What a week this has been! As I think back over this week, here are some of my highlights. Photos by John Cheng from USA Gymnastics Facebook page.
The USA consistency.
I can’t ever remember a team performing and not falling on any routine through the whole competition. These girls HIT every prelim routine, every team routine and every event final routine. Though you can’t quite call Jordyn and Aly’s bar routines hit during the AA, they did stay on. And they hit all the other events. That is just amazing to me! What an unusual feeling to have girls going up and not wondering at all if they were going to fall. It took all the nervousness out of watching!
The USA’s team bond. When you put a group of young girls together like this, who have to fight their way to the top and earn every single opportunity – you can either end up with a highly intense rivalry or an incredible bond. These girls chose the incredbile bond. When you add the adversities they experienced and the fact that they were all newbies, the bond just becomes stronger. Everything about them was focused on their team and their teammates. The chemistry between these girls was incredibly special to watch. Though I don’t know that this team will ever be together again- I certainly don’t think this will be the team for next year- this is probably my favorite team ever comprised. I enjoyed watching their interactions almost as much as their gymnastics. I am certain they will be lifelong friends.
Jordyn and Aly’s all around drama. It certainly wasn’t quite the all around I expected to see. Though Jordyn was absolutely incredible throughout Worlds, I think that her Visa Cup performance was her peak this year. I expected her to be just as perfect at Worlds AA Finals. She wasn’t, but she was still great. And Aly has been so consistent, I really didnt expect that kind of error from her. But it IS bars. And they both came through it. They were so tough. I think the moment I will remember is Jordyn’s tears when she saw she won.
Beam and Floor Finals. They saved the best for last! What an incredible competition. It was delightful to see the Chinese hit their routines so well. They were incredible! Beam was full of beautiful, hit routines. And floor was the best finals I remember seeing ever! Everyone hit! Even though I really wanted Aly to win, I have to admit that Kesenia’s floor routine is one of my all time favorites. I am so happy to see it done so well!
The Online Community. All and all, this has been a wonderful world championships. But my very favorite part has been the online community I had this year to watch it with. Though I sat alone in my house at CRAZY hours watching each competition, I never felt alone. Thanks to gymnastike, thegymnasticsexaminer, fulltwist, thecouchgymnast, USAGymnastics, Theallaround, and the tweets of so many others, I enjoyed gymnastics community for the first time in years.
Beam Dreams 