South Korea

The fourth subdivision for women’s qualifications includes the North and South Korean teams, and then individuals from Austria, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.

THE TEAMS

So, can we pretend for a minute that the Koreas got to join forces and compete as a single team? On their own, they don’t really stand a chance at qualifying to Tokyo, but together, they could’ve made for an awesome mix!

THE ALL-AROUND

There aren’t any major all-around contenders in this group, though I’d say Yeo Seo-jeong and Lee Yun-seo of South Korea and Kim Su Jong of North Korea could potentially reach the final with good routines. Filipa Martins of Portugal is also one to watch, as she’s made the final in the past and could very well make it happen again with hit routines, and Marcia Vidiaux of Cuba would be another one capable of big scores if she can hit.

VAULT

Yeo got her handspring front double full named for her earlier this year, and she has some real vault medal potential if she can hit it in the final! Vidiaux also competes two difficult vaults, and though she struggled with them at Pan Ams, if she can hit, I think she’ll be one of the maybes for the final.

BARS

I don’t think anyone in this subdivision will factor into the final, but South Korea’s Lee Yun-seo is gorgeous and has a super difficult set, so that could be a maybe.

BEAM

Again, no one major in this subdivision who will factor into beam…I think even in a “best day ever” scenario, none of the routines in this group are difficult or tidy enough to make the cutoff.

FLOOR

Same with floor. Vidiaux and Puerto Rico’s Paula Mejias are both excellent tumblers, but they’d have to match that with solid routines…and even then, I think they might just be a little too far behind to get in.