Hambüchen Confirmed for American Cup

Fabian Hambüchen has confirmed that he will compete at the American Cup in February. According to the DTB site, the young German has recovered sufficiently from the little finger surgery he underwent in December to make an appearance in Chicago.


(Photo: Eurosport)

"My finger feels completely normal, and for the last 2 weeks I've put as great a burden on it as I normally would. Training is going very well. As far as that's concerned, I really look forward to [the competition] and will give it my all in Chicago," the horizontal bar world champion told the DTB site.

Germany's female competitor in Chicago will be announced next week.

Fabian Hambüchen: "I Don't Need a Major Conflict"

On Christmas Day Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published this in-depth interview with Fabian Hambüchen. Judging from a reference to the recent DTB Cup, the interview took place in mid-November, which is to say before Hambüchen decided to compete in the Bundesliga Final rather than the World Cup Final and before he had surgery on his little finger.

The interviewers do go on a bit about growing up, but it's an interesting interview nonetheless - a nice peek into the life of the man many feel will take over from Yang Wei as the world's top all-arounder.

Enjoy!


(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

"I don't need a major conflict"

As a gymnast Fabian Hambüchen is a big name. At home in Wetzlar he is happy still to be a son. His father has coached the high bar world champion since his childhood days; his mother sits with him during the interview. Here is the young gymnast in conversation with Christiane Moravetz and Evi Simeoni.

You are 21 years old and live in your parents' house. For how much longer?
My girlfriend and I are just beginning to look for a flat. We'd like to move in together. I hope to manage this by the spring. Because if I become a student, the two activities shouldn't overlap.

What do you want to study?
Management economics, specializing in sport management. It will be a correspondence course.

So is this a further step into adult life?
Yes, but the greatest step is moving out. Studying is also part of the growing-up process, but it's simply the next step. A bit of gymnastics here and there is great, but I haven't done anything else for a year and a half now. That's enough.

It's an exciting moment in your life...
My girlfriend and I will be facing many things which my parents usually take care of. For example, cooking. I'd like to be able to do that. Also doing the laundry and other such stuff, which I'm sure we can figure out. We can just call Mom and ask her how to do it!


Fabian and his girlfriend Viktoria at the 2007 World Championships (photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Is it in such moments that you become aware what it means to be a child?
Things won't be done for me anymore the way they are here. However, if the whole media frenzy were to pour in over me alone, I would be beat within a month. Therefore we have split the workload.

With you so many factors are in tune: your father is a gymnastics coach, you are unusually talented and your body meets the physical requirements for gymnastics so well, as if there had to be a plan to this somewhere. Did you ever think as a child that you were born for gymnastics?
I never thought that I came into the world in order to be a gymnast. It was simply what I wanted to do, and it still is. That's the reason I spent my whole childhood and youth in the gym. When I first took up gymnastics, my father certainly didn't think that in a few years' time I would be right at the top. In the beginning it didn't look that way at all. That came with time.

Can you remember one moment when it became completely clear to you that you wanted to become a gymnast above all else?
Some afternoons, when I had time off, I went to the football [soccer] field with a friend and kicked the ball around a bit. If a coach or other responsible person would ask me whether I wanted to join in the game on Saturday, I'd say: "No, no interest, I only want to do gymnastics." It was clear me there that I didn't want to do anything else.

How old were you when you first competed?
Five, I believe. You had to be six to compete, but I had special permission. It was a team competition for seven-year-olds, and there I was as a little pre-schooler. Attack!

Was it a direct path for you, or did you consciously have to go past turnoffs?
So far it really has been direct. Also, I never had to say: "Now I have to stop, now I must somehow go on in a different direction." It was always clear to me. On the one hand there was school, which must be seen through to graduation. And as far as sports was concerned, I must continue to work my way up. Now there is a new factor to be considered: my girlfriend. Nevertheless the gymnastics path will continue as it always has done.

Were there no lures or temptations?
No. Partly because my friends were mostly gymnasts themselves, and they understood, or because I always saw them anyway. But if the others were out having fun on a Saturday evening, I wasn't with them. I didn't go to a single party, not even from my school class. I never felt the need to go. I would also have been cross with myself if I had been exhausted in training on the Monday.

Didn't you rebel against your father during puberty?
It's not as if we never had rows. But in that regard there were no great problems.

How did you experience puberty?
It all went by easily, both in terms of growth and in terms of behavior. Others shoot up in height, or their voice breaks. For me, that all came slowly over time. I never had a growth spurt.

Did you never have the chance to work through the essential father-son conflict?
I don't think I've missed out on anything. I don't need a really big conflict with my father. We have plenty of small differences of opinion.


Fabian with his father and coach, Wolfgang

How would you characterize your relationship to your father?
On the one hand we are very close, but then again very distant. Close, because we depend on each other very much, we spend a lot of time together in training and in this sense we communicate a lot. Distant, because my father is not someone who embraces you often, he is not the type for that. When he congratulates me, he just shakes my hand.

When you are at loggerheads, are there times when it gets loud?
Yes, of course. We are both stubborn, so sparks fly from time to time. Usually we then go full throttle.

Did you ever feel that you were treated differently because your father was the coach?
With such a setup one always has the feeling that one is pushed harder. But I believe that wasn't the case with us at all.

Did you never experience training as an ordeal?
It's never simple. Stretching each morning is no bed of roses. At the beginning it must also have hurt, but that I don't remember anymore. Now we don't feel it as pain anymore. We say simply that it is uncomfortable.

Aside from gymnastics, who or what determines your life?
If I want to do something, for example with my girlfriend, then I'm the one who decides. However, if it concerns other things, like moving, then my father still very much wants to put a word in. He's always comparing it to his time, and then I say: "But that was twenty or thirty years ago."

Is there any rivalry between your love life and your sporting life?
No. My girlfriend spends a lot of time at the university. She is there relatively early in the morning and stays till evening. So that fits in. It will work even better when we live together. I made myself clear at the outset: gymnastics always has top priority, nothing can change that.

What role does your mother play in your life?
She played a good role from the outset: overseer at school, overseer for medical issues, mediator in conflicts between my father and myself, if you want to call it that. We seldom had conflicts ourselves. I believe we never really argued.

The Beijing Olympic Games were certainly a milestone in your life. What kind of process took place on the way there and in China?
On the way there I was very self-confident. I was mentally on the ball, I went at it offensively and said: "I want gold." But once there, something went wrong, as if I were on a different planet. It started well. Things went brilliantly in qualification and I thought: "Everything is going as planned." Then I injured my finger, in the team final I fell from the high bar, and from then on it was jinxed. I can't even describe the all-around as a competition. For me it was more of a battle for survival because of my finger. I wasn't in the competition at all. I only thought: "Hopefully it won't hurt too much." Everything was completely wrong. I was hoping with all my heart that we'd get a medal with the team, or that I'd get one in the all-around. And I thought: "If that happens, you'll already have a medal in hand, and you won't have any more pressure on high bar." But it turned out exactly the way I didn't want it. I was standing in front of the high bar, hadn't won anything yet, and had only this one shot at a medal. And on top of that I had to compete first, and the routine didn't go well. After I had landed, I just wanted to run out of the hall and not watch the rest of the final, because I was so pissed off. But then luckily I came third. If I had come fourth, that wouldn't have changed anything in my intention to continue with gymnastics, but I'm overjoyed with the medal. Everything else I may still achieve later.


Fabian messes up at the Olympics. Note the perfect toepoint even during the fall! (Photo: Reuters)

Was it the first time that things went badly wrong for you?
I've had other competitions which didn't go so well, but in those cases I was simply not in particularly good shape. This time, however, I was perfectly prepared. And then I get there and mess up three times.

Has this experience changed anything in your attitude to gymnastics, possibly also to other things?
If so, then to gymnastics. At the World Cup in Stuttgart [DTB Cup] last weekend I was surprised to find that already in the qualification I wasn't in the least bit nervous. I stood in front of the high bar and knew that I would get up there, work through my routine, and be in the final, and the next day I would pull out all the stops. Boom, just like always. I then went and did just that. I still can't explain what was different in Beijing. Afterward, as I participated in the first competition of the German Bundesliga, I noticed: "Hey, this is why you do gymnastics, because you have fun, because you enjoy it, because it's simply wicked. And not because you absolutely must get a medal."

Would you say that Beijing was an important experience?
Yes, you can say that again. Next time it will go differently. Not, perhaps, from the medals point of view, but as far as my attitude is concerned.

Can one say that is a step in the process of reaching maturity?
Definitely. These are things which will help a lot in the sporting area in the future, but also in my private life. No matter the situation in which I find myself, I must remember to think: "What can I do, what do I want to do and what must be done?" instead of rushing into doing something out of sheer joy or frustration. One must block out everything, or at least try to, in order to be present here and now and concentrate on just the one thing.

Did this experience change your relationship to your father?
He is also learning. These were his first Olympic Games. They were my second Olympics, but he hadn't been in Athens. He has now experienced for the first time what something like that is like. Even when you are older, you don't stop learning. The process always goes on, regardless in which direction.

Did you have the feeling that you disappointed your father?
No, not at all. And I believe my father is the only one who can relate to that, who really feels with me, but who can say at the same time: "That's OK, you did well."

Did the experience also set you free in some way?
Definitely. The pressure before the Olympic Games was insane. Whether it was in my head or from the media, it was only about getting gold.


(Photo: Reuters)

What do you feel when you hear the expression "growing up"?
On the one hand I'd say that I am now grown up, but on the other hand there is still something missing. As long as one has parents, that will probably never stop.

Can you imagine that you will have the feeling at the end of your gymnastics career that you are now grown up?
For that I will certainly need a few more years. But once I have taken over all the work from my parents, I will be able to say truly: "I am grown up."

Because of gymnastics you are earning more money than most do at your age. Does that give you a feeling of being an adult?
On the one hand, yes, just because the money is available. But on the other hand, no, because I don't yet have the overview or "power" over it. After consultation with my father I am investing a lot and I discuss everything with him. When I move out, I must calculate how much money I want to spend on the apartment. And once I'm really managing my money by myself and am doing everything myself, then I will be grown up.

Hambüchen's Surgery: No Complications

Financial Times Deutschland reports that Fabian Hambüchen has gone under the knife and that the operation was successful. Here's a translation of the FTD article...


(photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Hambüchen's Finger Operation Without Complications

Fabian Hambüchen has left the Vinzenz Palotti Hospital in Bergisch Gladbach following his finger operation and is now looking forward to the gymnastics year 2009 with full confidence.

"It all went well," the 21-year-old high bar world champion announced after the thirty-minute operation during which doctor Georg Westerdorf and Rainer Koll, the team doctor of the Olympic-gold-medal-winning German field hockey team, artificially lengthened the torn ligament of the little finger of his left hand and fixed it with a titanium anchor.

Hambüchen's injury occurred during the Beijing Olympics. Initally a capsular injury was diagnosed and treated conservatively. However, the pain recurred in November, which restricted his performance at the Stuttgart World Cup event and at the Bundesliga Final, held in Heidelberg last weekend.

Fabian Hambüchen must now wear a splint on his left hand for around a week. Reduced training is currently all that is possible for the Olympic bronze medalist. "He is of course unable to train with his hand. But he is still doing something," confirmed his father and coach, Wolfgang Hambüchen. The stitches should be removed before the turn of the year.

It is currently debatable whether Fabian Hambüchen can take part in the American Cup on February 21/22, as planned. "We will decide in the middle of January, after weighing all the pros and cons, whether it makes sense. If he is to take part in such a competition, he must be in good shape," said Wolfgang Hambüchen.

We wish Fabian all the best.

Hambüchen Announces Operation to Finger

We'd already told you it was going to happen, but Financial Times Deutschland just confirmed it: High bar world champion Fabian Hambüchen is planning an operation to his finger in the week before Christmas.

"The operation will take place in two weeks' time and then I'll start looking seriously for an apartment with my girlfriend Viktoria," the 21-year-old from Wetzlar told RTL television's review of the the year "2008 – People, Pictures, Emotions."


Fabian Hambüchen and his girlfriend Viktoria, with whom he's been together for a year and a half now. (Photo: Alfred Harder/Bild)

Hambüchen had just shown the viewers his Olympic routine, which he'd fluffed slightly in Beijing. He won the bronze medal with this routine, managing all his flight elements OK but touching the mat with his hands on landing.

Although he normally is very careful about his nutrition and weight, he's planning to enjoy Christmas with a "fondue with delicious meat," said Hambüchen. Meanwhile he has learned much from his Olympic appearance. "My expectations were set too high and I went for gold too aggressively," he said. That will not happen to him again.


(photo: AFP/Getty Images)

Finally, Video Footage of That Hambüchen Routine!

Finally we've found a video of the record-breaking high bar routine (7.5 start value) Fabian Hambüchen performed last weekend at KTV Straubenhardt's final "regular" Bundesliga match of the season. Click here to see it!

We have to agree with Rick McCharles that Hambüchen's Pineda (the big, G-rated skill he does at the beginning, officially described as a barani-out Gaylord 2) doesn't look all that different from a Kolman or a Cassina. It's just a piked Kolman really. It's still pretty spectacular stuff though. Wahnsinn, as Hambüchen himself would have it!

International News Roundup

We have a whole lot of news for you, plus a minor scandal which we'll post in a separate entry. Amazingly, hardly any of this week's news is injury-related!

--- The Belgian Gymnastics Federation has finally released the results of the Top Gym Event Finals. Click here to see them.

--- Much to our surprise, Sandra Izbasa didn't win Romania's Athlete of the Year Award. The honor was bestowed instead on Alina Dumitru, a judoka who won Romania's first gold medal of the 2008 Olympics. You can watch Dumitru accept the award (in a horrible ensemble featuring blue tights) here. Sandra doesn't appear in the video.


Isabelle Severino (photo: L'Equipe)

--- We can't find the press release anymore, but it's been confirmed that 2005 European floor champion Isabelle Severino, who was forced to retire from competitive gymnastics half a year ago after tearing her Achilles tendon, has been elected to the Directorate of the French Gymnastics Federation. We're not sure what Severino is going to do at the FFG, but it's great to see she'll stay involved in the sport. It sounds like she'll have her work cut out for her. The FFG has announced that it aims to win 3 to 5 gymnastics medals at the London Olympics, which will take some doing, we think.

--- International Gymnast reports that Oleg Ostapenko has accepted a job offer from the Ukrainian Gymnastics Federation, after also having received offers from the Russian and Brazilian federations. From January onward he'll be Ukraine's head coach. It is hoped that Ostapenko, who coached Lilia Podkopayeva to the 1996 Olympic all-around title and spent the last 7 years working with the Brazilian national team, will give the Ukrainian women's program a much-needed boost. Meanwhile, Ostapenko's Ukrainian co-worker at Curitiba, Irina Ilyashenko, will go on coaching the Brazilian girls.


Rotterdam's Erasmus Bridge, where Yuri van Gelder will perform a routine

--- Two years from now, Dutch ring specialist Yuri van Gelder will be seen doing something quite spectacular: Performing his ring routine while suspended from Rotterdam's Erasmus Bridge, so as to promote the 2010 World Championships, which will be held in Rotterdam (also site of the 1987 Worlds), October 17-24. The stunt was announced yesterday at a press conference given by the championships' organizing committee. Reportedly, Rotterdam Alderman Lucas Bolsius, who seems keen to promote the championships in an unusual way, said to Van Gelder at the press conference, "Let's make a deal here, right now. Around the time of the 2010 Worlds, you'll be hanging from the Erasmus Bridge. We'll make sure there's a set of rings suspended from the bridge. This great footage will be shown the world over, both on TV and on YouTube. That's my dream. I'm going to make all the necessary arrangements with the Assistant Secretary." Van Gelder was up for it: "I'll definitely give it a shot. It would be a unique situation for me." It was later revealed that the two meant it and had in fact agreed on the stunt before the press conference.

Meanwhile, in China...


Xiao Qin (photo: Sohu)

--- Remember we told you a while ago that the Wuhan Institute of Physical Education, where Cheng Fei and Yang Wei learned the tricks of the trade, had received such an influx of new students after the Olympics that the club didn't have enough coaches to go around and had even asked Cheng Fei's father to become a coach? Well, it seems not all Chinese clubs are doing that well. Last week Sina posted an article about Xiao Qin's former club, the Zhongshan East Road Sports Academy in Nanjing, which back in the early '90s received 1,500 prospective students a year but saw its popularity plummet in the late '90s, among other things because of the Sang Lan accident. Since then, while sports like basketball, tennis, and table tennis have become or remained popular, the club's gymnastics program has dwindled, and apparently not even Xiao Qin's achievements have been able to restore it to its former glory. The Head of the gymnastics club recently told Sina that the club had distributed 400 recruitment leaflets to local kindergartens after the Beijing Olympics, only for 3 (yes, three) parents to show up with their children for the club's selection day. We're guessing Xiao Qin is a less appealing role model than Yang Wei and Cheng Fei then. Could it be because nobody really understands pommel horse?


Li Shanshan in Beijing (photo: Getty Images)

--- Meanwhile, the Guangdong Institute of Physical Education, which gave us Yang Yilin and Li Shanshan, has been commended by the local authorities. Sina reports that the Zhongshan National Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (how's that for a mouthful?) has donated 800,000 yuan ($116,300) to the Institute to help it to produce more champions. We look forward to seeing what else will come out of that program.

And then there's some German news...

--- Financial Times Deutschland, which takes a surprising interest in gymnastics, has confirmed that vault specialist Matthias Fahrig will be the only German competitor at the World Cup Final. Fahrig was ranked 12th after the World Cup circuit but will be allowed to compete because Leszek Blanik and Anton Golotsutskov have retired. We're confused now - didn't the FIG just say Golotsutskov had confirmed his presence in Madrid?


Matthias Fahrig, who has since thankfully stopped bleaching his hair (photo: Peter de Jong/AP Photo)

--- The Schwaebische Zeitung has published Fabian Hambüchen's response to his world-record-breaking performance on the high bar at last weekend's Straubenhardt match. "I wasn't planning on doing it," Hambüchen said, referring to his new Pineda, a G-rated part which will carry a 0.8 value under the 2009 code. "Before the one-touch warmup my father asked me if I felt like doing the Pineda at the start of my routine. I was feeling good, so I thought to myself: 'Come, this is a good place to give it a try.'" Hambüchen missed the skill in warmup, but hit it beautifully when it counted. "Totally cool. It was fantastic to do the thing right at the start. I felt so happy [when I got it right], and you're just really proud afterward. At the end, when things get tough, it's just a matter of trying to get through your routine." But the fact that he had hit that routine didn't mean he was fit enough to go to Madrid: "I couldn't tell you now if I could do that routine the same way again tomorrow. But I can help Straubenhardt even if I do a slightly less difficult routine."

--- As to Marian Dragulescu, according to the same article in the Schwaebische Zeitung, he's giving the World Cup Final a miss because "the Bundesliga is simply more fun." Wow!

About That World-Record-Breaking Hambüchen Routine...

We reported earlier that Fabian Hambüchen had shown the most difficult high bar routine ever during his club's last Bundesliga match before the grand final, a routine with a 7.5 start value. At the time we didn't know what element Hambüchen had added to his already ferociously difficult routine to account for the higher start value. We do now. According to a German source, Hambüchen has added a G-rated Pineda to his set. A Pineda, for those who don't know their MAG code by heart, is a barani-out Gaylord 2. Basically it's a full-twisting back somersault over the bar, like a Kolman, but with half turns before and after the somersault rather than a full turn during the somersault. You can watch the skill as performed by its originator, Mexico's Tony Pineda, here!

Quick News Roundup

--- We have yet to see any official results (or substantial unofficial results for that matter), but it seems that American national junior champ Jordyn Wieber has won the Top Gym competition held in Charleroi, Belgium, despite feeling a little under the weather. According to her website, Wieber received the top scores on all events (15.000 vault, 15.250 bars, 15.000 beam, 14.550 floor) and consequently ended up winning the all-around competition. No word yet on the other highly touted competitors (Kamerin Moore, Larisa Iordache, Diana Bulimar), nor on whether the Russians ended up sending any competitors (Tatiana Nabieva is supposed to be in nearby northern France) to Top Gym, which is traditionally a good spotting ground for junior talent. We hope to have complete results for you later.


Jordyn Wieber, winner of the Top Gym competition

--- According to German newspaper Zeit Online, supposedly injured Fabian Hambüchen just performed the most difficult high bar routine ever in KTV Straubenhardt's last match before the Bundesliga Final, to be contested in two weeks. Hambüchen is reported to have thrown a routine with a 7.5 start value, up 0.2 from his previous record. Way to prove you're seriously injured, Fabian!

--- According to the Gazeta Sporturilor, Sandra Izbasa is one of five nominees (four female, one male) for Romania's Athlete of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on December 2. We have a feeling Sandra will grab that award too.

--- Speaking of Athlete of the Year competitions, remember we told you last week that Yang Wei had been voted China's male athlete of the year, and his coach Huang Yubin China's coach of the year? Well, it now seems that the female gymnast closest to winning the award (which ended up going to table tennis legend Zhang Yining) wasn't Cheng Fei, as you might expect, but Deng Linlin! We can't find the details anymore (we'll have a look for them later when we have more time), but we do remember that the article said Deng got many more votes than Cheng, outscoring her by something like 5 to 1. We like Deng, but we do wonder - what did she do to outscore Cheng Fei, Jiang Yuyuan, and Yang Yilin by such a hefty margin?


A big thumbs-up for Deng Linlin indeed! (Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

--- Finally, we'd like to draw your attention to this delightful Times Online article about Britain's new star on the pommel horse, Louis Smith. It sounds like Louis is quite a character. According to the article, he auditioned for The X Factor and is planning to unveal a new, highly showy element on the pommels at some point. He'd also love to compete wearing a giant Afro, but has decided against it because he feels the judges wouldn't appreciate it. Read the article for yourself - it's entertaining!

One More Reason Why We're Getting Less and Less Excited about the World Cup Final

According to the DTB site, Fabian Hambüchen will give the World Cup Final in Madrid a miss. Instead, the world champion on high bar will compete for his club, KTV Straubenhardt, in the Bundesliga Final, which will be held in Heidelberg on the same weekend (December 13).

It is rumored that Hambüchen is passing up on the World Cup Final because his club will reward him handsomely for taking part in the Bundesliga Final and make it more rewarding for him to stay in Germany than to go to Spain. However, officially he's staying at home because of a torn tendon in the little finger of his left hand, which has been bothering him ever since the Olympics. He's slated to go under the knife at the end of the year, and is expected to be out of action for 6 weeks.


(Photo: Eurosport)

"In order to compete in a World Cup Final, I must be able to prepare well," the German champion was quoted as saying by the DTB site. "At the moment that's impossible, but for my teammates at KTV Straubenhardt I'll grit my teeth and hope that I can contribute to a good result in Heidelberg."

The good news for Hambüchen is that his club stands an excellent chance of winning the Bundesliga Final. The Straubenhardt team, which boasts Romanian world champ Marian Drăgulescu, 1988 Olympic floor champ Sergei Kharkov (aged 38!), 1992 Russian national junior champ Alexei Grigoriev and Hungary's Robert Gal among its members, is leading the standings after 6 competition days and is the great favorite to win the title.

DTB - Champions' Trophy

This year the organizers of the DTB Cup tried something new. In addition to the well-known event finals, they held the so-called Champions' Trophy competition, a men's all-around competition endowed with €50,000 ($62,850) prize money. Of course all-around competitions are hardly a new idea. In fact, until 1993, the DTB Cup was an all-around competition, one of the best around. But in this age of ongoing specialization, all-around competitions are few and far between, and more and more people are beginning to miss them. With Fabian Hambüchen being the AA star he is, the DTB organizers thought they'd give him an extra opportunity to shine by holding an AA competition in his own backyard. So they invited 7 all-arounders to take on "Fabi," and came up with an interesting format in which all athletes would compete on the same event, and competing order would be determined by ranking. After each rotation, scores would be tallied up, and whoever placed last would be the first to compete in the next rotation; the leader would compete last. Then the organizers sat back to see what would happen.


The fall that cost Fabian Hambüchen the gold (photo: AP)

It didn't quite pan out as they probably wished. Hambüchen only came 3rd, having had trouble on both pommels and high bar. But the competition itself, which remained open until the very last routine, was a hit. The crowd loved it, giving the 8 athletes a standing ovation afterwards. So we guess the Champions' Trophy will be back next year. Hopefully there will then be a women's event as well. The organizers did say this was a possibility if the men's competition were a success.

The competition was won by Russia's Maksim Devyatovsky, who was unspectacular on most events (well, he did attempt a handspring double front vault, with a deep landing and a hop) but managed to avoid large mistakes. In the end, being solid earned him the trophy and a very nice and tidy €15,000 ($18,860). The silver went to Japan's Hisashi Mizutori, who was doing very well until he fell, rather clumsily, on his PB mount. He came back spectacularly in the final rotation (full turn to Markelov, layout Kovacs, tucked Kovacs, Kolman, twisting one-arm giant, hop full, double-double dismount for a 16.025) but it wasn't enough to beat Devyatovsky.


AA winner Maksim Devyatovsky (photo: Getty Images)

Despite a fall from pommel horse, Fabian Hambüchen was the leader going into the final rotation. However, he stuffed up on high bar, coming off on a Kolman and barely hanging on after a layout Tkatchev. Nevertheless, the home crowd favorite said he'd relished the experience. "I'm not sad at all. I'm glad I could be here. I had tons of fun and it was a great competition," said the German.

According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Hambüchen claimed he was so exhausted before his last event that he could barely lift his arms. Under the circumstances his fall didn't come as a great surprise. It certainly didn't upset him. "Today I'm not getting annoyed about anything," he said. He left the arena with a huge grin on his face.

We're guessing he had at that point seen the article in the Stuttgarter Zeitung, which on Saturday posted ten photos of Hambüchen under a headline that read, "This is what perfection looks like."

As to the other competitors, Romania's Flavius Koczi was the leader at the halfway stage, thanks mostly to an excellent PH set. However, things went downhill for him in the second half of the competition. He fell out of his double-twisting Kasamatsu vault, took a big step on his parallel bars dismount and heavily piked down his high bar dismount for 4th place.


Silver medalist Hisashi Mizutori (photo: Daniel Maurer/AP Photo)

The other competitors also had their share of trouble. Switzerland's Niki Böschenstein showed a very short pommel horse routine and fell on his hands on his handspring double front vault. Jordan Jovchev was brilliant as always on rings, but had major problems on a transition on pommels, was off center on his full-twisting Kasamatsu vault, and finished his floor routine with a mere double twist. Britain's Kristian Thomas started very well on floor, but had trouble on a Tong Fei on pommels, lacked impressive strength parts on rings and had some trouble getting into a handstand on PB. Finally, Germany's Philipp Boy showed an excellent double Arabian half out on floor, but had problems on all his other events, and ended the competition crashing his high bar dismount into the mat, landing on all fours. He's a promising gymnast though - proof that there's more to German men's gymnastics than Fabian Hambüchen.

1. Maksim Devyatovsky RUS 92.000
2. Hisashi Mizutori JPN 91.700
3. Fabian Hambüchen GER 91.550
4. Flavius Koczi ROM 90.125
5. Niki Böschenstein SUI 88.800
6. Jordan Jovtchev BUL 88.625
7. Kristian Thomas GBR 88.400
8. Philipp Boy GER 87.750

As before, the above notes and scores came courtesy of the DTB site, whose live updates (in German) were a very welcome addition to the competition itself.

DTB - Men's Competition

We promised to provide you with some details on the men's competition in Stuttgart. Well, as far as the German media were concerned, it was all a great Fabian Hambüchen fest ("The Hambüchen festival goes on," read the headline of the Frankfurter Allgemeine, Germany's largest newspaper). This was all the more remarkable since Hambüchen was - you've guessed it - injured. Reportedly the injury in the little finger on his left hand which caused him such trouble in Beijing has flared up again, causing him to skip vault in Stuttgart (although he will reportedly do vault in today's all-around competition). He will undergo more medical examinations in a few days to determine whether the finger needs surgery.

After his victory on high bar, Hambüchen raised a victorious fist to the crowd and proudly accepted the "Fabi, Fabi" cheers. "I did well and enjoyed the atmosphere, so I allowed myself to get a little emotional," the German was quoted as saying by the Stuttgarter Zeitung. "I was having fun again." What a change from Beijing, where he had tears in his eyes after the high bar final...


Fabian Hambüchen (photo: Reuters)

China's new stars also did well, claiming half of the men's titles between them: pommel horse (Zhang Hongtao), parallel bars (Feng Zhe) and still rings (Yan Mingyong).

By now the complete results have been posted on IG. We're just going to add a few notes, courtesy (once more) of the DTB site.

Floor
Fabian Hambüchen stepped out of bounds on his layout double-double, but hit the rest of his difficult routine and so emerged victorious. Britain's Kristian Thomas was awarded the silver for a twist-abundant routine that started with a 2.5 twist to front-half and ended with a double Arabian. Alexander Shatilov had to settle for the bronze after taking steps on his second multiple twisting pass and triple twist dismount. Diego Hypolito faltered on his press to handstand, then threw in the towel, finishing with a simple double twist dismount. Way to give up, son.


Zhang Hongtao (photo: Daniel Maurer/AP Photo)

Pommel horse
Exciting new kid on the block Zhang Hongtao nailed a very hard routine: 6.8 start value, 9.500 for execution! It was the highest execution score in the entire competition. Australia's Prashanth Sellathurai was fast and clean for the silver, while Armenia's Harutyum Merdinyan took a surprise bronze.


Yan Mingyong (photo: Daniel Maurer/AP Photos)

Rings
China's Yan Mingyong and Holland's Yuri van Gelder tied for the gold with exactly the same start values and execution scores. Van Gelder hit his usual deep inverted crosses but piked down his layout full-in dismount; Yan hit his dismount for a share of the gold. Alexander Vorobyov showed excellent strength parts and a piked double front dismount for the bronze.


Thomas Bouhail (photo: Reuters)

Vault
Thomas Bouhail was unbeatable here (he's been doing very well for himself lately), hitting a powerful Tsukahara piked double back (small step backward) and a handspring double front. Holland's Jeffrey Wammes hit a 2.5-twisting Yurchenko with a step backward, then took a step on his handspring double-twisting front (silver). Germany's Matthias Fahrig, who had qualified in first place, sat down on his handspring piked double front but hit his 1.5-twisting Kasamatsu for the bronze. Diego Hypolito hit his 1.5-twisting Kasamatsu but was a bit off on his handspring 1.5-twisting front. The Hypolitos were disappointing in Stuttgart. Diego's sister Daniele wasn't very impressive either.


Feng Zhe (photo: Daniel Maurer/AP Photo)

Parallel bars
China's Feng Zhe took a clear step backward on his dismount, but his clean lines and 7.0 start value helped to offset that. Yann Cucherat showed a clean set, but had to settle for silver after taking a deep landing on his dismount. Fabian Hambüchen placed third after taking a few steps in his handstand after his Healy. For his part, Vasileios Tsolakidis hit a good piked double front for fourth, while Phil Rizzo, who was a bit off center on his piked Belle, placed fifth.


Fabian Hambüchen (photo: Reuters)

High bar
Fabian Hambüchen nailed his 7.1 routine: layout Kovacs, Kolman, Ribalko, Markelov, layout Tkatchev, rock-solid double-double dismount. Wow! Aljaz Pegan put up a good fight (good Pegan straight into 1.5 turn, triple back dismount) but came up short on a half turn and had to make do with the silver. Phil Rizzo hit his Markelov and Def, but took a step backward on his double-double (bronze). Epke Zonderland came off on his spectacular Kovacs-Kolman combo.

To be continued tomorrow with all-around results.

Hambüchen and Izbaşa Win Arthur Gander Memorial

Sandra Izbaşa has won the first of the five competitions in which she is slated to compete this post-Olympic season: the Arthur Gander Memorial, an annual event held in Chiasso, Switzerland. The Gander Memorial has a unique format: female gymnasts only compete on three events of their choice, while male competitors get to pick their four favorite events.


Photo: Harry How/Getty Images

Competing on vault (14.000), beam (15.1000) and floor (15.200), Izbaşa amassed 44.300 points in Chiasso, holding off German über-veteran Oksana Chusovitina, who competed on the same three events and obtained 15.000 on vault, 14.800 on beam, and 14.200 on floor for a 44.000 total. He Ning of China placed third with a 43.550 total which included a rather sloppy bar routine (by Chinese standards). Rounding out the field were Ariella Kaeslin, Ksenia Afanasyeva, Yasmin Zimmermann, and Lia Parolari.

According to the DTB site, Germany's Marie-Sophie Hindermann had to withdraw from the competition due to an Achilles tendon injury which will also prevent her from competing before a home crowd at the DTB Cup.

The men's title went to Fabian Hambüchen, the first German to win the competition. Aside from the overall title, the high bar specialist obtained the highest scores on each of the individual events on which he chose to compete: high bar (16.000), floor (15.250), vault (16.150) and parallel bars (15.600). According to the DTB site, Hambüchen unveiled a new routine on high bar featuring both a layout and a tucked Kovacs (7.1 start value).


Photo: picture-alliance/dpa

As in the ladies' competition, the men's all-around silver went to a veteran: Bulgarian Jordan Jovchev (61.450). Russia's Maksim Devyatovsky ranked third with a 60.650 total.