'Came undone': Russian gymnast handles mid-routine malfunction like a pro
Russian gymast Angelina Melnikova was in the middle of her qualifying floor routine on Saturday when the unthinkable happened: Her hair came loose.
Melnikova started out her routine at the world championships in Stuttgart, Germany, with her hair up in a bun, like most gymnasts do.
Yet after a tumbling pass early in her routine, her hair popped out of the bun — and could be seen repeatedly hitting her in the face and swirling around her head throughout the rest of her routine.
When your hair falls out mid flip but you still take pole position in the qualifying rounds.
More on the Russian women and Angelina Melnikova's 🇷🇺floor routine at #Stuttgart2019 👉https://t.co/QiwKg9fiSS @_gelyamelnikova pic.twitter.com/tDpUrrTgGX— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) October 5, 2019
“Actually, when I was coming up to floor, I checked my bun and thought about whether I should re-do it, but I decided not to,” Melnikova said.
“On the second pass, it came undone, and the rest of the floor routine I was just thinking about my hair, that it didn't get in my eye or anything because I know how much it can bother you.”
"If it was in training, I would have stopped and changed it, but here I couldn't stop..."
Angelina reacts to her hair coming undone mid flip! Champions keep going.🙌@_gelyamelnikova pic.twitter.com/jbP0Xyckbc— Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) October 5, 2019
Somehow, it didn’t bother her one bit.
Melinkova bumped out by Simone Biles
Melnikova still posted the top qualifying score at the time, receiving a 14.1 from the judges.
Her score, though, didn’t hold.
American Sunisa Lee later posted a 14.2, and then Simone Biles came through and grabbed a dominant lead with a 14.833, sending Melnikova to third.
Still, surviving the routine after what could have been an extremely distracting hair malfunction is impressive nonetheless.
“Of course, if it was in training, I would have stopped and changed it,” Melnikova said,
“But here I couldn't stop, so I was just thinking about it. I hoped it wouldn't get in my eye.”