Can Maroney score the ten? Considering tomorrow's apparatus finals

These are the Olympics and - for some reason, perhaps television schedules, maybe ticket revenues - the organisers have split our apparatus finals over three days rather than the usual two.  There has also been a two day break since the team and all around competitions.  This means that some of the gymnasts qualified for finals will have to stay fresh, alert and competitive till next Tuesday.  It is the longest Olympic gymnastics competition I have experienced in 40 years or so of following the sport.  And it certainly made it prohibitively expensive for all but the most loyal corporate follower to attend every day at the gymnastics this year.

The Olympic organisers will also have to learn if this format works for the competitors.  No doubt some gymnasts will thrive on the rest they have been allowed ... then maybe, there is the risk that some may provide stunningly off focus exercises. 

We do not yet have start lists for tomorrow's competitions, but I do have details of the gymnasts qualified to finals ... first of all, men's floor ...

I'm going to stick my neck out and tell you to watch Ablyazin in this final.  His big problem will be fitting all that difficulty into the all too short 1 minute 30 second time frame allowed for the exercise, and staying inside the floor area.  If he can do both, his score may well zip up and take the competition by surprise.  The legendary Uchimura is also on the rise after a difficult qualifying round, and Zou Kai cannot be counted out - he tends to lack a little finesse on the floor, but his difficulty level always makes him a threat for gold.

Women's Vault

In this final the gymnasts have to demonstrate two vaults; the winner will be the one who manages to demonstrate the highest difficulty with the least error.  Precious few gymnasts practice two vaults at all these days, meaning that the apparatus has become the domain of specialists.  Of the top four gymnasts, only one, Iszbasa, competed in the all around.

Vault is also controversial.  Some consider the Amanar vault to be scored too highly (6.5 start value) relative to its nearest equivalent (for example, a double twisting Yurchenko is worth 5.8), giving those who perform it a disproportionate advantage in all around and team finals.  For the uninitiated, an Amanar is a  vault with half a twist onto the horse and two and a half twists off, all combined with somersaulting actions on and off.

But in the apparatus finals, the scoring of the Amanar could provide some real excitement.  The question is, can America's McKayla Maroney score a historic ten in execution tomorrow?  The first ten ever, under the new, open ended Code of Points.   Her vault is high, strong and beautiful.  Some would argue that vault lacks the complexity of other apparatus to force error, but generating and controlling all that flight is a fearsome achievement.  Maroney is the strong favourite for gold barring major disaster.

Elsewhere, human interest is provided by the qualification of gymnastic geriatric Oksana Chusovitina, at 37 the oldest female artistic gymnast in the competition.  Oksana was a first time Olympian competing for the Soviet Union in the 1992 Olympics when she won the gold medal on the floor.  She now has a family, and competes for her adopted country, Germany.  She will contend strongly for a medal here.  Her nearest rival could be Maria Paseka, whom the Russians brought to London purely for her vaulting ability.

Beyond the top two, this final lacks a bit of strength in depth, so expect surprises especially if there are errors. Vault is over in the flash of an eye!

Pommel horse

Louis Smith is renowned for his difficulty, but his execution at this competition has also improved significantly - having given his all for team and qualifying, can the bad boy of British gymnastics hold it together a third time?  Competing for gold alongside him will be the immaculate Krisztian Berki.  Berki of Hungary, inheritor of his country's long legacy of pommel horse specialists, had a poor qualifying round but still managed to finish in fifth.  If Berki is on song he could deprive Louis Smith of gold, even if Smith is at his best - talent will out, dears.