21st DTB-Cup: 1st final day

The first day of finals at the World Cup in Stuttgart 2003 already begann in a sportive way with performances by young gymnasts from the Stuttgart region. Traditionally in Stuttgart the finals don’t take place in the Olympic order. So on today’s Saturday the finals on floor and uneven bars in the women’s field and on pommel horse, vault and rings in the men’s one were presented.

On Saturday the audience has been thrilled by a World- premiere. Even the experts in the audience exchanged surprised views and asked themselves if they really just have seen what they thought to have seen… – Daiane Dos Santos from Brazil upgraded her floor routine in the winner’s final with a layout arabian at the beginning of her routine! The current World Champion then explained that previously she only had tried this element twice on floor. Otherwise it only had been trained on the tubling lane. “However, my coach said you are ready to do it and can make it, so I just tried it.”
With pommel horse gymnastics in perfection presented himself the young Chinese gymnast Li Di. Internationally still unknown, he mentioned “Well, actually I am only a member of our second team. At home we have many good gymnasts and also I had been injured last year.” In future Li Di certainly will have his chances to get also in China’s first team.

Ioan Silviu Suciu set a highlight already at the beginning of the pommel horse final. He started with clean presented travel combinations and very well executed flops (9.850, 3rd rank). Li Di from China with beautiful amplitudes and a perfect technical execution throughout the routine which could be seen at his Thomas flanks with full spindel. – Pommel horse gymnastics in perfection which secured him a spot in the winner's final (9.900). Marius Urzica presented his routine in his already well-known quality. Great Russian wendeswings on one pommel, nice travel variations combined with Thomas flanks with full spindel. (9.912).
All routines in this final were presented on a high level of performance.

Li Di then started in the winner’s final again with a very good performance (9.925). Marius Urzica followed with a for him quite unusual fall from the apparatus at his Moguilny shortly before the dismount (9.387). So the decision in this final had been made and the virst victory at the DTB-Cup in Stuttgart 2003 went to China.

Floor women
Already in yesterday’s qualification the audience was thrilled by the performance of the current World Champion on this apparatus Daiane dos Santos from Brazil. Today again she showed a great routine. Only after her piked arabian in the first series she shortly stepped out of bounds (but this didn’t cost her more than one tenth). A double layout followed directly in the next acrobatic series. Daiane also convinced through high gymnastics jumps and safe pirouettes. – A great routine! (9.337)
All-around queen Svetlana Khorkina with a strong beginning, whip – tripple twist. She showed a very elegant routine whith nice gymnastics elements and convinced today also with her acrobatics.
Catalina Ponor with the typical Romanian fireworks of acrobatics, but with very slight insecurities. She is a very elegant gymnast with an extraordinary choreography which has been well-liked by the audience.
The winner’s final begann with a surprise. Daiane Dos Santos changed her routine and started with a layout arabian - a World premiere! Again she very slightly stepped out of bounds – but apart from that a World-class routine! (9.337).Svetlana Khorkina presented also her second routine very good but with slight insecurities like a not finished rotation on her triple twist (9.187). That secured the victory for Daiane dos Santos in this final.

Vault men
The vault final of the men 2003 took place on an extremely high level of performance. The audience got to see many great vaults!
Marian Dragulescu: 1st Handspring – double salto fw. tucked with 1/2 turn – small step, otherwise presented very well (9.750); 2nd Kasamatsu 1 1/2 turn – slightly overrotated and the landing had to be secured with one step (9.462).
Jeffrey Wammes : 1st Yurchenko layout 2 1/2 turn – very high and clean, only slight wobble on the landing (9.625) ; 2nd Kasamatsu 1 1/2 turn with slight mistakes in the execution (9.525).
Leszek Blanik: 1st Handspring – double salto fw. tucked – very secure on the landing (9.787); 2nd Tsukahara double piked – another secure landing (9.700).
Kyle Shewfelt: 1st Yurchenko 2 1/2 turn – very well presented with only a slight wobble on the landing (9.712); However, his 2nd vault, Yurchenko double twist, simply was not difficult enough for this World class final (9.512).
Winner’s Final: Both participants Dragulescu and Blanik again with good performances. Dragulescu, however, slightly missed the middle of the vaulting table on his 2nd vault and had to secure the landing with a large step to the side (9.700). Blanik also not with the same security like before, both of his landings were a little low. In a very tight decision the victory then finally went to Marian Dragulescu.

Uneven bars women Bars- queen Svetlana Khorkina presented her routine as clean as usual but with slight insecurities in the combinations on the lower bar (SV 9.8, Final Score 9.45).
Elizabeth Tweddle with very clean turns through the El-grip. Her release move, the “Khorkina”, also has been presented safely and she stuck her dismount (SV 10.00, final score 9.475).
Emilie Lepennec then presented a fireworks on uneven bars and reconfirmed her performance from the qualification – giants with hop- 1/1 turn, combined with Deff, dismount double-double (SV 10.00, final score 9.75).

In the Winner’s Final Lepennec presented an even better performance. Tweddle reconfirmed her performance from before with a slight wobble on the landing (9.475). However, she didn’t have a chance in this final and the victory went to France.

Rings men
The rings final took place on an extremly high level of performance, all participants competed with a start value of 10.000.
Jordan Jovtchev as expected with a sovereign routine, slight mistake in a combination at the beginning (Honma to cross hang), he then stuck the landing of his Tsukahara dismount (9.737).
Andrea Coppolino presented his routine not as strongly as recently in Anaheim but it still has been a very good performance (9.687).
Alexander Safoshkin The internationally still unknown Russian gymnast showed an excellent routine with exact body positioning in the strength elements.

Winner’s Final The body positioning in Jovtchev’s strength elements was improved compared to his routine before, slight insecurities on his dismount (9.612).Safoshkin then followed with a nearly perfect performance, all strength elements were presented very clean and he stuck his dismount (9.675). – A deserved winner in this high-quality final!

>> Report: Zweiter Finaltag