Preview Apparatus Finals - Day 2

LONDON (GBR), FIG Office, October 18, 2009: With this last day of competition in the 41st Artistic Gymnastics World Gymnastics Championships at the O2 dome, Great Britain's Beth Tweddle makes her Finals bid to win a medal. Beth had to watch team mate Louis Smith lose out on a Pommel Horse medal yesterday and so she will be determined to make not just a medal winning Floor Exercise but a World Title winning routine. With a 12,000 home audience behind her she has everything in place to defeat the World’s best and become Britain’s first Artistic World Champion. Importantly Beth has the charisma and the difficulty to win, her character and determination have never wavered.

Ana Porgras of Romania is favourite for the Beam title, but watch out for the two Chinese gymnasts, Deng Linlin and Yang Yilin, who have been exceptional on this apparatus throughout the tournament.

At Vault the men should see Marian Dragalescu (ROU) take his second Gold (he won Floor yesterday).

At Parallel Bars China’s Feng Zhe and Wang Guanyin are likely to finish 1st and 2nd, their style and skill is outrageous.

Horizontal Bar is the most open of the titles on offer today with the young gymnast from the Netherlands Epke Zonderland capable of upsetting the old guard and proven experts Igor Cassina of Italy and the legendary Aljaz Pegan of Slovenia. Zou Kai (CHN) led in Qualifications, but with Horizontal Bar nothing is easy to predict.

(source: British Gymnastics, adapt. FIG)