Olympics-Gymnastics-Women's event-by-event analysis
(For a women's gymnastics preview, click on [ID:nPEK285606])
By Sonia Oxley
BEIJING, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Analysis of women's artistic gymnastics events for the Olympic Games.
Team competition (Aug. 13)
2004 Olympic champion: Romania
2007 world champion: United States
China's failure to retain their world title last year has set up an exciting re-match with the vibrant U.S. team that snatched it away. The Americans, led by the elegant Nastia Liukin and world all-round champion Shawn Johnson, are chasing their first Olympic team title since 1996. China qualified top after a series of U.S. errors. Athens champions Romania and former powerhouse Russia are likely to battle it out for the bronze.
All-round (Aug. 15)
2004 Olympic champion: Carly Patterson (United States)
2007 world champion: Shawn Johnson (United States)
The event promises to be a fascinating duel between Johnson and team mate Liukin, heralded as the next great thing before she was eclipsed by Johnson at last year's world championships where the then 15-year-old scooped three gold medals. Liukin had just returned from injury last year and now, fully fit, she is poised to get her own back. Romanian Steliana Nistor, Brazilian Jade Barbosa and Russian pair Ksenia Semenova and Anna Pavlova will be looking to throw a spanner in the works.
Floor (Aug. 17)
2004 Olympic champion: Catalina Ponor (Romania)
2007 world champion: Shawn Johnson (United States)
China's former world champion Cheng Fei was the top qualifier, while Johnson, Luikin and Romania's Sandra Izbasa were also impressive in qualifying. Brazilian former world champion Daiane dos Santos could upset them all after winning the crowd over with her stylish moves.
Vault (Aug. 17)
2004 Olympic champion: Monica Rosu (Romania)
2007 world champion: Cheng Fei (China)
German 33-year-old Oxana Chusovitina, competing in her fifth Olympics and representing her third county, has a realistic chance of a medal on the apparatus after she became the oldest woman to win a major gymnastics title when she captured the European vault gold in April. China's triple world champion on the apparatus Cheng and American Alicia Sacramone are expected to score well.
Asymmetric bars (Aug. 18)
2004 Olympic champion: Emilie Lepennec (France)
2007 world champion: Ksenia Semenova (Russia)
Russia's best medal hope Semenova proved her surprise gold on the apparatus at the world championships last year was no fluke by following it up with a European gold. Chinese phenomenon He Kexin, who qualified despite crashing off the apparatus, and former world champions Liukin and Briton Beth Tweddle could spoil things for the 15-year-old.
Balance beam (Aug. 19)
2004 Olympic champion: Catalina Ponor (Romania)
2007 world champion: Nastia Liukin (United States)
Liukin's grace is ideally suited to the 10-cm wide apparatus and she will be hard to beat, although China's Li Shanshan and Cheng will be formidable opponents. Johnson's claim that she has been working hard on her favourite apparatus after falling off twice in the world final should ring alarm bells among the hopefuls. (Editing by Alex Richardson) (For more stories visit our multimedia website "Road to Beijing" here; and see our blog at blogs.reuters.com/china)
