XXXVII European Championships Varna 2021

ma che regole sono???

SET A

ROTATION 1
Linoy Ashram - Hoop. Unenviable starting position for the AA titleholder. Going first? She doesn't seem to be bothered and checks out smiling, kiss to the hoop, hug with coach, good start for Linoy! 27.450 with a 9.150 E! Well, VERY good start for Linoy!

Ekaterina Vedeneeva - Ball She is still lovely to watch. I wouldn't be surprised if she got to the Olympics final. Goes down well, high E. 24.400 is the score with 8.600 E.

Polina Berezina - Clubs. Tighten your seatbelts! The first one running for an Olympic spot. Her highest scoring routine by far, if she hits. She needs to hit. They ALL need to hit, otherwise they might be denting their chances. She's not messing around and looks both relieved and happy. Spanish fans (FINALLY) waving flags. Strong start! 24.200. INQUIRY, says Mariya from Beauty in Sport, and she sees the table, unlike me.

Salome Pazhava - Ribbon. Salome is 100% qualified for the Olympics, as she has a falldown spot (host spot will be reallocated), thanks to her 2019 Worlds result. If Salome gets the spot at the Euros (the reallocation is done at the very end), she qualifies Fanni Pigniczki, who is next in the waiting line. Not very likely though. Small tangle with the ribbon. A typical Salome smile in the kiss and cry. 21.400. Of course ribbon scores are lower, so ribbon is skewing the standings early on. 21 plus is not bad at all, though!

Natalia García - Hoop. She only has hope if she hits 4/4, I think. She goes for 23.600. This will be a contender!

Anastasia Salos - Ball. Let's see what the "magic forest fairy" comes up with. Yesterday's form was stunning, like, a performance that would be a medal contender at an Olympics. Probably the performance of the day. MISTAKE! Ball springs away instead of being trapped. Moderately pleased. 25.900

Andreea Verdes - Clubs. Her best routine and she needs to score the hell out of it. She is intent to do so. Huge "phew" at the end. 25.400, she DID score the hell out of it!

Fanni Pigniczki - Ribbon. This is the apparatus she had the most trouble with earlier, but she improved a lot, and she improved amazingly in this cycle. In the Q she was the best ranked gymnast amongs the ones aiming for quota. She has not come to play. Checks out with a smile. Let's see the score. Fanni will be behind the others, because she is starting with ribbon, so the standings will be rather deceiving until all rivals do ribbon. 22.300 is good for ribbon! Very good start, and a 22+ ribbon might pay dividents!

Kseniya Moustafaeva - Hoop. OK, Kseniya is here to play, too. One of the most experienced gymnasts of the final (and one of only 2 Olympians) starts with a 23.350. She will be snatching around, if nerves get the better of rivals.

Margarita Kolosov - Ball. She cannot qualify for the Olympics, because the rulebook says gymnast must have participated at the 2019 Worlds, and she was a junior still. Very impressive outing for her though. 23.325, good start, the level so far is very good!

Vlada Nikolchenko - Clubs. Post-COVID and did not look ready yet in Q, at least she was far from her best, though that is expected. DROP. Mighty frustrated at the end, and for a good reason. 23.700 and they leave the kiss & cry with Irina Deriugina. INQUIRY. TRADITIONS!

Arzu Jalilova - Ribbon. YEAH, ROCK!!! She is also ineligible, because 1) she was a junior in 2019, 2) AZE already have a quota. Small trouble with a catzch, but another good start! I have to say, rotation 1 was mighty impressive. 20.700.

ROTATION 2
Linoy Ashram - Ball. Linoy pretty much needs to go back to ballet and warm-up, there is such a long wait, which means usually inquiries being judged. You can see how small the space is at the last call area, compared to the huge arenas. Linoy walks in. Music trivia: Big in Japan is about two junkies shooting drugs in Berlin, at the Zoologischer Garten station. Music history over, Linoy SLAYS the routine, just to show everyone you can well get on the podium with a no. 1 start position. Long wait for the score. 28.300! Linoy is in the mood for kicking a lot of ass.

Ekaterina Vedeneeva - Clubs. I have to say, I am sold and jumping on the Ekaterina Vedeneeva hype train. Mature, highly elegant, very skilled gymnastics. 25.650.

Polina Berezina - Ribbon. The judge table is on fire because of the inquiries. Not ideal for Polina, who needs to wait long. Let's see if a Harry Potter routine conjures magic! Fanni Pigniczki hitting ribbon puts pressure on rivals to hit ribbon. Keeps her nerves! 2/2 done. Kiss to the ribbon stick. Polina is doing well. 21.550, 0.750 behind Pigniczki with ribbon! But she's done with it and half the competition is still to go. INQUIRY.

Salome Pazhava - Hoop. Mmmm, we have seen better, but it scores a 23.100. Unless a huge dropfest materialises, I can't see Salome getting the European spot, so she will go to Tokyo with the reallocation spot.

Natalia García - Ball. She seems to love this routine and it is a very good ball routine. All smiles, and she checks out, she will be around when it comes to the quota race. 24.400, very enjoyable routine!

Anastasia Salos - Clubs. It is a 27.150. Not catching Linoy with these scores and she doesn't seem to be too pleased. Despite this clubs routine being good.

Andreea Verdes - Ribbon. Pressure cooker, again. There it is, DRAMA!!! Ribbon knot, change. OH NO. 19.900, and this is a big, big, big problem for Andreea, she needs to come back strong AND possibly a mistake from her rivals. Nightmare. This is extremely hard. Before exit, she needs to go back and collect the original ribbon. Sigh.

Fanni Pigniczki - Hoop. She is usually rather sure with this one. Problem with following from TV is that sometimes the director changes an angle, and you can't see a catch clearly. Was the ending in sync with the music? She exits with a brief smile. 24.550. In front of Polina after 2 (by more than a point) and both did ribbon. García is in front of both, but she did not do ribbon.

Kseniya Moustafaeva - Ball. Almost a carbon copy of the first score, 23.300. Unless a dropfest starts, I think she will miss out on this quota. Or she needs a 25 high clubs to be in it and a very good ribbon.

Margarita Kolosov - Clubs. 23.300, and I must say, she is making a very good impression!

Vlada Nikolchenko - Ribbon. This is more like it! Much more like it! 22.900 and finally a smile. It's a long road back, but this is good.

Arzu Jalilova - Hoop. A healthy 23.750. This Azeri leo almost looks over-decorated, compared to the others!

ROTATION 3
García, Pigniczki, Moustafaeva, Berezina, Verdes is the ranking of the not-yet-qualified, but Pigniczki and Berezina already did ribbon, which drags the AA score down.

Linoy Ashram - Clubs. Linoy is clearly not too fussed about opening the whole rotation, and continues to slay her routines. This is much more like peak Linoy! ON. FIRE. LINOY IS ON FIRE. 28.450.

Ekaterina Vedeneeva - Ribbon. Calm and collected for 22.050.

Polina Berezina - Hoop. Polina is cleanly hellbent on staying in the race right until the very end. Steely performance! She hits again! Big smile! Wave to the camera. Polina is going for it! 24.100, 69.850 total.

Salome Pazhava - Ball. OUCH. Salome is far from her best. Loss of apparatus. Replacement apparatus. Her exit tells everything about the routine. 21.075

Natalia García - Clubs. If she hits, she will be snatching around, but she finishes with ribbon. AC/DC guitar solo from Back in Black? Hell yeah. I'd like to see the beginning again and whether the ending was in sync. 23.550 and she has 71.550, with ribbon to come.

Anastasia Salos - Ribbon. HAHA, the ending. Such an extremely entertaining gymnast! Unlikely to catch Linoy, let's see how she fares in the top six in the end, because that's almost sure. 24.525, by far the best ribbon score so far!

Andreea Verdes - Hoop. Well, the ribbon replacement apparatus probably dented her chances, but she needs to hit 2/2 and wait. The half-smile at the end of the hoop routine is telling. I tell you, this sport can be extremely cruel. 24.600. In front of Berezina after 3, even with the ribbon problem!!! She is still in. 69.900 in total.

Fanni Pigniczki - Ball. If she does what she can, she is on the right way. Let's see. Ball wants to break away from bounce, stopped. Seoul 1988 Olympics theme song. She is racing with destiny, aye. And she checks out after the routine very quickly. The job is not done, BUT IT IS CLOSE! 25.000, total 71.850! She is very very very very close, like 1:30 close and a wait for Kelaiditi's performance close.

Kseniya Moustafaeva - Clubs. 23.700, she is doing well! Ribbon to finish with, though.
Margarita Kolosov - Ribbon. There is a mistake and she ends up with 21.550.
Vlada Nikolchenko - Hoop. 24.725, but it is telling that Fanni is in front of her. But she is definitely on an upwards trajectory, compared to the Q.
Arzu Jalilova - Ball. A very healthy 23.950, Arzu is showing a lot of promise indeed!

ROTATION 4
Qualification: 1. Pigniczki 71.850, 2. García 71.550, 3. Moustafaeva 70.350, 4. Verdes 69.900, 5. Berezina 69.850, 6. Pazhava 65.575. Pigniczki with a huge chance, it's hers to take. García and Moustafaeva finish with ribbon.

Linoy Ashram - Ribbon. This is not going ideally. 22.600, total 106.800. Lower than her Q score. INQUIRY.
Ekaterina Vedeneeva - Hoop. A 24.650 takes her to a 96.750 total. Solid as a rock.
Polina Berezina - Ball. She needs to hit and pray. She hits!!! And checks out overwhelmed by emotion and tears. And a smile. Well, she gave it all! 23.800 and 93.650 in total. Fanni needs better than 21.800 w/clubs to get in front of Polina, which is likely, unless something goes seriously wrong. INQUIRY.

Salome Pazhava - Clubs. Finishes with her best routine, scoring 25.150 and the total is 90.725. Will travel to Tokyo with the reallocated host spot.

Natalia García - Ribbon. She had a nightmare ribbon in the Q, now she doesn't. Well, she went all the way through for it! Hugs. 19.650 and behind Polina, 91.200 in total. No quota.

Anastasia Salos - Hoop. A strong 26.900 takes her to 104.475 in AA, 2.325 behind Linoy Ashram. The Averina twins, Harnasko, Kaleyn, Taseva, Raffaeli still to come in the afternoon.
She radiates her best "Salos smile" in the kiss and cry.

Andreea Verdes - Ball. Checks out and is in tears. Let's see. 24.500 and 94.400 in AA, overtaking Berezina, and this means, for the first time ever, no Spanish gymnast in individual at the Olympics!

Fanni Pigniczki - Clubs. This one is for Tokyo. If she hits, she is very probably there, depending on the afternoon scores of Eleni Kelaiditi (most likely only her). Extremely, extremely focused today. HIT THE ROUTINE! HUGE SMILE! KISS TO THE CLUBS! She did all she can. She will be no. 1 after this group and very very likely to take the ticket to Tokyo, fantastic level of concentration and performance all through the ECH! 25.400, AA of 97.250, a way in front of her rivals in this group! She needs to wait through her rivals' performances, but I believe it's like 90% she will have the quota. Make that even more, possibly, Kelaiditi needs 3 25+ routines and a 22 ribbon.

Kseniya Moustafaeva - Ribbon. Finishes with a 19.375 for a total of 89.725, no quota. Will we see her again on stage?
Margarita Kolosov - Hoop. A mistake brings the score down, 20.900 and with an AA score of 87.125.
Vlada Nikolchenko - Ball. Definitely more into it after a very shaky start, this is a 24.00 and ends up with 95.425, but behind Pigniczki and Vedeneeva.
Arzu Jalilova - Clubs. 24.100, and set A is over!
INQUIRIES ARE BEING JUDGED.



SET B
ROTATION 1
Viktoria Bogdanova - Hoop. 23.300, solid start.
Zohra Aghamirova - Ball. 24.150.
Sofia Raffaeli -Clubs. Let's see what the tiny Italian magician has up her sleeves! A 26.400, impressive start.
Katrin Taseva - Ribbon. She was very strong in the Q. And she makes a 22.450 with ribbon. Perhaps not ideal. FINE. Facebook killed all my updates. So again.
Eleni Kelaiditi - Hoop. DRAMA! Hoop away, 21.300, Olympic chances are over with this, and Fanni Pigniczki is going to Tokyo, unless something absolutely out of the ordinary happens.
Alina Harnasko - Ball. A 25.500, which is good, but to put it into perspective, Ashram had 28.300.
Viktoria Onoprienko - Clubs. 24.800 to start off.
Nicol Zelikman - Ribbon. 21.600. And a half-smile.
Dina Averina - Hoop. The speed and the handling is still insane. And she gets a 28.000 for it!
Rejchl Stojanov - Ball. She is on a really nice upwards trajectory, qualifying in a full field to the AA final is quite something! 20.950.
Arina Averina - Clubs. This times she wins, not the clubs. 28.400, into the lead, in front of her twin sister. But Linoy had a better clubs score (28.450)
Boryana Kaleyn - ribbon. A very impressive ribbon routine brings a very impressive 24.500, look out, she is coming!Random music observation: AC/DC is the Queen of 2021. Next time perhaps the gymnasts discover Led Zeppelin!

ROTATION 2
Viktoria Bogdanova - Ball. Clears it with a 22.100, but it is also clear that she won't threaten Fanni in the AA.
Zohra Aghamirova - Clubs. The clubs won. 22.500
Sofia Raffaeli - Ribbon. 23.000, it's intriguing to see where she ends up!
Katrin Taseva 🇧🇬- Hoop. She's in finishing pose when the hoop breaks out and rolls away. OH NO. 24.800.
Eleni Kelaiditi - Ball. Hits a 24.925, which shows she would have been competitive (Fanni had 25.000 for ball), but because of the hoop loss, it is a would have. Nice recovery though!
Alina Harnasko - Clubs. 26.500, improving a 0.900 on the ball score. Still, she needs a 24-25 ribbon to catch up on Linoy.
Viktoria Onoprienko - Ribbon. 21.400
Nicol Zelikman - Hoop. 25.150 is a really solid score
Dina Averina - Ball. OI! We are over 29! 29.150 to be precise, and Dina Averina is SAILING towards the AA title. Fair to say that if she keeps it up, she will end up first.
Rejchl Stojanov - Clubs. 22.050
Arina Averina - Ribbon. Arina and ribbon in Bulgaria. Surely nothing can happen (I have flashbacks of 2018 Sofia now). Absolutely AWESOME syncronisation by the coaches watching the routine, this is an E 10.0!!! Arina hits! And is looking rather fierce. Ocean of Russian flags. Something we all missed, like atmosphere! (saying this sitting at home...). 25.300.
Boryana Kaleyn - Hoop. BORYANA. IS. ON. FIRE. 27.775. Bring a fire extinguisher, but only at the very end of the AA!

ROTATION 3
Viktoria Bogdanova - Clubs. 21.650, no chance for an Olympic spot (we knew that, but now we see the score targets, too)
Zohra Aghamirova - Ribbon. Goes down quite good for a 22.550.
Sofia Raffaeli - Hoop. A setback, 22.950 with hoop is not taking anyone forward that much.
Katrin Taseva - Ball. 25.900, her highest score yet.
Eleni Kelaiditi - Clubs. Scores a 23.950 and she has 70.175 in AA. So she needs a 27+ with ribbon to overtake Fanni. Not happening. Fanni Pigniczki will have the Olympic spot!
Alina Harnasko - Ribbon. Perhaps the finest ribbon routine this year. Certainly the most intriguing start sequence. She gets a 23.700, and she'd need more. She will be behind Linoy Ashram and Anastasia Salos, I guess?
Viktoria Onoprienko - Hoop. A good 25.150, nice work. Still behind Taseva and Raffaeli.
Nicol Zelikman - Ball. A nice-looking 25.775, and jumps in front of Raffaeli and Onoprienko.
Dina Averina - Clubs. Potential title-decider, this one. Really, clubs handling and Dina were made for each other. WHOOPS, there is WHOOPS, and a mistake, but the Russian camp gives standing ovation. 27.500, I guess Arina has a chance (and maybe Linoy, too?)
Rejchl Stojanov - Ribbon. Checks out with a 20.300.
Arina Averina - Hoop. OK. Arina is sniffing gold and goes for it. Gets a 26.200, and she will not smell gold with that? Hm. No. Arina has 79.900 in AA, Dina has 84.650, so Dina is very likely to win, unless she makes a mess of ribbon.
Boryana Kaleyn - Ball. FINALLY, SOME SCREAMING AGAIN! Gosh, I miss this, you know? Let's focus on Kaleyn. She slays. Again. Beautiful ball routine! 27.400, she is behind the twins and close to Arina!

ROTATION 4
AA standings/fight for the podium:
Finished already: Linoy Ashram 106.800, Anastasia Salos 105.475
Still to come: Dina Averina 84.650, Arina Averina 79.900, Boryana Kaleyn 79.675, Alina Harnasko 75.700
Viktoria Bogdanova - Ribbon. 21.300 to finish.
Zohra Aghamirova - Hoop. I happen to really like these "retro" Azeri leos, and this one is one of the more elaborate ones. A good 23.550!
Sofia Raffaeli - Ball. Some talk with Julieta Cantaluppi, entry. Tiny girl on a huge carpet. But what a big gymnast already! Such a prospect. Very good work. Long wait. 26.400!
Katrin Taseva Huuuuuuge smile at the end, Bulgarian crew is hugging, Katrin is waving, I guess this is her last major outing on home ground, at least in a major international tournament.
25 .700. Just in front of Raffaeli!
Eleni Kelaiditi . Finishes with a 22.050 and way, way off (5 points off) to be in position for her Olympic dream. Fanni Pigniczki is all but confirmed for Tokyo.
Alina Harnasko - Hoop. She hits this for 27.100, but she is behind Ashram and Salos. No podium for this, today Alina was not at her best! But that AA set has a huge potential.
Viktoria Onoprienko - Ball. Some Jacko, please! 25.550, and in AA she is behind Fanni Pigniczki, which shows how impressive Fanni was!
Nicol Zelikman - Clubs. What a nice leo colour combination! Nice routine, too, for a 25.850! Gets in front of Fanni Pigniczki.
Dina Averina - Ribbon. This. Is. For. The. Title. If she messes up the routine, the gold can be in danger. If not, I think Dina will be the new European Champion. Somebody please show a full "routine" of the Russian onlookers during the routine! Save. Some mess! I'm sure the trajectory was not ideal. I do believe this will do the job for Dina Averina, to bring her the title! But just only! 22.675, not very good, but into the lead with 107.325. 1. Dina Averina, 2. Linoy Ashram, 3. Anastasia Salos.
Rejchl Stojanov - Hoop. Checks out with her best score, 24.450, good!
And this is now official, Fanni Pigniczki is going to Tokyo! First Hungarian since 2000 at the Olympics.

Arina Averina - Ball. Needs 27.430 or better for the title. WELL WELL WELL. She CAN get this, maybe? Remember, Europeans are something of a specialty for Arina! I feel an Arina win is a possibility. OH YES IT IS, YES IT IS, YES IT IS! 29.200 and EASILY into the gold medal position, with a total of 109.100. Dina's 22.675 ribbon did not do the job! ARINA AVERINA SHALL BE THE NEW EUROPEAN CHAMPION!

Boryana Kaleyn - Clubs. The crowd brings down the house, the Bulgarians are celebrating, and Boryana Kaleyn absolutely played a blinder in this final, great, great work! Well, what a show! Really great AA final. Waiting for score takes FOREVER. Still waiting. WHOA, SECOND!!! SILVER MEDAL FOR BORYANA KALEYN!!! 107.625 in total, 27.950 for clubs, what a finish!