It's a big night tonight at the Hallenstadion, Zurich. Gymnasts from Korea to Belarus are showing their gymnastics flare as a pair. How it works is that from one delegation, the team consists of a female and male gymnast and they choose their strongest events to compete on then the weakest pair, who are last, will be eliminated after two rounds then another elimination after round three.
We have a slight clue of what the gymnasts may be competing or if they've put in another skill too their routine because many of them competed in the Arthur Gander Memorial earlier this week so we can have a chance to see.
1. Germany A: Elisabeth Seitz, Fabian Hambuchen
Eli and Fabian won this meet in 2010 so they already have bags of experience. They been to the Olympics and peaked well at Nationals etc. I think that will definitely be the ones to beat.
2. Switzerland A: Giulia Steingruber, Claudio Capelli
This pairing won this meet last year so again they have experience. Steingruber won the recent Arthur Gander meet this week so she will definitely have the confidence, will the home advantage be enough to bring them to a second victory?
3. Belarus: Anastassia Marachkouskaya, Andrey Livckhovitsky
A very experienced team from Belarus, but age means maturity. They both had outstanding results at this week's Arthur Gander placing 2nd and 4th, exceeding their expectations.
4. Germany B: Kim Bui, Marcel Nguyen
Bui is a little inconsistent but if she can hit then she will definitely have a chance and Marcel is also weak on Pommels. They need to hit more than anything if they want a shot.
5. Ukraine: Mariya Kivchikova, Oleg Stepko
This is one of Livchikova's first meets after coming back from various injuries at Worlds & Stella Zakharova. They are both new to the elite scene and their gymnastics is absolutely beautiful but the consistency can weigh the grace down.
6. Russia: Yulia Belokobylskaya, Igor Pakhamenko
Both gymnasts competed at this weeks Arthur Gander. Yulia finished bottom and Igor finished first so they may find themselves right slam in the middle. If Yulia's routines come off then the execution will raise the roof.
7. Great Britain: Niamh Rippin, Sam Oldham
The British duo didn't compete that well at the Arthur Gander. Sam has had a fantastic first senior year with the Olympics and Niamh has been quite quiet but she is booked for Glasgow Grand Prix so hopefully they can redeem themselves in Zurich.
8. Italy: Carlotta Ferlito, Paolo Ottavi
Ferlito has also had a great year this year with Europeans and Olympics and starring in MTV's 'ginnaste.' They did pretty well at the Arthur Gander so let's hope they can hold strong
9. South Korea: Jie Hye Sung, Hak Seon Yang
Korea don't really have a very good trap record for their Swiss Cup results, usually being eliminated in the 1st round but Yang Hak Seon is Olympic Vault Champion so hold onto your hats for one rotation but I doubt we'll see them place, it's just experience.
10. Switzerland B: Jessica Diacci, Nils Haller
This is definitely the wildcard team. Jessica Diacci has had a few international meets but I haven't heard of Nils. We'll have to wait and see.
So, who will be the champion?
comment below :)
