USA Women earn 5 medals At the 2009 World ChAmpionShipS

A Photos by John Cheng record-breaking 73 countries and more than 1,200 gymnasts, coaches and officials participated in the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships, which featured competition in the all-around and individual events, in the O2 arena in London, England, Oct. 13-19. The U.S. women earned five medals including two gold, a silver and two bronze. In the women s all-around competition, Bridget Sloan of Sharp s Gymnastics and Rebecca Bross of WOGA finished one-two in the standings with scores of 57.825 to 57.775, just a small margin of.050 separated the two. I didn t even look at the scores or notice them, said Sloan, who was a member of the 2008 Olympic Team that won the silver medal. At the very end of the meet, Marvin (Sharp, her coach) came up and said, Look, and I went, Oh my gosh, did this just happen? Looking at how close it (the competition) was, that is about as close as you can get. The USA won the top two world spots only one other time, four years ago in Melbourne, Australia, when Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin went 1-2 by just 0.001, respectively. The USA s Shawn Johnson also won the world allaround title in 2007, giving the USA the coveted all-around crown in three of the last four World Championships. This is a tremendous moment for Bridget, Rebecca, and all of the coaches and athletes connected with women s program, said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. Both athletes have worked hard to achieve this result and they are a testament to the continuing legacy of success being developed within our country. Bridget SloAn USA Women earn 5 medals At the 2009 World ChAmpionShipS The battle for the title went down to the last event, the floor exercise. Bross had a comfortable lead over Sloan by 1.275 and just needed to hit her floor routine to win the title. However, Bross went last, and fell on her final tumbling pass (two and a half twist punch brani) which gave her a 12.875, and moved Sloan into the top spot. Bross and Sloan started the competition on vault. Both gymnasts performed a Yurchenko double full and both had small steps on their landings, earning a 14.525 and a 14.825, respectively. Bross nailed her difficulty-packed bar routine, including a full twisting double back dismount, and posted a 15.075. Sloan earned a 14.800 for her routine, where she stuck her full twisting double layout dismount. On beam, Bross was first up in her group and had a strong routine, including a standing Arabian and a double Arabian dismount. She scored a 15.300, which moved her into first in the standings at 44.900. Sloan had a few wobbles on beam, which resulted in a 14.000 and put her into second place in the all-around with 43.625. Sloan did an impressive floor routine that included a one and a half to triple full, a Randi, a pike full-in, and a double pike dismount. She tallied a 14.200, giving her a 57.825. Bross, who was up last on the event, has a strong floor routine that included a front layout to double front. The routine was going well until she put her hands down while landing her last tumbling pass, which earned her RESULTS ON P. 46 10 USA GymnASticS NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2009

Top: Rebecca Bross and Bridget Sloan. Above L to R: Beam medalists Lauren Mitchell, Deng Linlin, Ivana Hong. Vault medalists Ariella Kaeslin, Kayla Williams and Yourna Dufournet. Bar medalists Koko Tsurami, He Kexin, Ana Porgras and Rebecca Bross.

a 12.875 and a total score of 57.775. It was a little bit of a shock (when I won), said Sloan. Going into floor, I knew that second place was a very good possibility. At same time, I was just hoping for the best for both of us. Bross, who trains at the same gym with 2008 Olympic allaround champion Liukin, competed in her first World Championships, as well as her first senior level international meet. I m very happy with what I did, said Bross. I had a mishap on floor on my last pass, but that happens and there is nothing I can do about it. I wasn t really thinking about medals or scores. I was just trying to work on what I had to do and do it to the best of my abilities. During event finals, Newcomer Kayla Williams of Huntington, W. Va., won the vault world gold medal. Although she was competing in both her first World Championships and international event, Williams looked like a veteran when rebecca BroSS CONTINUED ON P. 50 ivana hong RESULTS ON P. 46 12 USA GymnASticS NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2009 KAylA WilliAmS

On the men s side, the U.S. team included veteran Jonathan Horton and five other gymnasts all competing in their first World Championships -- Jake Dalton, Wesley Haagensen, Steven Legendre, Danell Leyva, and Tim McNeill. After preliminaries, the USA s McNeill of Falls Church, Va., scored an 88.775 for third place, behind current leader Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who scored 90.925. 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Horton of Cypress Gymnastics was in fifth place with a score of 88.000. In addition, four of the six USA gymnasts qualified to finals including Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas, on floor; Leyva of Universal Gymnastics in Miami, on high bar, McNeill in the all-around and on pommel horse and Horton in the all-around and on high bar. I think it has been more than 20 years since we had four of our six guys make finals at the World Championships, said Ron Brant, the men s national team coordinator. We have one of the youngest teams here three who are 23 and one each at 17, 18 and 20. I m impressed because this shows that our training plans are working, that our athletes have taken it to heart and that we have continued leadership within the team even though we have reloaded after the last two Olympics. During finals, McNeill finished seventh in the all-around, hitting all six of his routines and finishing with an 87.150. His top scores of the competition were on vault where he scored a 15.300 for his Yurchenko double full and pommel horse where he scored a 15.000 for his routine which included full Kehr. He also scored a 14.500 on floor, a 14.325 on RESULTS ON P. 47 Photos by John Cheng rings, a 14.200 on parallel bars and a 13.825 on high bar. I m pretty excited (about finishing in the top 10), said McNeill, who trains at the University of California - Berkeley. Parallel bars gave me a chance (to move up in the rankings), and if I could change one thing, it would be to go back and redo that routine. Overall, I gave it my best, and I put everything out there.. 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Horton had a disappointing evening, finishing 17th in the all-around. He got off to a rough start on the first two events, floor and pommel horse, which unfortunately dropped him in the standings. His rings routine was solid and earned a 14.900 and hit his handspring double front vault to score a 15.750. He continued to build momentum with a well-done parallel bars routine that received a 15.125. A missed release move on high bar dropped his score to a 13.650 and 14 USA GYMNASTICS NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2009

Left to Right: Steven Legendre, Danell Leyva, Wesley Haagensen, and Jake Dalton RESULTS ON P. 47 he ended with an all-around total of 84.300. It s gymnastics, said Horton. It s a tough sport. Things happen and they happen for a reason, I believe. It s the world championships, and some things you just can t explain. I am going to continue to train my hardest when I get back. My heart is always in this game. I feel I belong on that medal podium, if not at the top, and I am going to train harder than I ever have so I can come back next year. Kohei Uchimura of Japan easily won the all-around with a total score of 91.500. Hometown favorite Daniel Keatings of Great Britain was second at 88.925, with Russia s Yury Ryazanov in third at 88.400. Leyva thrilled the crowd on high bar with his series of release moves and a jam hop to earn a 15.450 and a ticket to the finals with his fourth place ranking. On the parallel bars, he scored a 14.825. Legendre scored a 15.475 for his floor routine, which landed him in seventh place and a spot in the event finals. Also making his World debut, Haagensen of Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Olympic Training Center, competed on both pommel horse and still rings. He earned a 13.875 for his pommel horse routine and a 14.875 on the still rings. Jake Dalton of Sparks, Nev./University of Oklahoma, landed his vault, a Kazamatsu oneand-half, but missed his second vault, a front handspring double full earning a combined average of 15.875. During event finals, McNeill executed a clean routine and finished fifth on pommel horse, scoring a 15.150. Legendre finished eighth on floor with a score of 14.950. I am happy I got as far as I did, said Legendre. I am not completely disappointed in myself, but obviously I would have liked to have done a little better in the finals. It definitely was a learning experience for me. Leyva just missed the medal stand on high bar, finishing in fourth place with a 15.600 and a routine that thrilled the crowd with a series of release moves, a jam hop, and a layout double-double dismount. Horton attempted a ramped up version of his Olympic high bar routine, but missed a Kolman and landed short on the layout triple double dismount to score a 13.250. My nerves were really, really high today, said Leyva. This is my first world championships, and I was really excited. I controlled myself before I competed, and it obviously paid off. It s kind of a bittersweet, mixed bag of feelings, said Brant, who will join the U.S. Olympic Committee staff in the near future. If you look at 2005, we had one guy in the finals and didn t medal to start that quad. This time we begin the quad with four guys in the finals, and three of them are at their first Worlds. Obviously we wanted to see a medal come through, but if you are not in the finals, you don t have a chance of making a run at it. The depth of the program has increased, and we need to use this as our motivation, like we did last time. L to r: Men s all-around medalists Daniel Keatings, Kohei Uchimura and Yury Ryazanov. Tragically, Ryazanov died two days after the competition in a car accident. 16 USA GYMNASTICS NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2009

World ChAmpionShipS Women S results ALL-AROUND 1. Bridget Sloan USA 57.825 2. Rebecca Bross USA 57.775 3. Koko Tsurumi JPN 57.175 4. Lauren Mitchell AUS 57.150 5. Youna Dufournet FRA 56.650 6. Yang Yilin CHN 56.575 7. Ana Porgras ROU 56.500 8. Ariella Kaeslin SUI 55.925 9. Anamaria Tamirjan ROU 55.625 10. Ekaterina Kurbatova RUS 55.475 11. Deng Linlin CHN 55.225 12. Elsa Garcia MEX 54.875 13. Ksenia Semenova RUS 54.525 14. Bruna Kuroiwa BRA 54.075 15. Pauline Morel FRA 53.850 16. Rebecca Downie GBR 53.775 17. Un Hyang Kim PRK 53.625 18. Rebecca Wing GBR 53.400 19. Brittany Rogers CAN 53.075 20. Paola Galante ITA 53.025 21. Veronica Wagner SWE 52.450 22. Miki Uemura JPN 51.075 23. Kim Bui GER 50.475 24. Mayra Kroonen NED 49.900 VAULT 1. Kayla Williams USA 15.087 2. Ariella Kaeslin SUI 14.525 3. Youna Dufournet FRA 14.450 4. E. Kurbatova RUS 14.337 5. Un Jong Hong PRK 14.262 6. Anna Myzdrikova RUS 14.225 7. Brittany Rogers CAN 14.200 8. Elsa Garcia MEX 13.287 UNeVeN BARS 1. He Kexin CHN 16.000 2. Koko Tsurumi JPN 14.875 3. Rebecca Bross USA 14.675 3. Ana Porgras ROU 14.675 5. Yong Hwa Cha PRK 14.650 6. Bridget Sloan USA 14.600 7. Larrissa Miller AUT 14.575 8. Serena Licchetta ITA 11.950 BALANCe BeAM 1. Deng Linlin China 15.000 2. Lauren Mitchell AUS 14.875 3. Ivana Hong USA 14.550 4. Un Hyang Kim PRK 14.450 5. Elisabetta Preziosa ITA 14.200 6. Koko Tsurumi JPN 14.100 7. Ana Porgras ROM 13.425 8. Yang Yilin CHN 13.125 FLOOR exercise 1. Beth Tweddle GBR 14.650 2. Lauren Mitchell AUS 14.550 3. Sui Lu CHN 14.300 4. Anna Myzdrikova RUS 14.275 5. Rebecca Bross USA 14.125 5. Ana Porgras ROM 14.125 7. Deng Linlin CHN 13.875 8. Jessica Gil Ortiz COL 2.975

PARALLeL BARS 1. Wang Guanyin CHN 15.975 2. Feng Zhe CHN 15.775 3. Kazuhito Tanaka JPN 15.500 4. Vasileios Tsolakidis GRE 15.350 5. Yoo Won Chul KOR 15.300 6. Epke Zonderland NED 15.125 7. Pham Phuoc Hung VIE 14.475 8. Adam Kierzkowski POL 14.325 STILL RINGS 1. Yan Mingyong CHN 15.675 2. Jordan Jovtchev BUL 15.575 3. O. Vorobiov UKR 15.550 4. Zanetti Nabarrete BRA 15.325 4. G. R. Stanescu ROU 15.325 6. Matteo Morandi ITA 15.300 7. Samir Ait Said FRA 15.250 8. D. Rodrigues Pinheiro FRA 14.750 POMMeL HORSe 1. Zhang Hongtao CHN 16.200 2. Krisztian Berki HUN 16.075 3. P. Sellathurai AUS 15.400 4. Cyril Tommasone FRA 15.225 5. Tim McNeill USA 15.150 6. Flavius Koczi ROU 14.975 7. Robert Seligman CRO 14.750 8. Louis Smith GBR 14.450 HORIzONTAL BAR 1. Zou Kai CHN 16.150 2. Epke Zonderland NED 15.825 3. Igor Cassina ITA 15.625 4. Danell Leyva USA 15.600 5. Aljaz Pegan SLO 15.500 6. Kohei Uchimura JPN 15.175 7. A. Tsarevich BLR 14.375 8. Jonathan Horton USA 13.250 VAULT 1. Marian Dragulescu ROU 16.575 2. Flavius Koczi ROU 16.337 3. A. Golotsutskov RUS 16.287 4. Matthias Fahrig GER 15.850 5. Thomas Bouhail FRA 15.775 6. I. Botella Perez ESP 15.650 6. Ri Se Gwang PRK 15.650 8. Jeffrey Wammes NED 15.425 FLOOR exercise 1. Marian Dragulescu ROU 15.700 2. Zou Kai CHN 15.675 3. Alexander Shatilov ISR 15.575 4. Kohei Uchimura JPN 15.475 5. Makoto Okiguchi JPN 15.425 6. Matthias Fahrig GER 15.400 7. Sepulveda Gonzalez CHI 15.225 8. Steven Legendre USA 14.950 World ChAmpionShipS men S results ALL-AROUND 1. Kohei Uchimura JPN 91.500 2. Daniel Keatings GBR 88.925 3. Yury Ryazanov RUS 88.400 4. Kazuhito Tanaka JPN 88.300 5. M. Devyatovskiy RUS 87.475 6. Kristian Thomas GBR 87.350 7. Timothy McNeill USA 87.150 8. Benoit Caranobe FRA 86.175 9. M. Kuksenkov UKR 86.125 10. Enrico Pozzo ITA 86.100 11. A. Shatilov ISR 85.825 12. Marcel Nguyen GER 85.775 13. Lopez Giraldo COL 85.075 13. Roman Gisi SUI 85.075 15. Campos Almeida POR 84.900 16. N. Boeschenstein SUI 84.775 17. Jonathan Horton USA 84.300 18. Ildar Valeiev KAZ 84.200 19. S. Sasaki Junior BRA 84.150 19. Sergio Munoz ESP 84.150 21. Luis Rivera PUR 84.050 22. Artsiom Bykau BLR 82.950 23. Velazquez Vargas PUR 82.200 24. Federico Molinari ARG 81.800