Canadian Olympian Ellie Black topped qualification in three of the four women's event Friday as the Ljubljana World Challenge Cup began in Slovenia.
Ellie Black (Canada)
Black, a finalist on vault at the 2012 Olympics, led the qualifying on vault, balance beam and floor exercise. She also qualified fourth to the final on uneven bars.
Black just edged Vietnamese world medalist Phan Thi Ha Thanh on vault, 14.375-14.300. South Africa's Kirsten Beckett qualified third. Egyptian gymnast Fadwa Mohamed attempted a rare handspring double front (7.0 Difficulty), but couldn't land her vaults cleanly enough to reach the final.
Czech veterans Kristýna Pálešová and Jana Šikulová qualified first and second on uneven bars.
Hungary's impressive Noémi Makra qualified second on balance beam and sixth on floor final. Portugal's Ana Filipa Martins qualified to three finals, finishing eighth on bars, third on beam and second on floor exercise.
The host nation qualified three gymnasts to finals: Teja Belak on vault and bars, Tjaša Kysselef on vault, and Olympian Saša Golob on floor exercise.
In the men's competition, Slovenia's specialists ruled with the best scores on half the events: Rok Klavora (floor exercise), Sašo Bertoncelj (pommel horse) and Mitja Petkovšek (parallel bars).
The 36-year-old Petkovšek had the highest score of the day with his 15.400 on parallel bars. Vietnam's Phuoc Hung Pham matched his 15.400, but a tie-break based on Petkovšek's higher Execution score (9.200) left him in second.
Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias led qualification on still rings (15.350). Poland's Marek Lyszczarz was first on vault and American Paul Ruggeri topped the standings on high bar.
Competition continues Saturday with the first day of finals.
Read "Black in Business" an interview with Ellie Black, in the November 2012 issue of International Gymnast Magazine. To subscribe or order back issues, click here.
2013 Ljubljana World Challenge Cup April 26, Ljubljana, Slovenia
This weekend's World Challenge Cup in Ljubljana is ready to honor Slovenian world champion Aljaž Pegan, who will mark his official retirement from competition.
The competition roster features more than 100 gymnasts from 28 nations as far away as Guatemala and Vietnam. World and Olympic medalists on the roster include Phan Thi Ha Thanh (Vietnam), Filip Ude (Croatia), Eleftherios Kosmidis (Greece), and Slovenia's own Mitja Petkovšek. 1996 Olympic floor exercise champion Ioannis Melissanidis of Greece, who turned 36 in March, is also on the roster for men's vault.
Other standouts in the lineup include Junior European champion Frank Baines (Great Britain), Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias, and American gymnasts Alex Naddour and Paul Ruggeri, as well as Olympians Ellie Black (Canada), Kristýna Pálešová (Czech Republic), Vasiliki Millousi (Greece), Ana Sofía Gómez (Guatemala), Dorina Böczögő (Hungary).
After eight years in Maribor, this year's FIG event will take place in the Slovenian capital. The event will be staged in Ljubljana to support the construction of a "Cerar, Pegan, Petkovšek" national gymnastics center named after Pegan and fellow Slovenian greats Petkovšek and Miroslav Cerar.
Pegan, who turns 38 in June, was a mainstay in international competition for two decades. An alternate to the Yugoslavian team at the 1989 World Championships in Stuttgart, Pegan went on to compete at 15 world championships (1991 to 2009) and 13 European championships (1991 to 2010).
Known as a specialist on high bar, Pegan pioneered the double-front half release move that was named after him. He won the 2005 World Championships, plus thee world championship silver medals (2002, 2006 and 2007). He won five European championship medals: two gold (1994 and 2004), one silver (2007) and two bronzes (2000 and 2008). His last major competition was the 2010 Europeans in Birmingham, where he finished eighth on high bar.
The eight previous FIG events were held as the Šalamunov Memorial, in honor of Maribor gymnast Ivan Šalamunov (1943-1961). This year's Šalamunov Memorial, the 46th edition, will instead be a junior competition that takes place May 25-26 in Maribor.
Read "Slovenian Stalwarts," a dual interview with Aljaž Pegan and Mitja Petkovšek, in the March 2010 issue of International Gymnast magazine. To order back issues, click here.
2013 Ljubljana World Challenge Cup April 26-28, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Yessenia Estrada (Sonora) and Olympian Daniel Corral (Baja California) captured the all-around titles at the Mexican championships, which ended Sunday in Nuevo León.
Estrada regained her national title, sweeping the apparatus titles as well with the top score on every event. Nuevo León's own Ana Lago took second all-around over Athziri Sandoval (Jalisco).
Lago, the 2011 Pan American Games floor exercise champion, finished second with some nervous mistakes.
"Well, at first I was a little nervous, because it's the first competition toward the Olympics in Rio," Lago said. "But after that things went better. I hope to continue to improve my skills on bars and floor to do better in competition."
Corral, a finalist on parallel bars at the 2013 Olympics, won the all-around title as expected. Corral finished ahead of his nearest rival, fellow Baja Californian Mario Valdez, by more than 10 points. Corral had the top score on every event but vault, where all-around bronze medalist Javier Cervantes (Jalisco) took the title.
Michigan junior Sam Mikulak added two more titles to his all-around crown, winning parallel bars and high bar, the latter by more than a full point. Had he upgraded his Kasamatsu-1.5 twist to a Lopez, he might have grabbed a third, but he's learned that staying healthy is important.
"I think injuries are something we're trying to stay away from," Mikulak said, adding that he plans to replace a Tkatchev on high bar with a Cassina.
Mikulak also said he wasn't tired from three days of competition.
"I think I was kind of numb from the whole weekend," he said. "It felt easy going with the flow."
Floor exercise went to Penn State freshman Trevor Howard, who thrilled the home crowd with clean, high tumbling a stuck dismount. Howard's 6.7 D-score and 9.1 E-score were the highest of the floor competitors. His victory also was the first on floor for a Penn State in 50 years, when Tom Seward earned that honor.
"When I stuck that first pass it was a great feeling, and having the crowd behind you was awesome," Howard said.
The Penn State men's team was disappointed with fourth place on Saturday, so Sunday's final helped.
"Today I was seeking revenge against the Wolverines," Howard said with a smile.
Michael Newburger, whose Ohio State team did not qualify to the team championship, earned the pommel horse title for the Buckeyes. His technique and line were superior to the rest of the field. His 6.2 D-score tied for first with runner-up Ellis Mannon of Minnesota, and his 9.25 E-score was well ahead of the field.
Oklahoma, which placed second as a team, produced the top rings performer in the compact Michael Squires. He edged William & Mary's Landon Funiciello, 15.775-15.675. Penn State ring master Scott Rosenthal won the bronze for Penn State. Funiciello had the top E-score with 9.275 (6.2 D-score), but Squires trumped the field with a 6.4 D-score.
Handing out the awards for the six events were Penn State alumni Bob Emery, Mark Sohn, Kevin Tan, Greg Weiss, Gene Whelan and Mike Jacobson.
The host Russians won three out of five gold medals Sunday as the 2013 European Gymnastics Championships ended in Moscow. Pictured: Floor exercise champion Ksenia Afansyeva (Russia) with runner-up Larisa Iordache and Diana Bulimar (Romania)
The host Russians won three out of five gold medals Sunday as the 2013 European Gymnastics Championships ended in Moscow.
Olympic medalist Denis Ablyazin (Tsukahara double pike and Yurchenko half-on, Randi off) ran away with the vault gold medal in an mistake-filled final that saw half the competitors fall at least once. Defending champion Flavius Koczi (Romania) took second over Armenia's Artur Davtyan.
Moscow's own Emin Garibov successfully defended his high bar title from Montpellier, swinging a 7.0-Difficulty routine (Yamawaki-half; Layout Tkatchev to Tkatchev-half; stuck layout double-double). British Olympian Sam Oldham won the silver with a beautifully executed routine, followed by Belarusian Alexander Tsarevich in third place.
Two-time Russian Olympian Ksenia Afanasyeva — whose serious errors in qualification cost her a spot in the all-around final — redeemed her European championships by winning the gold on floor exercise. Afanasyeva, 22, had the best combination of difficulty and artistry, tumbling a double layout, two whips to triple twist, 2 1/2 to front layout and double pike.
Romania and Ukraine each took one title Sunday. Ukrainian Olympian Oleg Stepko shone brightest in the parallel bars final, which featured five gymnasts scoring above 15.00 points. Lucas Fischer thrilled himself and the Swiss delegation by taking the silver medal, just a .1 behind Stepko. All-around champion David Belyavsky of Russia won the bronze, a further .1 behind.
Larisa Iordache was untouchable on balance beam (solid ff, tucked full; nailed RO, ff triple twist dismount). Teammate Diana Bulimar had not a single wobble for second, giving the Romanians another 1-2 beam finish like the 2012 Europeans in Montpellier. All-around bronze medalist Anastasia Grishina (Russia), who replaced the injured Gabby Jupp of Great Britain, won the bronze with an elegant routine.
Iordache (tucked double-double mount) and Bulimar (double layout; 1 1/2 to double tuck; piked full-in) won two more medals on floor exercise, finishing second and third, respectively.
The dates and the locations have yet to be confirmed for the 2014 European championships, which is scheduled to feature senior team and apparatus finals, plus junior team, all-around and apparatus finals.
Read more about the 2013 European championships in the May issue of International Gymnast Magazine. To subscribe or order back issues, click here.
2013 European Gymnastics Championships
April 21, Moscow
Balance Beam Final
D
E
ND
Score
1.
Larisa Iordache
6.4
8.866
15.266
2.
Diana Bulimar
6.0
8.833
14.833
3.
Anastasia Grishina
5.6
8.766
14.366
4.
Carlotta Ferlito
5.8
8.266
14.066
5.
Katarzyna Jurkowska
5.5
8.366
13.866
6.
Ruby Harrold
5.1
8.533
13.633
7.
Elisa Meneghini
5.7
7.433
13.133
8.
Olena Vasilyeva
4.1
5.833
9.933
Women's Floor Exercise Final
D
E
ND
Score
1.
Ksenia Afanasyeva
6.3
8.866
15.166
2.
Larisa Iordache
6.1
8.633
14.733
3.
Diana Bulimar
5.8
8.733
14.533
4.
Anastasia Grishina
5.8
8.433
14.233
5.
Carlotta Ferlito
5.6
8.616
14.216
6.
Giulia Steingruber
6.0
8.300
0.2
14.100
7.
Roxana Popa
5.7
8.200
13.900
8.
Krystyna Sankova
5.7
7.166
12.866
Men's Vault Final
D
E
ND
Score
Average
1.
Denis Ablyazin
6.0
9.433
15.433
15.408
6.2
9.183
15.383
2.
Flavius Koczi
6.0
9.158
15.158
14.887
5.6
9.016
14.616
3.
Artur Davtyan
6.0
9.366
0.1
15.266
14.866
5.2
9.266
14.466
4.
Petrus Laulumaa
5.6
9.466
15.066
14.799
5.2
9.333
14.533
5.
Igor Radivilov
6.0
9.391
15.391
14.678
6.0
8.066
0.1
13.966
6.
Oleg Vernyayev
6.0
9.466
15.466
14.666
6.0
8.166
0.3
13.866
7.
Jeffrey Wammes
5.6
9.200
14.800
14.333
5.8
8.066
13.866
8.
Matthias Fahrig
6.0
8.166
14.166
13.849
5.6
8.233
0.3
13.533
Parallel Bars Final
D
E
ND
Score
1.
Oleg Stepko
6.6
9.166
15.766
2.
Lucas Fischer
6.5
9.133
15.633
3.
David Belyavsky
6.4
9.133
15.533
4.
Marcel Nguyen
6.8
8.700
15.500
5.
Oleg Vernyayev
6.5
8.833
15.333
6.
Emin Garibov
6.2
8.000
14.200
7.
Andrei V. Muntean
6.0
7.866
13.866
8.
Pascal Bucher
5.7
7.866
13.566
High Bar Final
D
E
ND
Score
1.
Emin Garibov
7.0
8.433
15.433
2.
Sam Oldham
6.5
8.633
15.133
3.
Alexander Tsarevich
6.5
8.333
14.833
4.
Alexander Shatilov
6.5
8.233
14.733
5.
Andrei Likhovitsky
6.0
8.466
14.466
6.
Fabian Hambüchen
6.4
7.566
13.966
7.
Marijo Moznik
6.4
7.533
13.933
8.
Ashley Watson
5.8
7.033
12.833
International Gymnast Magazine Related Features: Ksenia Afanasyeva: "Poised for Perfection" (interview and cover photo) - January/February 2012
Anastasia Grishina: "Fresh Start" (interview) - March 2013
Larisa Iordache: "Growing Pains" (interview and cover photo) - March 2013
Giulia Steingruber: "A New Hit for the Swiss" (profile) - December 2009
Matthias Fahrig: "Giving It His All" (profile) - July/August 2007
Fabian Hambüchen: "All-Around Great Guy" (profile, cover photo) - November 2007; cover photo - June 2007; center poster - April 2007; "German Giants" (profile) - May 2003
Marcel Nguyen: "Silver Streak" (interview) - November 2012
Sam Oldham: interview (June 2010)
Alexander Shatilov: "Aiming High" (profile) - January/February 2009
Jeffrey Wammes: "Comebacks Complete" (profile) - October 2007; "Destiny's Child" (profile) - August/September 2002
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