One thing is for sure, it was great to see international competition again even though it was a very different kind of meet. The Friendship & Solidarity Competition was a small contest involving gymnasts from the United States, Russia, China, and the host country, Japan. In a show of unity throughout the sport in what has proved to be a horrible year across the globe, athletes were separated into two teams with athletes from each country competing on both sides, both against each other and with other athletes who previously had always been competitors. Team Friendship and Team Solidarity.
A few of the most notable names who participated were Russia's Angelina Melnikova and Nikita Nagornyy, as well as Japan's Kōhei Uchimura and Asuka Teramoto. The athletes who represented the United States were Shilese Jones, eMjae Frazier, Sophia Butler, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus, and Paul Juda.
Some highlights:
Melnikova was stunning the whole night, dazzling on both beam and floor exercise. After what had been an unsuccessful night on beam by her Friendship teammates, she showed her experience by performing a solid and well-scored routine. My personal favorite was watching her on floor. Just exquisite.
American gymnast Shilese Jones showed some amazing promise with a beautiful vault, and though she fell off the beam, her tumbling was powerful and beautiful. Not to mention sky high!
Sophia Butler was the only US gymnast to stay on the beam, and quite possibly has my favorite combination of any American gymnast right now. She also performed solidly on floor and vault, and while the difficulty wasn't at the same level as other girls on the National Team, this new senior handled the pressure well and should be proud of her performance.
Asuka Teramoto is a favorite among gym fans across the globe. After competing in two Olympic games, she made the decision to stick around for another 4-years to represent her country on her home soil in 2020. Unfortunately, in early 2020 she ruptured her Achilles, which appeared to be the end of that dream. When the Tokyo games were postponed, she was able to comeback and still hopes to be a part of the Tokyo 202ONE team.
And of course, the legendary, seven-time Olympic medalist Kohei Uchimura wowed the entire arena, fans and gymnasts alike, with his unreal performance on high bar. Uchimura won all-around Olympic gold in both the 2012 and 2016 games, and it showed.
There were many other exceptional performances, especially from Japanese gymnasts, but I think
one of the coolest parts of this meet was watching some of the younger gymnasts perform with athletes who have already made names for themselves in the sport... even made history at the highest level. You could see the excitement and feel their support of one another. While it was not exactly what we are used to watching in international gymnastics competition, it was refreshing and a fun way to get out of the"no gymnastics rut" that the world has been in since early 2020.
Yul Moldauer posted this picture to his Instagram and stated, "This will ever be one of the greatest moments of my gymnstics career. Exchanging medals with @kohei198913" (speaking of Kohei Uchimura). In an earlieri post, he refered to Uchimura as "The King."
Such a great day for gymnastics.
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