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Rings specialist Vinzenz Höck is aiming for the first time in the finals at the Turn-WW in Japan. Since his 16th place in the World Championship two years ago, the Styrian has improved significantly, he won EM silver last year and the overall World Cup this year. Accordingly, the 25-year-old was optimistic before the title fights in Kitakyushu.
“My recent successes make me feel positive that I can reach the final of the top eight for the first time. The difficulty value of my exercise is definitely worth the final, and my execution has improved so much in the last year that I can compare myself to the best in the world, ”said Höck.
The team of the Austrian Association for Gymnastics (ÖFT), supervised by neo-national trainer Daymon Jones, is represented with an eight-man squad in the title fights, which are scheduled from Monday to Sunday. In addition to Höck, Alexander Benda, Xheni Dyrmishi, Bianca Frysak and Marlies Männersdorfer as well as the World Cup debutants Selina Kickinger, Charlize Mörz and Ricardo Rudy will be there.
High expectations of Dyrmishi too
ÖFT gymnast sports director Fabian Leimlehner expects a lot not only from Höck, but also from Dyrmishi. “After his strong tenth place on the pommel horse at the European Championships in Basel in April, he has once again increased the difficulty value of his exercise. If everything goes well, we aim for the top 16 here. ”If everything goes well, Benda can hope for a place in the final of the best 24.
The relocation of the World Cup from Copenhagen to the birthplace of World Gymnastics Federation President Morinari Watanabe, which was due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, subsequently turned out to be a bad decision. While the event would currently be possible in Denmark without major restrictions, there are currently even stricter CoV regulations in Japan than in the summer at the Olympics. For example, the entry and onward journey within Japan proved to be very difficult, as the Austrian delegation reported.
Regardless of the old star Kohei Uchimura gets one last big appearance in the homeland. However, some international aces such as the US women’s first guard around Simone Biles and the Russian team Olympic champions around Nikita Nagorni are not at the start.
