Hi everyone! I’m here at the 2017 American Cup in beautiful, fabulous Newark, New Jersey. I’ll be live-updating with all the action, so just refresh your browser every few minutes to see the most recent updates at the top. Enjoy!

3:03 pm. For those asking about Amy Tinkler, I actually didn’t see her warming up floor AT ALL earlier today so that may have been the plan all along. I don’t think she got injured but I’ll ask around.

ROTATION 6

2:59 pm. Final Women’s Standings

1. Ragan Smith, United States, 56.099
2. Asuka Teramoto, Japan, 54.231
3. Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos, France, 53.899
4. Kim Bui, Germany, 53.632
5. Riley McCusker, United States, 52.966
6. Xie Yufen, China, 51.599
7. Tisha Volleman, Netherlands, 49.266
8. Emily Whitehead, Australia, 48.399
9. Amy Tinkler, Great Britain, 39.566

Final Men’s Standings

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 85.931
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 85.699
3. Akash Modi, United States, 84.398
4. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 80.165
5. Eddy Yusof, Switzerland, 80.164
6. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 80.065
7. Sun Wei, China, 80.032
8. Sam Oldham, Great Britain, 79.399
9. Lukas Dauser, Germany, 75.999

2:56 pm. De Jesus Dos Santos, France, FX- Tucked full-in to start is great. Double pike with a hop back. Front lay front full with a little step. Short double tuck with a step forward. 12.9 (4.7, 8.2)

2:53 pm. Moldauer, United States, HB- Markelov layout, one-arm swing, stoop full, stoop half, Kovacs, awesome, giant full, giant 1.5, gets a little wonky in his swing, full-twisting double layout with a great landing to seal his win. 13.733 (5.3, 8.433)

2:51 pm. Smith, United States, FX- Big double layout with a bounce back. Hard to believe that skill was super heavily spotted today and in PT. 1.5 to triple full is great. Double arabian comes in a little low so she doesn’t bother doing the stag out of it, takes a step to steady it. I actually love this routine so much. That little choreo bit before the last pass is great. Stumbles forward out of double pike but yeah, that wasn’t bad. 14.0 (5.6, 8.4)

2:49 pm. Kato, Japan, HB- Off on Cassina, hard onto his back and he’s playing with his grips. Stoop half, layout Tkachev, muscles handstand after, stalder to stalder 1.5, nice, stoop full has to really muscle out of that, Markelov I think supposed to be a layout but was kinda piked and then he goes to stalder up and has to rest on the bar for a sec, hop full, double double layout stuck cold. 11.066 (4.9, 6.166)

2:46 pm. Teramoto, Japan, FX- Triple full with a little hop. Front double full with a step. Double pike with a hop back. Good routine, again not super difficult but she just had a fab day six months out of Rio and she’s entering her third Olympic cycle so go you. 13.066 (4.8, 8.266)

2:45 pm. Verniaiev, Ukraine, HB- Again I missed the first skill maybe. Layout Tkachev half, stoop half, straddle Tkachev half, stoop half gets a little weird with his arms into a release that I missed, Endo full is pretty, Endo to Endo half, double double layout with a big hop. 13.6 (5.4, 8.2)

2:43 pm. Bui, Germany, FX- I miss her 80s saxophone routine so much. Double tuck with a little bounce back. 2.5 to front tuck. Solid double full with a little bounce. Good double pike with a hop. Easy routine but good performance. SHE’S 28. 13.133 (4.9, 8.233)

“I made it!” Akash Modi coming off the podium after high bar. Adorbs.

2:42 pm. Modi, United States, HB- I missed very beginning but saw huge Tkachev to layout Tkachev half, though he muscled up out of it. Layout Tkachev to Tkachev half, good reversal lol. Endo to Endo full, double double layout with a hop. 13.8 (6.0, 7.8)

2:38 pm. Dauser, Germany, HB- Stalder to one-armed swing, Markelov laid-out, Tkachev, bends elbows to muscle handstand after it, hop 1.5 (Rybalko? I know that from Anna Li I’m pretty sure), double double layout with a step 13.066 (5.2, 7.866)

2:35 pm. Yusof, Switzerland, HB- Was still watching Riley when he started but looked like he fell on a stalder, it was weird. Like his hands just slipped. Layout Tkachev to straddle Tkachev, arches over handstand before Endo, stoop half to stalder to hop full, hit dismount with a hop. 12.166 (5.0, 7.166)

2:33 pm. McCusker, United States, FX- Tucked full-in with a hop and the form isn’t great in the air but hey, it’s upright. Kinda jumps out of Y turn. Front lay full to front tuck. Gets applause for a wolf turn while people ignored Melanie and Asuka on beam. #USA Good double pike. Low double tuck that she jumps out of. 13.5 (5.1, 8.4)

2:30 pm. Xie, China, FX- 2.5 with a big step, hit second pass, and third was a double tuck with her chest at her knees. Double pike to finish is also super low. 11.966

Oldham, Great Britain, HB- Layout Markelov which I know has a name (Yamawaki??? something???) but then he fell on something while I was watching floor. Layout Tkachev and then fell again on something else. Stoop full to giant half to one-armed 1.5 I think, stoop half with leg sep), stalder to hop full, hit dismount. 11.7 (5.4, 6.3)

2:27 pm. Sun, China, HB- Stoop half, layout Tkachev to Tkachev half, layout Tkachev half, stoop full, stalder to front giant full to hop, giant full, double double layout. 13.866 (5.8, 8.066)

Whitehead, Australia, FX- Double arabian, pretty squatted if not sat, and a 1.5 to front layout, puts her hands down weirdly because it looks like she totally had that. 😦 Hands down on whip to double tuck too. Double pike. 10.6 (4.7, 5.9)

2:22 pm. Volleman, Netherlands, FX- Double tuck with a step, ugh, sat her 2.5, and someone was talking to me so I missed the rest of this. 11.6 (4.5, 7.1)

Deurloo, Netherlands, HB- Good routine with lots of big releases…I think a Kolman and a Kovacs in there, something laid out with a full twist, but I didn’t catch this all in real time. 14.533 (6.4, 8.133)

ROTATION 5

2:20 pm. Standings after five rotations…

1. Ragan Smith, United States, 42.099
2. Asuka Teramoto, Japan, 41.165
3. Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos, France, 40.999
4. Kim Bui, Germany, 40.499
5. Xie Yufen, China, 39.633
6. Amy Tinkler, Great Britain, 39.566
7. Riley McCusker, United States, 39.466
8. Emily Whitehead, Australia, 37.799
9. Tisha Volleman, Netherlands, 37.666

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 72.198
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 71.999
3. Akash Modi, United States, 70.598
4. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 68.999
5. Eddy Yusof, Switzerland, 67.998
6. Sam Oldham, Great Britain, 67.699
7. Sun Wei, China, 66.166
8. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 65.632
9. Lukas Dauser, Germany, 62.933

2:15 pm. Xie, China, BB- Press mount, bhs loso is good, front aerial, hit leaps, I missed a small chunk of that but it was good, double pike with a step back to finish. 12.7 (4.7, 8.0)

Oldham, Great Britain, PB- Hit routine 14.333 (5.7, 8.633)

2:13 pm. De Jesus Dos Santos, France, BB- The announcer saying her last name sounds like the episode of “Friends” when Phoebe tries to teach Joey how to speak French. Punch front pike mount into a jump, and then a punch front pike. Little tick tock into her bhs layout series, YES. Switch half, front aerial with a small bobble, double stag jump, switch ring, Laurie’s walking by so everyone’s ignoring this PERFECT routine and screaming Laurie’s name and “I love you Laurie” I HATE THIS COUNTRY, double tuck STUCK. YESSSSSSS. SO fabulous. 14.233 (5.7, 8.533)

2:11 pm. Kato, Japan, PB- Muscles on his single rail skill and has to kip cast, then loses him self again and takes a second to regroup, hit the rest. 12.733 (5.4, 7.333)

2:09 pm. Teramoto, Japan, BB- Wobble on her double spin, excellent bhs bhs loso gets almost no applause because this crowd is a wasteland. Lovely series into her side somi and again no one in this crowd cares. Big switch half, beautiful. Onodi with a little bobble. Hit something I couldn’t see into a side aerial. 2.5 with a small step. BEST BEAM OF THE DAYYYY and it’ll be like 0.1 higher than Riley’s E score lol. 13.633 (5.5, 8.133)

2:07 pm. Sun, China, PB- Ooh, his straddle flip was cool. Double pike with a hop. 13.633 (5.0, 8.633)

2:06 pm. Volleman, Netherlands, BB- Punch front mount, full L turn to double spin is lovely, split leap to tuck jump, front handspring to front tuck but it looks like a front walkover to front toss. Solid standing back tuck. Side somi. She’s doing fabulous so far! I think she fell like 37 times in warmups this morning. But she kept getting back up and working like crazy on everything. Almost stuck Steingruber dismount. THAT WAS FAB for her. 12.2 (4.3, 7.9)

2:04 pm. Deurloo, Netherlands, PB- I hope the camera cut to me as I shoved a giant piece of chocolate into my mouth just now. Anyway he does a really big flippy thing, a double tuck, between the bars. Stuck double front dismount. 13.4 (5.7, 7.7)

1:57 pm. Bui, Germany, BB- Okay she hit her mount like 10% of the time today so let’s see if she can do it now. Roundoff layout, perfect. Her best of the day tbh. She’s like YAS I want that gold. Solid bhs layout with just some leg form issues. Switch to switch half, big wobble on a jump full but she saves it, still will be a big deduction. Side aerial. Stuck gainer pike. Someone screamed “WOAHHHH!” at that dismount LOL. 12.466 (4.7, 7.766)

1:54 pm. Smith, United States, BB- Super high double wolf turn, switch half, solid on bhs layout, fell on her standing full. UGH. Hit front aerial to jumps. Wolf jump full with a huge wobble but saves the fall. Double pike with a small hop. 13.266 (5.8, 7.466)

Doesn’t look like they’re pulling Riley apparently? This meet is a mess. EVERYONE START OVER.

1:53 pm. Moldauer, United States, PB- Loved his hop giant thing! Clean in his handstands and when he does little flippy things as releases, DO FLAIRS, double front half out with his chest down a bit.

1:49 pm. Tinkler, Great Britain, BB- Split leap mount, gainer loso to loso, cut out the last one which is good, she missed that in warmups. Hit jump series. Off on standing full. Front aerial to split jump to back handspring, taking advantage of the mixed series bonus. Good. Switch half, hit her triple a tiny bit short but better than it was in training! Shame about the fall because the rest was great. 12.566 (6.0, 6.566)

Yusof, Switzerland, PB- Hit routine. 13.566 (5.7, 7.866)

1:47 pm. Modi, United States, PB- Healy is good, that’s the only skill I know. Otherwise looks clean, nice press handstand, his one-arm work is really pretty, stuck dismount. 15.033 (6.1, 8.933)

1:45 pm. Whitehead, Australia, BB- Double wolf turn done really high with a flexed foot. Switch to sissone to pike jump, bhs layout (piked a bit), good punch front, switch half not at 180, side aerial with a wobble but fights for it, ugh, fell on her double pike, got almost there but put her hands down. 11.3 (4.8, 6.6, -0.1 ND)

Verniaiev, Ukraine, PB- Missed his hand on something and slipped but got right back to business. Rest looks good to me so far. Stuck the dismount. 14.933 (6.6, 8.333)

1:41 pm. Dauser, Germany, PB- Okay this is actually my worst MAG event so be prepared to be wowed at my lack of knowledge. I’ll just be like “he fell” or “he was great.” Actually beam is going simultaneously so I didn’t see most of this. Hit routine though. 13.3 (6.0, 7.3)

McCusker, United States, BB- Wobbly triple wolf turn, ugh. Wobbly double wolf turn, falls back then forward but holds onto it. Front aerial to split jump to straddle jump, lovely flexibility on her jumps. Flight series with a small bobboel. Switch to switch half to back tuck with a little hop. Side aerial. Wobble on switch ring. Oh my god, missed her foot on her bhs into the dismount and landed her double tuck basically on her head. LAWD. Tbh wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled her. 12.6 (5.5, 7.1 …again that E score is ridiculously generous)

ROTATION 4

 

1:38 pm. Standings after rotation four…

1. Ragan Smith, United States, 28.833
2. Kim Bui, Germany, 28.033
3. Asuka Teramoto, Japan, 27.532
4. Amy Tinkler, Great Britain, 27.000
5. Xie Yufen, China, 26.933
6. Riley McCusker, United States, 26.866
7. Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos, 26.766
8. Emily Whitehead, Australia, 26.499
9. Tisha Volleman, Netherlands, 25.466

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 57.332
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 57.066
3. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 56.266
4. Akash Modi, United States, 55.565
5. Eddy Yusof, Switzerland, 54.432
6. Sam Oldham, Great Britain, 53.366
7. Sun Wei, China, 52.533
8. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 52.232
9. Lukas Dauser, Germany, 49.633

1:36 pm. I apparently went into the Upside Down during Kato’s vault? From his score it looks like he did a really lovely tsuk 2.5 for a 14.5 (5.2, 9.3).

1:34 pm. Teramoto, Japan, UB- Inbar full (leg sep) to big clean Gienger, inbar muscled up to stalder half to piked Jaeger, her stalder form is really weird, stalder full with more weird form to bail to Ray, clean handstand before giants into full-in with a small hop.

1:33 pm. Volleman, Netherlands, UB- Straddle Jaeger, shorthandstand before bail which arches over and she has to come off. 😦 Clear hip to toe-on to toe shoot, Emily W is giving her some coaching from down below the podium. Hit full-in dismount with a hop. 11.866 (4.5, 7.366)

1:32 pm. Sun, China, VT- I think he did a tsuk triple? I missed the entry. But he crashed it. 13.5 (5.6, 8.2, -0.3 ND)

1:31 pm. Bui, Germay, UB- Piked Jaeger to pak, Maloney to Bhardwaj, YESSSSS. Gets applause. Van Leeuwen with some leg sep, toe full to big Gienger, super clean. Sky high stuck full-in. If that E is lower than Ragan’s I’ll riot. 14.533 (6.0, 8.533)

1:30 pm. Deurloo, Netherlands, VT- Tsuk 2.5 with a small hop to the side, maybe over the line but I can’t see. 14.433 (5.2, 9.233)

1:28 pm. Smith, United States, UB- Inbar full (ankle sep) to inbar to inbar half (ankle sep) to big Jaeger, stalder full (clean) to Ricna, pak with slight leg sep but I’m glad she didn’t connect it from the Ricna. Ray back up to high, stuck full-in!!! YES!!!! RAGAN!!! The best she’s looked all day. 14.4 (5.6, 8.8) lol that E is pretty generous but good for her

1:27 pm. Moldauer, United States, VT- Tsuk 2.5 with a little hop. 14.466 (5.2, 9.266)

Meanwhile Macready is still playing games with children and yelling through the mic as if that’s not distracting AT ALL!

1:23 pm. Tinkler, Great Britain, UB- Toe full arches a bit to Maloney (leg sep) to Tkachev to pak (leg sep and knee bend), van Leeuwen with some leg sep, Markelov, one knee looked a little bent, full-in with a tiny bounce. 13.3 (5.5, 7.8)

1:22 pm. Yusof, Switzerland, VT- NICE tsuk back pike with a step. I love those. 14.7 (5.6, 9.1)

1:20 pm. Whitehead, Australia, UB- Leg sep on her toe full into the Maloney to pak (legs in a V), van Leeuwen with some more leg form issues, just looks a little nervous. Ankle sep before the Markelov, double front with a small hop. 13.066 (5.0, 8.066)

1:19 pm. Modi, United States, VT- Tsuk 2.5 with a hop, looked like it landed OOB from my angle but I can’t really tell. 14.2 (5.2, 9.1, -0.1 ND)

1:18 pm. McCusker, United States, UB- Stalder full to Maloney to Tkachev, falls on the Downie, looks upset. Maggie talks to her before she remounts. Ricna to pak with leg sep and bent knees that drag on the mat, van Leeuwen is a little crooked, front giant to messy half-in double back. 13.1 (5.9, 7.2)

1:17 pm. Verniaiev, Ukraine, VT- Dragulescu looked big off the table but then his rotation seemed to slow down?? Really deep forward landing with a big step. 14.433 (5.6, 8.833)

1:15 pm. Xie, China, UB- Chalk production happening over here. Even Sun Wei is getting in on the action LOLOL. Maloney to pak (leg sep), van Leeuwen, Ono to Healy to Ono half to Tkachev, YES. She missed that in warmups. Double layout is a little low and pikes a little but that was very good. 13.833 (6.0, 7.833)

1:14 pm. Dauser, Germany, VT- Tsuk 2.5, sat it. He’s having a worse day than Deurloo. 13.1 (5.2, 8.0, -0.1 ND)

1:13 pm. De Jesus Dos Santos, France, UB- Komova II to clear hip with a little fight to hold the handstand to inbar Tkachev! NICE. Super clean pak. Clean van Leeuwen too. Inbar half to front giant full to front half, full twisting double layout with a step. NIIIIIIIICE. One of the better bars I’ve seen from her. 13.3 (5.6, 7.7)

1:12 pm. Oldham, Great Britain, VT- Handspring double front with a deep landing, Tinkler cheering him on from the other side of the arena. 14.133 (5.2, 8.933)

1:11 pm. I think I’ve said it every meet since Hershey’s became a sponsor, but THANK GOD for that because chocolate is God’s gift to everyone.

ROTATION 3

1:08 pm. Standings after the third rotation…

1. Ragan Smith, United States, 14.433
2. Riley McCusker, United States, 13.766
— Asuka Teramoto, Japan, 13.766
4. Amy Tinkler, Great Britain, 13.700
5. Tisha Volleman, Netherlands, 13.600
6. Kim Bui, Germany, 13.500
7. Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos, France, 13.466
8. Emily Whitehead, Australia, 13.433
9. Xie Yufen, China, VT- 13.100

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 42.866
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 42.633
3. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 41.766
4. Akash Modi, United States, 41.365
5. Eddy Yusof, Switzerland, 39.732
6. Sam Oldham, Great Britain, 39.233
7. Sun Wei, China, 39.033
8. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 37.799
9. Lukas Dauser, Germany, 36.533

1:06 pm. Bui, Germany, VT- FTY, another NCAA-esque vault, clean in the air, slight pike on the landing, big bounce back (about three feet).

1:05 pm. Sun, China, SR- Front double pike to front double tuck to iron cross, the rest looks good minus a couple of shaky handstands, but then he sat his double double.

1:02 pm. Smith, United States, VT- I didn’t see any of her DTYs in warmups, only her timers. I’m a little nervous and I don’t know why?! My heart rate is 90 according to my watch. That’s for you, Ragan! Long wait but why? Tinkler’s score was in during rings. Maybe TV stuff. Yeah, that’s probably it. Here we go…well, big leg sep off the table, but she gets it together, has some big air and the rest of her form is good, only a bounce back. Will easily outscore McCusker’s. 14.433 (5.4, 9.033)

1:01 pm. Deurloo, Netherlands, SR- Do I even wanna watch this? #AchyBalls Looks aggressive on this event, much more than on his other two…clean so far, legs are a lil messy in his double double but he hits. YAY. 13.633 (5.3, 8.333)

1:00 pm. Tinkler, Great Britain, VT- Only doing the FTY. Big clean and flared with a bounce back. 13.700 (4.6, 9.1)

12:59 pm. Moldauer, United States, SR- Can he do flairs on rings too? Just for me. I’m obsessed. Looks super clean and straight on everything so far. Hit his ‘tumbling’ and a straddle planche and double double, which looked stuck from my view. 14.3 (5.7, 8.6)

12:57 pm. Whitehead, Australia, VT- Another lovely clean NCAA-esque FTY, and she even flares it a bit! Just a bounce back on the landing, maybe two feet. 13.433 (4.6, 8.833)

12:56 pm. Yusof, Switzerland, SR- Clean from what I saw at the beginning, front double pike to front doulb etuck, planche with his legs in a straddle, a little archy in handstand, double double with a step. 13.966 (5.5, 8.466)

12:51 pm. McCusker, United States, VT- DTY, really short, kinda freaking messy and scary, and with a step over the line. Well, she crashed the one right before this one in warmups, so that was an improvement I guess? Tbh I don’t think she should be doing DTYs yet at all. 13.766 (5.4, 8.666, -0.3 ND)

12:50 pm. Modi, United States, SR- Planche that looked like it dropped down into that pike hold, really cool. Hit his “tumbling” as I call it, because I’m a MAG professional. Double pike front, handstands look a little short, double double with a hop. I think literally everyone has done a double double. 14.066 (5.8, 8.266)

12:49 pm. Xie, China, VT- FTY, she crashed this in podium training. Meh, it’s a little low and she doesn’t get a ton of height off but at least she stands it up. Chest down and a step. Aww, and she bows to the judges, a little Bai Yawen action up in here. 13.1 (4.6, 8.5)

12:47 pm. Verniaiev, Ukraine, SR- Lovely planche, iron cross, tucked double front to piked double front, one ring looks like it’s shaking a bit, swings through to a better handstand, looked like he stuck his double double but I couldn’t really see his feet well. 14.633 (6.1, 8.533)

12:46 pm. De Jesus Dos Santos, France, VT- FTY, powerful and clean in the air mostly until she pikes a bit at the end, and gets a little wild on the landing, like she wants to keep twisting a little. She’s prob working DTYs. Big step back to control it, about three feet or so. 13.466 (4.6, 8.866)

12:45 pm. Dauser, Germany, SR- Iron cross, tucked double front to piked double front to handstand which he super muscles up and then muscles up a second one, looks like he’s really having a rough time. Hit the dismount with a hop. 12.133 (4.6, 7.533)

12:43 pm. Teramoto, Japan, VT- Handspring layout half with a little hop back. Pikes down at the end. Much better form than her Rudi though. 13.766 (5.0, 8.766)

12:41 pm. Oldham, Great Britain, SR- Iron cross, planche, looked wobbly from here? Front double tuck to front double pike, very pretty form in his handstands, double double with a hop. 13.5 (4.9, 8.6)

12:40 pm. Volleman, Netherlands, VT- Very nice clean FTY, superb in the air, hops back about a foot or so. That was like an NCAA vaults, super solid. Looks like working on doubles last year actually really helped her full! 13.6 (4.6, 9.0)

12:38 pm. Kato, Japan, SR- Muscles handstand that looks a little arched and shaky, back double pike to double tuck, looks solid on iron cross, stepped on the dismount, double double I think. 14.1 (5.6, 8.5)

ROTATION 2

12:34 pm. Standings after rotation two…

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 28.566
2. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 28.000
3. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 27.666
4. Akash Modi, United States, 27.299
5. Sun Wei, China, 25.900
6. Eddie Yusof, Switzerland, 25.766
7. Sam Oldham, Great Britain, 25.733
8. Lukas Dauser, Germany, 24.4
9. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 24.166

12:31 pm. Deurloo, Netherlands, PH- Looks like his leg hit on a scissor, legs come apart in handstand, legs are apart for most of this actually and he keeps hitting his butt on the handles. Gets stuck in a swing and kind of whacks his leg on the horse. Actually looks hurt. Trying to shake it off. Gets back on for some fancy traveling, and he still looks like he’s hitting his legs on literally everything, like, just barely but it’s there. Comes off again for his dismount…and now he’s back on again for some reason? Oh he literally wasn’t done LOLOLOL they just said he was hahahahaha poor guy. He’s like umm this is a disaster can I leave??? Finishes up again but yeah, two falls, that’s rough. 11.666 (6.1, 5.566)

12:28 pm. Moldauer, United States, PH- AMAAAAZING flairs. DAMN if everyone did it like that I’d be like YAS POMMEL FOREVER. Almost as good as when he does them on floor. He looks clean and steady throughout, aggressive and solid. Fantastic set in my obviously expert opinion. 14.0 (5.3, 8.7)

12:26 pm. Yusof, Switzerland, PH- Muscles out of scissor swing, looks clean once he gets into his swing, good circles, muscles press handstand before the dismount. Didn’t look super difficult but he got through it with no major mistakes. 13.3 (5.4, 7.9)

12:24 pm. Modi, United States, PH- Nice swing, slightly tucks his legs at one point and his hips look a little wonky when he rushes, oh now he’s like totally piking and slowing down but he doesn’t come off, gets his rhythm back and hits the dismount. 13.466 (5.9, 7.566)

12:20 pm. Verniaiev, Ukraine, PH- Scissor stuff, twirly handstand with his legs in a V and I literally can’t tell if it’s supposed to look like that or if he just has massive leg sep, looks good in the interior, travels from one end to the other well, and back and forth, good job buddy. Twirly handstand with some leg sep before hitting the dismount. 14.7 (6.5, 8.2)

12:16 pm. Dauser, Germany, PH- This announcer while trying to sound German says “DOWS-uh” like he’s in the thick of the Boston wild. Anyway, this looked clean until it looked like he clipped his leg on the side near the end and came off. Gets back on literally for the weirdest dismount ever, it was like horizontal? 11.4 (4.8, 6.6)

12:13 pm. Oldham, Great Britain, PH- Muscles into press before scissors, good single bar work, clean with maybe a slight hip pike but then as he goes up into a handstand out of it his leg form gets crazy. Rushing a bit hear the end and tucks/separates his legs going up into his little twirly handstand before sticking the dismount. 13.100 (5.6, 7.5)

12:10 pm. Kato, Japan, PH- Muscles his handstand at the very beginning right before his flairs, looks like he got stuck for a second. Picks it up and looks nice raveling across…and back…and then across again. Weeeee! Looked clean up into his dismount, stuck. Aside from the very beginning that looked really smooth. 14.066 (6.0, 8.066)

12:07 pm. Sun, China, PH- Okay, not only do I suck at pommels but there is a gigantic camera crane literally directly in front of me so I’m just gonna be super vague here. Scissor work up into a muscled handstand, clean while traveling across, some leg sep when he reaches the other end, then leg sep again and it causes him to lose his swing and come off. clean for the rest…and sticks his dismount. 12.900 (5.6, 7.3)

ROTATION 1

12:04 pm. Leading after the first rotation…

1. Yul Moldauer, United States, 14.566
2. Akash Modi, United States, 13.866
3. Ryohei Kato, Japan, 13.600
4. Oleg Verniaiev, Ukraine, 13.300
5. Sun Wei, China, 13.000
— Lukas Dauser, Germany, 13.000
7. Sam Oldham, Great Britain,  12.633
8. Bart Deurloo, Netherlands, 12.500
9. Eddy Yusof, Switzerland, 12.466

12:01 pm. Moldauer, United States, FX- Excellent form on his punch front 2.5. NICE double arabian half-out. Front double full to front full. Flairs are super impressive actually, crowd loves them more than his tumbling lol. 2.5 to barani. He is killing it. Double full stuck. Triple full with a small bounce. That was EXCELLENT!!!!! 14.566 (5.6, 8.966)

11:58 pm. Yusof, Switzerland, FX- Great punch double front! Tiny bounce out of it. Front double full to front layout. Double double with a deep landing and a hop forward. 2.5 to barani with a hop back. Double arabian side pass with a small bounce. THEN FALLS ON TUCKED FULL-IN, hands down. UGH it was mostly pretty great until then, WHY. 12.466 (5.5, 6.966)

11:55 am. Modi, United States, FX- One little kid just chanted USA like twice and that was it for his pre-routine applause. GREAT CROWD. Piked double arabian with a hop forward. 1.5 to front full I think. Front double full to barani. Hit a side pass. Stuck double full with his chest down. Triple full with a small bounce to finish. 13.833 (5.7, 8.133)

11:53 am. Verniaiev, Ukraine, FX- Ugh, this is why MAG needs music, I missed his first pass because I didn’t know he started. I think the second was a 3.5 to front tuck half. Double double with a small hop. Double front tuck down to his knee, looked like he dragged OOB. Side pass was something twisty, maybe a double? Triple full to finish, a little short. 13.300 (5.8, 7.6, -0.1 ND)

11:52 am. Warmups for the second half of the rotation and Laurie Hernandez has officially graduated from gymnast to person who participates in Macready’s shenanigans.

11:48 am. Dauser, Germany, FX- Double double with a tiny bounce. 1.5 to front layout, which is literally a WAG NCAA floor pass so I’m guessing he bailed on something? Hit third pass which was like a 2.5 to Rudi I think, I couldn’t see. Good clean double full. Prob the cleanest piece of gymnastics on floor thus far with that simple lil pass. Triple full a little overrotated to finish, steps back to control it. 13.000 (5.3, 7.7)

11:45 am. Oldham, Great Britain, FX- Whip half to big double pike. Hit second pass. 1.5 to front double full is good. 2.5 to front tuck full is low with a step. Double arabian nearly sat, but MAY have touched but if not it came like, super close. 12.633 (5.5, 7.433, -0.3 ND)

11:42 am. Kato, Japan, FX- 3.5 to barani with a stumble OOB. Double double with a small hop. 1.5 to front 2.5 with a small stumble OOB. 2.5 to Rudi I think. Triple full with a hop back to finish. His landings weren’t great but def the highest difficulty so far? 13.600 (5.9, 8.1, -0.4 ND)

11:38 am. Sun, China, FX- Triple full, even flared a little but OOB. Punch…double full I think? Into something else, I couldn’t see it from this angle. Hit third pass nicely as well. 2.5 to barani down into a little pushup thing that the guys love. Does a punch tuck full into the corner for his last pass. I think he’s OT. Big double layout with a small hop forward to finish. 13.000 (5.4, 8.2, -0.6 ND)

11:34 pm. Deurloo, Netherlands, FX- Whip half to double front, and sat second pass, I missed it in detail but it was twisty to something twisty I think. 2.5 to barani is good. Double full with a stumble back. His knee looks heavily braced. Double arabian with a step back. 12.500 (5.2, 7.3)

WARM-UPS

11:34 am. Here we go! Should be starting any second.

11:24 pm. The lights just turned off to start the competition intro stuff and everyone gasped like in Titanic when the lights on the ship went out as it sank.

11:11 am. That’s it! Everyone’s done. Going to be back when the competition starts so you can watch me fumble my way through two MAG rotations. Actually I’m PRETTY SOLID with floor but p-bars I’ll be like “nice traveling! HE TRAVELS GOOD” and “ohhhhh no a fall” for literally everyone. I actually practiced pommels once a few weeks ago but then forgot everything I learned.

11:10 am. Bui up again, YAS. Caught piked Jaeger this time into a pak, legs in a V on that though. UGH.

11:09 am. Xie on bars, Maloney to pak, van Leeuwen, Healy to Ono, loses her swing and has to regroup. Tkachev, toes super pointed in her giants, double layout with a step.

Volleman changed into orange, thank god. It’s not a Dutch competition without orange. Very disorienting when they’re in flag colors.

11:07 am. Teramoto messy inbar full to Gienger, spotted and still kinda messy. Stalder half with bent legs, she looks like she’s really struggling. Stalder full with legs fully apart. Oof. Coach is literally pushing her through her giants.

Americans and vault are done!

11:05 am. Smith has her DTY. A little messy. Full-twisting double layout off bars from DJDS. Fall from Bui on her piked Jaeger. NIIIICE Bhardwaj. Messy van Leeuwen though. Toe full right on the bar into a big Gienger, legs glued. Huge full-in stuck, oh, this routine is so good. I need her to hit this.

11:04 am. Decent DTY from McCusker, still a bit wild in her form.

Whiehead with clean work on bars, just slightly bent knees on her van Leeuwen and an ankle sep before her Markelov. Two Markelovs in this meet! Hit her double front.

10:59 am. DJDS on bars with a Maloney to clear hip to inbar, arched over and has to regroup. Just swings giants to get her rhythm back.

Tinkler with another FTY. Bui doing toe on to toe on to toe on, that should be her routine. Now a 90 minute pause in the bars activity while the Chinese get ready.

10:55 am. Switching rotations a little bit now, bars to vault and vice versa.

FTY from Tinkler, not sure if that’s her vault or she’s just still warming up. Still timers from the Americans. Volleman again is over it. She’s like hi I don’t need to warm up bars or vault, I’m perfect as is.

10:53 am. I keep missing Teramoto’s vault but she’s doing like, handspring front tucks?? I’m pretty sure she competes a Rudi so maybe these are just timers.

10:52 pm. I keep getting Tinkler and Volleman confused when I see them walking around. Having a Dutch girl not in orange is world-altering. FTY from Bui, big and clean, NCAA-esque. Xie crashing FTYs. She hasn’t vaulted in like, at least two years I think.

10:50 am. Tinkler on bars again, van Leeuwen, ooh, fun Markelov, a little deep in her full-in landing but yay, her Markelov was great. Clean FTY from Whitehead over on vault.

10:49 am. Smith up again, clean stalder full to HUGE Ricna, YAS. Pak with leg sep, came off the low bar, perhaps intentionally though. Yeah, I think she was just like “that was enough, bye.”

DJDS just hit vault but I didn’t see what she did…I feel like she has a double?

10:48 am. McCusker, clean stalder full to Maloney to Tkachev, caught her Downie, Ricna to pak with leg sep, van Leeuwen a little crooked, front giant to half-in double tuck is good. She looks really clean there for the most part.

10:47 am. Tinkler has toe full to Maloney to Tkachev, nice. Pak with Bross feet and she whacks them on the ground. Van Leeuwen, muscles giant half that I think is supposed to be a giant full and comes off. Volleman just did a few handstands and then was like byeeee.

10:45 am. Mostly basics right now on bars. A few stalders and giants. McCusker off on her Ricna on her first real turn up. Sith up now, inbar full to inbar to inbar half (ankle sep) to Jaeger, crooked stalder full and she’s also off on her Ricna. Pak with leg sep, Ray to high, full-in with a little bounce.

10:39 am. Okay, here we GOOOO. USA, GB and NED on bars, everyone else on vault.

10:37 am. Almost done. Crowd is starting to come in. They’re prob like WHICH ONE IS SIMONE?????? IS THAT NASTIA?????? IS MCKAYLA GONNA DO A TTY??????

10:33 am. Still waiting for the setup to finish. Mostly everyone’s just trying to stay warm.

10:26 am. It’s honestly hard to tell who will be able to do what here. Americans aside it’s kind of just like…whoever hits, congrats. Because it’s been a very fall-y day for everyone else.

As for the guys, it’s so funny to watch them warmup because they will like, purposely have the most dramatic falls on everything…just such a different vibe from the girls.

Gonna be a bit of a break as they swap out the equipment…they have to put the uneven bars up where high bar is and then put pommels and rings where floor is.

10:22 am. Big smiles plastered to Valeri’s face pretty much constantly as he’s walking around. He totally has I’m a boss ass bish bish bish bish bish bish bish constantly playing on his iPod.

Teramoto a little stumbly on her 2.5 off beam. Whitehead going for double wolf turn but just sat it on the beam a half twist shy of hitting and landed in a way that looked like choreo, tee hee. Bui off again on her layout mount. She’s gonna try again because I don’t think she’s hit it once. Roundoff layout, and stuck this time.

10:19 am. DJDS punch front to split jump on beam, small wobble on bhs layout, switch to switch half a little low on the latter, front aerial to double stag, stumble on switch ring. Volleman is spinning her little heart out. Also does a hop full turn in the front attitude. Lots of people don’t like that turn because the knee is bent but I kinda love it?

Bui’s mount is a layout, by the way, not a loso. Supposed to go into jumps I think but she just fell.

Just realized I saw almost nothing from Tinkler on floor.

10:17 am. Why do I want to keep writing PM??? Whitehead on beam now looks good, just a wobble on her side aerial. Volleman’s whipping some spins around on floor. Trying for a quad! But she’s slowing down a little in the middle. More turns, including that double L turn in front attitude to triple spin

Xie has bhs loso, full L turn, most of her skills are separate still, like split leap here, side aerial there…good double pike dismount though.

10:13 am. DJDS has a great punch front mount, a little off on her layout series. Bui, who I didn’t really see much of on floor, also has a fun mount, I think I saw a roundoff loso or layout or something, it looked great. Good double arabian to stag from Smith, who was a little sqatty there in PT.

10:11 am. Clean double tuck from McCusker right off the bat on floor, and Tisha follows her up with a solid 2.5. Double pike from McCusker, small hop. Smith still spotted on her double layout.

I’m most excited for Xie Yufen’s beam if it’s anything like Luo Huan’s and Liu Tingting’s new sets. Doesn’t seem to be, though, unless she’s just moving slow on purpose and not connecting anything. Lots that could be connected if she wanted.

10:09 am. Tinkler off on her flight series which I really hope she hits in competition. I love it. Stumbled back and sat triple full dismount again. 😦

Moving on to the next training rotation. So far the US girls look the most solid, but it was hard to tell from floor since they were just doing single passes. Floor girls now moving to beam and beam to floor.

10:04 am. Tinkler just did her triple full beam dismount to her back, solid 2.5 to punch front for Teramoto on floor. Great amplitude and flexibility from McCusker on her jumps.

Ooh, great punch front tuck mount from Volleman. Does great L turn to double spin this time, then split leap to tuck jump. Would be great if she connected all of that. Fromt handspring more like a front walkover to front tuck, off again on standing back tuck. Gets back up and hits it this time, wobble on side somi, but then off on a jump, looked like tuck 3/4. Off again on it. Oh Tisha. Ooh, Steingruber dismount though, looked nice!

10:01 am. Volleman off on her L turn to double spin, wobble on her front handspring front tuck series. Still some cool and innovative work from her. Off again on her back tuck. A couple of solid triples from Teramoto on floor. Good whip to double tuck from Whitehead.

9:59 am. Melanie DJDS just busted out a full-in with zero problems. She’s pretty hit or miss but I wouldn’t count her out for a medal here if it’s a good day. Good double wolf turn from Ragan Smith on beam, also hit her bhs layout, little bobble on standing full, good punch front into jump series, OOH good double arabian from Whitehead just now!! Stuck the landing. Smith is doing her double pike for her beam dismount.

9:56 am. I’m already writing PM for AM. I think Tisha Volleman is also on beam. Yeah, there she is. Wobble on a front aerial. Emily Whitehead just stumbled out a double pike. Most others are just doing basics. Double pike from Asuka Teramoto with a bounce. Xie Yufen looks clean, just a stumble on her double tuck.

9:55 am. Okay, we’re starting now! USA and GB are on beam and almost everyone else on floor.

9:45 am. General stretch is currently underway! Will be back soon when it picks up into the actual routine warmup!

Article by Lauren Hopkins