Wednesday 21 October 2015
Gymnastics’ brightest stars have been putting the final touches to their preparations as we enter the final countdown to the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships at Glasgow’s spectacular SSE Hydro Arena.
Over the last two days, female gymnasts from each of the 87 competing nations – including current all-around World Champion, Simone Biles, and her USA teammates – have been busy honing their routines during podium training in preparation for the start of the Championships on Friday 23 October.
Tomorrow is the turn of the men to try out the impressive competition arena. First up we will see home favourite Daniel Purvis and Great Britain’s men’s team take to the Floor, Pommel Horse, Rings, Vault, Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar. They’ll be followed by the uncontested king of gymnastics, Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who is bidding for a sixth consecutive World all-around title to add to the Olympic gold he won at London 2012.
By the conclusion of podium training on Thursday evening, The SSE Hydro will have been graced by a host of former and current Olympic Champions totaling an incredible 100 (38 women and 62 men), among them Gabrielle Douglas (USA), Alexandra Raisman (USA), Arthur Zanetti (BRA), Krisztian Berki (HUN) and Epke Zonderland (NED).
As the main qualification event for next year’s Olympic Games, some amazing feats are expected in Glasgow, where all gymnasts will be doing their utmost to secure passage to Rio 2016.
And, with the stunning backdrop of The SSE Hydro and Glasgow’s famous vocal support, an electric atmosphere is expected once the contest officially gets underway. With a giant 230 square metre ‘Mega Wall’ and judges positioned away from the field of play to improve spectator viewing, fans will be placed at the heart of the action for one of the UK’s premier sporting occasions in 2015.
Nellie Kim, President of the FIG Women's Technical Committee and five-time Olympic and World champion has already praised the championships set-up and is confident Glasgow is set to serve-up an experience to remember for spectators and competitors alike. She said: "Every little detail of these Championships is truly impressive, and I am sure that the experience, the effort and the wisdom put into the process of preparation will lead us all to a truly unique event."
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