Beth Tweddle 2012 Olympics Qualifications for Uneven Bars

Score: 16.133 – Qualified in 1st Place

Epke Zonderland Winning Olympic Gold on the High Bar at 2012 London Olympics

The Flying Dutchman, Epke Zonderland on the Men’s Horizontal Bar, who scored an astonishing 16.533 points to secure the first ever Olympic Gold for the Netherlands in gymnastics.

Epke Zonderland 1st in 2012 Olympic High Bar Qualification Scoring 15.966

Same Routine Shown below from Maribor World Cup Event Finals
7.9 Degree of Difficulty Routine Where Epke Zonderland Scores 16.275

Epke Zonderland – 4 Major Salto Releases and 2 Minor Releases

To perform up to the new gymnastics bars standards now includes the ability to perform multiple release moves directly connected. Epke Zonderland performs three of his major release moves in a row, does 6 total release moves (4 major salto releases and 2 minor hop full pirouettes) and has a second two release combination, which includes one minor release into his other major salto release move.

Beth Tweddle – 5 Major Releases – 3 in-a-Row and 2 in-a-Row

Beth Tweddle does an even more impressive set with 5 major salto, or bar-to-bar, release moves. She first does two salto release moves in a row, and then a 3-release combination – Tkatchev 1/2 to Yezhova to Maloney 1/2 – (a salto release into a major high bar to low bar release, directly into a major low bar to high bar release). One of the results of being able to combine release moves into directly connected combinations is to be able to shorten, what have lately seemed to have become, marathon bar routines for both women and men.

Release Salto Combinations Over Pirouetting

There is no doubt that major release moves on bars, especially in combination, are a big hit with gymnastics fans, who much prefer routines with major releases and release combinations, over routines that are dominated with primarily pirouetting combinations. Pirouettes are technically interesting. but of little appeal to general gymnastics fans, and any move toward more release moves and release combinations is going to be appreciated by the fan base and the average gymnastics fan.