2020 Melbourne World Cup: Carey gold again, Zonderland soars on finals day 2

On the final day of competition at the 2020 Melbourne World Cup, Team USA’s Jade Carey locked up another gold medal, the high-flying Epke Zonderland ran away with the high bar title, and more.

Remember: An athlete can earn Olympic qualification points at each Apparatus World Cup in 2020. The athlete who earned the spot on each apparatus will be announced after the conclusion of the Doha World Cup in late March. There will be 10 athletes total who earn berths to the Tokyo games–six men, four women–via this route.

Click here for recaps from qualifying (day 1 and day 2) and finals day 1.

Day 4 in Melbourne included finals for Men’s vault, parallel bars, and high bar, and Women’s balance beam and floor exercise.

Continue reading for detailed results, notes, and video!

Men’s

Vault Final

1. Jeahwan Shin KOR – 14.866 (6.0/9.133, -0.1 & 5.6/9.2, -0.1)
2. Jorge Vega Lopez GUA – 14.783 (5.6/9.333 & 5.2/9.433)
3. Andrey Medvedev ISR – 14.550 (5.6/8.8 & 5.6/9.1)
4. Milad Karimi KAZ – 14.533 (5.2/9.466 & 5.2/9.2)
5. James Bacueti AUS – 14.449 (5.6/9.233 & 5.2/8.966, -0.1)
6. Yahor Sharamkou BLR – 14.233 (5.2/8.566, -0.1 & 5.6/9.2)
7. Joshua Valle MEX – 14.066 (5.6/9.1, -0.1 & 5.6/7.933)
8. Audrys Nin Reyes DOM – 13.603 (6.0/7.766, -0.3 & 5.6/8.441, -0.3)

Notes: Bacueti and Sharamkou were victims of a vault final that did not have mercy on its competitors. Korea’s Jeahwan Shin improved on his qualifying score to secure gold, while Vega Lopez had the best execution of the day and absolutely earned his silver. Valle and Nin Reyes both seemed to suffer injuries after not being able to land their vaults properly.

Parallel Bars Final

1. Vladislav Poliashov RUS – 15.2 (6.5/8.7)
2. Yusuke Tanaka JPN – 15.166 (6.0/9.166)
3. Phuong Thanh Dinh VIE – 14.933 (6.4/8.533)
4. Shoichi Yamamoto JPN – 14.9 (6.2/8.7)
5. Mitchell Morgans AUS – 13.866 (6.0/7.866)
6. Frank Rijken NED – 13.733 (6.1/7.633)
7. Milad Karimi KAZ – 13.633 (5.8/7.833)
8. Sercan Demir TUR – 11.2 (5.5/5.7)

Notes: It wasn’t a walk in the park, but Poliashov gets the job done to hit the maximum 90-point mark on parallel bars for the Individual Apparatus World Cup series. Poliashov and Tanaka both had stunning routines featuring textbook execution to go 15+, but the Russian wins this round.

High Bar Final

1. Epke Zonderland NED – 14.9 (6.7/8.2)
2. Milad Karimi KAZ – 14.5 (6.3/8.2)
3. Mitchell Morgans AUS – 14.233 (6.0/8.233)
4. Umit Samiloglu TUR – 13.533 (5.9/7.633)
5. Hidetaka Miyachi JPN – 13.4 (6.8/6.6)
6. Alexander Myakinin ISR – 12.966 (5.9/7.066)
7. Tyson Bull AUS – 12.1 (5.4/6.7)
8. Mikhail Koudinov NZL – 10.666 (4.9/5.766)

Notes: For the rest of the high bar competitors, this final might as well have been over before it even started. Epke Zonderland hit his stacked routine in the lead-off position, and, although they tried, no one could get close to The Flying Dutchman. That is a full 90-points for the high bar specialist in the series.

Miyachi suffered a fall in his routine, virtually giving Zonderland the win. The 2012 Olympic Champion is tied with Miyachi at the top of the overall high bar leaderboard, but Zonderland leads on tiebreaker at the moment. We should see them both at the remaining two individual World Cups in Baku and Doha, meaning this fight for the high bar berth could get wild.

UPDATE: According to the Dutch federation, and multiple reports, Hidetaka Miyachi had a goal he was required to meet in Melbourne, per Japanese federation rules, to be able to compete in Baku and/or Doha. Since he did not, Miyachi is expected to withdraw from both of the final Apparatus World Cup series. Miyachi is said to have congratulated Zonderland on his Olympic ticket at the end of the meet.

Kazakhstan’s Milad Karimi executed a marvelous routine in his third final of the day, including a solid Cassina and Kovacs for the silver. Australia’s Mitchell Morgans laid down a huge routine with great Kovacs and an excellent double-twisting double layout dismount to snag the bronze.

Women’s

Balance Beam Final

1. Urara Ashikawa JPN – 13.3 (5.5/7.8)
2. Ondine Achampong GBR – 13.166 (5.4/7.766)
3. Anastasiia Bachynska UKR – 12.933 (5.7/7.233)
4. Diana Varinska UKR – 12.8 (5.1/7.7)
5. Georgia Godwin AUS – 12.766 (5.6/7.166)
6. Emma Nedov AUS – 12.533 (5.5/7.033)
7. Ayaka Sakaguchi JPN – 12.4 (5.4/7.0)
8. Emma Spence CAN – 11.6 (5.0/6.6)

Notes: Ashikawa certainly didn’t improve on her routine from qualifications, but she didn’t have to today. Routine after routine featured falls and balance checks, paving the way for Japan’s potential Olympic beam specialist to take the lead. Even with multiple balance checks and a slightly messy double-twist dismount, Ashikawa put together a solid routine that was good enough for gold.

Australia’s Nedov came off the beam on her initial flight series, opening the door for Great Britain’s Ondine Achampong. The first-year senior upped her D-score by 0.3 and held off Bachynska for the silver.

Floor Exercise Final

1. Jade Carey USA – 14.366 (6.0/8.366)
2. Vanessa Ferrari ITA – 13.700 (5.5/8.2)
3. Lara Mori ITA – 12.9 (5.3/7.6)
4. Ondine Achampong GBR – 12.7 (4.7/8.0)
5. Isabela Onyshko CAN – 12.533 (5.0/7.533)
6. Breanna Scott AUS – 12.4 (4.8/7.6)
7. Georgia Godwin AUS – 12.333 (5.4/6.933)
8. Emma Spence CAN – 12.1 (4.9/7.3, -0.1)

Notes: The floor final wasn’t predictable in a bad way, but it didn’t take much to predict this podium. Mori held off Godwin despite going OOB and lacking control on some of her passes. Ferrari was entertaining as always, making her double-double and double layout look like a walk in the park. And Carey… Well, there’s not many ways we can reiterate how excellent Jade Carey has been throughout this World Cup series. The series leader on vault, she now also has the 90-point max in the floor standings, meaning, one way or another, Carey is almost guaranteed an Olympic berth.

The U.S. gymnast scored the exact same as in qualifications, showcasing her consistency, and closed out the Melbourne World Cup with an invigorating routine. It’s clear: this young woman is destined for greatness at the Olympics and beyond, and we can’t wait to watch the rest of her journey unfold.