Seasoned teens eye coveted all-round gymnastics title

LONDON (Reuters) - At the ripe old age of 16 and 17, Russian Ksenia Semenova and American Bridget Sloan will stand out as the two Olympic veterans vying for the coveted women's all-round title at the world gymnastics championships.

The European all-round gold medalist and the American champion are just two of the few familiar names out to make their mark at the O2 Arena in East London when the new Olympic cycle kicks off on Tuesday.

The end of every Olympics sparks a mass exodus in the sport and the 2008 Beijing Games proved to be no different.

Olympic and world champion Yang Wei's decision to turn his back on the rigid lifestyle of a top gymnast has paved the way for a new men's all-round champion to be crowned on Thursday.

The women's roll of honor will also have a new entry thanks to the no-shows of Beijing queen Nastia Liukin and world champion Shawn Johnson.

However, unlike Yang, the two Americans are on a break and hence the likes of Semenova and Sloan will be eager to grab the spotlight during the absence of their more illustrious rivals.

While fans will be weighing up the attributes of the new generation of pint-sized athletes -- the competitors will also get a chance to savor the atmosphere at the O2, the first 2012 Olympic venue to host a major event.

UP FOR GRABS

Twelve titles will be up for grabs at the championships which run from Tuesday to Sunday.

Among those attempting to wow the judges will be home favorite and Beijing pommel horse bronze medalist Louis Smith.

Smith, who in 2008 became the first British gymnast to win an individual Olympic medal in a century, is one of the favorites for the world title in a discipline missing the men who beat him in Beijing -- China's world and Olympic champion Xiao Qin and Croatia's Filip Ude.

Smith's main challenge is likely to come from Hungary's 2007 world silver medalist Krisztian Berki.

"Everyone saw me get the bronze in Beijing and they see the world championships as an easier competition, so there's a lot of expectation for me to improve on bronze," the 20-year-old told the BBC.

"I hope to go there, do a clean routine. I've been working with a new routine with a high start score and we'll see what happens."

Britain's best hope of a medal in the women's competition lies with Beth Tweddle, who at the age of 24 outclassed her teenaged challengers to win the asymmetric bars and the floor exercise at the European championships.

Although this year's world championships will not feature a team competition, athletes from China and the U.S. will renew their rivalry.

Sloan, who will be up against Semenova and Olympic bronze medalist Yang Yilin of China, has been strengthening her routines for the championships.

"Bridget won the all-around at the verification a few days ago and is just working on tidying up a few things for London," her coach Marvin Sharp told International Gymnast Magazine (www.intlgymnast.com).

"Hopefully, all will go well in workouts, podium training, etc., and we will be ready for a good competition."

(Additional reporting by Pritha Sarkar; editing by Dave Thompson)