Romania takes early lead at Gymnastics Worlds

TOKYO (AP) - Hoping to return to the podium after finishing fourth last year, Romania scored 227.228 points Friday to take the early lead in women's qualifying at the world gymnastics championships.

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Australia was second with 221.846 points. But there is still another day of qualifying to go, and the United States, defending champion Russia and China all compete Saturday.

At least the scoring starts over in Tuesday's team finals. The top eight teams at the worlds secure spots at next year's London Olympics.

The lone bright spot for the Romanians was triple Olympic gold medalist Catalina Ponor. Six months after coming out of retirement, the 24-year-old Ponor posted the highest score on balance beam, a 15.0 that should put her in the running for the event finals.

Romania was the world's gold standard after the Soviet Union broke up, winning five straight world titles from 1994 to 2001 as well as the team gold medal at the Sydney and Athens Olympics. Romanians also won three of the five individual titles in Athens, and they would have swept the all-around titles in Sydney if Andreea Raducan hadn't been busted for taking cold medicine.

But longtime coaches Octavian Belu and assistant Mariana Bitang stepped down in 2005, and the program quickly fell into disarray. A year later, Romania failed to win a team medal at the worlds for the first time since 1981.

Belu returned last year, but the Romanians are clearly still a work in progress.

Ana Porgras, expected to contend for an all-around medal after finishing fifth last year, wasn't even the top Romanian after mistakes on three of her four events. She bounced out of bounds after getting too much power on her last tumbling run, and fell on her uneven bars dismount. She also had to put a hand down when she got off-balance on beam, where she's the reigning world champion. Diana Bulimar fell off both balance beam and uneven bars.

Even balance beam, the Romanians' best event, was uncharacteristically sloppy. Ponor was stylish and elegant on balance beam, doing back handsprings and aerial somersaults.

But Porgras, who is the reigning world champion on beam, lost her footing on a leap and had to put her hand down on the beam to keep from falling off. At least she stayed on. Bulimar bent over to try and save herself after getting off balance on one of her leaps, but wasn't able to hang on and had to jump off.

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The Romanians rushed past reporters afterward without stopping, unhappy looks on their faces.

Australia was sixth at last year's worlds. But only four members are back from that squad, and three-time world medalist Lauren Mitchell said she's happy just to be competing after rolling both her ankles two weeks ago.

"I was really pleased with what we did tonight," Australia coach Peggy Liddick said. "It was near our maximum."

Mitchell scored 56.324 points, putting her behind Romania's Raluca Haidu in the all-around standings. That was despite a fluke mistake on balance beam, when her left foot slipped down the side of the apparatus on the landing of her leaps. Mitchell straddled the beam, but managed to stay on.

"It happens," Mitchell said before pausing. "I actually haven't done that ever before. But yeah, anything happens in comps."