And Vanessa Ferrari's day arrived, the long-awaited one, for which the champion from Brescia has been working since she was 6 years old: It's the day of the Olympic floor exercise final. The appointment is at 17.23 and it is a more unique and rare opportunity for Italian women's artistic gymnastics, which can finally win a medal in London. Vanessa's curriculum, 22 years old in November, 2006 world champion, is missing only this title.
In recent days' races she has shown that she is in excellent physical shape and she herself stated that she feels like the strength of a 16 year old again, but that she also possesses that maturity which can make the difference on the platform. At today's appointment, at the North Greenwich Arena in London, Vanessa arrives with the third score, the right encouragement for a champion who can aspire to the top step of the podium. Certainly the other girls will give her a hard time, because competing for her crown are seven princesses of gymnastics, of pure blue blood.
First the box office favorite and winner of the qualifiers: the American Alexandra Raisman, 18 years old, 1 meter and 57 for 52 kilos, bronze at the Tokyo World Championships in the same apparatus and team gold. Following Sandra Raluca Izabasa, the beautiful 22-year-old Romanian, gold on vault a few days ago. Izabasa embodies the great Romanian tradition in gymnastics, tarnished in recent years and resurrected thanks to his talent. Her vault competition was exemplary: when favorite McKayla Rose Maroney missed her second jump, Izabasa saw her chance and jumped at it. This reveals the winning attitude of the gymnast, the temper of the champion. Following the others, all very talented athletes: the Russian Aliya Mustafina, 18 years old in September, gold on the uneven bars, thanks to a difficult and flawless exercise; Catalina Ponor, Romanian, 24 years old; Ksenia Afanaseva, Russian, 21 years old; Lauren Mitchell, Australian, 21 years old, Jordyn Wieber, North American, 17 years.
Vanessa has to believe it and show off that character that shines in her eyes. The podium is played on details, a small adjustment step, a loose toe, an unbalanced pirouette, these make the difference at the highest levels. A bad diagonal or a fall completely jeopardizes the race, so they shouldn't even be considered. It is astonishing, for example, that Maroney took silver on vault after a fall at the end of the second jump. So the jury decided and we have to bow to her evaluation, taking into account that the difficulty coefficient of the American was particularly high. However, it is hoped that in the free body no one will discount anyone, that the girls carry on a good race and that Vanessa is concentrated as in the qualification, after which her agility, her precision, her grace, will do the rest.
After Matteo Morandi's bronze and the near success by Alberto Busnari, a podium for Vanessa Ferrari would be the perfect happy ending for the Olympic adventure of Italian artistic gymnastics.
Of note today, in addition to the two men's finals (parallels at 15pm and bars at 16,37pm), the other beautiful women's final: the beam at 15,47. The blue hope for this equipment, Carlotta Ferlito, failed to qualify, but the race will still be exciting, because the Russian Victoria Komova is back on track, still looking for a gold. The seventeen-year-old, light as a feather (she weighs only 38 kilos), strong as a diamond, has not yet managed to seize the success she hoped for. In her All Around final, her judges preferred the American Gabrielle Douglas, perhaps for the great charge of sympathy that the "flying squirrel" expresses, as well as for her high technical level of gymnastics. Yesterday the elegant Komova failed to win even on the parallel bars, where she made a bad mistake in preparing for the exit. Will her beam be his way to the gold? She will certainly try, but in the most insidious apparatus that she is, always ready to test the emotions of the gymnasts. Once again, the elite of this Olympics compete for this medal: the Chinese Lu Sui and Linlin Deng, Alexandra Raisman, the Romanians Catalina Ponor and Larisa Andreea Iordache, Ksenia Afanaseva (Russia) and above all the sparkling Gaby Douglas with which Komova has an open account.
