LIGHTING UP THE FUTURE

The second edition of the Youth Olympic Games started with a bang at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, which hosted a jaw-dropping opening ceremony.

Following Beijing 2008 the Chinese hosts once again demonstrated the world that they don’t do anything small. More than 3,800 young athletes from 204 different countries participated in the 28 sports that were part of this unique multi-sport event. As for Gymnastics, the Olympic disciplines Artistic, Rhythmic and Trampoline were on display. But there is more to the Youth Olympics than competition. The young athletes had the opportunity to participate in numerous cultural and educational activities in the Athletes Village and they enjoyed making new friends from around the world.

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ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

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MEN’S ALL AROUND

BRITAIN STRIKES GOLD

Contenders for the Men’s Youth Olympic title came from every corner of the globe: From Japan, the youthful mini-Uchimura Kenya Yuasa; from Russia, the powerful Nikita Nagornyy; from Britain, the complete gymnast in Giarnni Regini-Moran; from the United States, a rare Pommel Horse expert, Alec Yoder.

The complete gymnast won. Not only did Regini-Moran deliver six clean routines during both the qualifying round and the Men’s All-around final, he did so with an assurance well beyond his years and a panache that British gymnasts are becoming known for. Never in its history has Britain looked so deep. Nagornyy’s power proved to be his downfall. He dashed out of his Roche Vault like a sprinter out of the blocks and later performed hesitatingly on Parallel Bars. Still, his difficulty and clean delivery kept him in the hunt for gold until the end, when he settled for silver.

After finishing sixth in the qualification round, Yoder climbed to third with improved performances in the final, especially on Horizontal Bar, where he solidified his bronze. Botond Kardos, a promising young hope for Hungary, showed powerful skills and excellent execution on Floor and Vault for fourth.

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MEN’S FLOOR EXERCISE

REGINI-MORAN REIGNS AGAIN

Following his All-around title, Giarnni Regini-Moran (GBR) swept into event finals on a wave of euphoria. His streak continued on Men’s Floor, as the Brit landed several difficult passes with a professionalism beyond his 16 years. Youthful Kenya Yuasa (JPN), the “baby Uchimura” of the men’s group, twisted his way to silver, while Korea’s Lim Myongwoo, an up-and-comer for his nation, won bronze.

 

POMMEL HORSE

LOOKING TO THE EAST

In spite of increasing British supremacy on Pommel Horse at the senior level, the strength of the eastern countries on this event was palpable in Nanjing. There were clean routines but no dirty rivalry between good friends Nikita Nagornyy (RUS) and Vladyslav Hryko (UKR) in the Men’s Pommel Horse final. In what would not be their final battle of the Youth Olympic Games, Nagornyy won gold, the long, elegant Hryko silver, both having delivered excellent routines. Bronze went to Timur Kadirov (UZB), another promising newcomer from the east.

 

STILL RINGS

NAGORNYY DOUBLES DOWN

The solidly built Nikita Nagornyy (RUS) is a natural on Still Rings, and he proved it by capturing the Youth Olympic title there as well, giving himself his second Olympic gold in one day. Here his opponent was less Hryko (UKR) -- who nonetheless took bronze -- than China’s Ma Yue, another solid and stable ringman. China has a fine tradition of brilliant ringworkers, and with his Youth Olympic silver medal on the event, Ma may have signalled that he will be his country’s next big star on the event.

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MEN’S VAULT

BRITAIN SETS THE STANDARD

Two effortless looking Vaults (a Tsuk 2.5 and a double-twisting Yurchenko) earned Giarnni Regini-Moran (GBR) his third and final gold medal of the Youth Olympic Games. The secrets to his success: clean form in the air and minimal landing deductions on both jumps. Ma Yue (CHN) landed a lovely Rudi for silver, while as in the All-around competition, the powerful Nikita Nagornyy (RUS) showed off his capability for getting great height off the table. While his handspring double front was superb, a less difficult second vault (a Tsukahara 1.5) left him with the bronze.

 

PARALLEL BARS

LA REVENGE NIKITA

Parallel Bars: A slip on Parallel Bars in the All-around final may have cost Nikita Nagornyy (RUS) the All-around gold, but the young Russian was not about to make the same mistake twice. Nagornyy swung through his routine cleanly in event finals to offer himself a third helping of Youth Olympic gold. The impressive Botand Kardos (HUN), a young gymnast with terrific technique on all events finally broke through with silver on Parallel Bars, while all-around champion Giarnni Regini-Moran (GBR) found himself on the podium after another strong routine, this time in third place.

 

HORIZONTAL BAR

JAPAN GRABS GOLD

Horizontal Bar is the event where the daredevils set themselves apart, and the 2014 Youth Olympics was no exception. In Nanjing, Horizontal Bar became the domain of Kenya Yuasa (JPN), who grabbed the last Olympic title given out in Artistic Gymnastics with an exceptionally cleanly swung routine. A powerful contrast was Belgium’s Luka van den Keybus, who radiated strength as he swung to silver. Giarnni Regini-Moran (GBR), never far behind the leaders on any event, captured bronze, his fifth medal of the Games.

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WOMEN’S ALL AROUND

TRIUMPH OF THE CLASS OF ‘99

 

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Four years after the precocious Viktoria Komova (RUS) won three gold medals at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, the women’s All-around gold -- and the ephemeral “who’s next” title -- went to another Russian, Seda Tutkhalyan.

A budding powerhouse without a weak event, Tutkhalyan briskly hit Vault, Bars and Beam during the first three rotations of the Women’s All-around final. Mistakes by others meant the gold was all but around Tutkhalyan’s neck by the time she stepped onto the Floor Exercise, and even a fall on her final tumbling pass wasn’t enough to take it away.

The delightful Flavia Saraiva (BRA), a small gymnast with a large smile and wonderful presentation, won silver with four clean routines, a lower difficulty Vault the difference between her and Tutkhalyan. Like Tutkhalyan, Saraiva, whose training is overseen by legendary Russian coach Alexander Alexandrov, will be eagerly anticipated on the international scene as she turns senior next year.

Bronze medallist Elissa Downie (GBR) impressed with high difficulty routines, though a fall on her opening pass on Floor and wobbles on Beam left her lower on the podium than she might have hoped. Ditto China’s Wang Yan, fourth, whose title shot was spoiled by falls on Bars and Beam. On the path to fame, stars do sometimes fall.

 

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WOMEN’S VAULT

WANG YAN JUMPS TO GOLD AT LAST

Disappointed in the All-around final, China’s Wang Yan extracted revenge on her best event, Vault, where her 6.0 start value for her first vault was the highest of the competition. If she landed it, Wang was likely to win gold, and she did. Silver and bronze came down to a battle of double-twisting Yurchenkos, won by Elissa Downie (GBR), who scored silver, and Japan’s Sae Miyakawa, who ended with bronze.

 

UNEVEN BARS

SECOND TITLE FOR SEDA

All-around champion Seda Tutkhalyan’s (RUS) success had hinged on hitting her difficult Uneven Bars routine, and the 15-year-old proved again in event finals that she can do it when it counts. The difficulty of the set, combined with Tutkhalyan’s excellent execution, gave her a second gold. Italy’s Iosra Abdelaziz shone on the event for silver, while Wang Yan, her fall in the All-around a thing of the past, hit her routine for bronze

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BALANCE BEAM

WANG HOLDS ON FOR GOLD

Disappointed in the All-around final, China’s Wang Yan extracted revenge on her best event, Vault, where her 6.0 start value for her first vault was the highest of the competition. If she landed it, Wang was likely to win gold, and she did. Silver and bronze came down to a battle of double-twisting Yurchenkos, won by Elissa Downie (GBR), who scored silver, and Japan’s Sae Miyakawa, who ended with bronze.

 

WOMEN’S FLOOR

SARAIVA DELIGHTS, SCOOPS UP A TITLE

All-around champion Seda Tutkhalyan’s (RUS) success had hinged on hitting her difficult Uneven Bars routine, and the 15-year-old proved again in event finals that she can do it when it counts. The difficulty of the set, combined with Tutkhalyan’s excellent execution, gave her a second gold. Italy’s Iosra Abdelaziz shone on the event for silver, while Wang Yan, her fall in the All-around a thing of the past, hit her routine for bronze.

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RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

 

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INDIVIDUALS

ANNENKOVA CONTINUES RUSSIAN DOMINANCE

Separating herself by 1.6 points from the rest of the field, Irina Annenkova (RUS) dominated the Individual All-around final to take Youth Olympic gold. The 15-year old gymnast from Sochi posted top scores for her routines with the Hoop, the Ball and the Clubs to follow her compatriot Aleksandra Merkulova, who won the first Rhythmic Gymnastics YOG title in 2010.

Maryia Trubachof Belarus, who qualified in third place, showed a consistent performance in the final to move one place up in the ranking and take the silver. She made up for her mistake with the Ball during preliminaries, producing the routine with the highest difficulty with this specific apparatus in the final. Overall, she also had the most difficult routine with the Hoop.

It was a close battle for second rank, a battle that Laura Zeng (USA) lost by a mere 0.2 points. Even though she redeemed herself from a mistake in her Ball routine during qualifications, the 15-year-old lost points overall. Zeng had the highest difficulty with the Ribbon, and while this paid off in the preliminaries, where she ranked first with this apparatus, it turned out to be her pitfall in the final. She had problems handling the apparatus, which resulted in deductions from her execution score.

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GROUPS

TEARS OF HAPPINESS AND RELIEF

It was evident that none of the finalists wanted to leave Nanjing without a medal in the four-Group final. This situation visibly put a lot of pressure on the young gymnasts, resulting in numerous mistakes.The Kiss & Cry area witnessed a lot of tears.

Unfortunately, the group from Uzbekistan dropped an apparatus in both routines, meaningthey were the unlucky group that was left off the podium.

The gymnasts from Kazakhstan bettered their performances compared to preliminaries and benefited from Uzbekistan’s misfortune. Qualified in fourth place, they happily accepted the bronze medal.

Bulgaria’s gymnasts were not without mistakes, and they had to overcome a moment of shock when one of their Hoops was dropped and rolled out of bounds. With the Clubs, the group was not as stable as in preliminaries, but their overall total nevertheless won them the silver.

Members of the Russian group left the podium crying tears of relief after they finished their last routine successfully, happy that they had met the high expectations of their country. With the highest marks for execution and difficulty and no major mistakes, the young gymnasts convincingly took the title, continuing Russia’s strong tradition in this discipline.

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TRAMPOLINE

 

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WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL

CHINA’S FIRST GYMNASTICS GOLD

This high standard of women’s competition in Trampoline was characterised by the few number of falls, and the FIG saw its efforts of focusing on clean execution and safe performance rather than difficulty paying off in the junior category.

Zhu Xueying, who surprised everyone with a relatively low execution mark in her compulsory routine that temporarily ranked her fifth in qualifications, claimed China’s first gold medal at Nanjing 2014. The 16-year-old Asian Junior and Pacific Rim champion went into the competition as title favourite and did not disappoint the local audience and the host country. More than three points ahead of her closest competitors, Zhu followed her compatriot Dong Yu, who won the women’s Trampoline title in Singapore in 2010.

Relieved Rana Nakano of Japan edged Russia’s Maria Zakharchuk by .01 to take silver. Her flight time, which was the best of the field, won Zakharchuk the bronze medal. The 16-year-old Muscovite performed a routine with low difficulty, but her clean execution and great height secured her a spot on the podium.r fall in the All-around a thing of the past, hit her routine for bronze.

 

​Dylan Schmidt (NZL)Changxin Liu (CHN)Pedro Ribeiro-Ferreira (POR)

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL

HISTORIC GOLD FOR NEW ZEALAND

New Zealander Dylan Schmidt won his country’s first-ever Olympic Gymnastics gold medal in Trampoline in Nanjing. Only fourth in qualifications, Schmidt made an impressive showing in the final to achieve a surprise victory. The 17-year old gymnast from Auckland had the high marks in difficulty and execution in the final and the third best Time of Flight.

China’s Liu Changxin, who led in qualifications with the highest scores with both routines, had high expectations for the title in this competition. However, a lower difficulty value in his final routine compared to his competitors left the Asian junior champion in second rank and he took silver.

Portugal’s Pedro Ferreira played it safe in the second round, where he performed his compulsory routine again when four gymnasts did not complete their routines. Despite the low difficulty, with his assured routine, he was sure to qualify for the top eight final. The 17-year-old from Vila do Conde, who finished third at the 2014 European Junior Championships, matched Schmidt’s difficulty in the final. Combined with the second highest flight time, he secured the bronze medal in Nanjing.