Perhaps a bit rusty from her layoff, Vaculik
began her night with a fall from uneven bars on
a Tkatchev. But the 2007 Canadian champion,
who placed second at Elite Canada in December,
gained confidence and momentum throughout
the night to hold off Ukraine’s silky Angelina
Kysla, 55.000-54.650, while the dynamic
Lopez won the bronze with 53.900.
With excellent form, amplitude and technique,
Vaculik bounced back from bars with the highest
marks on balance beam ( 14.000) and floor exercise ( 13.800). On beam she performed a
Rulfova; front aerial, flip-flop, layout; side aerial;
and a double tuck dismount. She mounted floor
with a 11⁄
2 twist through to 21⁄
2 twist, followed by
a double tuck, double twist and double pike dismount.
“It was a good experience, friendly meet, and
I got to feel through my routines,” said Vaculik,
who missed last season because of osteochondri-tis in her right elbow (blood supply to the end of
Senior AA medalists:Kristina Vaculik/CAN (
opposite, gold), Angelina Kysla/UKR (above, silver)
and Jessica Lopez/VEN (above right, bronze)
“This is my first interna- tional competition back,” Vaculik said. “It was rough going through that period, but I’m just really happy to be back and doing the sport I love.”
the bone is cut off). “This is my first internation-
al competition back, and it felt really good just to
come out here and compete. I took a whole year
off—I couldn’t put my arm down for six months.
It was rough going through that period, but I’m
just really happy to be back and doing the sport
I love.”
Davydova also was pleased to have Vaculik
back, and was looking more for smiles than
scores. “Well, there were some mistakes, but she
was happy,” Davydova said. “And that’s the
most important [thing] for me. I don’t want her
to do gymnastics [if she’s not happy], because
she came through a lot of difficulties, injuries and
some emotional problems. But now she’s back
and she’s happy. That’s what I want to see.”
Since the timing of her elbow injury doused
her chances of earning a berth to the 2008
Olympics, Vaculik is ready to put the past
behind. Now, the 17-year-old Toronto native is
looking forward to the coming year, which she
hopes will include a spot on the Canadian world
championship team and a successful NCAA sea-
son at Stanford University. “I accepted a scholar-
ship there, and it’s going to be really exciting for
me,” she said. After her freshman year, Vaculik
