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| The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, is where the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships take place. Original photo found via Creative Commons |
If you're a big gymnastics fan like I am, then this week is an exciting one. The 2015 World Gymnastics Championships officially begin this Thursday, October 23, in Glasgow, Scotland. The World Championships are the largest gymnastics competition of the year, so it's a must-watch for gymnastics fanatics.
But if you're not an avid fan of the sport like I am, this is still a competition you should watch for various reasons. Besides, USA Gymnastics is streaming the competition for free.
1. Olympic Qualifier
The first qualifiers to the Olympics next year will come from this competition. This is a great opportunity to watch some of the gymnasts that will be vying for Olympic medals next year. It's sort of like an Olympic preview. Wouldn't it be nice to recognize some of the names at the Olympics next year? It could give you someone to root from other than your home country's athletes.
2. Making History: Simone Biles
American gymnast Simone Biles is arguably the best gymnast at the moment. She's certainly the most dominant. This two-time reigning World Champion is seeking her third title at Glasgow and is a strong contender for it.
Biles currently has nine World medals, the second-most of any American. She ties 2008 Olympic All-Around Champion Nastia Liukin and two-time Olympian Shannon Miller and follows 2008 Olympian Alicia Sacramone, who has 10. With Biles at nine World medals, she only needs one more to tie Sacramone. It's very likely that Biles will not only tie Sacramone, but beat her record and become the most-decorated American gymnast in World Championship history.
After all, Simone has yet to compete in a World Championships and come home with less than four medals. In 2013, she won gold in the all-around and on floor exercise, silver on vault, and bronze on balance beam. In 2014, she once again won gold in all-around and on floor and silver on vault, but added team gold and beam gold to her collection.
If you watch the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, it is very possible that you will witness history being made.
3. The Russian Return: Viktoria Komova
This Russian Olympic gymnast will be competing at World Championships for the first time in four years, since her World Championship debut. In the years following the 2012 London Olympic Games, Komova has been plagued with illness and injury. She is finally back and looks like she never left.
She has stunning lines that shine on uneven bars. It will be exciting to watch her compete again and see where she plays out in the all-around competition. At the 2011 World Championships and the 2012 Games, she got silver in the all-around behind an American. She has never competed against Biles before, so will she have what it takes to even contend with her?
4. The Fierce Five Duo Comeback: Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas
These Fierce Five gymnasts are back and fighting. This will be their first major international competition since competing in London in 2012. They may have taken a few years off from competition, but it certainly does not look like it.
Aly Raisman is still as dominant on floor as she was in 2012. She beat Simone Biles for the national title on floor this past August. And since Biles is the reigning World Champion on floor, that's got to say something. Plus, she's still a one of the top three all-around gymnasts in the U.S. like in 2012.
Gabby Douglas is not quite at the same level she was in 2012 when she won Olympic gold, but she's still a solid all-around gymnast. Last time Douglas competed, she placed fifth in the all-around out of 14 girls. It will be interesting to see where she fits in the mix of talented all-around gymnasts, not only in the U.S., but the world.
Gabby Douglas is not quite at the same level she was in 2012 when she won Olympic gold, but she's still a solid all-around gymnast. Last time Douglas competed, she placed fifth in the all-around out of 14 girls. It will be interesting to see where she fits in the mix of talented all-around gymnasts, not only in the U.S., but the world.
5. The Philippines rises: Ava Verdeflor and Reyland Capellan
As a Filipino and avid gymnastics fan, I am very excited that there will be two gymnasts representing my family's home country this year at Worlds, Southeast Asian Games medalists Ava Verdeflor and Reyland Capellan. Gymnastics is not a very popular sport in the Philippines as the country has a passion for basketball and boxing, so it's nice to see Filipinos compete on a world level in other sports.
There hasn't been a Filipino gymnast at World Championships since men's artistic gymnast Jean Montecarlo competed in 2011. According to my research on gymnasticsresults.com and philippinegymnastics.org, no women's artistic gymnast has ever competed for the Philippines at World Championships. There isn't too much info on gymnastics in the Philippines, so I very well could be wrong, but it's still exciting knowing that Verdeflor is one of the first (if not the first) Filipino women's artistic gymnasts to compete at Worlds.
As aforementioned, Verdeflor and Capellan competed at the SEA Games this past summer. Both won medals. Verdeflor won team bronze and uneven bars silver while Capellan won floor exercise gold. So even though the Philippines aren't very big in gymnastics, they certainly seem to be on the rise.
I could go on and on about why you should watch this year's World Championships, but I shouldn't. And while most of these reasons only applies to women's artistic gymnastics, the men's competition is still one to watch. I just don't feel as qualified to talk about that as much as the women's.
But it appears that lots of history could be made in Glasgow this year, so you should definitely check it out. Please visit usagymworlds.com the complete U.S. live stream and TV broadcast schedule.
Why will you be watching the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships?
As aforementioned, Verdeflor and Capellan competed at the SEA Games this past summer. Both won medals. Verdeflor won team bronze and uneven bars silver while Capellan won floor exercise gold. So even though the Philippines aren't very big in gymnastics, they certainly seem to be on the rise.
I could go on and on about why you should watch this year's World Championships, but I shouldn't. And while most of these reasons only applies to women's artistic gymnastics, the men's competition is still one to watch. I just don't feel as qualified to talk about that as much as the women's.
But it appears that lots of history could be made in Glasgow this year, so you should definitely check it out. Please visit usagymworlds.com the complete U.S. live stream and TV broadcast schedule.
Why will you be watching the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships?
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