on her double front dismount, earning a 14.2 which is a bit low for her here. Her beam was also a bit weaker than we’ve become accustomed to seeing, with a few pauses between connections (including her front aerial to bhs bhs layout), and she finished with a 13.633. She had some steps on floor, including on her 2.5 and double pike (both of which likely incurred a number of deductions), though her whip to triple full looked mostly solid, and she earned a 13.266.

Though she did just an FTY, Georgina Hockenhull of Great Britain was very clean and just hopped slightly to the side, earning a 13.833. On bars, she had lovely lines, and had a lovely Endo before her Chow and a very nice double layout, getting a second 13.833 of the day. She looked very pretty and self-assured on beam, performing a clean bhs loso, side aerial, side somi, and double tuck with a step back for a 13.466. Her floor routine isn’t very difficult, though her tumbling was crisp, including on her double arabian, 2.5 to punch front, and double pike, earning a 13.266. Overall it was an excellent day for the Welsh gymnast, and I hope she can upgrade a bit so she can become a threat for a major international team in the future.

Japan’s Mai Murakami got her day started with a rather solid DTY. Maybe not the cleanest, but she’s very powerful and brought in a 14.566. On bars, she doesn’t do anything spectacular, and she caught her piked Jaeger VERY close with bent arms, though kept moving as if there were no problems, and hit her full-in for a 12.5. I loved her beam, and thought if she could clean up her form a bit, it could be an excellent routine. Her bhs bhs layout to wolf jump was done excellently, as was her bhs loso (though there was a pause before going into the Korbut), and near-stuck double pike, bringing in a 13.4. Her floor routine was very nice, including a double layout, excellent triple full, 1.5 to front full, and 2.5 for a 13.833.

Unfortunately, Vanessa Ferrari of Italy got her day off with a rough start, earning just a 13.566 on her DTY after tucking her legs completely on her entire second twist, and landing about a quarter twist short of a double. She continued on bars, with a mostly solid routine, though she had her usual form deductions, especially on her giant full into the Jaeger. She hit her full-in dismount for a 13.466. She hit an excellent bhs bhs layout to start on beam, and then her switch leap to ring leap, but had some pauses during some connections (including the front aerial to sheep and her switch ring to jump series). She finished with a low double pike for a 13.6…not her best, but she fought through it. Her floor was unfortunately very off for her; despite no falls, she brought in just a 13.4 due to some form issues (like massive leg separation on her double layout and a messy, under-rotated tucked full-in) and a stumbled back double pike, which went out of bounds. Just not her day…perhaps being ill last week and yet competing at two major international meets in a row just did her in?

Ferrari’s teammate Erika Fasana had a decent DTY to start, with a slight hop back for a 14.633. She had a rough go on bars; though she hit a nice Maloney to giant full and a good Ray release, she piked down on her inverted giant and then arched over on her bail, taking extra swings before hopping off. She hit her double layout with a hop but still managed just a 12.266. On beam, she nailed her bhs layout and switch to back tuck, had a very messy switch ring, showed a nice turn combo, and nearly fell on her side somi but fought like hell to keep it on, finishing with a nice double pike for a 13.1. Her floor looked very nice; despite hops on all three of her passes (double layout, full-in, and double pike) she was overall very controlled, earning a 13.733.

Pauline Schäfer of Germany competed a handspring layout half on vault and looked lovely, even if she didn’t get a very strong block. Her bars showed a nice Gienger and Jaeger as well as a Moors dismount, though she missed the connection between her bail and Ray, earning just a 13.133. On beam, she had an unfortunate fall after her bhs loso, which actually looked solid but she was perhaps just a bit off line. She had a pause between her front aerial and side somi, her side somi half was excellent, and she hit her gainer layout dismount for a 13.366. She nearly sat her double front opening pass on floor, though did a good job of standing up out of it. The best part of her routine were the dance elements, though she managed just a 12.733 due to the overall weak tumbling.

All-Around Results

Article by Lauren Hopkins