Yukari Murata, the leader of women's individual all-around after Day 1

On the 28 th , the first half (Hoop & Ball) of Individual competition, and ribbon competition for Group for the all-around final were held. In the Individual, competition, Yukari Murata (Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education), who competed in the World Championships in Budapest, stood in first place, Ai Yokochi (Aeon) and Yachiyo Nakamura (Aeon), who also competed in the World Championships in Budapest, were in second and third place.

Murata was not in her best condition on the first day. She nearly lost her balance when she finished a jump during hoop competition, but on the whole, her performances were very powerful and stable.

Yokochi looked nervous from the beginning on ball, but gradually could relax. She also showed various interesting hoop techniques.

Nakamura slitly missed aroll on the body on ball, but she showed high level difficulties with her body flexibility. The latter half of the all-around final would be held on the next day.

In Group, the women of Tokyo Women's College of Physical Education took first place. Their performances had a consistent rhythmical and dynamic theme, and they were nearly perfect, so the audience was fascinated. The next day they would perform with 3 hoops & 2 balls. In individual competition, there would be an exciting battle between 3 gymnasts: Murata, Yokochi and Nakamura.

Interview with Murata

"I felt that the end of the jump was strange, but I think I could do well on the whole. I hurt my leg a little but I'm not worried about it when I perform, and the other gymnasts are just as good as I am. If I felt pain, it meant I was not concentrating on my performance. In the World Championships, we have to win for the Olympic games so the competition hall was full of fans. At that time, I could perform nearly perfectly so I could be proud of my performance. After the World Championships, I had to change my routine to get a higher AV. However, I ended up with many small technical mistakes between the difficulties. It made me tense mentally and physically, but I have trained to make progress. Before the championships, I had trained to win, but this time I aim to show a perfect performance."

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