2009 European Gymnastics Championships AA Part 3

[@ballethoney]

Izurieta of Spain has an amazing line and elegant, expressive dance. I can't wait to see more of her (on one of her better days).

[@Mytrinitysong]

Awesome proformance by Semyonova and I'm so glad to see her do so well. :)

[@intldawn]

Wow, my coach would never have let me just quit in the middle of a routine unless I was seriously hurt and needed to be hauled out on a stretcher. I'm stunned. You NEVER see that at a senior level competition. I could understand her being upset if she'd had a couple of big misses, but it was the beginning of her routine. She'd hardly done anything before she'd burst into tears. Wow. You have to learn to suck it up and keep going at this level. You cannot just give up like that.

[@lingketon]

nice how aagje opened up really early in her vault

[@intldawn]

Point well taken. I'm only commenting on what I can see here. There does seem to be something very wrong, beyond simply her failure to get her routine started correctly. It's so puzzling because it doesn't look like she was hurt at all. I hope, for her sake, that it isn't what it looked like--that she just quit her routine after a miss. 'Cause she won't go far on the senior circuit with that approach. But you're right. I don't know the whole story.

[@intldawn]

@missAlessa2009 I see your point, but you don't know what happened before this competition either. What you described is an extenuating circumstance, much like what I outlined above. In any case, it's very unusual to see this happen at this level. There are many cases of athletes performing in the wake of serious tragedy. Joannie Rochette at last year's Olympics after her mother died and Lilia Podkopayeva in the 1996 Olympics after her grandmother died, to name a couple.

[@No1ZmeskalFan]

The Spanish girl has lovely presentation. She could be really something with difficulty and cleaner form.

[@bernardmvella]

@missAlessa2009 Haha yup. I thought Yang Yilin's Moulin Rouge music at the Beijing Olympics was mighty original, until I heard the exact same piece in the background of the 03 or 04 US nationals.

[@isa1285]

Major breakdown by Emily Armi but as the commentator says there might be more to that story than we know...

[@beffyblb]

They didn't always. Look at Spain in the 2000 Olympics. I'm not sure when the change occurred, if it's universal for the Spanish gymnasts, or if it's just a personal choice.

[@duonoaikouka]

Since when did a "short neck" become an asset in gymnastics?!?! This commentator needs another profession..... 0.o.... Izurieta (hope I spelled that right) was a joy to watch on floor. I love these gymnasts with long lines. So pretty.... even if all the moves are the same.

[@Athlete065]

What is Yasmin Zimmermann's difficulty?

[@lucialap]

I don't understand what happend to Emly...

[@lanpingpug]

A short neck? What on earth is this idiot on about? Who is he, anyway? I wish the BBC had covered this as they have commentators who have a lot of experience and do background research into each gymnast which means the commentary is informed and interesting. It's a shame for Armi but she did look very upset and her coach was right not to force her to carry on as she might have hurt herself.