Australia Qualifys Olympic Spot at Gymnastics World Champs
WAIS-AIS gymnasts Lauren Mitchell and Emily Little have helped Australia qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games, after Australia finished sixth in the team event at the World Championships in Tokyo.
Needing a top eight finish to ensure a berth at next year’s Games, Mitchell led from the front in collecting 56.324 points, to be the top ranked Australian, and 13thoverall. Little was the second highest contributor for Australia with 54.732 points, with both Little and Mitchell qualifying for the individual all-around final to be competed on Thursday 13.
Mitchell’s efforts were stifled somewhat by a penalty on her favoured floor routine, which relegated her from the apparatus final, to first reserve, meaning the 2010 World Champion will not have the opportunity to defend her crown.
The highlight of Australia’s qualification however, was the gutsy performance of Commonwealth Games team champion Emily Little. Regarded as a vault specialist, Little first embossed that reputation with a fine vault routine, to score 14.533, before she backed up with solid performances on the other three apparatus to qualify herself for a first attempt at a World Championships all-around final.
The big three gymnastics nations underlined their credentials with typical aplomb on the world stage. The USA topped the teams ranking, with a combined 234.253, that included three of the top five individual all-around performances, although only two per nation are eligible for the medal round. The US dominated the vault and earned top billing on floor with a third place ranking on bars their lowest rotation.
A superb team performance on bars formed the catalyst of Russia’s team campaign. The European powerhouse scored 58.899 on the rotation to accentuate their overall total of 231.062. China rued a slightly disappointing bars routine that blemished what was an otherwise remarkably consistent campaign, with the standout component coming on beam, where they outclassed the field, scoring 59.707.
Australia’s sixth place total of 221.846 consisted of 56.232 on vault, 55.066 on bars, 55.857 on beam and 54.691 on floor.The Australians will contest the team final on Wednesday.