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The World Cup Final offered athletes once last chance to shine in 2000
BILLED as the biggest post-Sydney event of 2000, the World Cup Final was held Dec. 8-10 in Glasgow, Scotland, a city that had successfully staged Grand Prix competitions in the past. The Braehead Arena, a new facility attached to a shopping mall, proved the perfect site for any competitor who had holiday purchases to make. There was also a small public ice rink nearby, and Romania's Marius Urzica could be seen relaxing after his event showing nearly as much competence on the ice as he does on pommel horse.
Qualifiers for the final included all the Olympic champions as well as many world champions from the Tianjin worlds. There was great disappointment at the absence of the top Russians-Alexei Nemov, Svetlana Khorkina, Yelena Produnova, Nikolai Kryukov and Yevgeny Podgorny-as these names had been a big draw for TV and spectators alike. Their lack of support drew much comment, especially since Khorkina had given a lengthy interview to a local newspaper claiming that Glasgow was one of her favorite cities and that she couldn't wait for the event.
Other missing gymnasts included rhythmic gymnastics Yelena Vitrichenko and Eva Serrano, both of whom retired shortly after Sydney. There must have been little motivation for either of them to continue competitively after their superb efforts at the Olympics received so little recognition.
The combination of artistic and rhythmic gymnastics proved to be an attractive one and it might be worth the FIG considering including some of the other disciplines in future events. With a limited number of competitors, the logistics of the arrangements are not onerous and certainly trampolining and sports acrobatics could sit well with these two sports.
Prize money was 10,000 Swiss Francs per apparatus, with the winner taking 2,400 and the last place 400. The top eight gymnasts per event from the World Ranking list qualified for the finals, but the no-shows opened up a few spots. As a result, certain gymnasts found themselves competing on unexpected events, and Ukraine's Tatiana Yarosh was prime among these. Not known for her bars and vault work, she found herself in all four finals. Yarosh competed more confidently on day two, which featured her...