Welcome to the live blog for the first day of event finals at the 2021 Koper Challenge Cup, held in Koper, Slovenia!
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11:34 am. Rings Standings
1. Vinzenz Höck AUT 14.800
2. Ilya Kibartas RUS 14.400
3. Andrea Cingolani ITA 14.200
4. Riley Loos USA 14.100
5. Chris Kaji CAN 13.900
6. Courtney Tulloch GBR 13.650
7. Mustafa Arca TUR 13.600
8. Stavros Gkinis GRE 13.500
11:33 am. Chris Kaji CAN SR: Maltese to iron cross, invert hang gets a little weird in the body line but he corrects, handstand sways a little, doesn’t hold the next handstand long enough, saltos through to iron cross, he’s swinging side to side, invert hang to handstand, arched a bit, full-twisting double layout with a big lunge back.
11:30 am. Vinzenz Höck AUT SR: Maltese to invert hang to maltese, strong, presses to planche, great. Invert hang to piked saltos to tucked saltos to iron cross, invert hang to planche, really nice shape, to iron cross, some adjustments in handstand, strong full-twisting double layout with a hop back. Excellent! 14.800 (6.1, 8.700)
11:27 am. Andrea Cingolani ITA SR: Invert hang, nice hollow position, to planche, through to maltese, invert cross to pike saltos to maltese, through to iron cross, invert pike to iron cross, mostly tight handstand, but swinging a bit, next one is better on the swinging, full-twisting double layout, a bit piked on the second flip and a lunge back, but I think that was the best routine so far until the dismount. 14.200 (6.0, 8.200)
11:24 am. Riley Loos USA SR: Invert hang up to maltese which he presses up to planche, KING STUFF, then gets shaky in an invert cross, straddle hold is pretty good, planche to pike hold, pressed to handstand, next couple of handstands look strong, stuck the double double! Great work. 14.100 (5.5, 8.600)
11:22 am. Ilya Kibartas RUS SR: Maltese to invert hang to maltese to invert hang, swings up to handstand, which is pretty shaky, tucked to piked saltos up to straddle planche (which looks great!), rolls through to iron cross, invert pike, a little wild going up into the handstand out of it, next handstand is also not quite there but not terrible, pikes down on the full-twisting double layout, lands it a little low with a hop. Overall a strong routine. 14.400 (5.9, 8.500)
11:18 am. Stavros Gkinis GRE SR: Maltese to invert hang through to maltese, down to iron cross, invert hang to piked saltos through to iron cross, invert hang to tucked saltos to pike sit which he presses to handstand, just a slight arch there, next handstand is more controlled, oh my god, then bends in half on the third handstand, I thought he was gonna fall, again no idea how he pressed up, that was WILD. Double double dismount, deep, with a hop. 13.500 (5.7, 7.800)
11:16 am. Mustafa Arca TUR SR: Maltese, invert pike back up to maltese, to iron cross, invert pike through to piked and tucked saltos to iron cross, invert pike through to handstand, arches it over a little, WAY arches over the handstand after, it looks almost like a Pak salto, I have NO idea how he pressed up out of that, then a full-in half-out double tuck dismount, big hop forward. 13.600 (5.6, 8.000)
11:13 am. Courtney Tulloch GBR SR: Planche through to maltese down to invert hang then back to maltese, swings through to an invert hang up to his double pike saltos to handstand, swings through to a planche, then drops to iron cross, nods. Invert hang, pikes through to iron cross, invert hang, swings up to handstand, ugh, then doesn’t do giants and comes off too low to get his full-twisting double layout dismount around, sits it. WELP. 13.650 (6.2, 7.450)
11:07 am. Uneven Bars Standings
1. Barbora Mokosova SVK 13.650
2. Zoja Szekely HUN 13.350
3. Lucija Hribar SLO 12.900
4. Yana Fedorova UKR 12.850
5. Aleksandra Rajcic SRB 12.050
6. Yelizaveta Hubareva UKR 11.950
7. Antonia Duta ROU 11.850
8. Emma Slevin IRL 11.250
11:05 am. Emma Slevin IRL UB: Toe full to Maloney to Pak, clean for the most part! Very nice on the van Leeuwen, short clear hip to blind change to straddle Jaeger, goes SOOOO far out and has a very hard fall, instead of her body hitting the mat all at once, the upper half of her body and her arms hit before the lower half did which is always scary. Takes her a minute to get up but she seems fine once she does. Probably got the wind knocked out of her. Blind change to straddle Jaeger again and no problems this time! Layout double full dismount is clean. 11.250 (5.0, 6.550, -0.3)
11:00 am. Zoja Szekely HUN UB: Tkatchev to Pak, some foot form there but otherwise very nice, Maloney to Gienger, a little low and some leg separation/piked hips when catching the Gienger, blind change to piked Jaeger, good there, blind change to toe full to full-in with a small hop. Lots of little things throughout, mostly with her hips just piking down/needing adjusting on everything, but overall a solid and difficult routine! 13.350 (5.5, 7.850)
10:58 am. Barbora Mokosova SVK UB: Toe full is a bit messy and late, to Maloney (leg form) to Pak to van Leeuwen (leg separation), stalder to stalder half to piked Jaeger, release looked a little wonky but I couldn’t put my finger on it at first glance, maybe low and long, but she catches no problem, legs were also apart on the catch, double pike dismount was strong, tiny hop. 13.650 (5.5, 8.150)
10:55 am. Antonia Duta ROU UB: Big Maloney to Pak, legs super straddled on the Pak though, van Leeuwen, legs also straddled there, stalder half to straddle Jaeger, looked like she’s a bit too far out and tries to stretch her fingers but can’t make it, falls. Back on for a Gienger, blind full to double tuck, clean with a good landing. 11.850 (5.0, 6.850)
10:52 am. Yelizaveta Hubareva UKR UB: Inbar full is pretty late, comes out of it weird/crooked?, Komova II to Pak, little things on both especially with her body shape, Maloney with flexed feet, doesn’t get great backswing before going into the Gienger, and releases too low to catch, she slips off and falls. Inbar half (feet apart) to straddle Jaeger (leg and body shape form in the release), layout dismount, goes too hard on it and is slightly overrotated, hops back to control it. 11.950 (5.4, 6.550)
10:49 am. Lucija Hribar SLO UB: Toe half, maybe a little late, to front giant to big straddle Jaeger! Clean Pak, nice handstand before the clean Maloney to bail to toe shoot, piked giant before the blind full, double tuck pretty clean, tiny bounce in place, this was a very strong routine! Had a few tiny hip adjustments in some of her handstands, but was clean overall. 12.900 (4.8, 8.100)
10:46 am. Aleksandra Rajcic SRB UB: I actually love her bars despite the low D but she can be hit or miss. Hopefully it’s it today! Strong giant into the blind change to straddle Jaeger, catches a little close, Pak, bent elbows when she catches there, short handstand before the toe-on to Maloney to bail (leg separation) to toe shoot, horizontal handstand before the toe full, double pike is clean in the air but ends up a little short with a step forward. Well, she hit, but lots of things to deduct unfortunately. 12.050 (4.8, 7.250)
10:44 am. Yana Fedorova UKR UB: Shaposh, legs apart, and she’s arched when she releases the bar and then piked when she goes to catch the high bar, to a Pak, slight leg separation there as well, Maloney with leg separation, to bail, that looked like it went right to handstand! Toe full, short handstand before the toe shoot back up to the high bar, clear hip (slight sway back) to blind change to straddle Jaeger, a little low in the air, a little adjustment in the handstand before the double tuck dismount, cowboyed with a hop. 12.850 (5.2, 7.650)
10:42 am. Medal ceremony is over, so the bars final should take place momentarily!
10:37 am. Going into the medal ceremony for pommels now! Should be back in a few minutes for uneven bars. They are also giving Saso Bertoncelj a gift of some sort.
10:34 am. Pommel Horse Standings
1. Matvei Petrov ALB 14.650
2. Illia Kovtun UKR 14.650
3. Filip Ude CRO 14.200
4. Zachary Clay CAN 14.200
5. Ahmad Abu Al Soud JOR 13.700
6. Saso Bertoncelj SLO 13.550
7. Benjamin Osberger FRA 13.450
8. Kirill Prokopev RUS 10.850
10:29 am. Matvei Petrov ALB PH: Last but not least! He can easily beat Kovtun’s 14.650 for gold. Starts off with a high flair up to handstand down to clean scissor work, lovely one-arm swing, Russians on the single handle, then circles, oof, muscled in his handstand pirouettes and loses some shape there as well, good fight through it, back into flairs, excellent height above the horse, makes it through to the dismount with just a small fight. Gonna take a hit in execution but it should medal. 14.650 (6.1, 8.550)
He’ll win on the tie break!
10:26 am. Kirill Prokopev RUS PH: I wasn’t typing but this looked off from the start, so wasn’t shocked to see him come off in the middle. The beginning was just very disjointed and he never really came back from it. Flairs when he gets back on are mostly strong, keeps a good rhythm going out of them, muscles a little into the handstand and hits the dismount. 10.850 (4.4, 6.450)
10:23 am. Saso Bertoncelj SLO PH: Scissors to circles, one-arm swing was clean, he works well going from handle to horse and back, had a few leg form issues in the middle of the routine where he looked a little tired, but fought back well into his traveling elements. Big muscle up into the handstand for the dismount, got stuck in a straddle planche for a hot minute, but hit it in the end! 13.550 (6.2, 7.350)
10:20 am. Benjamin Osberger FRA PH: I didn’t type throughout but this was a really solid and strong routine! He had lots of little form things at times that will eat away at his E score (like flexed feet, hip angles, etc), but was solid and steady! 13.450 (5.3, 8.150)
10:17 am. Zachary Clay CAN PH: Handstand down to scissors, good single handle work, does basically every skill there, love it, legs came apart when traveling but good fight through it, the rest is great, just muscles to the dismount. 14.200 (5.8, 8.400)
10:14 am. Ahmad Abu Al Soud JOR PH: Good transition out of the scissors, but looked like his knees were a bit bent, mostly strong and aggressive in this routine, but legs came apart when he went for a one-arm circle, pulls it back together quickly but then can’t get to the handstand position going into his dismount and falls out of it, THE WORST. He’s gonna get back on and do the dismount sequence again, it goes well this time, but a huge bummer. 13.700 (6.4, 7.300)
10:11 am. Filip Ude CRO PH: Scissors almost right into his single handle circles, Russians between the handles, transitions well to the end of the horse, legs came apart on one element at the end of the horse but recovers well, and everything else is pretty solid, no major errors. 14.200 (5.5, 8.700)
10:08 am. Illia Kovtun UKR PH: Handstand to scissors, then moves into his single handle circles, which are slow and steady. Russians on the handle then on the horse between the handles also go well, traveles smoothly, takes him a second to muscle into handstand for his dismount and he’s got a bit of sway back there, but pulls it together and knocks out a hit. 14.650 (6.2, 8.450)
10:07 am. Illia Kovtun will get us started on pommel horse in the next couple of minutes!
10:02 am. Tjasa Kysselef burst into tears when she realized she’d get gold – thrilled for her to do it at home! Well-deserved.
10:01 am. Women’s Vault Standings
1. Tjasa Kysselef SLO 13.825
2. Csenge Bacskay HUN 13.725
3. Yana Fedorova UKR 13.300
4. Dorina Böczögö HUN 13.250
5. Tijana Korent CRO 13.225
6. Yelizaveta Hubareva UKR 12.775
7. Rachael Riley CAN 12.675
8. Daniela Halova CZE 12.225
9:57 am. Tjasa Kysselef SLO VT: Too aggressive on her Yurchenko 1.5, maybe…pretty good in terms of power but ends up being a little too much and the landing lacks control, huge lunge and then a step to match her feet. Had to compensate for bent arms and a low block off the table by tucking her legs but the distance was pretty good, at least relative to everyone else in this final. 13.850 (5.0, 8.850)
Handspring front tuck full landing was excellent! Leg form in the tuck, even during the twist, is pretty solid as well. Best vault of the final. 13.800 (4.8, 9.000)
13.825 average.
9:54 am. Yelizaveta Hubareva UKR VT: FTY, form isn’t there at all, piked throughout with bent legs, no air off the table, and a hop back. 13.250 (4.6, 8.650)
Handspring front tuck is…well, not BETTER, but not as rough. Small step back. 12.300 (4.0, 8.300)
12.775 average.
9:50 am. Rachael Riley CAN VT: Yurchenko 1.5, leg separation on pre-flight and legs are a little soft throughout, but decent power, and the landing is pretty good…small hop to the side. 13.700 (5.0, 8.700)
Oh lord, goes for a Yurchenko half-on for her second vault, and she doesn’t have the technique for that entry at all here…bends her legs considerably going in for the block, pretty huge separation as well, front tuck off, leg form is pretty rough, and she lands it super low…don’t know if it was sat but it was close if not. 11.650 (4.2, 7.450)
12.675 average.
9:46 am. Dorina Böczögö HUN VT: FTY, had pretty open hips at times, but the landing is ROUGH…I don’t even know how to describe it. It was like her chest was going back but the jolt of the landing propelled it forward? Looked kinda lock-kneed as well. Just screaming constantly today. 13.550 (4.6, 8.950)
Handspring front pike with a big lunge forward out of it. Had a really great pike shape when she first came off the table! Just a little too much oomph on the landing. 12.950 (4.2, 8.750)
13.250 average.
9:43 am. Tijana Korent CRO VT: Handspring front pike half, pike shape looks strong at first but her legs go a bit wild when she goes in for the twist, they come pretty significantly apart and are bent. Solid on the landing, though. Small step. 13.200 (4.6, 8.600)
Goes for an FTY second vault, big leg separation in pre-flight, lots of little things in terms of form in the air, comes up short on the landing, chest down and a big step to the side. 13.250 (4.6, 8.650)
13.225 average.
9:40 am. Daniela Halova CZE VT: Yurchenko layout, ambiguous shape and whippy legs in the air, hops it back on one foot. 12.500 (4.0, 8.500)
Second vault is a tsuk back pike, tighter in the air, but short/lack of height/distance, step back. 11.950 (3.7, 8.250)
12.225 average.
9:36 am. Csenge Bacskay HUN VT: Yurchenko 1.5, body is a bit soft throughout, and she lands lock-legged on her right leg, step to the side with her left, YIKES. She’s fine it seems but OW. 13.900 (5.0, 8.900)
Tsuk full with a hop back for the second vault, form looked a little tighter in the air overall but she’s pretty piked down. 13.550 (4.8, 8.750)
13.725 average.
9:34 am. Yana Fedorova UKR VT: FTY, a bit piked down, some hip form throughout, hop back on the landing. 13.650 (4.6, 9.050)
Second vault is a handspring front tuck, hops/jogs forward out of it. 12.950 (4.0, 8.950)
13.300 average.
9:33 am. DAMN, three minutes and vault has already started!!! Koper wins for fastest ceremony and turnaround EVER.
9:30 am. Medal ceremony is happening now so we’ll be back soon for the next event. Probably by 9:40 am ET? They’re doing this pretty quickly.
9:26 am. Men’s Floor Standings
1. Kirill Prokopev RUS 14.650
2. William Emard CAN 14.550
3. Illia Kovtun UKR 14.300
4. Riley Loos USA 14.050
5. Andrin Frey SUI 13.850
6. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN 13.550
7. Mario Macchiati ITA 13.450
8. Lorenzo Casali ITA 13.400
9:22 am. Lorenzo Casali ITA FX: Front full to double front, hop back. Double layout with a tiny hop back. 2.5 with a weird landing, definitely meant to punch out of that but had no chance in hell, so smartly just stopped it there. Hit the next pass, was that a 2.5 to rudi? If so then he repeated the 2.5. I want to see that again because I don’t trust my memory. Then a double full side pass with a hop. Triple full, stuck it cold, just some leg form in the air. 13.400 (5.3, 8.100)
9:19 am. Kirill Prokopev RUS FX: Front full to randi, little adjustment on the landing. 2.5 to front double full, better! Double double, big lunge back to control it. 1.5 to rudi. Triple full, step back. Nice, efficient routine. 14.650 (6.2, 8.450)
9:16 am. Mario Macchiati ITA FX: Front full to double front, big step forward OOB. 1.5 to front double full, a little skid forward on one foot, step OOB again maybe? Arabian double front half-out, hop back. Hit a solid 2.5 to barani then an arabian double front side pass, pretty deep there. Triple full to finish was good, small hop. 13.450 (5.6, 7.950, -0.1 ND)
9:13 am. William Emard CAN FX: Piked double front, hop forward. Double double, looked a little low in the air, but gets it around no problem! Front double full to front full is solid. 2.5 to rudi, good. Arabian double front half-out, chest maybe a little low, then a slightly deep but solid triple full. Great routine! 14.550 (6.0, 8.550)
9:10 am. Riley Loos USA FX: Double front half stuck! I missed the next two passes, but I think both were twists, one a Randi as far as I could see, then I think he did a 2.5 to front full maybe? Double full clean and stuck. Triple full a little short, adjusts a bit on the landing. 14.050 (5,8, 8.250)
9:08 am. Illia Kovtun UKR FX: 3.5 to barani, 2.5 to front full, good landings on both. Randi was stuck, clicks his heels together. Arabian double front half-out, pretty solid. Double full, tiny step back. Triple full, the weakest in terms of form in the air, but the landing isn’t bad! 14.300 (5.9, 8.400)
9:04 am. Andrin Frey SUI FX: Piked double front half, little hop. Double double, low but good landing. Piked double front, really far forward on the landing, OOB. Front double full to rudi, 2.5 to front full, a little weak there. Double full is good enough. Triple full is a bit short in rotation, some leg form as well there and on some of his other twisting passes. 13.850 (6.1, 7.850, -0.1)
9:00 am. Krisztofer Meszaros HUN FX: 2.5 to front double full with a small hop. Front layout to double front half, a little low, but stuck. Randi is a bit rough, big step back to control it. 1.5 to Rudi ends a bit short. Hit the side pass and the triple full at the end with a small step to the side. 13.550 (5.9, 7.650)
8:59 am. Touch warm-up is wrapping up now.
8:57 am. The men just came out for the one-touch on floor! Should be getting started any minute now.