Dutch Rule at Glasgow

In the absence of the Russians, Romanians, Chinese, Japanese, and Americans, it was the Dutch who took away most of the medals at Saturday's Glasgow Grand Prix. Sanne Wevers won a fall-riddled uneven bars final before claiming another gold on her strongest event, beam. In the men's finals, Yuri van Gelder proved he's still a force to be reckoned with (and really should have been at the Beijing Olympics) with the gold on rings. Van Gelder's success was all the more remarkable since it came hot on the heels of a six-week vacation. We're guessing that old adage about even one day away from the gym horribly affecting one's performance isn't true for everyone, then.


Yuri van Gelder won the Glasgow still rings final despite a six-week break from training (photo: AP)

The women's vault title went to Hungary's Dorina Boczogo, who only needed a full-twisting Yurchenko and handspring-piked front to net the gold. The floor final was won by the competition's top-ranked female athlete, Ukraine's Alina Kozich, who showed a relatively easy but nicely choreographed and well-presented routine.

The men's competition had a better lineup. Israel's Alexander Shatilov won an exciting floor final, beating top favorite Diego Hypolito. Hungary's Krisztian Berki emerged victorious in a fall-riddled pommel horse final. France's Thomas Bouhail won an excellent vault final, showing a Tsukahara-double pike and a handspring-double front, while Slovenia's Mitja Petkovsek was unbeatable as usual on parallel bars. The last final, high bar, was won by another Slovenian, Alen Dimic, who beat his highly regarded teammate Aljaz Pegan.

For more details on the competition, we'll refer you to International Gymnast's great report, which can be found here.