(Beijing, December 4) The "Good Luck Beijing" 2007 Artistic Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament concluded at the National Indoor Stadium on December 3, with China, Japan, Korea and Ukraine sharing the 12 gold medals. Among them the host team grabbed nine golds and three silvers to top the list, with the rest three teams winning one gold each. China's Lu Bin, with four golds up his sleeve, reaped the greatest harvest at the tournament, while the first gold presented at the newly-built National Indoor Stadium went to China's Jiang Yuyuan, a 15-year-old girl who won the women's individual all-around.

Gymnasts participating in the Beijing tournament were on varied levels. Some were veterans that had remained in obscurity for a long time, some were world champions in their prime, and still some were newcomers who made their debut in an international event. Due to the fact that it was a period for adjustment between the World Championships and the Olympic Games, the competitors seemed somewhat relaxed, to the extent that people could frequently see gymnasts falling off the apparatus in one event or other.

Besides making big mistakes on apparatus, the results varied greatly, particularly in the men's events. Take difficulty value for instance. The difference between the highest and the lowest value parts reached 1.6 in parallel bars, 1.1 in rings, and 1.2 in women's vault. In overall strength, women gymnasts were more closely matched, as China's Jiang Yuyuan collected 61.225pts in the women's all-around final, while her Belarussian counterpart, finishing last in the final, got 52.675.

Clear superiority demonstrated by the host team

Judging by the number of medals taken, China got 12 of the 36 medals on offer, among which nine were golds and three silvers. The host team demonstrated a clear superiority in the sport, winning gold in whichever event they competed except the uneven bars final where Jiang Yuyuan took the silver.

Among his teammates Lu Bin did exceptionally well, clinching four golds not only in the pommel horse, his forte, rings and team but also vault, which came as a lovely surprise. Considering that its first-string gymnasts were absent from the event, the performance of the Chinese men's team was highly commendable.

The Chinese women gymnasts were all technically strong. While Pang Panpan and Zhou Zhuoru appeared as a second host team, whose results would not count, Cheng Fei and Jiang Yuyuan competed in the individual and all-around finals. Cheng Fei gave a normal play to her skills but still showed that there was much to be desired, especially when she fell off the beam in the qualification and performed inconsistently in the beam final. Jiang Yuyuan, after winning the A-A final, had to settle for silver due to unsatisfactory technical execution on beam.

Application of new value parts

With the approaching of the 2008 Olympic Games, gymnasts are working hard on more difficult parts and combinations and striving for perfect execution. This time in Beijing, some gymnasts tested their new routines while a few others turned to their weak events so that they could later try the all-around event. Cheng Fei, for example, began her intensified training on beam not long ago and her test proved fruitful as she harvested an unexpected win in the beam final.

New combinations presented in men's floor and high bar raised the eyebrows of many. In some cases, these new value parts proved effective and helpful, adding 0.2 to 0.3 point to their total scores.

Veteran coming back to the scene

The Beijing invitational attracted a few veterans such as Cheng Fei and Chellsie Memmel of Australia who had gained medals in previous major world tournaments. As winner of the women's all-around at the 2005 World Championships, Memmel has been plagued by injuries in the past two years. Staging a powerful comeback this time, the Australian veteran earned two bronze medals, in the floor and beam, in addition to a fifth place in the all-around final.