Men’s Pairs Finals
LAKE BUENA VISTA (USA), FIG Office, April 18, 2012: It was a battle of the final two to perform for gold in the men's pairs competition, with Russia's Konstantin Pilipchuk and Alexey Dudchenko edging Britain's Edward Upcott and Adam McAssey for the gold medal.
Upcott and McAssey, both members of the Spelbound acro troupe that shot to fame by winning "Britain's Got Talent" in 2010, were unable to dislodge Pilipchuk and Dudchenko, who led throughout the qualifying competition. Both pairs displayed extraordinary final routines, and received equal execution scores of 9.350 from the judging panel.
But it was the playful performance of Pilipchuk and Dudchenko, complete with dive roll leap frog, high fiving and he-man poses in addition to excellent acrobatics and strength holds, that put Russia over the top in terms of artistry. They received 9.300 in that category, compared to 9.200 posted by the British, to edge them for the gold, 28.653 - 27.552.
The Russian pair's effusiveness continued off the floor, with 27-year-old Dudchenko, who smiled throughout his performance (even when Pilipchuk was balancing on his head) going to knees in the kiss and cry area as the pair learned their score. He then led the Russians in the crowd in cheering "Rus-sia! Rus-sia!" in unison.
Belarus's Ruslan Fedchenka and Yauheni Kalachou scored 27.903 for third, giving Belarus its third medal of this World Championships for a routine that featured three difficult throws.
This is likely to be Upcott and McAssey's final performance performance in the amateur arena. Upcott, who won the 2010 World title with former partner Douglas Fordyce, and McAssey, a member of Britain's World title winning men's four the same year, are both retiring to pursue other projects. "It's been absolutely amazing," McAssey said of their journey in Acro earlier this week.
The event final mirrored the results from qualifications, with Ukraine's Iaroslav Pulin and Dmytro Tarasenko fourth (27.861), followed by China's Hongen Chen and Hengyi Yang (27.553) and Bulgarians Blagovest Karadzhov and Marti Milanov (26.650).
