SUBDIVISION 3
/ GRUPPE 3
(13.40-15.40
Uhr) |
MEX |
TUR |
KOR |
|
|
The Koreans
seemed strongest at the beginning of this group....
Lee,
two nasty falls
Rotation 1:
The Koreans proved why they are favourites with
spectacular releases on high bar. Their result of over 36
points is excellent despite a bad crash by Lee Sun-Song on
his dismount. |
...
but Lee,
Sun-Sung brought unrest to the team. Second
up on high bar, he had a stiff legged landing on his
double-double and had to be carried off the podium. He
didn't compete on floor but surprisingly resurfaced on
pommels. He sat out vault but on bars he finally met his
match. He fell on his neck on an underrotated double salto
and had be carried out of the arena an a stretcher. ...
|
... but the rest
of his team had a fantastic competition. Yang,
Tae-Young went into the lead in the individual
standings after his parallel bars routine ahead of his team
mate Kim, Dong-Hwa and
Russian Bondarenko ... |
|
Mexico started well on
floor. Things didn't go quite so well for Turkey. The
mixed group of gymnasts from Venezuela and Algeria
struggled on pommel horse. |
Rotation
2:
The Koreans seemed a little nervous on floor with lots of their
tumbles going out of bounds. Their twists were rarely well
executed resulting in low scores. Lee Sun-Sung was their best
gymnast with 9,387. Still their lead is minimal after two
rotations. The Mexicans cannot back up their strong floor show
with similar results on pommels and the Turks show no improvement
on bars.
Rotation
3:
The Koreans were sensational on pommels. Their first gymnast up, Lee Sun-Sung
scored a 9,337
setting the stage well for his team mates. Yang
Tae-Young was incredibly sure of himself and equaled his team
mate's score while over on high bar, the Turks were dropping like
flies. Lee Yang-Hyung put in another flawless performance on high
bar. He was followed by Shin Hyung-Ook who was the first gymnast
to fall. Then Kim Dong-Hwa
fell too and received 8,612 points, the score was dropped. Now the
Asians slip behind the Russians by two tenths..
The four gymnast
Mexican team is holding on to sixth place behind South Africa. This is
especially surprising since they can't drop any scores.
Rotation
4:
South Korean Yang Tae-Young starts with beautiful strength moves on
rings. The judges' reward of 9,275 is definitely not too high.
Lee Sun-Song has some lovely combinations for a 9,162. You Won-Kil's
exotic routine topped it with a 9,5. Kim Dong-Hwa shows the best rings
routine so far with perfect holds and strength moves and capped off
with a nailed double double for a 9,562. So it doesn't matter that
Shin Hyung-Ook could only muster a 8,3 points for the last routine. As
a result of this clinic on rings, the Koreans take a surprísingly
large lead of 2,5 points. The Mexicans improve their ranking on vault,
they are now fourth not far behind the British team.
Rotation
5:
Things rarely go wrong on vault. This was once again true for Korea.
All four gymnasts scored in the nines for their variations of the
Tsukaharas with 2 or 2 1/2 twists and Lee Jang-Hyung was no exception
with his double twisting Yurchenko. South Korea expands its lead. The
Mexicans are astonishingly good on bars. Franciso Lopez even outscores
"Sweet" Alexei Nemov with his 9,15.
Rotation
6:
Will the Koreans be able to stay in the lead? You Won-Kil
shows a solid if not brilliant routine on bars. Then the shocker: Lee Sun-Sung
crashes his double salto and seems stunned. Still, he gets up and
continues and finishes the routine. Then disaster strikes on his
dismount. He cannot finish his double salto, lands on his face and
lies still for a few seconds. He collapses, holding his wrist, as the
volunteers try to prop him up and is taken out on a stretcher. His
team mates go through their routines unfazed. And it is enough: 220,667
- more than three points ahead of the Russians. Mexico can't hold on
to fourth place after two missed routines and falls behind the Czech
Republic.
Conclusion:
South Korea can genuinely hope for a medal. They have more than made
up for the Russian popularity bonus with their excellent gymnastics
and friendly manner. Compliment to Mexico: this small team showed the
world that they can get close to the top nations.
Team
Standings: |
|
|
|
|
1.
KOR 220,825 |
2.
RUS 217,384 |
3.
GBR 208,085 |
4.
CZE
201,096 |
5.
MEX
199,334 |
6.
ARM
195,099 |
|
|