The weakened German women’s squad missed the team final of the top eight teams at the start of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Liverpool on Tuesday. After the last qualifying round, the quintet of the German Gymnastics Federation (DTB) was only in twelfth place.
Elisabeth Seitz had to tremble for a long time about a second World Cup appearance in the English metropolis. The German record champion ultimately took eighth place on the uneven bars because the highly rated World Cup hosts made a mistake on the double bar.
The 28-year-old from Stuttgart stayed calm while waiting for the final result: “I got everything I could get out of it.” The medals will be awarded on Saturday.
European Champion Emma Malewski, on the other hand, had to bury her already faint hopes of a place in the medal decision on the balance beam early on. Uncertainty during the wolf rotation threw the 18-year-old from Chemnitz back.
“It wasn’t my best performance, but my toe problems hindered me. It must have something to do with the capsule,” said the eleventh grader, who also did not compete in the jump because of this injury. The two World Championship debutants Karina Schönmaier from Buchholz and Anna-Lena König (Bodersweier) also missed the all-around final.
Three top performers are missing
National coach Gerben Wiersma is missing three experienced top performers at the world title fights in the city of the Beatles. Sarah Voss from Cologne and former balance beam world champion Pauline Schäfer-Betz from Chemnitz canceled due to injury, Kim Bui from Stuttgart ended her career after the European Championships in Munich in August.
The World Championships will continue on Monday (10:30 a.m. CET) with the men’s qualification. Lukas Dauser from Unterhaching, Olympic silver medalist on parallel bars, will then fight for a place in the final on his special device, the medal decision is scheduled for Sunday.