What are the best in Europe doing? - Senior Beam

Unlike bars there are a lot more gymnasts with high difficulty scores on beam, so I only included gymnasts who have proven this year that they are also able to get high execution scores. From reviewing the scores from this year I think gymnasts would need a score of mid to high 14s to make the final which low to mid 15s probably taking the medals.
The best gymnast on beam is obviously Ana Porgras and if she can hit I don't think anyone can beat her. I believe her highest score this year is 15.250 (D Score: ) at the Romanian International.
Second Place I think will go to the other Romanian qualifier whoever that may be. It's mostly likely to be Amelia Racea or Raluca Haidu, although Diana Chelaru is also capable and has more experience. Amelia Racea scored a 15.150 at the Romanian International and Raluca Haidu scored a 14.90 and if they perform up to their potential they are more than capable of winning a medal.


Another medal contender is definetley Youna Dufournet. Although I don't like her on this event and hate her Onodi! She has proven to be consistent and has a lot of difficulty (D Score: 6.1 - 6.4). Top Score this year: 15.150 at a Euro Trial. Below is her routine from the FRA/GBR/ROU meet Score 14.90:

Ksenia Semenova is also still capable of scoring well on this piece which I think is now her best piece. D Score: 5.80 Top Score this year 14.675 (Russian Championships) which can be seen here.
Last years European Beam Champion Yana Demyanchuk who is injured should still be able to make it to the final as she scored a 14.850 earlier this year at the Ukraine Cup.
Other gymnasts who should make the final include:
Elisabetta Preziosa who made the World Beam Final last year with her extreme flexibility and excellent leaps. Top Score this year 14.90 (Serie A2, D Score: 5.90):

Vanessa Ferrari is still coming back from injury but we all know she is able to fight and perform under pressure. This year she has put up some impressive performance her best being a 15.00 (Serie A2, D Score: 5.80):

Vasiliki Millousi suprised everyone by qualifying in first place for the beam final at last years Euros but unfortunately could not keep it together in the finals. She could be capable of better this year and has already had a string of good performances this year her best score being in Greece (14.60, D Score 5.70 - 6.10). Below is her routine from Paris finals Score: 14.250:

Sanne Wevers: I would love to see her and her spins make a major final! It always impresses me how easily she spins whereas nearly every other gymnast has problems with just their one spin. Top Score this year 14.550 (Euro Trial, D Score: 5.70). Check out her 3 spin combo below:

Valeriia Maksyuta: She made the final last year but has had very inconsistent performances this year with scores ranging from 12.30 to her top score of 15.10 at the Zakharova Cup. So depending on which gymnast turns up will determine if she makes the final. Below is her routine from the Cottbus final which kind of highlights her so far:

My last mention for this bean final is Aliya Mustafina who has only been able to score 14.20 this year because of injuries but I'm hoping she has recovered as I want to see as much of her gymnastics as possible!

What are the best in Europe doing? - Senior Bars

I decided to do a series of post on the best gymnasts in Europe on each apparatus for Seniors and Juniors in the lead up to this years Europeans in Birmingham.

SENIOR BARS

Below in no particular order are the gymnasts I think have the best chance to make the bars finals and/or medal as well as some outsiders who could sneak in:

Beth Tweddle - D Score 6.80

Youna Dufournet - D Score 6.90

Aliya Mustafina - D Score 6.60 (with potential for more if adding her new dismount)

Tatiana Nabieva - D Score 6.50

Natalia Kononenko - D Score 6.40

Ana Porgras - D Score 6.30

Serena Licchetta - D Score 5.80

Others with a chance:

Laura Svilpaite - D Score 5.80
Becky Downie - D Score 6.10 (if she can hit)
Ksenia Semenova - D Score 5.90 (I would think she needs Nabieva or Mustafina to mess up in order for her to make the final but it is possible)
Ekaterina Kurbatova - D Score 6.00 (probably needs to improve her form a lot to beat the others on her team but she has the D Score needed)
Vanessa Ferrari - D Score 5.80
Pauline Morel - D Score 5.80
Celine Van Gerner - D Score 5.80
Marie-Sophie Hindermann - D Score 5.60
Raluca Haidu - D Score 5.50
Amelia Racea - D Score 5.60?
Aagje Vanwalleghem - D Score 6.10
Elisabeth Seitz - D Score 5.70

Paris World Cup

UPDATE: Lauren Mitchell is out and will be replaced by Georgia Wheeler who compete all 4 events and Jenny Pinches is also out and will be replaced with Niamh Rippin competing vault, beam and floor. Other changes: Halina Ivanets and Elsa Garcia are not competing, Jiang Tong has been added to the Chinese team (vault).

This is the 10 - 11 April and it actually looks like there is going to be some competition! Some of the most notable entries are below:

Lauren Mitchell - Bars, Beam and Floor

Larissa Miller - Bars

Emily Little - Vault, Beam, Floor

Halina Ivanets - All 4 Events

Bruna Leal - All 4 Events

Dominique Pegg - All 4 Events

Brittany Rogers - All 4 Events

Wu Liufang - Bars, Beam

He Kexin - Bars, Floor

Huang Quishuang - Vault, Beam, Floor

Ana Maria Izurieta - Bars, Floor

Youna Dufournet - Vault, Bars, Beam

Marine Brevet - Floor

Pauline Morel - Bars, Beam, Floor

Becky Downie - Bars, Beam

Jenny Pinches - Vault, Beam, Floor

Beth Tweddle - Bars, Floor

Valeriya Maksiuta - Vault, Beam

Elsa Garcia - All 4 Events

Ramilya Musina - Vault, Beam, Floor

Aliya Mustafina - Vault, Bars, Beam, Floor

Adela Sajn - Beam, Floor

Luisa Galuilina - Bars, Beam, Floor

Jessica Lopez - All 4 Events

There are some interesting new Seniors competing:

Wu Liufang who won Beam and Floor at the Doha World Cup last weekend, unfortunately she is not set to compete on floor but she will still be one of the favourites:




Jenny Pinches - She is one the of the new hopes for Team GB and is coached by Amanda Kirby the same coach as Beth Tweddle. I hope she can be competitive at Worlds this year so it will be interesting to see how she does here. She has 2 good vaults as long as she hits, a nicely presented floor routine with some upgraded tumbles and big skills on beam if she puts them in.


Aliya Mustafina- She is replacing Anna Dementyeva who was supposed to compete. She is stogon all 4 events and my favourite of hers is floor:

Emily Little - She is powerful gymnast and has a big chance of making the vault final and perhaps medalling depending on what her 2nd vault is.

Apart from the new senors against the older seniors there will also be some other interesting battles including He Kexin vs Beth Tweddle who are both competing on bars and floor, as well as Larissa Miller who will be looking for medals on bars. Lauren Mitchell, Huang Qiushuang and Youna Dufournet will be fighting with new seniors for medals on beam. And finally the vault competition will have a lot of young talent including Youna Dufournet, Brittany Rogers, Dominique Pegg and Ramilya Musina.

Artistry

People say the code doesn't encourage artistry but I think coaches are just becoming lazy because it is not as highly rewarded as it used to be, however there are still routines from this year that have artistry and still score well. I have posted a few floor routines that I think are 'artistic' as well as having high difficulty. So I urge all coaches please make more effort to produce artisitc routines please for the sake of the sport!

Ana Porgras (I also love the beginning of her beam routine) - Worlds 2009 Event Finals Score 14.125 (probably under scored as well).

Aliya Mustafina - Doha Gymnasiade 2009 Score: 14.650

Viktoria Komova - Voronin Cup 2009 Event Finals Score: 14.850

Huang Quishuang - Japan Cup 2009 AA Score: 14.350