More Worlds Bits

Women's qualifying starts in the morning and Worlds would not be Worlds without a few surprises.

Firstly- US gymnast Chelsea Davis dislocated her knee cap in the final training session, making the decision for who will be the USA's alternate a simple one. Bridget Sloan is up on bars and floor but will not defend her World All Around title. The US is entering 4 girls all around in the qualifying event- Bross, Larson, Caquatto and Raisman.

From the look of the start lists (which are as close to 'final' as you can get until the gymnasts march into the arena) GB has put up Imogen Cairns in place of Danusia Francis. This is great news for Cairns who has more than earned her spot, but sad if Francis has got a last minute injury- she was National champion on 2 events this year so also deserves her shot on the world stage.

If the start orders stay the same. The alternate for Russia is Anna Myzdrikova (she's excellent on floor but weak on the other events) and for Romania the injured Amelia Racea looks to just miss out. Teams can still change their minds even at this late stage and the start lists for the second half of qualifying on Sunday have not yet been posted.

Big name teams competing tomorrow include China, Russia, Romania, GB, Italy and Brazil. I'm afraid any news from me will be old news so keep an eye on the other blogs and the FIG website.

I will be live blogging where possible from the AA and event finals next week. The BBC broadcasting schedule for the UK viewers is here.
Wed Oct 20th - BBC Red Button - 15.50-18.10 (Women`s Team Final)
Thursday Oct 21st - BBC Red Button - 15.50-19.10 (Men`s Team Final)
Friday Oct 22nd - BBC Two - 13.00-15.00 (Highlights of the 2 Team events)
Friday Oct 22nd - BBC Red Button - 14.50-17.50 (Men`s All Around Final)
Friday Oct 22nd - BBC Three - 19.00-21.00 (Women`s All Around Final)
Saturday Oct 23rd - BBC 1 - 14.30-16.30 (Apparatus Finals)
Sunday Oct 24th - BBC Two - 14.00-17.00 (Apparatus Finals)

Good Luck Gymnasts (particularly team GB!)