Double Dutch at Siska International (5th November, 2005) by Nora Schuler

15-year-old Lichelle Wong from the Netherlands won the all-around at the ninth Siska International in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana. Wong scored a total of 35.900 to take the title ahead of team mate Danila Koster (34.800) and Florica Leonida of Romania (34.125). Wong, who is coached at the club Pro Patria Zoetermeer by Patrick Kiens and Frank Louter, scored an event high of 9.300 on beam (out of a start value of 9.700) to clinch the title. Wong had a lot of hardware to carry back to the hotel as she was also awarded the title of the most photogenic gymnast at the competition and a special prize for the highest score of the competition.

The event did not go well for the two Romanian stars in attendance. Competing on beam only, team Olympic champion and Athens beam bronze medallist Alexandra Eremia suffered a total disaster falling twice and not qualifying to the final with a 7.900 (9.400 SV ). Florica Leonida fell on her Podkopayeva vault and took a huge lunge out of bounds on her third tumbling pass. The 18-year-old from Bucharest was plagued by form issues throughout and only had a 9.400 start value on floor, resulting in a low 8.000. Great Britain was represented by six Scottish gymnasts from the Cumbernauld and Fife clubs. All gymnasts showed nice choreography on floor and relied on good execution rather than flashy tricks. 15-year-old Lauren Beck from Cumbernauld was the highest scorer, placing 16th all-around with 30.800. Hannah Leight finished 22nd, Charlotte Griffin 26th, Danielle Jenkins 27th, Fiona Coyle 32nd and Sammi Murray 33rd. Coyle and Murray competed vault and floor only.

The top eight gymnasts per event advance to tomorrow’s finals, which will be followed by a trip to Slovenia’s famed Postojnska Jama cav