Youth Olympic Gymnastics: Timothy Tay finishes 36th in individual All-Around qualification rounds

Story by Ng Enna/Red Sports. Photos by Tan Jon Han/Red Sports

Bishan Sports Hall, Monday, August 16, 2010 — Singapore’s Timothy Tay finished in 36th place in the qualification rounds for the men’s Individual All-Around event at the Youth Olympic Games gymnastics competition.

The 17-year-old student from Hwa Chong Institution received a warm welcome when he stepped onto the platform for his first event. Applause filled the hall and spectators even broke into a cheer.

Timothy made his routine on the Pommel Horse look effortless and had a fairly simple dismount. He scored 11.550 points in this first rotation and was ranked 37th out of 41 participants.

Moving on to the Still Rings, Timothy appeared to be shaking while executing the handstands. He stumbled during his dismount, taking a step back. Timothy scored 12.250 points in this rotation and with an accumulated score of 23.800 points, he dropped two places to 39.

The Vault was the most disappointing rotation for Timothy. He performed a somersault before pushing off the table. However, he landed with his right foot outside the boundary and was penalised for his mistake. After a 0.300-point deduction, Timothy was awarded 14.100 points, the highest he received in a single discipline throughout the day.

“I went too high during my flip so when I tried to push off (the table), there was no flight,” explained Timothy.

Timothy pulled himself together for the Parallel Bars. Unlike other gymnasts, he mounted them without the help of a springboard and started executing several swings before releasing, followed by a back flip. Timothy grabbed the bars again in a handstand position, but appeared to be off-balanced and moved several steps to regain stability.

Stumbling again during dismount, Timothy was given 12.150 points for the parallel bars, bringing his accumulated score to 50.050.

Timothy’s coach Han Yoon Soo was standing by the Horizontal Bar when Timothy started his repertoire in this discipline, ready to catch him if he slipped. However, coach Han’s worries were undue as Timothy put on an impeccable performance on the bar. He stumbled again during landing, but balanced himself with a hop.

He received 12.100 points and was pushed up to 31st position with an accumulated score of 62.150.

Sam Oldham from Great Britain was next up on the horizontal bar. He impressed the judges, as well as the audience, with mind-blowing swings, turns and release and regrasp skills. His high score of 14.450 points catapulted him to second position amongst 41 other gymnasts.

Timothy ended the day on the Floor with a series of acrobatic elements and a near-perfect landing. He scored 13.200 points in this event.

With a total score of 75.350, it was a far cry from the top gymnasts in this subdivision. Japan’s Yuya Kamato topped the qualifiers list with his score of 87.200, and 81.050 points were needed to make the final.

His coach and sister, Tabitha, were nevertheless very proud of him.

“He performed well in his events except the vault. It is okay to make mistakes and he met my expectations today,” commented coach Han.

Tabitha, one of the veteran twin gymnasts training in the national squad, said, “He did quite well, particularly in the horizontal bar because it looked neater. I wish that he can achieve his best in his gymnastics career and hopefully he would go for more competitions.”

The women’s qualification rounds will start today, August 17th, at 11am at the Bishan Sports Hall. Rachel Giam is Singapore’s representative.