Generally speaking, gym nerds were not impressed with the 2014 Winter Cup. That is, they were Maroney-ed about the whole situation. Many left the Riviera Royale Pavilion feeling somewhat ambivalent about the routines. They were hoping for huge skills, but big skills were few and far between. And if they couldn't get big skills, they were hoping for perfection, but Kohei Uchimura sublimity was missing.
At times, the meet was a comedy of errors. Especially pommel horse on day 1, where it seemed like no one could make it through the meet without falling.
As you'll see below, I haven't included any pommel horse routines in my list of must-watch routines. Sadly, no one broke a 15 on the event. The highest score was Ellis Mannon's 14.500 for this routine with some old school flair work:
But Ellis Mannon wasn't named to the U.S. National Team, and neither was Penn State's Craig Hernandez, who mustered a 14.350.
Let's face it. The United States continues to struggle on pommel horse. Sure, Fabian Hambuechen won a World bronze medal with a 13.333 on pommels, but 2014 isn't just about individual results. It's about the team. And if the American men want to contend for a team medal at the 2014 World Championships, they can't have a lineup that consistently averages a 13.
:::Remove finger from Team USA's gaping wound:::
All that said, I don't want to make it seem like the Winter Cup was a giant vortex of suckage. There were some great moments in Las Vegas over the weekend!!! And there were some cool skills being competed!!! Let's discuss a few of them…
1. Eddie Penev on Floor
Eddie Penev first competed internationally for Bulgaria, but as a full-time student, Eddie struggled to meet the demands of the Bulgarian Gymnastics Federation. It was hard to find time to travel back and forth between Bulgaria and the United States for training camps and other events. So, he switched his nationality in 2012, and in 2013, he became part of the U.S. National Team.
I'm guessing that USAGym is happy with this switch, especially after the Men's Technical Committee watched Eddie's floor routine during finals at the Winter Cup. Eddie was the only American gymnast to break 16 at the meet. Granted, he broke 16 only because the United States has a funky bonus system. But even without the stick bonus in effect, Eddie's routine would have scored a 15.950, which still would have been the highest score of the weekend.
By the way, Eddie's capable of doing a 2.5 punch front double full. It's not quite as impressive as Kenzo's 3.5 punch front double full. But are we sure that Kenzo Shirai's human?
