OLYMPICS/ self introduction
China closes strong at gymnastics worlds
(AP)
Updated: 2007-09-04 11:45
Yet halfway through the session Monday, the Chinese were far less than perfect. Their vaults were spectacular -- high and powerful -- and their parallel bar skills are so high-class it makes other gymnasts shake their heads.
Liang Fuliang of China competes on the pommel horse during the all-around team competition at the 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart September 3, 2007. [Reuters] |
But they struggled on high bar and floor, looking for a bit as if they actually might be beatable.
Liang got in trouble on his high bar release move, a somersault high above the bar. He had the bar in his hands as he came back down, but he couldn't hang on and tumbled to the floor.
On floor, Xiao Qin put a hand out of bounds on what was basically a filler move. And Yang came up short on one of his tumbling passes, landing on the outside of his foot.
"We did a very poor job on horizontal bar," Huang Yubin said. "It is a weak point for us, so it makes us weaker. It's the problem we need to solve in our preparation for the Beijing Olympic Games."
Those miscues seemed trivial, though, after the dazzling displays on the last two events.
Their pommel horse routines were fluid yet powerful, and there was no laboring like other teams did. When Xiao, a two-time world champion on horse, whipped his legs up and around the horse in scissors-kicks, he could have powered a small plane. His score of 16.275 included a 9.675 execution mark that was the highest of the day, on any event.
China posted three of the seven best pommel horse marks, and didn't count a score below 15.1.
Then came the grand finale.
Still rings is one of the most difficult events because gymnasts have to power through a variety of poses and moves using only their upper body strength. Oh, and they have to do all this while keeping the support cables completely still.
Yang did the most difficult routine of the meet, yet he was so smooth he looked as if he was moving on a pivot. He landed his dismount as easily as if he'd just hopped off a step, not tumbled and twisted 9 feet to the ground.
Chen Yibing flowed from one strength move into another, almost as if he was saying, "Oh, so you like that? Well, then how about this one?" and the audience applauded every new position. The cables never swayed, staying as steady as tree trunks.
When Chen finished his routine, he grinned, bowed to the fans and then blew kisses to the fans, some of whom were jumping up and down and waving China flags.
And that was before they saw the score. As Chen exchanged high-fives with his teammates, his score of 16.600 posted, generating more applause from the fans. Chen ran out where the crowd could see him, blew more kisses and pumped his fist, holding up his index finger.
Yes, China is No. 1 in the world. Looks like it might stay that way, too.
"A nice finish," Xiao said. "Not only for me, but for the entire team. That's what we were hoping for."
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