thiago_simoes

I'm really shocked and utterly pleased. I can't believe we are performing this well. It's unbelievable. Unvelievable!

Brazil currently one point behind World Champions Japan in team competition right now. I'm in shock!

Zanetti had a "low" score. I think he will barely make it to the Rings final, if he makes it at all. There's a chance he will miss the cut.

The start lists were finally made available. https://live.fig-gymnastics.com/schedule.php?idevent=6405

On paper, she is the best suited for bronze thanks to massive difficulty on all fronts (6.3 on vault, 6.5 on the uneven bars, 5.9 on the balance beam, 6.1 on floor). Problem is she might never go for full difficulty (though she said she will) and even if she does, she will need to stay focused in order to hit every routine. If she hits, she will get a medal. We will see.

No one can beat Biles. I never said that. I said that Hernandez is the best gymnast behind Biles. All the other girls are fighting for silver and bronze. Funny thing is, Douglas and Raisman can seriously screw up and walk away without a medal in the all-around competition. I still think that the US gymnasts will finish 1-2 no matter what, but Hernandez is the second best here despite what political maneuvers they are trying to achieve. Germany has made an Interesting choice when selecting Scheder and Seitz to compete in the all-around. They score so high on the uneven bars that it should compensate for the score they get on floor. Schafer should really concentrate on beam, which is her best chance of a final.

1) Hong (if she lands her new vault without a fall) 2) Biles 3) Paseka 4) Steingruber 5) Chusovitina 6) Olsen Moreno, E. Downie, Karmakar, Miyakawa, Wang, Thanh and Lee Goim will fight for the two spots left in the event final.

Oh, no. She deserves to have a great competition after so much bad luck over the years. Fingers crossed and I hope she can still perform clean routines. Also, Hernandez will apparently not perform in the all-around, which is clearly a political decision so Douglas can get attention in the final (after all, she's the defending champion, though she will not come close to the gold medal this time) or even Raisman gets a redemption story (she placed fourth in 2012). Either way, Hernandez is the superior gymnast at this point, only behind Biles, and it's really disgusting that the US will aim for drama with Douglas or Raisman, instead of worthy performances by Hernandez.

I'm so proud now that the ceremony is over. Everything was beautiful (except the acting president, who did not deserve to be there... corrupt pig).

Do you mean the start lists? Not yet, but they will soon be available here: https://live.fig-gymnastics.com/schedule.php?idevent=6405

This blog states that Russia has broken the rules by replacing Ignatyev by the alternate gymnast. Even though the author says it does not really matter at this point, if Russia miraculously wins a medal, all hell will break loose and the team will probably face many attempts of other teams trying to disqualify Russia after the competition is over. This is getting ridiculous.

Men's competition: AA: Uchimura, Verniayev, Larduet TF: Japan, China, Great Britain Women's competition: AA: Biles, Hernandez, Andrade (one can dream, but I seriously think she could be a contender) TF: United States, China, Russia

@LowerSaxony is correct. In qualifications, it doesn't matter if three or four gymnasts perform on each apparatus. Even if only three gymnasts perform on a single apparatus, this is still valid for the team score. So, basically we have: Qualifications: up to four gymnasts can perform on each apparatus, but only the three best scores count. Team finals: only three gymnasts can perform on each apparatus and every score counts.

I'm not sure, but I think it doesn't make much of a difference. Russia's ambitions in the men's team event should be aiming for a bronze medal. Gold and silver are set for Japan and China, while Great Britain and the United States are more likely to fight for the bronze medal, with Ukraine as a dark horse. Right now, I think Russia is even behind the dark horse level.

Nice work! I still think we'll end up winning 27 medals or more. It will depend on a lot of factors, but it's definitely possible. I'm a lot more curious, however, about the number of gold medals the Brazilian athletes will earn. Anything less than 3 gold medals would be a total disaster, but I'm not too confident we will reach 6 gold medals or more. This is just too much for the level our athletes are displaying right now.

It's hard to explain. It's not like everybody knows what Modern Pentathlon is, but she's generally well-known and people like her because she's usually graceful and lovely in interviews, and has lots of charisma. She's from the Northeastern part of Brazil, and this region is the poorest area of the country. People from the Northeastern zone see her as a role model, and there was a strong voting campaign there to let her win. I'm very pleased she won. I was rooting for her.

Man, this is a joke. A complete joke. They are crazy enough to think Mustafina would place ahead of Biles on the Balance Beam. They can't be serious. At all.

And what can you do with this information other than coming here and stating that you know more than everybody? I'm looking for facts, and then maybe I could agree with you. After what I've SEEN, though, Ponor is the only female gymnast in Romania who could go to the Olympics without embarrassing herself and her country.

I follow this sport quite closely for a number of years. One must only look at the videos from the Romanian nationals and the difference between Iordache and Ponor is clear. Iordache is not steady and has not taken part in any other competition in 2016 besides the Romanian nationals. She is not ready to compete. I wish Romania had other choices besides Ponor and Iordache, but Holbura, the third best gymnast at this point who is not injured, was not able to win a gold medal in an event with junior gymnasts, the Gymnasiade. What could she do at the Olympics? Not much, I guess. And the fact that you are Romanian does not mean anything about how much you know about Iordache. I'm Brazilian, but don't ask me about football. I know nothing about this sport.

Iordache had no chance of getting a medal. Ponor will not get one either, but at least she will probably make it to the balance beam and floor finals.

She was injured for a long time and is still not ready to compete at her best. Ponor is in better shape now.

In 1998 a Danish athlete earned gold at the Junior Europeans. I can't remember his name, though.

Axelle Klinckaert from Belgium is injured and will miss the Olympics. Such bad news...

The US will win gold, Russia and China will battle for silver and bronze. If one of these teams faulter, Great Britain, Japan, Canada and Brazil are too close to call which team could win a medal.

It almost looks like they decided to select only English gymnasts, and Purvis is Scottish, so he had to stay out. Seriously, though, I can't see Brinn contributing to this team as much as Purvis could. Weird (and possibly political) decision. The women's team is definitely not my favorite team, but I will not comment any further.