Women

In the last women's apparatus final of the tournament, many of the competition's favorite performers will return for one more chance at glory when they compete for the gold medal on the balance beam.

2005 world all-around champion Chellsie Memmel of the US led qualifications on the balance beam. Memmel's routine on the balance beam is packed with difficult elements, but she will need to avoid the slight errors she made on this event in the all-around final.

Memmel enters this final with a boost of confidence from winning the bronze medal on floor exercise in the first day of the apparatus finals.

As the only Japanese female finalist, Keiko Mukumoto finished second on the balance beam in qualifications. She has been drawn to compete seventh of the eight finalists, a position that will test her composure.

The three gymnasts who will perform immediately before Mukumoto are Memmel, all-around bronze medalist Bridge Sloan (US) and 2007 World Championships balance beam finalist Lauren Mitchell (Australia).

Other contenders for medals on this most perilous apparatus include Greece's Stefani Bisbikou, who tied for the bronze medal on balance beam at the 2007 European Championships; and Australia's Daria Joura, the tournament's all-around silver medalist.

Despite a fall during qualifications, Chinese team star Cheng Fei managed to earn the eighth and last spot for the balance beam final. The elegant Cheng, who will compete last in the final, could contend for the gold with a flawless performance. She has already won two apparatus titles here.

Men

If China's Feng Zhe and Liang Mingsheng perform their routines on the parallel bars as confidently as they did in qualifications, they could well stand on the top steps of the medals podium in the apparatus finals.

Feng, who has been drawn to compete last in the eight-gymnast final, will have to watch and then outscore the seven finalists who precede him.

Feng's fellow competitors in the parallel bars final include Liang, who has qualified third, and Korea's Yang Taeiyoung, who has qualified first. By the luck of the draw, Liang will perform sixth and Yang first.

Yang has the most experience of the field performing in an apparatus final on parallel bars. He finished eighth in the event at the 2005 World Championships, and sixth at the 2006.

While no Chinese gymnasts have qualified for the final on the horizontal bar, Asia will be well represented in this, the last event in the men's artistic gymnastics competition here.

Germany's Fabian Hambuechen is the leading qualifier, and as the reigning world champion on the horizontal bar, he is the favorite for the gold medal here.

Japan has a pair of medal candidates: Kazuhito Tanaka and Yosuke Hoshi. In the team final on November 29, Tanaka and Hoshi had the second and third-high scores of the field on the horizontal bar. Only Hambuechen earned a higher score.

Korean gymnasts Kim Jihoon and Kim Soomyun have been drawn to compete early in the lineup, but could set a standard that the other gymnasts find difficult to match. Kim Jihoon has qualified second for this final. / JC