Archive: April 2004
Back to the News Archive IndexAPRIL 18 - BRONZE FOR RICHARDSON IN NCAA FINALS, TOUSEK'S CAREER COMES TO A CLOSE
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Kate Richardson took home the only medal by a Canadian in the NCAA event finals, which took place last night in Los Angeles. Richardson, a sophomore for UCLA, won a bronze on the uneven bars with a 9.900 score. The event was won by 2000 Olympian and world bars finalist Elise Ray of Michigan with a near-perfect 9.975 score. Richardson's UCLA teammate Kristin Maloney finished second with 9.9375. Richardson also competed in the vault final, where she struggled to a ninth place finish with a 9.5875 average over two vaults. For Richardson, the bars medal was her fourth individual medal in her two-year NCAA career; last year she placed third all-around, took home first place on bars and beam. Earlier this weekend, Richardson helped her UCLA team to the NCAA title, earning a 198.125 total to runner-up Georgia's 197.200.
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| Yvonne Tousek earlier this year Photo courtesy Grace Chiu |
The Tousek family was also well-represented in event finals, with Florida freshman Chantelle Tousek placing eighth on vault with a 9.7438 average. The competition was won by former US world team medallist Ashley Miles, who won the title for Alabama with a 9.9438 average. Chantelle's sister and UCLA senior Yvonne Tousek's outstanding gymnastics career came to an end with a fifth-place finish on balance beam. Tousek scored a 9.875 for her routine, which was just 0.025 short of a top-three finish. The title was won by Arizona State's Ashley Kelley with a 9.950 score.
Throughout her career, Tousek established herself as one of Canada's best-ever female gymnasts. She represented Canada on the world stage from 1995 to 2000, competing in two Olympics, four world championships, and winning three gold medals at the Pan American Games in 1999. In 2000, Tousek won her first and only national title at the Canadian championships, and qualified to her second Olympic Games with a second-place finish at the Olympic trials.
Tousek qualified to the all-around finals at two world championships and two Olympic Games, with a top finish of 20th all-around at the 1997 world championships. She also holds the distinction of being one of only three Canadian women to compete in a world or Olympic event final. She joined the ranks of Stella Umeh and Larissa Lowing when she finished eighth on floor at the 1999 world championships in Tianjin, China.
During her NCAA career, Tousek helped her UCLA team to three NCAA championships in four years, winning the team title in 2001, 2003, and 2004. She also won the NCAA individual title on the uneven bars in 2001.
APRIL 18 – MULTIPLE MEDALS FOR CANADA AS PACIFIC ALLIANCE CONCLUDES
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It was a banner day for Canada yesterday as the Pacific Alliance Championships drew to a close in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the senior men’s apparatus finals, Calgary’s Grant Golding took home a bronze medal on floor, scoring a 9.375 out of a 9.9 start value. The top two places went to twin brothers Morgan and Paul Hamm, who scored 9.75 and 9.725 respectively. Paul is the reigning world champion on this event. Golding also medalled on the still rings, scoring an excellent 9.562 out of a 10.0 start value to finish third behind China’s Lu Bo (9.70) and Jason Gatson (a world finalist on this event last year) who scored 9.637. Canada was also represented in men’s event finals by all-around bronze medallist David Kikuchi of Halifax, who finished sixth in the pommel horse (9.437/9.80) and fifth in the parallel bars (9.55/10.0), and Calgary’s Nathan Gafiuk who finished fifth in the vault with a 9.137 average.
The senior women also had an excellent night of competition in the apparatus finals, highlighted by the silver-bronze finish on the vault event by Ottawa teammates Heather Purnell and Melanie Banville. Alicia Sacramone of the United States took the gold with a 9.418 average, followed by Purnell’s 9.212 and Banville’s 9.181. This is the second international vault medal for Banville in recent months, having also won bronze earlier in the year at the Athens Olympics test event. The American women swept all four event gold medals last night, with 2001 world uneven bars bronze medallist Katie Heenan scoring an incredible 9.716 to take the bars gold, and world all-around silver medallist Carly Patterson striking gold on both the balance beam (9.787) and floor exercise (9.725) events. On floor, Calgary’s Kylie Stone took home Canada’s fifth individual medal in the artistic finals, taking a close bronze with a 9.412. Just edging out Stone for second place was all-around winner Allyse Ishino who scored 9.437. Vault silver medallist Purnell also participated in the balance beam finals, finishing sixth after a fall (8.912), though it is noteworthy that she posted a 10.0 start value on the event. Stone also competed in the uneven bars final, finishing sixth with a 9.025.
The rhythmic apparatus finals were also contested yesterday, and Canada added even more medals to their tally. National champion Alexandra Orlando won the silver medal in all four events, each time finishing behind training partner Mary Sanders, a dual citizen who competes for the USA. In the junior events, Juliana Semenova earned two medals, finishing second with the rope (18.00) and third with the clubs (19.05). An American, Rachel Marmer took home all four gold medals in the junior finals.
Full results are available at the official Pacific Alliance Championships website.
APRIL 17 – GERBER THIRD ON VAULT AT PACIFIC ALLIANCE
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Aisha Gerber of Cambridge finished third on the vault at the Pacific Alliance Championships in Hawaii earlier today. Gerber, a three time Elite Canada champion in the all-around, scored a 9.237 to take the bronze medal behind Jana Bieger of the USA and Mexico’s Elsa Garcia who tied for the gold with a 9.387 score. US junior national champion Nastia Liukin swept the remaining three events, taking the gold on uneven bars (9.662), balance beam (9.75) and floor exercise (9.55). Canada was also represented on those events, with Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs finishing sixth in the uneven bars (8.587), Gerber sixth on the balance beam (8.425), and Aimie Balderian fifth on floor exercise (8.825).
The apparatus finals in the senior artistic and rhythmic events take place later tonight. Check the official Pacific Alliance Championships website for complete results.
TWO BRONZE MEDALS FOR RHYTHMIC TEAM; CLOSE FOURTH FOR SENIOR ARTISTIC WOMEN
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Canada's Alexandra Orlando took home two bronze medals last night at the Pacific Alliance Championships, winning the first with her team and the second in the individual all-around rhythmic competition. Orlando's clubmate Mary Sanders, a dual citizen who competes for the United States, took home the all-around gold with a 95.45 score, followed by Russia's Svetlana Poutintseva who scored 91.25. Orlando finished closely behind with a 90.95. The women's team also took the bronze with a score of 240.975. The team gold went to Russia (261.825) and the silver to the United States (258.825). Other Canadian all-around results included a 10th place finish for Yana Tzikaridze, who scored 75.925, and Pamela Jewel in 13th with a 74.10. The fourth Canadian team member Stephanie Carew competed exhibition and her final scores are not known at this time.
In an exciting senior artistic women's competition, the Canadian team just missed out on the bronze medal, finishing fourth behind China by a little over five tenths (108.763 to 108.247). The Canadian women competed with only three gymnasts, after Lydia Williams withdrew from the competition, which left the team with three team members competing on all four events with all scores counting. As expected, the reigning world champions from the United States took home the team gold - by over three points ahead of Australia - 112.580 to 109.530. The US also took the top two all-around placings, with Allyse Ishino upsetting world all-around silver medallist Carly Patterson 37.782 to 37.716. Australian veteran Allana Slater took bronze with a 37.532. The top two Canadian women, Kylie Stone and Heather Purnell finished fourth and fifth, scoring 36.749 and 36.416 respectively. Stone took her best marks of 9.35 in both balance beam and floor exercise, while Purnell equaled Stone's mark on balance beam and also scored 9.35 on vault. The third Canadian performer, Melanie Banville finished seventh, suffering a low of 8.15 on the uneven bars (normally one of her strongest events), but like her two teammates, scored above 9.0 on beam, taking a 9.25 there. The Canadians' 27.95 beam score was actually the second highest of all the teams competing - and Canada's highest team score of the day - a very encouraging result as the team continues their Olympic preparations.
Competition continues this week-end with the apparatus finals, where it appears that Purnell will compete in vault, Stone on the uneven bars, either Stone or Purnell on beam (both gymnasts tied, but there is a limit of one gymnast per country in the event finals, unless the top two in an event are from the same country), and Stone on floor.
Full results can be found at the official Pacific Alliance Championships website.APRIL 16 - JUNIOR RHYTHMIC TEAM TAKES BRONZE; JUNIOR ARTISTIC WOMEN A CLOSE FIFTH AT PACIFIC ALLIANCE
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The Canadian junior rhythmic team took home the bronze medal earlier today at the Pacific Alliance Championships in Honolulu. The team totaled 194.525 to take the bronze medal, finishing behind the Russians (who are competing for the first time at the Pacific Alliance Championships) and host Americans, who earned scores of 225.175 and 209.775. Juliana Semenova was the team's highest all-around scorer, finishing sixth with a 67.90 total. Katia Zaitseva was the next best Canadian, finishing 11th with a 63.50. The other team members, Rosana Tso and Suzy Lendvay finished in 19th and 22nd place respectively, earning scores of 61.375 and 60.65.
The junior women's artistic team and all-around events were also contested early today, with the Canadian team finishing a close fifth with a 105.429 score, less than a tenth of a point behind Japan's 105.513. The United States dominated the competition, winning the team gold by over 5 points over China, 112.495 to 107.180, as well as taking the top four all-around positions, led by 2003 US junior national champion Nastia Liukin, who scored an impressive 37.382 overall, including an amazing 9.80 on the balance beam. Australia took bronze with a 106.179 total. Junior national champion Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs was the top Canadian scorer, finishing 10th in the all-around with a 35.332 score, with her top mark coming in the balance beam (9.10). Her 9.033 score on the uneven bars earned her an event finals berth. Elite Canada champion Aisha Gerber finished 12th with a 35.065 score, and also qualified for the vault final with the third highest mark of the meet on that event, a 9.133. Gerber's mark of 9.116 on the balance beam was also good enough for event finals qualification. The other two Canadians, Rebecca Simbhudas and Aimee Balderian finished 17th and 18th all-around, scoring 34.098 and 34.066 respectively. Balderian's 8.533 on floor exercise earned her an apparatus finals berth there. Women's Program Director Lise Simard expressed that while the team goal had been to make the top four, "finish(ing) that close to Australia, which is ranked third in the world, was very encouraging for us."
The senior women's team and all-around events in both artistic and rhythmic take place later tonight. Gymn.ca will keep you updated as the competition continues throughout the weekend. Full results are available at the Official Pacific Alliance Championships website.
APRIL 16 - RICHARDSON TOP CANADIAN AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
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The women's NCAA championship got underway at UCLA's Pauley Pavillion last night, and British Columbia's Kate Richardson had the top all-around result among Canadians at the meet. Richardson, a 2000 Olympian, scored 39.575 to finish tied for fourth all-around at last night's competition, which served as both team preliminaries and all-around finals. Last year, as a freshman, Richardson finished third all-around behind her former Canadian teammate Richelle Simpson and won the NCAA title on the uneven bars and balance beam.
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| Richardson trains beam earlier this year Photo courtesy Grace Chiu |
Simpson, who returned to elite competition last year, and was a member of Canada's Pan American Games and world championship teams last summer, was unable to defend her title at the NCAA Championships due to a knee injury sustained ealier this year. Simpson's Nebraska team, who finished fourth in last year's NCAA final, failed to qualify for the "Super Six" team final this year, finishing fourth in the first of two preliminary sessions last night (the top three teams from each session qualify to team finals).
Richardson's UCLA team, which also includes Canadians Yvonne Tousek and Ashley Peckett, took first place in the second preliminary session last night, and qualified the the Super Six team finals with the highest team total of the day (197.625).
Other Canadian athletes who will be represented in the Super Six final include Florida's Breanne King, the alternate to the 2001 world championship team, who scored a solid 39.250 in the all-around yesterday, and Chantelle Tousek, who contributed on vault and balance beam for the Gators. Stanford also qualified for team finals, thanks in large part to a 39.475 day from senior Lise Leveille, a 2000 Olympian for Canada. Finally, Utah senior and 1997 world team member Veronique Leclerc contributed on three events to help her team to third place in the second session. For Leclerc and Leveille, tonight's team final will likely be the final competition in their gymnastics careers as they finish their last year of competitive eligibility in the NCAA.
Canadians who competed last night, but did not qualify for team or event finals included Nebraska's Natasha Gowda (bars), LSU's Annie Gagnon (vault, bars, beam), Iowa's Tiffany Kwan (bars), Washington's Carly Dockendorf (FX), Central Michigan's Sara Burtinsky (AA), Illinois' Cara Pomeroy (bars), and Iowa State's Laura-Kay Powell (floor).
Several Canadians also qualified to event finals based on their performances last night. Once again, Richardson led the way by qualifying to two event finals, taking the highest score of the day on vault with a 9.950, and also qualifying to the uneven bars final with a 9.925. Unfortuntely for Richardson, she will not have the opportunity to defend her NCAA balance beam title, as her 9.850 score was only good enough for eighth place in her session (the top four scores from each session, including ties, qualify for event finals). Yvonne Tousek, who is also in her last year of NCAA competition, qualified to the beam final with a 9.875 score. In finals, Tousek will be joined by her sister Chantelle, who qualified for vault finals with a 9.900.
Competition continues tonight with the Super Six team final, and concludes Saturday with event finals. Full results can be found at the NCAA Championships official website.
APRIL 16 - KIKUCHI TAKES BRONZE, TEAM FOURTH AT PACIFIC ALLIANCE
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David Kikuchi of Halifax took home the bronze medal last night in the senior men's all-around competition at the Pacific Alliance Championshpis in Hawaii. Kikuchi, the highest finisher in the all-around for team Canada at least year's world championships, scored 55.149, to take bronze behind regining world all-around champion Paul Hamm of the host USA team (57.265), who defeated China's Lu Bo by a large margin (55.482). Kikuchi's best score of the night came on parallel bars (9.50), but he also broke 9.40 twice, scoring an even 9.40 on pommel horse and 9.433 on rings. Calgary's Grant Golding also earned a strong ranking last night, scoring 54.581 to take fifth. Golding, the top Canadian all-arounder at the 2001 world championships, earned the highest individual score of the night for the Canadian team with a very strong 9.55 on rings.
Canada finished fourth in the senior men's team event, scoring 162.244. The top three teams here all won team medals at last year's world championships as well, but in a different order, with the US men taking the title by nearly five points over Japan (169.895 to 164.945). China took bronze with a 163.962. The US team was led by world all-around champion Hamm, and all of his teammates here have world or Olympic experience, whereas the Chinese and Japanese teams brought none of their 2003 world team members.
The other two Canadian team members, Adam Wong and Nathan Gafiuk, both of Calgary, only competed on selected events, with Wong taking his best score of 9.216 on pommel horse, and Gafiuk a 9.20 on vault.
Day one of the rhythmic competition also took place yesterday. National champion Alexandra Orlando posted the second highest score of the day with the ball apparatus, earning a 21.10 score. She also finished fifth in the hoop with a 22.65. Taking first in both apparatus was Orlando's clubmate Mary Sanders, a dual citizen who now competes for the USA. Canada's Pamela Jewel finished seventh with the ball, scoring 18.65, for her best effort of the day. Other Canadian competitors in the senior rhythmic event were Yana Tzikaridze, who scored 18.9 to finish 13th in the clubs event, and Stephanie Carew, who competed exhibition on both apparatus last night, taking her best score of 17.50 in the hoop.
The junior rhythmic gymnasts also began their competition last night with the rope and ball events. The top results in both apparatus for Canada came from Juliana Semenova, whose 16.975 ranked her fifth with the rope. Rosana Tso took 15.175 to take the 11th best score in the rope, her best effort of the night, while Suzy Lendvay scored 17.55 with ball to rank 10th there. Katia Zaitseva finished 16th in both events, maxing out with a 17.15 score with ball.
Competition continues today with the junior and senior women's artistic team and all-around events, as well as the conclusion of the rhythmic competition. Full results can be found at the official Pacific Alliance Championships website.
APRIL 15 - PACIFIC ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIPS UNDERWAY TODAY
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Canada's best gymnasts have gathered in Hawaii for the Pacific Alliance Championships, one of the last major international competitions before this summer's Olympic Games in Athens. Canada has sent 20 athletes to the meet, which will feature competition in junior and senior men's and women's artistic gymnastics, as well as rhythmic gymnastics. The competition will serve as a testing ground, not only for Canadian gymnasts, but also for athletes from around the world, including Pacific Alliance member nations Australia, China, Japan, and the United States.
Men's competition gets underway today with junior and senior team and all-around competitions. Canada decided not to field a junior men's team for the Championships, so they will see their first action in the senior men's team, which gets underway at 7:00 PM local time. The men's team includes established team veterans David Kikuchi and Grant Golding, as well as 2002 Pacific Alliance Junior team members Adam Wong and Nathan Gafuik. For the up-and-coming Wong and Gafuik, Hawaii will serve as an important chance to establish themselves as contenders for the men's Olympic team. Neither were part of last year's world championship team, and both are only in their second year of senior competition.
The Canadian men will be up against tough competition in Hawaii, competing against the top three teams from the 2003 world championships in China, USA, and Japan. Reigning world all-around champion Paul Hamm is on-hand to lead the American team, while the Chinese are fielding a relatively inexperienced team that does not include any members of their world champion team from last year.
The women's competition gets underway tomorrow with junior and senior team and all-around finals. Canada's senior team is comprised entirely of 2003 world championship team members in Kylie Stone, Heather Purnell, Melanie Banville, and Lydia Williams. Canada's junior team includes Aisha Gerber, Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, Rebecca Simbhudas, and Aimie Balderian. As with the men, the women's competition will be of a high calibre, with three of the top four teams from last year's world championships in attendance (USA, Australia, and China).
Rhythmic competition begins today with two events for both senior and junior all-around. Canada will be represented by two-time national champion Alexandra Orlando, as well as Stefanie Carew, Pamela Jewell, and Yana Tsikaridze. Junior team members include Suzy Lendvay, Juliana Semenova, Rosanna Tso, and Katia Zaitsev.
Event finals for all events in both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics will take place on Saturday. For more news, information, and results, check the official Pacific Alliance Championships website. Gymn.ca will be providing news and results from the Championships once they become available.
APRIL 14 - GEMINI GIRLS GOLDEN AT GYMNOS CUP
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| Kelsey Hope 1st AA |
Competing against 21 teams from eight countries, the team from Gemini Gymnastics won the team title in addition to dominating the all-around competition at the Gymnos Cup, which was held this past weekend in Charleroi, Belgium. Fifty-eight gymnasts, born between 1991 and 1993, participated under a modified scoring format. The team from Gemini (Kelsey Hope (b. 1991), Kristina Vaculik (b. 1992), and Shanaz Kalantar (b. 1992)), took home the gold medal with a total of 72.783. Over six full points behind in second place was the team from Netherlands with 66.150, with Switzerland taking the bronze with 64.150.
Winning the individual all-around title was Hope with a score of 36.900, with the silver medal going to Vaculik (35.85) and Kalantar picking up the bronze with 33.233. Fourth and fifth place went to two Dutch girls (Erends and Ewald with 32.855 and 32.45, respectively) with Minu Krasniqi of Switzerland finishing sixth with 32.333. Gemini coach Elena Davydova gave high praise of the girl's performances and said they competed "extremely well".
APRIL 13 - TRAMPOLINISTS AND TUMBLERS CONVENE IN CALGARY
Canada's top trampolinists and tumblers gathered in Calgary this past weekend, for the 2004 Canada Cup. Sydney medallists Karen Cockburn and Mathieu Turgeon won their respective events, earning 107.7 and 107.5 points, respectively.
Second place in senior women's trampoline went to Rosie MacLennan (99.6 pts), with Sarah Charles (92.8 pts) placing third. Competition was tighter on the men's side, with Bryan Milonja (106.8 pts) close on Turgeon's heels and David Sabourin scoring 104.0 points for third. Double mini tramp and tumbling were also contested at the 2004 Canada Cup, in both youth and senior categories. Complete results are available at Gymnastics Canada Gymnastique.
Gymn.ca is pleased to present a few videos from this weekend's Canada Cup. The trampolinists profiled lead a team of Canadians traveling to Sweden this week, to take part in this weekend's Swedish Trampoline Open. The event is expected to be one of the largest World Cups ever, with over 28 countries and 162 gymnasts registered.
Karen Cockburn, finals
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Mathieu Turgeon, finals
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Bryan Milonja, finals
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APRIL 5 - BERNHOLTZ BREAKS THROUGH IN LUXEMBOURG
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| Marci Bernholtz 2004 Jurassic Classic Photo by Grace Chiu |
Academy of Sport and Fitness' Marci Bernholtz had a banner day in event finals of the FL Gym Open in Luxembourg yesterday. Bernholtz, who earlier placed fourth all-around behind three American athletes at the meet, won two medals in event finals, including the gold on balance beam. Bernholtz's 9.313 score on beam was enough to place her ahead of US Olympic team contenders Marcia Newby and Liz Tricase, who scored 9.138 and 9.063, respectively. Bernholtz also won a silver for her floor exercise routine, scoring a 9.250 to finish behind Newby, who earned an impressive 9.625 for the gold.
In the day's other two event finals, Bernholtz finished fourth on vault with a 9.050 average, and fifth on bars with an 8.763 score. Vault was won by Tricase with a 9.438 average, while the bars title was shared by Inna Teslenko of the Ukraine and Nina Kim of the United States with a 9.425 score.
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Vault Finals Bar Finals: |
Beam Finals: Floor Finals: |
Update (April 6, 2004): Full results are now available, courtesy of the Fédération Luxembourgeoise.
APRIL 4 - WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL CONCLUDES
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| Ikeda, 2003 Worlds Photo by Grace Chiu |
The 2004 Siegfried Fischer Trophy concluded today, with Brazilians taking top honours on three of five events contested. Diego Hypolito grabbed the first gold of the day, scoring 9.418 on vault. The Hypolito family added another gold later in the competition, when sister Daniele Hypolito topped a difficult beam competition with a 9.212. Daiane Dos Santos, gold medallist on floor at the 2003 World Championships, easily won the same event today in Brazil, scoring a 9.600 with a new routine.
Canada was represented in one event today, by Ken Ikeda. Ikeda struggled on p-bars, scoring 8.437. The event was won by American Brett McClure, with a 9.675. Fellow American Paul Hamm won gold, with a 9.550.
There is talk that the F.I.G. will continue to host a World Cup competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil through to at least 2007. The city is in the running for 2006's World Cup finals.
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Men's Vault Parallel Bars High Bar |
Balance beam Women's Floor exercise
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APRIL 3 - BERNHOLTZ FOURTH IN LUXEMBURG
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| Marci Bernholtz · 2003 Elite Canada |
The trio of Americans dominated today's team and all-around competition in Luxemburg City, Luxemburg. Marcia Newby (USA) won the FL Gym Open, scoring a 37.725. Teammate Liz Tricase also broke the 37.00 mark, scoring 37.150 for silver. The third member of the team, Nina Kim, took bronze with 36.525.
Canadian Marci Bernholtz of ASF, fresh off a solid performance in the all-around at the 2004 Jurassic Classic, finished fourth (36.125). She is qualified to compete on all four events, in tomorrow's finals. Bernholtz's clubmate Caya Colling finished eighth in the all-around, scoring 32.275 and qualifying for floor finals. Gemini's Brittnee Habbib finished just behind Colling in ninth, scoring 32.25
Team:
1. USA
2. UKRAINE (69.35)
3. CAN 69.15 (69.15)
4. HUN (64.35)
5. FL GYM (LUXEMBORG) (63.125)
All-Around:
1. Marcia Newby (USA) 37.725
2. Liz Tricase (USA) 37.150
3. Nina Kim (USA) 36.525
4. Marci Bernholtz (CAN) 36.125
5. Natalia Sirobaba (UKR) 34.75
6. Inna Teslenko UKR (34.60)
7. Laura Marx LUX (32.70)
8. Caya Colling CAN 32.275
9. Brittnee Habbib CAN 32.25
Update (April 6, 2004): Full results are now available, courtesy of the Fédération Luxembourgeoise.
APRIL 3 - IKEDA FOURTH ON POMMELS IN RIO
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Five of 10 events were contested today in Rio de Janeiro, at the 2004 Siegfried Fischer Trophy World Cup. Ken Ikeda improved on his qualifying score (9.350) today, finishing in fourth with a 9.425. Hungary's Krisztian Berki retained his lead, scoring 9.662 for gold. Brazilian Mosiah Rodrigues continued Brazil's strong showing - Diego Hypolito earlier won the floor exercise, with a 9.712 - placing second with a 9.475. Sweden's Michael Hjorth managed to scrape ahead of Ikeda, grabbing the bronze with a 9.437.
Competition concludes tomorrow, at this first World Cup hosted in South America. Ikeda will vie for honours on the parallel bars.
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Men's Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings 1. Jordan Jovtchev BUL 9.7122. Timur Kurbanbayev KAZ 9.650 3. Raj Bhavsar USA 9.612 4. Yuri van Gelder NED 9.612 5. Regulo Carmona VEN 9.437 6. Michel Conceição BRA 9.387 7. Levente Fekete HUN 9.325 8. Ait Saada Fateh ALG 9.137 |
Women's Vault Uneven Bars
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APRIL 2 - TWO FINALS FOR KEN IKEDA IN BRAZIL
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Canada's Ken Ikeda had an impressive day of competition today at the 2004 Siegfried Fischer Trophy, which got underway in Rio de Janeiro today. Ikeda qualified for two event finals and is the first reserve on a third at the World Cup event, finishing fifth on pommel horse and parallel bars and ninth on vault. The 2003 world championship team member also finished 12th on high bar.
Ikeda's best score came on his specialty, the pommel horse, where he earned a 9.350. The event leader was Hungary's Krisztian Berki with a 9.587. Ikeda also scored a 9.150 on parallel bars and an 8.612 average on vault.
At last year's world championships, Ikeda, 22, contributed on five events (all but rings) to help Canada secure a berth at the upcoming Olympic Games. Ikeda trains at the Abbotsford Twisters club with his older brother Richard. Both are coached by their father Mits Ikeda.
As a result of his performance, Ikeda will compete in event finals on both Saturday and Sunday. Tomorrow he will contest the pommel horse final, while Sunday will be the parallel bars. Check back with Gymn.ca for results as they become available.