FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Qualifiers: Chusovitina defies age

DOHA: Uzbekistan’s legendary gymnast Oksana Chusovitina once again proved that age is just a number after she qualified for the Women’s Vault final on the opening day of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup at Aspire Dome on Wednesday.

The eight-time Olympian, widely considered one of the most enduring athletes in the sport, qualified with an impressive score of 13.316.

The 49-year-old was joined in the vault final by Greta Mayer (HUN), Teja Belak (SLO), Sara Peter (HUN), Korent Tijana (CRO), Tjasa Kysselef (SLO), Madeleine Marshall (NZL), and Medina Kapabassova.

Host nation Qatar’s Salma Hamed delivered a promising performance (11.599) but fell short of making the final.

The Doha leg of the FIG World Cup, which runs through April 19, features 46 male and 27 female gymnasts from across the globe.

Day one also included qualifiers for the Men’s Pommel Horse and Still Rings, as well as Women’s Vault and Uneven Bars.

Women’s Uneven Bars:

In the Women’s Uneven Bars qualifier, Slovenia’s 2024 Olympian Lucija Hribar finished third, boosting her chances in the race for the overall World Cup series title.

Kate McDonald (AUS) and Audrey Rousseau (CAN) took the top two spots in the qualification round.

Men’s Floor Final

Turkiye’s rising star Alperen Avci delivered a standout performance by earning a spot in the Men’s Floor Exercise final.

The 18-year-old showcased both composure and technical skill in a competitive qualification round that featured gymnasts from Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Slovenia.

Avci posted a Difficulty Score of 4.9 and an Execution Score of 8.833 and finished fifth on the list of qualifiers.

“It was a challenging field with some very strong competitors,” said Avci.

Fellow Turkish gymnast Emirhan Kartin finished 11th out of 16, falling short of qualification.

Slovenia’s Anze Hribar topped the Floor Exercise qualification standings with 14.000 points, followed by Kazakhstan’s star gymnast Milad Karimi.

Pommel Horse 
Armenia’s 17-year-old Junior World titlist Hamlet Manukyan was confidence personified on the Men’s Pommel Horse, which could be the most competitive apparatus. 2023 Junior World bronze medallist Zeinolla Idrissov (KAZ) and 2024 Junior Asian All-Around champion Hong Yanming (CHN) also qualified for the finals.

Qatar’s Rakan Al Harith missed a direct qualification berth by a whisker. He finished 9th on the qualifier list.

What’s Next?

Thursday’s action continues with qualifications for Women’s Balance Beam and Floor Exercise, as well as Men’s Vault, Parallel Bars, and Horizontal Bar.

The top qualifiers across all apparatuses will battle in the finals on April 18 and 19, as athletes vie not only for medals in Doha but also for critical ranking points in the race for the overall World Cup series titles, to be awarded at the final leg in Cairo later this month.