Archive: July/August 2005
Back to the News Archive IndexAUGUST 15 - GOLD FOR O'NEILL CAPS A FINE EFFORT AT UNIVERSITY GAMES
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Edmonton's Brandon O'Neill took gold on the floor exercise today at the World University Games in Turkey. O'Neill, a multiple medallist on the apparatus in international competition the last three seasons, earned an impressive 9.662 to take the gold medal ahead of China's Fuliang Liang and Japanese Olympic gold medallist Hiroyuki Tomita who scored 9.575 and 9.4 respectively. O'Neill also finished fifth in the vault final. The Canadian men have had a very impressive showing at this year's World University Games, having taken fourth place in the team competition earlier in the week behind gymnastics powers Japan, South Korea, and China, who took gold, silver, and bronze respectively. In the all-around finals, Casey Sandy of Brampton, Ontario, finished sixth, earning a best ever career all-around total of 53.986. Sandy, known for his excellent work on the pommel horse and vault, took scores of 9.237 and 9.20 respectively on those events. 2004 Canadian all-around champion Grant Golding of Calgary, also had a strong showing, finishing eighth with a 53.110, with his best routine coming on his best apparatus, the rings, where he earned a 9.337 score.
Complete results can be found at the official 2005 World University Games website.
JULY 25 – CLAUDE PELLETIER NAMED NEW WOMEN’S NATIONAL COACH
Claude Pelletier has been named as Canada’s new women’s artistic gymnastics head coach, a press release from Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique announced today. Pelletier, former coach of Canadian Olympians Amélie Plante, Julie Beaulieu and Emilie Fournier, will officially begin his responsibilities tomorrow. He will be based out of Ottawa, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. Pelletier has extensive experience as a coach at the international level, having been a team coach at 1999 Pan American Games (where the Canadian women took gold in the team competition), 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2003 World Championships, as well as the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
Pelletier takes over for the previous women’s head coach, Andrei Rodionenko, who recently relocated back to his native Russia to take over the direction of their artistic gymnastics programme.