thiago_simoes

Even with some minor (or even a couple major) mistakes, a four-points difference seems to be a lot. Either those judges were TOO harsh today (and too generous on day one), or they really don't know what they are doing.

Nice. Let's see what she can do at the World Challenge Cup series. Now, proof that these scores are completely wild and all over the place: Italy scored 22.100 on day 1, and now only 17.500. This is crazy. Shame on the judges.

My impressions about the World Cup series so far: 1) Estonia winning a medal was both a total shock and a MUCH needed breath of fresh air. After an uneventful series of competitions in 2017, it's nice to have a new nation shaking things up a little bit in 2018. 2) Italy has the best group routines this year. Russia and Bulgaria are close, but Italy has it all in both routines. Still, I'm disappointed. Belarus, Israel, Ukraine and Japan are somewhat unstable, and after two disastrous routines in Baku, Estonia is nothing but a distant dark horse. Also, I miss Bulgaria's gorgeous 5 hoops routine from last year. This year their routine is just meh. 3) Russia seems to be unsure about what to do with their individual gymnasts. Soldatova is the best individual gymnast this year so far, but we all know she is a headcase and she could snap any moment. Look at what happened to Selezneva today... She just lost it under pressure, and I'm afraid the same thing might happen to Soldatova. The European Championships are going to be exciting to watch, especially if Ashram hits her routines. Also, last year there was a rumor about Selezneva changing nationality, and she was supposed to compete for Luxembourg. After what she did today, I guess this might become true, after all. Viner will take a loooot of convincing before she lists Selezneva for another competition (if ever) again. 4) It seems to me that scoring is inconsistent at best. These are official FIG competitions. Judges must get it together before they release the scores.

Well, if Tashkent had biased scores, Baku is almost a complete mockery.

But these are only good for 2017-2018. In 2019 and 2020 we will have 5 balls and 4 clubs + 3 hoops.

What do you mean? We got a bronze medal and a gold medal (this last one in a para event) at the 2017 World Championships.

Yes! Dominici! I'm soooo excited to watch her! I hope she wins everything, given Brazil will (and should) send our B (or C) team, and none of the B girls come even remotely close to what Dominici can achieve. Brazil will probably still win the team event (in Argentina no one except Dominici is really good... Tarabini is the second best, but she's 10 yeas past her prime), but Dominici can still win everything else.

Is Brazil the first country to qualify athletes for the 2020 Olympics? I'm surprised!

Scoring is a problem in other stages as well. Guadalajara always gives out huge scores even for smaller nations. Also, hosting the event gives a huge advantage to some nations. Italy got zero gold medals in Sofia, but three gold medals in Pesaro. I'm not saying the group did not deserve the medals, but there is an undeniable boost in scores for the home nation.

I've seen a report in Italian media mentioning that some big names were missing (especially Japan, Italy and Bulgaria in the group competition), but you cannot seriously say this stage was awful. Yes, Estonia was lucky that Israel fumbled their ropes and balls routine during qualification, but overall what Estonia achieved is historic: 35 years of competition and Estonia is only the 26th nation to achieve a medal result at the World Cup series. And the finals were a mixed bag, but still mostly good. I mean, Estonia scored a very respectable 18.7 in the 5 hoops final and they still did not manage to make it to the podium. Some finals could have been better (clubs, ribbon and ropes/balls), but hoop final was insane (18.950 for a bronze medal? whaaaat???). I'm confident this will not be remembered as the worst stage this year. I expect a much lower level in Portimão and even Berlin.

She was lucky not to have Soviet, Bulgarian and North Korean gymnasts competing against her, but she was still able to beat gymnasts from strong nations such as Germany, Spain and Japan (and Romania, though the country had never had any good results in this sport before 1984). But I agree that the most significant medal Canada has ever earned was at the World Cup in 1990. All the big guns competed against Fuzesi, so walking away with a medal was nothing short of extraordinary.

Honestly, I don't know why rhythmic gymnastics was added to the program while trampoline and even acrobatic gymnastics were not. No Commonwealth nation, except for Canada, has even remotely remarkable achievements in rhythmic gymnastics -- Canada has a gold medal at the Olympics and a bronze medal at the World Cup, but all the other nations are waaaay behind in this sport. In trampoline, Canada, Great Britain and New Zealand are quite strong -- and even South Africa and Namibia are building interesting programs.

Brazilian songs: Chico Buarque and Simone - Iolanda Los Hermanos - Anna Júlia (this was a huge hit at the time) Ultraje a Rigor - Marylou (this one can't be taken seriously, since it's about a chicken) Bebeto - Jessica Legião Urbana - Eduardo e Mônica Tiririca - Florentina (satirical song, and the singer is a clown who later became the most voted federal legislator in the country) Capital Inicial - Natasha LS Jack - Carla (also a huge hit) Seu Jorge - Carolina Sandy and Junior - Maria Chiquinha (children's song) Latino - Renata (a song where her ex-lover badmouths her... trash) Sidney Magal - Sandra Rosa Madalena (his one-hit wonder, and one the most important songs from the "kitsch" era in Brazil) Capital Inicial - Fátima Nenhum de Nós - Camila, Camila Ivete Sangalo - Cadê Dalila? (this one never made much sense to me, but once it plays people go crazy anywhere in the country) Roberto Carlos - Lady Laura Legião Urbana - Mariane Ana Carolina - Eu comi a Madonna (literally, I ate Madonna, but in Brazil "eat" is a synonym for "f*ck", so this became something like a lesbian anthem) Biquini Cavadão - Dani Tijuana - Renata Marcelo D2 - Sou Ronaldo Cazuza - Bete Balanço Pitty - Desconstruindo Amélia Titãs - Marvin (huge hit) Latino - Cátia Catchaça Fernanda Abreu - Kátia Flávia, a Godiva do Irajá (incidentally, Irajá is the neighborhood where I was born, in Rio) Raul Seixas - Al Capone Elis Regina - Madalena Milton Nascimento - Maria, Maria (LOVE this one) Bruno and Marrone - Marianne Nx Zero - Larissa Jota Quest - Maria Roberto Carlos - Ana Carolina and Seu Jorge - Carolina Jorge Vercillo - Monalisa Biquini Cavadão - Janaína Os Raimundos - Pequena Raimunda Skank - Jackie Tequila Legião Urbana - Andrea Doria Armandinho - Paulinha (lil' Paula, literally) Ed Motta - Manuel (kind of a satirical song, though the singer is more of a "conceptual" person who thinks he's smart and everybody else sucks) CPM22 - Regina, let's go! Los Hermanos - Bárbara Capital Inicial - Giulia Tom Jobim - Luiza

Is there any hope for Aruba? In 2015 they had a big chance in Sailing and Bowling, but they fell short. No clue about how their athletes are shaping up for the next edition.

Amazing! I hope he also able to give their first medal at the Pan Am Games next year.

According to Wikipedia, qualifiers in Acrobatic Gymnastics are:

So, do you think that the Mediterranean Games should be an event for sailors and open water swimmers only?

Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Cook Islands won their first-ever medals. So nice!

Any word about which nations qualified in acrobatic gymnastics?

I am very surprised. I expected the competition to be a lot weaker. Everyone is far from their best shape, but some of these girls mean business (especially both Russians, both Israeli and the Italian girl). Before the competition, I even thought this could be the perfect opportunity for Nicol Ruprecht (from Austria) to sneak into a final and hopefully fight for a medal, but nope. The last few years were amazing for the sport, with new countries earning medals at the World Cup for the very first time: Brazil and Switzerland in 2013, Finland in 2014, Georgia in 2015, and the United States in 2016. Then in 2017 we did not have a new country earning a medal, and in 2018 competition is very, very tough since the first stage. Whoa.

They are showing the opening ceremony now, and it looks like they will show part of the individual qualification, which is nice.

Wow. I've been suspicious about Georgia. Any word about them?

Thank you! I was looking for a live score system, but the official website is not helpful at all. If you find a live stream, please PM me.

I would love to see a smaller, more compact version of the Olympics, with only the best of the best competing in a low number of sports. This might look radical, but in my opinion there are far too many sports contested at the Olympics, and we need to make the games smaller and the venues should cost less. Aquatics - Diving [4] 3m springboard (m/w) 10m Platform (m/w) Synchronised 3m Springboard (m/w) Synchronised 10m Platform (m/w) Aquatics - Swimming [26] 50m Freestyle (m/w) 100m Freestyle (m/w) 200m Freestyle (m/w) 400m Freestyle (m/w) 800m Freestyle (m/w) 1500m Freestyle (m/w) 4x100m Freestyle Relay (m/w) 4x200m Freestyle Relay (m/w) 100m Breaststroke (m/w) 200m Breaststroke (m/w) 100m Butterfly (m/w) 200m Butterfly (m/w) 100m Backstroke (m/w) 200m Backstroke (m/w) 200m Individual Medley (m/w) 400m Individual Medley (m/w) 4x100m Medley Relay (m/w/mixed) 5km Open Water (m/w) 10km Open Water (m/w) Aquatics - Synchronised Swimming [0] Women's Duet (w) Women's Team (w) Aquatics - Water Polo [2] Tournament (m/w) Archery [4] Individual Recurve (m/w) Individual Compound (m/w) Team Recurve (m/w/mixed) Athletics [32] 100m (m/w) 200m (m/w) 400m (m/w) 800m (m/w) 1500m (m/w) 5000m (m/w) 10,000m (m/w) 110m/100m Hurdles (m/w) 400m Hurdles (m/w) 3000m Steeplechase (m/w) 4x100m Relay (m/w) 4x400m Relay (m/w/mixed) Marathon (m/w) 20km Race Walk (m/w) 50km Race Walk (m) Long Jump (m/w) Triple Jump (m/w) High Jump (m/w) Pole Vault (m/w) Shot Put (m/w) Discus Throw (m/w) Javelin Throw (m/w) Hammer Throw (m/w) Heptathlon (w) Decathlon (m) Badminton [5] Singles (m/w) Doubles (m/w/mixed) Baseball [1] Tournament (m) Basketball [2] 3x3 Tournament (m/w) Tournament (m/w) Boxing [13] 8 Men's weights 5 Women's weights Canoeing - Slalom [4] K-1 (m/w) C-1 (m/w) Canoeing - Sprint [12] K-1 200m (m/w) K-1 500m (w) K-1 1000m (m/w) K-2 500m (w) K-2 1000m (m/w) K-4 500m (m/w) C-1 200m (w/w) C-1 1000m (m/w) C-2 500m (w) C-2 1000m (m/w) Cycling - BMX [4] BMX Race (m/w) Park (m/w) Cycling - Mountain Bike [2] Men's/Women's Race (m/w) Cycling - Road [4] Road Race (m/w) Time Trial (m/w) Cycling - Track [12] Individual Sprint (m/w) Team Sprint (m/w) Team Pursuit (m/w) Keirin (m/w) Omnium (m/w) Madison (m/w) Equestrian [6] Individual Dressage (mixed) Team Dressage (mixed) Individual Jumping (mixed) Team Jumping (mixed) Individual Eventing (mixed) Team Eventing (mixed) Fencing [6] Individual Foil (m/w) Team Foil (m/w) Individual Épée (m/w) Team Épée (m/w) Individual Sabre (m/w) Team Sabre (m/w) Field Hockey [2] Tournament (m/w) Football [2] U-23 Tournament (m/w) Golf [2] Individual Stroke Play (m/w) Gymnastics - Acrobatic [2] Group (m/w) Gymnastics - Artistic [10] Individual All-Around (m/w) Team All-Around (m/w) Floor (m/w) Vault (m/w) Pommel Horse (m) Rings (m) Parallel Bars (m) Horizontal Bar (m) Balance Beam (w) Uneven Bars (w) Gymnastics - Parkour [2] Freestyle (m/w) Gymnastics - Rhythmic [2] Individual All-Around (w) Group All-Around (w) Gymnastics - Trampoline [2] Individual (m/w) Handball [2] Tournament (m/w) Judo [10] 5 Men's weights 5 women's weights Team Event (mixed) Karate [8] 3 Men's Kumite weights 3 Women's Kumite weights Individual Kata (m/w) Modern Pentathlon [2] Individual (m/w) Rowing [6] Single Sculls (m/w) Double Sculls (m/w) Lightweight Double Sculls (m/w) Quadruple Sculls (m/w) Pairs (m/w) Fours (m/w) Eights (m/w) Rugby Sevens [2] Tournament (m/w) Sailing [4] RS:X (m/w) Laser (m) Laser Radial (w) Finn (m) 470 (m/w) 49er (m) 49er FX (w) Nacra 17 (mixed) Shooting [15] 10m Air Rifle (m/w) Mixed Team 10m Air Rifle (mixed) 50m Rifle Three Positions (m/w) 10m Air Pistol (m/w) Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol (mixed) 25m Pistol (w) 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (m) Trap (m/w) Mixed Team Trap (mixed) Skeet (m/w) Skateboarding [4] Park (m/w) Street (m/w) Softball [1] Tournament (w) Sport Climbing [2] Combined (m/w) Surfing [2] Shortboard (m/w) Table Tennis [4] Singles (m/w) Doubles (mixed m/w) Team (m/w) Taekwondo [8] 4 Men's weights 4 Women's weights Tennis [5] Singles (m/w) Doubles (m/w/mixed) Triathlon [3] Individual Race (m/w) Mixed Team Relay (mixed) Volleyball - Beach [2] Tournament (m/w) Volleyball - Indoor [2] Tournament (m/w) Weightlifting [10] 5 Men's weights 5 Women's weights Wrestling [10] 5 Men's Freestyle weights 6 Men's Greco-Roman weights 5 Women's Freestyle weights Total medal events: 172 in 18 sports Total athletes: --- Days of competition: 13 (including Day -2, Day -1 and Day 0 before the Opening Ceremony)

Konstantin Kuzovkov won Georgia's first ever medal at the World Cup circuit. Funny thing is he is originally from Russia. A gymnast from Saudi Arabia finished in fourth place on vault and was denied what would have been the nation's first ever medal at the World Cup series as well. The top 3 athletes (including Kuzovkov) were a bit overscored while the Saudi athlete was severely underscored. Sometimes I feel like this sport is not fair at all.