World Gymnastics Championships filled with Record Breaking Events

Glasgow was filled with record-breaking events as Max Whitlock writes a new chapter in Britain’s sports history after obtaining the world title in the pommel horse finals, making him the first-ever British male athlete to win gold at a World Gymnastics Championships, while four female gymnasts shared the top of the podium after tying on the uneven bars finals.

Fan Yilin, Dario Spiridonova, Madison Kocian and Viktoria Komova finished their uneven bars routine with surprisingly same scores (15.366), resulting in an unexpected “four gold medalists” in the women’s individual apparatus finals.

That unprecedented event brought surprise and amusement to the audience and the four champions, who shared the crowded space at the peak of the medal podium, leaving the two bottom spaces empty.

The medal awarding ceremony was also prolonged as there were three national anthems (Russia, China, and USA) being played. The organizers also had to skip the flag raising ceremony since they can’t fit three national flags on one horizontal pole.

American gymnast Kocian depicted the incident as “super crazy”, while Chinese gymnast Fan Yilin said it was “hilarious”. Russia’s Spiridonova said: “Wow! I’ve never seen anything like this. I didn’t think anything like this would even be possible. It’s great that we are in this together and we will share the victory.”

Her teammate Komova added: "It was hard to deal with the nerves after they started to announce the results. I am personally shocked. It's the first time the judges had such a hard time deciding who the champion was."

NARROW MARGIN

Meanwhile, in the men’s apparatus finals, Whitlock has managed to surpass his compatriot’s score on the pommel horse event by a very tight margin. 

Smith executed a clean routine on the pommel horse to sit on the top of the scoreboard with a score of 16.033 until Whitlock, the last pommel horse competitor, outshone Smith’s performance to finish with a score of 16.133, just a tenth-of-a-point ahead of his compatriot’s score.

The British duo gazed on the giant scoreboard while waiting for Whitlock’s score, and when the score of 16.133 flashed up on the giant screen, Smith quickly grabbed their national flag to begin a double celebration.

"I had dreamed of this moment but never felt I would get emotional," said Whitlock, who also obtained a silver medal in the floor event finals behind Japanese superstar Kenzo Shirai.

"I can't believe it. I trained in the gym thousands and thousands of routines building up to this moment, so when you go clean like I did today, you can't express what you feel. I'm over the moon. It's been an amazing journey."

SHIRAI SHINES

On the men’s floor exercise finals, Japanese Kenzo Shirai executed a routine filled with daring and high-flying acrobatics and ending it with a quadruple twisting somersault, earning him a second world title in 3 years.

A slight mistake on his third tumbling pass was not enough for Shirai to flinch as the Japanese floor exercise supremo was the only competitor to surpass the 16-point barrier after finishing with a score of 16.233.

"As I experienced defeat last year, I know the importance to keep improving. This time I was able to surprise everyone with my difficulty," he said.

Russian gymnast Maria Paseka outclassed most sought-after athlete Simone Biles and the vault defending champion Hong Un-jong with two soaring leaps to obtain the vault world title.

Paseka hit her landing on both of her vaults, an Amanar and a Cheng, to finish with an average total of 15.666. Korea’s Hong Un-jong took the silver medal while American superstar Biles earned bronze.

Paseka’s gold finish sparked a gold rush for Russia, which started the second-to-the-last day of Championships with none but ended the competition with three gold medals, thanks to Paseka, Komova and Spiridonova.

Meanwhile, Greek gymnast Elftherious Petrounias displayed a jaw dropping ring performance to secure the rings world title ahead of Chinese You Hao and 2014 rings defending champion Liu Yang.

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SSE Next Generation Programme to Bring Young Athletes to the 2015 World Championships

Steve Frew, the first Scottish gold medallist at the Gymnastics Commonwealth Games, has collaborated with Irish young gymnast Rhys McClenaghan at the SSE Hydro to spread the news regarding the partnership between the SSE and the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships.

The announcement came after the ticket sales reached the 40,000 mark, with less than a month until the World Championships takes place on 23^rd October

The SSE Next Generation programme, a four year partnership with SportsAid – a charity dedicated on helping young athletes to reach their full potential, started from SSE’s tier one sponsorship of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. There are 100 young athletes, including Rhys that is currently receiving financial assistance and professional coaching as a result of this programme.

SSE’s support for the upcoming Championships symbolizes the company’s commitment to resume its support for sport and the major competitions in Scotland.

Through the help of the partnership, athletes of various sports across the UK will be able to attend the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow to obtain invaluable experience of the unique pressures and competitive environment brought by a major top-class competition.  Aside from that, they can also take advantage of the insights and advices that will be coming from the senior athletes like Frew -- a two-time representative of the Great Britain at the World Gymnastics Championships.

“Being part of the SSE Next Generation programme has been a huge help to me in allowing me to go to more competitions and training camps, which have boosted my performances. The chance to come and experience a World Championships is a dream come true and it will just motivate me even more to pursue my dreams.”  Said young athlete Rhys McClenaghan

Steve Frew, a gymnast who took part in the 1995 and 1997 World Championships to represent Great Britain said “When you are a young athlete there is so much to keep on top of as you train and develop. Support from programmes like SSE Next Generation is invaluable and this partnership with the World Gymnastics Championships will give athletes the chance to see first-hand the unique and inspiring environment presented by one of the world’s biggest sporting events.” 

The competition has already hit a new record, as a record number of gymnasts from different countries are set to take part in the upcoming 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, which will also serve as a stepping stone to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

An impressive amount of athletes – 615 gymnasts from 91 different countries have agreed to participate in the said event, which is currently the largest-selling artistic gymnastics event that was hosted in the country.

This upcoming World Gymnastics Championships, which will begin on 23^rd of October until November 1, is by far one of the world’s biggest single-sport events, which will feature Glasgow to a broader global audience compared to the Commonwealth Games.

Acting Head of Sponsorship at SSE, Colin Banks, stated: “Following the Commonwealth Games in 2014 it was really important to us to continue to make a difference through our support of sport in the UK. We are therefore proud to be back in 2015 at  the World Gymnastics Championships, which will give a number of our SSE Next Generation athletes valuable experience and insight into a major event. 

“The Next Generation programme has a real athlete-focus, and our aim is to bring that to the Championships in October. With the world’s best competing for gold, and the added prize of a place at Rio 2016, the event promises to be an incredible occasion for participants and spectators alike.”

Former leader of Glasgow City Council, Gordon Matheson CBE said: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome SSE Next Generation as an ‘Official Supporter’ to the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships.

“SSE’s commitment to the development of young people through sport and major events very much mirror’s our own commitment to developing a legacy from hosting the World Championships and encouraging more young people to take up the sport of gymnastics as part of an active, healthy lifestyle. We look forward to working together over the next few months.”

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