Flash Quotes: Women’s Beam Final
Watanabe Hazuki (JPN) – gold
On winning the gold medal:
“I am very happy. This is my first world championships, my first big tournament, so my legs were shaking with the nerves.
“Other gymnasts were falling and making big mistakes, but I was able to go through my routine OK, and that was a real boost to my confidence.”
On whether winning the gold was a surprise:
“At first I was the reserve for the team, but when there was an injury they changed it and I got a chance to come to the world championships. That was my first surprise. Now I have a medal too. It is all a bit surprising.”
On how she prepared mentally:
“In the warm-up and in podium training I made some mistakes. But I didn’t get scared about it, I came up with a solution and started with confidence.”
On whether she will miss competing in the M&S Bank Arena:
“As a team, it will be sad to part at the end of the championships. But overall it was a great experience.”
Elsabeth Black (CAN) – silver
On winning silver:
“I’ve been in a lot of beam finals over the years at world championships, and some really close to the podium, and others not going so well. To go out and hit a good beam routine and end up on the podium, I’m just so proud of the performance and for showing what Canadians can do.”
On having to wait to find out if she had won a medal:
“The second half of the competition, those girls are really good on beam. This whole final, all the girls are super good on beam. So it was a really amazing final to be part of. Those are the best ones, where everyone’s so good. You never know what’s going to happen on beam.
“So it’s a little bit of a waiting game, but at the end of the day all you can control is your performance and you wait to see the rest.”
On challenging her score:
“The start value was down one-tenth (of a point) and I think it was my turn connection, but it was a little rushed, so they didn’t give that to me.
“It wasn’t my best start to the beam. I missed a couple of my little connections, but the rest of it was very strong. I didn’t perform that the way I had planned, so we just thought we’d check and see. I did connect it but it wasn’t the best I can do.”
Miyata Shoko (JPN) – bronze
On her performance:
“Balance beam is not my strong point, so getting to the final and winning bronze is definitely something.
“Some of the other gymnasts fell and made mistakes, but I was able to do a solid performance.”
On the competition as a whole:
“We’re a really new and inexperienced team, so our first goal was to take in the atmosphere of the competition and compete with the top gymnasts like Rebeca (Andrade, BRA) and the Americans.
“I was aiming to finish in the top 10 in the all-around and I achieved that.”
“I didn’t make any big mistakes throughout qualification, the team final and all-around, so I’m pleased to have been able to put out a consistent performance. We had good motivation and fun in the team competition and that gave me confidence for the future.”
Marine Boyer (FRA) – 4th
On finishing fourth:
“I'm really disappointed/ I didn't do my routine right to the end and the score wasn't high enough. But sport is like that. I gave everything I could.”
On her emotions:
“It’s hard to be the first to go and I could perhaps have managed my emotions better. Being first on beam is really difficult. You try and get rid of as much of the nerves as possible, but you’re stressed from the beginning. There’s not much time to move before you go.
“Afterwards, the wait was unbearable, but it’s like that when you’re first, you have to wait for the others to finish.”
On what she will take from the competition:
“I don’t have many positives right now, but maybe when I’ve calmed down a bit it will make me train harder for the (Paris 2024) Olympics.
“I can’t really sum up the competition right now, because I failed. It’s not the right time to look at how I did. Maybe later I’ll look at it in the cold light of day.”
Skye Blakely (USA) – 5th
On her performance:
“I was confident and ready. My turn was really good and my handspring front was really strong. Those are my hardest skills, so nailing those is a good feeling.
“It didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to but I still did a great beam posting. I feel really good about getting 13.300, it is still a good score.
“I was the youngest person in the beam line-up so overall I’m proud of myself and my beam routine.”
On her hair ribbon coming loose during the routine:
“It didn’t put me off at all. I just kept going with my routine, same as always.”
On winning team gold on Tuesday at her first world championships:
“I’ve come really far this year. Last year I had surgery so to come here and do my best ever meet and come away as world champion is really good.
“It gives me great experience which I want to take on to next year. I want to help defend the world team title in Antwerp.”
Ou Yushan (CHN) – 6th
On her performance:
“To be honest, except for the one move when I fell, I am happy with the routine. When I did that jump, I was a bit unsure because I kind of struggled with that skill in practice this morning. It did affect my mind.”
On whether qualifying first made her nervous before the final:
“Not much. I tried not to let nerves overcome my performance, but today I was just struggling on that particular skill.
“I think I came into these championships with fewer nerves compared to previous competitions. It is getting better and better. I would rather focus on my skill and make sure it gets fixed and improved.
“When you can hit routines solidly in practice, with confidence, then you will be able to perform your best in every competition.”
On having foot surgery after the Tokyo Olympics Games last year:
“I am still in the process of recovery. I’m only half recovered. The injury affected my landings, especially on the floor. It is painful when I land fully.
“The main goal for me when going home is to make sure my foot is fully recovered. After that I will surely work harder to get back up there.”
WGC22 News eoc/cl/vc/sb/jh/mb