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Event Finals Day 2 Preview

The excitement of the World Championships continues with the final day of event finals and the final day of the championships. With five packed finals, this day is sure to offer up some heartbreaks, tears and more tears and possibly some blood.

Let's take a look at what's in store for the final day of event finals and the World Championships. The events for today are men's vault, parallel bars and high bar and women's balance beam and floor exercise.

I'll start with the women's events since that's what I'm most familiar with.


Women's Balance Beam:

Qualifiers:
1. Tabea Alt 13.533
2. Morgan Hurd 13.5
3. Pauline Schaeffer 13.433
4. Ellie Black 13.433
5. Asuka Teramoto 13.333
6. Elena Eremina
7. Liu Tingting
8. Mai Murakami

Since the defending world champion, Simone Biles, is taking time off from competition, this is one medal that is in hot contention. Just looking down at the list of qualifiers, everyone on this list is capable of winning or at least walking away with the medal.

Qualifying first is the adorable German sprite, Tabea Alt has a routine with unique combinations of skills in her routine, including her aerial-layout step out-layout stepout connection and her  cool back hand spring to two foot layout mount. She qualified with a 5.9 D score, the highest of all the qualifiers to this final.

Of course, Tabea's contending with her teammate, Pauline Schaefer who is the defending bronze medalist from Glasgow.  She's the only beam medalist from Glasgow making an appearance in this final since, Simone is enjoying her well needed rest and Sanne Wevers didn't make the final. Pauline's a beam phenom with her own skill named for her, a side somi half.

Then there's the Russian factor with Elena Eremina. Eremina is going to be fresh off her bars medal and there's a definite tradition in Russia on getting beam and bars medals in spades. They practically just give them the medals, sometimes in unpopular opinion (see the 2014 controversy of Aliya Mustafina and the Case of the Missing Acro Series).

Now that she's a world all-around champ, all eyes will be on Morgan Hurd to see if she can bring home another medal for team USA in this final. She comes into the final qualified in second only 0.033 behind Alt.  She held back a bit during the all-around final (since like everyone and their dog was falling on beam). Hopefully, in this final, she can just go all out.

Liu Tingting of China is a favorite of mine, mostly because of her unique skills. She's unique in that she does an a amazing front tumbling acro series. What's also unique about her is she is so fluid in her movements. All of her skills are connected through her dance and she rarely takes pauses in between elements.

After missing out on a medal in the all-around, Mai Murakami is likely going to bring out some angry beam and fight for a medal, no matter the color (even if it's just a metal donut). She might pull out all the stops and maybe pull someone's hair.. someone on the judging panel probably. Then there's her teammate, Asuka Teramoto. We all remember in our collective gymternet memory the Aliya missing acro-series-and-still-got-bronze-over-Asuka. She's fabulous, with beautiful leaps and an Onodi that's so gorgeous.

Of course, don't forget about the home team, Ellie Black. Ellie's a definite favorite for a medal and is wanting another individual medal to go with her new silver one from the all-around.

Women's floor exercise

Qualifers:
1. Ragan Smith * 
2. Mai Murakami 14.2
3. Jade Carey 14.1
4. Claudia Fragapane 13.933
5. Brooklyn Moors 13.866
6.  Thais Santos 13.733
7. Vanessa Ferrari 13.600
8. Lara Mori 13.5
9. Ellie Black 13.433 *

* Black is the first reserve. Ragan Smith withdrew due to her injury she sustained prior to the all-around final, so Black is competing in her place.

The floor final is another one where Simone was the reigning world champion, so the medal is once again up for the taking. All the medals are up for grabs as Maggie Nichols, the bronze medalist rolling her eyes in any floor final anytime soon.

Jade Carey of the USA won a silver in the vault final earlier today and is also heavily favored to win or at least medal in this final. She's got the huge tumbling with a tucked double double, a full-twisting double layout and a full in.  If she can keep her nerves in check and control her landings and not make any major mistakes, Jade could be the next US world floor champion.

Of course, Jade's going to have to fight for the gold with Mai Murakami who challenges with equally huge tumbling of her own and a quad turn that is sure to wow everyone. With her pixie haircut, she's got the sass to bring to the table as well. She's going to be pulling out some angry floor (like her angry beam that I'm predicting) since she missed out on that medal in the all-around.

Another favorite is the Longines Prize for Elegance winner, Brooklyn Moors. This is a world championships and it is in Canada. Brooklyn's floor is so beautiful and hauntingly moving with her beautiful Semenova turn and her Podkepaeyva. She doesn't have the difficulty that her competitors do, but she does have elegance and execution! Her leaps and jumps hit 180 beautifully and she does a split jump full that just makes every other split jump full in existence look wimpy in comparison.

Claudia Fragapane comes back from a stint on Britain's "Strictly Come Dancing" with a Broadway themed routine with music from "Thoroughly Modern Millie." Claudia, like Brooklyn is just as known for her artistry in floor, as well as huge tumbling. She's got a full twisting double layout that get's huge air. She's definitely a crowd favorite.

Also look out for Vanessa Ferrari, who was world champion in 2006 and hasn't showed any signs of stopping anytime soon. If Vanessa is healthy, she's capable of medaling and winning. Her teammate Lara Mori is continuing what seems to be a tradition for Italy of producing floor workers with huge tumbling.

From Brazil, there is Thais Santos. Honestly, I don't know much about her. She had big tumbling in the qualifications and in the all-around final.

Men's Events -

Vault

Qualifiers
1 256 YANG Hakseon KOR 1 6.000 9.600 15.600 15.283 Q
2 5.600 9.366 14.966
2 244 SHIRAI Kenzo JPN 1 5.600 9.633 15.233 14.949 Q
2 5.200 9.466 14.666
3 290 DRAGULESCU Marian ROU 1 5.600 9.300 14.900 14.866 Q
2 5.400 9.433 14.833
4 241 ASATO Keisuke JPN 1 6.000 8.633 -0.1 14.533 14.716 Q
2 5.600 9.300 14.900
5 188 HRIMECHE Zachari FRA 1 5.600 8.933 14.533 14.699 Q
2 5.600 9.266 14.866
6 326 RADIVILOV Igor UKR 1 5.600 9.100 14.700 14.670 Q
2 5.600 9.141 -0.1 14.641
7 254 KIM Hansol KOR 1 5.600 9.266 14.866 14.649 Q
2 5.200 9.233 14.433
8 211 VEGA LOPEZ Jorge GUA 1 5.600 9.166 14.766 14.616 Q:

For the men's vault. the man to watch is Marian Dragulescu of Romania, who is a world champion and billion time world medalist, Olympic medalist and he's been going forever. In his 30's, he's also a big goofball, he's got two eponymous vaults named for him the the Men's Code of Points. At the World Championships in Glasgow, he took selfies with everybody and during the event final, he was an airplane. Yes, literally. Here's a video:



Other than that, Kenzo Shirai is of course a medal favorite. Since he is Mr. Twisty, he's got the triple twisting yurchenko named for him.

Qualifying in first is Yang Hak Seon, two time world vault champion and Olympic vault champ from 2012.

Men's Parallel Bars

Qualifiers

1 328 VERNIAIEV Oleg UKR 6.700 8.766 15.466 Q
2 147 ZOU Jingyuan CHN 6.600 8.633 15.233 Q
3 157 LARDUET Manrique CUB 6.400 8.800 15.200 Q
4 295 BELYAVSKIY David RUS 6.400 8.666 15.066 Q
5 142 LIN Chaopan CHN 6.400 8.600 15.000 Q
6 319 ARICAN Ferhat TUR 6.300 8.633 14.933 Q
7 201 NGUYEN Marcel GER 6.500 8.433 14.933 Q
8 303 BRAEGGER Pablo SUI 6.400 8.400 14.800 Q

For this final, Oleg Verniaev is the heavy favorite. He's the defending Olympic champion and he's been a world champ on this event in 2014 in Nanning, China. Then there's Belyavskiy, who medaled in the pommel horse final and Manrique Larduet of Cuba.

Men's High Bar -

Qualifiers:
1 271 ZONDERLAND Epke NED 6.500 7.933 14.433 Q
2 303 BRAEGGER Pablo SUI 6.800 7.633 14.433 Q
3 154 SRBIC Tin CRO 6.400 7.966 14.366 Q
4 304 HEGI Oliver SUI 6.200 8.133 14.333 Q
5 295 BELYAVSKIY David RUS 5.800 8.408 14.208 Q
6 267 DEURLOO Bart NED 6.100 7.933 14.033 Q
7 158 LERU Randy CUB 6.200 7.800 14.000 Q
8 243 MIYACHI Hidetaka JPN 6.200 7.766 13.966 Q

The high bar final is always the most exciting final of all the men's events. It's also the greatest event to close worlds on (besides women's floor). Lots of high flying releases that defy gravity, flipping, twisting and spinning all directions.

Epke Zonderland is a many time world champion and Olympic champion on this event. He's definitely got the high flying releases and his routine is always packed to the brim.

Here is the start list :

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