Welcome to the live blog for the first day of event finals at the 2018 World Championships, held in Doha, Qatar!

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7:15 pm. Still Rings Standings

1. Eleftherios Petrounias, Greece, 15.366
2. Arthur Zanetti, Brazil, 15.100
3. Marco Lodadio, Italy, 14.900
4. Artur Tovmasyan, Armenia, 14.766
5. Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, 14.733
6. Vahagn Davtyan, Armenia, 14.733
7. Nikita Simonov, Azerbaijan, 14.266
8. Igor Radivilov, Ukraine, 14.133

7:11 pm. Zanetti BRA SR: Good routine, hit his full-twisting double layout dismount well. A Petrounias-Lodadio-Zanetti podium would be really nice, all three have been doing super well all year…but I also would really love Armenia in there. 15.100 (6.2 D, 8.900 E).

7:06 pm. Lodadio ITA SR: Very clean so far. Saltos up to the iron cross was magnificent. Nice hold on the planche, down to the iron cross, arches a tiny bit in his handstand, little baby hop on the double double dismount. GO DADDY! 14.900 (6.3 D, 8.600 E).

7:03 pm. Anyway, I missed the first FIVE routines, and sat down in the middle of the sixth.

When I came back, Eleftherios Petrounias had a 15.366 for a massive lead over the rest of the field. Looks like the Armenians hit but Igor Radivilov didn’t?

Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, SR: Hit what I saw! 14.733 (6.0 D, 8.733 E).

7:02 pm. Shoutout to worlds for holding a mixed zone DURING the next competition. It’s so frustrating. You either miss talking to the athletes or you miss every routine. I figure I can go back and watch these so I get the athletes while I can but hey, it sucks!

6:40 pm. Uneven Bars Standings

1. Nina Derwael, Belgium, 15.200
2. Simone Biles, United States, 14.700
3. Elisabeth Seitz, Germany, 14.600
4. Luo Huan, China, 14.500
5. Aliya Mustafina, Russia, 14.433
6. Morgan Hurd, United States, 14.433
7. Becky Downie, Great Britain, 13.333
8. Jonna Adlerteg, Sweden, 13.166

6:36 pm. Aliya Mustafina, Russia, UB: What’s this queen gonna bust out? Lovely handstand before the stalder full to Maloney to Pak to van Leeuwen, very nicely done. Stalder half to piked Jaeger is clean, toe full, crooked and a little arched, to clean and stuck full-in. Beautiful work as always. 14.433 (5.8 D, 8.633 E).

6:33 pm. Simone Biles, United States, UB: Hop change to Weiler half to Maloney to Tkachev, nice. Toe full to Downie to Pak, good, clean on the van Leeuwen, Fabrichnova, excellent in the air, hop forward! Her best routine here I think, confidence-wise. Just little adjustments and you can tell the toe full still makes her a bit nervous, she does it so quickly to get it over with, but makes it look good. 14.700 (6.2 D, 8.500 E).

6:30 pm. Jonna Adlerteg, Sweden, UB: Shang to Pak, legs apart and a bit close, shaposh to Bhardwaj, quite messy and crooked. 😦 Maloney to clear hip full to Tkachev, good! Oh no, then slipped on her blind change and had to rest on the bar for a sec. 😦 😦 😦 Double layout dismount. A shame. But she made the final and that’s HUGE for Sweden. I don’t think she would’ve medaled even with that big mistake because her form elsewhere was a bit rough but she’ll get it eventually. 13.166 (6.2 D, 6.966 E).

6:27 pm. Nina Derwael, Belgium, UB: Let’s go queen. God I’m so nervous. I saw and talked to her mom before the meet and think I’m pretty much AT HER LEVEL OF TERROR tbh. Nabieva, great height, Derwael-Fenton to Ezhova to Chow, nails it, to Bhardwaj, a tiny bit crooked from my angle, good van Leeuwen, toe full to full-in clean and stuck cold. NINA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 15.200 (6.5 D, 8.700 E).

NINA!!!!!!!!!!!!! AFAL;KSDFJA;LSDKF I’M DYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6:24 pm. Elisabeth Seitz, Germany, UB: Oh, I’d LOVE her to medal. Maloney to Ricna, good, blind change to piked Jaeger, solid, nice handstand before the Downie to Pak, very clean!! Oh she’s killing it. Van Leeuwen, some tiny leg seps, toe full, a little tiny bit late, to full-in, little hop to the side. Fab! 14.600 (6.2 D, 8.400 E).

I CRY.

6:21 pm. Luo Huan, China, UB: Maloney to Pak, clean, great handstand before the van Leeuwen, blind change to Ling to Healy, some ankle sep, to piked Jaeger, good girl, Healy 1/2, pretty close to right on the bar, double layout, a little low, buckled knees, hop forward. She’ll be very happy with that nonetheless! 14.500 (6.0 D, 8.500 E).

6:17 pm. Morgan Hurd, United States, UB: Maloney to stalder full, right on the bar, to Tkachev, good, Ricna to Pak, clean as always. Ray to high, nice handstand before the inbar half to front giant half, inbar full, slow and lovely, to full-in with a step forward. Another solid set from her! 14.433 (6.1 D, 8.333 E).

6:13 pm. Becky Downie, Great Britain, UB: EEEEE I’M NERVOUS. Arches over her handstand before the stalder full to Downie, good fix, Tweddle to Ezhova, good, gets OOOHs. Chow to clear hip…bends in half while muscling up the handstand and then swings back down the way she came up. 😦 Tries to fix it but ends up just popping off. Back on for Maloney to Gienger, good. Full-in stuck.

Aww, she’s crying. 😦 Sister Ellie is comforting her. Poor thing, can nothing ever go her way in a final?! She is one of the hardest-working gymnasts in a whole world of hard-working gymnasts.

13.333 (6.1 D, 7.233 E).

6:09 pm. Pommel Horse Standings

1. Xiao Ruoteng, China, 15.166
2. Max Whitlock, Great Britain, 15.166
3. Lee Chih Kai, Chinese Taipei, 14.966
4. Samuel Mikulak, United States, 14.333
5. Nariman Kurbanov, Kazakhstan, 13.400
6. Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, 12.533
7. David Belyavskiy, Russia, 11.833
8. Cyril Tommasone, France, 11.500

6:04 pm. Max Whitlock, Great Britain, PH: Slow and steady at first, he knows he actually has some competition right now. Gets into a great rhythm for his flairs. Excellent routine. It’s going to be clooooose! 15.166 (6.8 D, 8.366 E).

This time Xiao Ruoteng WINS the tie-breaker!

6:01 pm. Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, PH: Swing got a little wild in the middle, legs came apart, and he came off. Got back on and hit the rest. 12.533 (5.9 D, 6.633 E).

5:55 pm. Lee Chih Kai, Chinese Taipei, PH: I love this routine so much. Flairs the whole way around like a bawwwssss. I’m just happy to see this in the final tbh but Id love him on the podium. His swing isn’t super natural but that was a gorgeous routine. 14.966 (6.3 D, 8.666 E).

OH MY GODDDDDD that’s a MAJOR improvement in his D from quals!!!!!! I wish I knew why, I will never learn pommels in my life!

Someone asked me on a You Asked once if he would get scored as well at worlds as he did at Universiade, which was held in Chinese Taipei, and guess what?! BAM.

5:52 pm. Samuel Mikulak, United States, PH: I hope Sam gets a world medal on pommels. It would be the best revenge on his career history at this competition. Great in his transition from the handstand pirouettes down to his flairs. His super hard wide arm travel thing is also done well, I always think it’s a mistake but guess what?! IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT! Excellent set, oh BOY!!!!! 14.333 (5.8 D, 8.533 E).

5:49 pm. Xiao Ruoteng, China, PH: Beautiful work from him from start to finish. Medal for sure. Max better watch out! 15.166 (6.6 D, 8.566 E).

5:43 pm. David Belyavskiy, Russia, PH: Looked like something went wrong right at the beginning but I was just sitting down again so didn’t see it. The parts that I did see were great! He looks better than he did in previous sessions I think. Transitions are especially smooth. A bit muscly on the handstand before the dismount but gets it. Just went back and saw a replay and it looked like his hand slipped at the beginning. 11.833 (4.8 D, 7.033 E).

Oh damn, so that judging took FOREVER and it looks like he must have missed a requirement or something.

5:41 pm. They have mixed zone interviews for the previous event while the next event is happening which is ANNOYING AF so I missed the first two routines.

Cyril Tommasone, France, PH: I saw him fall once when I was coming back into the arena. Looks like he probably fell more than that though. 11.500 (5.8 D, 5.700 E).

Nariman Kurbanov, Kazakhstan, PH: Didn’t see this routine. 13.400 (6.2 D, 7.200 E).

5:17 pm. Women’s Vault Standings

1. Simone Biles, United States, 15.366
2. Shallon Olsen, Canada, 14.516
3. Alexa Moreno, Mexico, 14.508
4. Oksana Chusovitina, Uzbekistan, 14.300
5. Yeo Seojeong, South Korea, 14.233
6. Liu Jinru, China, 14.150
7. Ellie Black, Canada, 14.116
8. Pyon Rye Yong, North Korea, 13.616

5:12 pm. Oksana Chusovitina, Uzbekistan, VT: Went for the Rudi!! I figured she would after doing the full in qualifications. She’s quite low, though, and underrotated…knees almost to the mat, big lunge forward. 14.400 (5.8 D, 8.600 D).

The Rudi outscored her full by a tenth so where every tenth counts, she was smart to do the upgrade I suppose! Tsuk 1.5 for the second, good, just a step back. 14.200 (5.2, 9.000).

14.300 average puts her fourth!

5:08 pm. Shallon Olsen, Canada, VT: The silver is hers to lose! Cheng first, not the best off the table, but she always comes off low like that and gives me a heart attack but gets it around well. Chest down with a hop and some form stuff in the air. 14.600 (6.0 D, 8.600 E).

That’s just a tenth lower than qualifications but her DTY is superb with just a little bounce back, so I think she’ll still come ahead of Moreno, even though it’ll be hella close. Looks thrilled! We’ve been watching her do this vault since she was what, ELEVEN? Crazy we’re finally going to see her possibly medal at worlds! 14.433 (5.4 D, 9.033 E).

14.516 average! Just 0.008 ahead of Moreno, INSANE.

5:04 pm. Liu Jinru, China, VT: Tsuk double full, her body position in the air is quite wild, both with her pike and leg form, low chest on the landing and I think she took a step to the side, possibly OOB but I can’t see the line from here. 14.100 (5.6 D, 8.600 E, -0.1 ND).

Rudi for the second vault but I don’t think she can challenge at this point. Yeah, and her Rudi is more of a mess than her DTT was, piked, legs are messy, two giant steps back. She looks happy so good for her, she looked pissed after qualifications. 14.200 (5.8 D, 8.400 E).

14.150 average. Currently fourth behind Yeo and ahead of Black.

5:00 pm. Yeo Seojeong, South Korea, VT: Rudi, a tiny bit piked but mostly clean in the air, her leg form is fabulous, step to the side OOB. 14.533 (5.8 D, 8.833 E, -0.1 ND).

That score makes sense…slightly better than Alexa’s vault but she had the OOB, and that’ll be the decider I feel. Second vault is the DTY, super clean in the air but very low, big step forward. 13.933 (5.4 D, 8.533 E).

14.233 average, more than two tenths down from qualifications, currently third.

4:56 pm. Alexa Moreno, Mexico, VT: The dark horse is here! Rudi for her first, solid! Just a little pike but her legs are pretty good throughout, opens up nicely for the landing right down the middle, little hop back. Oh goodness, I’d love for her to medal. She looks better now than she did last quad. 14.600 (5.8 D, 8.800 E).

Next is the tsuk double, legs are a bit messier on this one, but good chest position on the landing, step to the side I think was OOB. Someone in the crowd was yelling ARRIBA, ARRIBA, ARRIBA for her. Love! 14.416 (5.6 D, 8.916 E, -0.1 ND).

14.508 average! Up from qualifications slightly with a score that is above what Yeo Seojeong had in prelims so that’s really good for her.

4:52 pm. Simone Biles, United States, VT: Cheng, actually way low coming off the table, I thought for a second she’d crash it, thank goodness for no blind landing on this one! Still mostly clean in the air, just far forward on the landing, big step forward OOB. 15.266 (6.0 D, 9.266 E).

Amanar for the second vault, excellent block, THANK GOODNESS. Pops really high off the table, excellent in the air, just a 0.3 step forward. 15.466 (5.8 D, 9.666 E).

15.366 average. So she won’t win by a full point but she’ll win it by like eight tenths instead. 🙂

4:48 pm. Ellie Black, Canada, VT: Handspring front layout full, a little piked and a little low on the landing, more like her prelims vault than like her team and all-around finals vaults, unfortunately for her. Step back, I can’t really see OOB from here but don’t think she went out. 14.000 (5.4 D, 8.600 E).

Kaz 1.5, form looks pretty solid, and the landing is great, almost stuck! Too bad about that first landing. Damn, her body position looks GREAT even in the slo mo! Usually I see it in real time and am like YAS but then I see the replay and am no longer impressed but this looked better than usual for her! 14.233 (5.2 D, 9.033 E).

14.166 average.

4:44 pm. Pyon Rye Yong, North Korea, VT: Went for the Amanar but didn’t get quite enough height. Sat it. 😦 She only did a DTY in qualifications so this was a good upgrade to go for but just not ready for it yet. 13.066 (5.8 D, 7.566 E, -0.3 ND).

Second vault is the Rudi, pretty rough in the air in both her hips and knees, but she rotates it and lands it with a step, chest down. 14.166 (5.8 D, 8.366 E).

13.616 average.

4:43 pm. Getting ready for women’s vault now! Pyon Rye Yong of North Korea will start us off shortly.

4:36 pm. Men’s Floor Exercise Standings

1. Artur Dalaloyan, Russia, 14.900
2. Kenzo Shirai, Japan, 14.866
3. Carlos Edriel Yulo, Philippines, 14.600
4. Yul Moldauer, United States, 14.566
5. Artem Dolgopyat, Israel, 14.566
6. Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, 14.500
7. Samuel Mikulak, United States, 14.233
8. Kazuma Kaya, Japan, 14.100
9. Ahmet Önder, Turkey, 13.833

4:32 pm. Artur Dalaloyan, Russia, FX: Front full to Randi, chest down, but hits. Front layout to piked double front, stuck, chest just a little forward. Double double, little hop back. 2.5 to front double full, tiny hop back, form looked nice to me on that. 1.5 to Rudi stuck with his chest pretty much horizontal. Triple full, some ankle form at the end, a little short with his chest down and a hop forward. Not his best, it’ll be close! 14.900 (6.2 D, 8.700 E).

That E looks REALLY high given all of his landings…but SHRUG. I’m fine with it. Not like Kenzo was a magician of execution.

4:28 pm. Carlos Edriel Yulo, Philippines, FX: Sweet angle baby, LET’S DO THIS. Piked double front half-out, little hop back. 2.5 to Randi I think, the second of those was short in rotation, about a quarter short from my POV. 3.5 to barani, CASUAL. That one looked great. Clean and stuck double full. Front full to front double full stuck cold. Clean stuck triple full to finish!!! Just that second pass where I’m wondering how they’ll judge it, but everything else was an A++++ in my book. 14.600 (6.2 D, 8.400 E).

CARLOS IS GOING TO MEDAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4:25 pm. Nikita Nagornyy, Russia, FX: Here we gooooo! Triple back, makes it look as easy as a double. Little hop back. Hit his front double full to double front, then a double double, stuck. 2.5 to front full to barani, great. Tucked full-in after that is solid for his side pass (I call it a full-in but his looks more like half-in half-out if not full-out, FYI). Triple full, short, huge step forward to get the landing. Rough about that last pass because the rest of this was so good. 14.500 (6.4 D, 8.100 E).

4:21 pm. Kazuma Kaya, Japan, FX: Double front half-out, a little wonky with his body position on the landing, hop. Piked double front, some knee stuff, hop forward. Front double full to front full is better, little hop. Russians for his nonsense, then a wide-arm press handstand. Clean double full side pass, stuck. 2.5 to barani, some form issues but nothing severe. Triple full, a tad short, bounce back. 14.100 (5.8 D, 8.300 E).

4:18 pm. Sam Mikulak, United States, FX: 2.5 to double front, little hop forward. Front double full to tucked front full, stuck with his feet apart. Flairs, done well. Not really a threat here, but I just want him to have a really good day and be happy, okay? 1.5 to front full, then a clean and stuck double full. Oof, way short on his triple, super buckled landing with a hop forward. 😦 14.233 (5.7 D, 8.533 E).

Not bad considering the last pass but the rest was fairly great.

Something new I just learned about MAG from CA – it’s a 0.1 deduction if you don’t click your heels together!!!! Shocking. So very Dorothy Gale.

4:15 pm. Ahmet Önder, Turkey, FX: Front double pike half-out, short with a hop forward. Front full to double front half-out, low again, hop back. Double double, also pretty low, hop forward. 2.5 to barani is very clean. His form has been mostly nice even with the hops. 1.5 to Rudi, little hop, better chest and knees on this landing. Wide-arm press handstand nonsense is good I guess. Tucked full-in, short, big lunge forward. Well, that won’t be a big score, but he has some lovely form on many passes. 13.833 (6.0 D, 7.833 E).

4:11 pm. Artem Dolgopyat, Israel, FX: His front double tuck full-in half-out, solid, then a front full to Randi, some form issues in his ankles. Double double looks better, stuck cold. 2.5 to front double full I think after that, good. 1.5 to Rudi, a little short, hop forward. Triple full, rotation not quite there, but should still get credit, little step back. 14.566 (6.4 D, 8.166 E).

I love that Yul is only three tenths behind Kenzo with one full point lower in difficulty.

4:08 pm. Kenzo Shirai, Japan, FX: On my best behavior to get all of his twists right. How can someone physically move faster than my eyeballs can watch them move? Triple double, excellent, little hop back. Front tuck full to front triple full, also solid. 2.5 to Rudi I believe after that, his twisting looks a little cleaner? Quad twist, got it around pretty well, step back. 3.5 to front full I think, solid landing, and he finishes with a triple full, some ankle stuff, tiny hop back. Execution-wise, I think that looked much improved? But again, my eyeballs vs Kenzo never win. 14.866 (6.8 D, 8.066 E).

Can someone judge my ability to tell what Kenzo’s doing and correct me if I’m wrong?

4:05 pm. Yul Moldauer, United States, FX: Randi, little bounce back. Double arabian half-out, stuck and excellent. I believe a 2.5 to front full after that. Flairs are beautiful, also hit the next pass, into a barani. Clean and stuck double full side pass. Clean and stuck triple full, little adjustment. 14.566 (5.8 D, 8.766 E).