Doha World Cup

France got off to a good start at the Doha world cup by qualifying in 1st place on 4 of the 6 men's apparatus and also on Uneven Bars. The field was fairly weak with most countries currently focusing on their preparations for worlds. However, there were a few top gymnasts there. Prashanth Sellathurai qualified 2nd on Pommel and 7th on Rings. Judging by his D-score on Pommel: 6.6, he did not do his new routine that he showed at the recent worlds trial. Perhaps he will do it in the finals. His score on rings was only 14.75, but it looks at though the judges were being hard on the execution deductions with top ringmen Angioletti, Tampakos and Coppolino also receiving relatively low scores in the 14 to low 15 range. In fact nobody got an E-score over 8.8.

Spanish MAG team for worlds

The Spanish men's team for worlds has been announced and is

Rafael Martínez
Isaac Botella
Manuel Carballo
Sergio Munoz
Ivan San Miguel
Javier Gomez

Dutch Men's World Trial

Here is a video featuring some action from the Dutch Men's World Trial. Features the well known Wammes and Zonderland and also an up-and-coming gymnast Deurloo. The Dutch men have shot up the rankings in recent years, having placed 36th at the 2003 Worlds, they came 23rd in 2006 and 20th in 2007. They now just need some more depth in order to be a contender for a top 12 placing, although the recent suspension of Van Gelder could hurt them.

Charlie Tamayo

There has some suggestions that Charlie Tamayo is making a comeback. In fact he competed at the National Qualifier before VISA Championships on 4 events: Floor, Pommel, Vault and P Bars. You can see his floor and vault for this comp here:



Charlie defected from Cuba to the USA back at the 2003 Worlds and I don't think he has competed internationally since, which is a shame because he is such an exciting gymnast. He has the double Arabian laid-out named after him and is a great vaulter, having won bronze at the 2001 worlds. He also has the best Yamawaki in the world as pointed out by coach Rick on gymnasticscoaching.com

He didn't compete at VISA championships because he is not a citizen yet, but it looks as though he may be able gain it soon, hence his comeback. However, it is hard to see him making a world or Olympic team for the US, since they are already very strong on floor and vault with the likes or Horton and Legendre among others. Still, I would love to see him make the National team and compete at some international competitions.