Gymn.ca: April 2007 News Achive

APRIL 29 - TWO MEDALS FOR CANADA AT TRAMPOLINE WORLD CUP IN CHINA

Several made the most of second chances this past weekend, at the World Cup event in China.

Sarah Charles, who sat 9th after the qualification round, was bumped into the final thanks to the 2-per-country rule, which saw one of the Chinese competitors knocked out. Charles placed seventh in the final, scoring 35.7. The event was won by China's Xingping Zhong with teammate Shanshan Huang placing second. Claire Wright of Great Britain picked up the bronze.

In synchronized trampoline, only one pair per country is allowed to advance. Canada's men's entrants, Jason Burnett and Bryan Milonja, finished 9th after qualifications but got the nod to advance to finals with a second Japanese team having to sit out. The Canadian duo made the best of their second chance, finishing third for the bronze medal (47.6). "In finals, we changed our routine around and competed really well together," Milonja told Gymn.ca. "This is my first world cup medal, and Jason's first synchro world cup medal. We were really happy with the result, but not so much surprised because we both are good individual trampolinists and we get along well." Tetsuya Sotomura/Yasuhiro Ueyama (JPN) took top honours (50.00) with Nikolai Kazak/Vladimir Kakorko (BLR) finishing second (49.3).

Canada's women's synchronized pair, Karen Cockburn and Rosie MacLennan, also finished 9th after qualifications but advanced (team UKR was forced to sit out one pair, due to the 1-per-country rule). The pair brought home Canada's second medal of the World Cup - gold. Final results saw Cockburn and MacLennan topping the event with 47.9 points ahead of Belarussians Ekaterina Mironova/Tatsiana Petrenia (47.5) and bronze medal winners Yiqi Jiang/Qingwen (46.2).

Other results:

Women's individual trampoline:
Sarah Charles 7th
Karen Cockburn - failed to advance after an uncharacteristic fall

Men's individual trampoline:
Charles Thibault 29th
Bryan Milonja 35th
Jason Burnett 43rd

APRIL 28 - TRAMPOLINE TEAM ALSO VISITING CHINA

Several of Canada's top trampolinists are currently in China. Upon arrival, the team drove to Hangxhou to train with a developing Chinese team. The team is now in Kunshan (a region of Shanghai) for a World Cup. Competing are:

-Men's trampoline: Jason Burnett, Bryan Milonja, Charles Thibault (with Burnett and Milonja also scheduled to compete synchro together for the first time)
-Women's trampoline: Karen Cockburn, Rosie MacLennan, Sarah Charles (with Cockburn and MacLenna also scheduled to compete synchro)

Rounding out the group is Dave Ross, official coach, and Stephan Duchesne, National Team Advisor, who is serving as the head of the delegation and judge. Duchesne has set set a number of goals for this World Cup, including 2 women making finals with the third placing in the top 16, 1 man making individual finals and the second in the top 16. On the synchro side, the hope is for a gold with the men's pair to make finals.

Following the competition, the majority of the group is off to Beijing until May 2. The team will be touring the city and its Olympic sights, getting used to the feel of the city. There'll be no rest following the China trip; Canadian Nationals are in May, and from June 1-10 the team will partake in a national training camp with physical preparation advisor, Steve Lindstone in Kelowna, BC.

APRIL 20 – WOMEN’S TEAM ENJOYING TRAINING CAMP IN CHINA

Six of Canada’s top women gymnasts and their coaches are currently participating at a training camp at the national team training center in Beijing, China. The gymnasts participating are Marci Bernholtz and Caya Colling of ASF Gymnastics, Gael Mackie of Omega Gymnastics, Sydney Sawa of Calgary Gymnastics Center, Emma Willis of Bluewater Gymnastics, and Kristina Vaculik of Gemini.

According to coach Elizabeth Brubaker, one of Willis’ personal coaches who is part of the delegation, “Training has been very productive working together with the group of coaches that we have here.” The gymnasts are training with many of the current superstars of the Chinese women’s team, including world vault and floor exercise champion Cheng Fei. The gymnasts are really enjoying the opportunity to train along side some of the world’s best. “Chalking up with Cheng Fei has been incredible and to be standing beside the vault watching her 2/1 twist is amazing. The exchange with the Chinese has made the trip well worth it and working together is bringing us closer together as a team to help our preparation for Worlds,” added Brubaker.

The delegation has also had the chance to do some sight seeing on their day off, including Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and also took in shopping at the Li Ning store. (Li Ning is a former Chinese gymnast and multiple world and Olympic medal winner who now owns and runs a top sporting goods enterprise in China). They also visited the gymnastics venue for the 2008 Olympics, which is still under construction. “Things are going very well and it has been a great experience and training for everyone,” confirmed Brubaker.

The team left for China on April 14th and will return to Canada tomorrow.

APRIL 15 – MACKIE AND PEGG WIN MULTIPLE MEDALS IN ROMANIA

Mackie and Pegg in Ploesti, Romania

Canadian juniors Charlotte Mackie of Omega Gymnastics and Dominique Pegg of Bluewater had a very successful weekend at the Romanian International in Ploesti, Romania. In Saturday’s all-around competition, Mackie took the bronze medal with a score of 56.00, behind the top two Romanians Steliana Nistor (61.05) and Sandra Isbaza (60.20). Pegg finished fourth, scoring 54.90.

Sunday’s apparatus finals brought even more success for the Canadian women; Pegg took the gold medal on the vault with a 14.025 average, and also took bronze on the uneven bars. Mackie picked up two more bronze medals, these on the balance beam and floor exercise.

Look for more updated results and photos from the competition later this week.

2007 Romanian International – Women’s All-around

1. Steliana Nistor (Romania) 61,050
2. Sandra Izbasa (Romania) 60,200
3. Charlotte Mackie (Canada) 56,000
4. Dominique Pegg (Canada) 54,900
5. Petra Witjes (Olanda) 54,400
6. Chloe Henry (Belgia) 53,500

APRIL 4 - BROWN VERBALS TO STANFORD

Brown on her Stanford recruiting trip.
Photo courtesy of the Brown family.

Alyssa Brown of Gymnastics Mississauga has committed to Stanford University. Brown, a member of Canada's team to the 2006 Commonwealth Games and World Championships, is eligible to start her NCAA career this coming Fall, but is deferring to a September 2008 start date to focus on the upcoming 2007 World Championships (Stuttgart, Germany) and 2008 Olympic Games (Beijing, China).

An excited Brown spoke to Gymn.ca about her decision, describing the team, coaches, and other staff as the "perfect fit." Brown went on three recruiting trips (she also visited Arizona and Florida), but "the atmosphere at Stanford, both the way they acted and trained, felt right." Brown's whirlwind recruiting trip to Stanford included rooming with former U.S. National Team member Carly Janiga, meeting with coaches, Academic advisors, and Athletic advisors, attending a basketball game, and cheering on team Cardinal in a match against Oregon and Iowa State. The latter offered Brown an opportunity to catch up with several former Canadian elites now competing NCAA, including Heather Purnell (Stanford), Laura-Ann Chong (Oregon), and former Mississauga teammate Melanie Tham (Iowa State).

Next up for Brown is the Canadian National Championships. Brown was diagnosed with severe bursitis of the ankle late November 2006 and received full clearance to train yesterday. "I'm really hoping [to compete all-around at Nationals], but we're taking it day by day," Brown told Gymn.ca. "I'll compete one or two events, at the very least." The ultimate goal for 2007 includes the World Championships, where a top 12 team placement translates to a team berth to next year's Olympic Games. "I feel more prepared now," said Brown, having competed in her first World Championships, last year in Aarhus, Denmark. "I think the mistakes we made [at Worlds] have motivated all of us to work harder and qualify as a team to the Olympics."

For Brown, the excitement won't stop after World Championships; In November athletes can officially sign their offers.

APRIL 1 - BOYD LEADS TEAM AT STELLA ZAKHAROVA CUP

The Stella Zakharova Cup was contested in the Ukraine this weekend, with team Canada amassing 235.45 points for 9th. Host nation Ukraine won the competition, posting 257.20 points. Second place went to Great Britain (256.15), with Russia rounding out the podium (255.75). Amongst the Canadians, Luke Boyd posted the top all-around score (78.50) to finish 21st in the senior men's all-around. Devon Sidwell finished 26th in the same category, with Jackson Payne placing 14th (77.25) in the junior men's all-around.

On the women's side, team Canada placed 7th with Cynthia Lemieux and Stephanie Desjardins-Labelle placing 10th and 12th all-around, respectively.

Men's Team
1.Ukraine 257.20
2. Great Britain 256.15
3. Russia 255.75
4. Japan 254.75
5. China 254.00
6. Spain 251.25
7. Israel 240.20
8. Poland 239.30
9. Canada 235.45
10. Belarus 233.10

Women's Team
1. China
2. Russia
3. Japan
4. Ukraine
5. Spain
6. Australia
7. Canada
8. Belarus
9. Kazakhstan

Men's Senior All-Around
1. Daniel Keatings (GBR) 86.90
2. Yevgenii Vasileev (RUS) 85.95
3. Makoto Okiguri (JPN) 85.7)
4. Artem Lyubonevich (UKR) (84.90)
5. Tu Tin (CHN) 84.55)
6. Keichi Watanabe (JPN) 84.20
7. Aleksandr Shatilov (ISR) 83.60
8. Roman Kulesza (POL) 83.60
9. Luk Folwell (GBR) 83.30
10. Cristian Gulen (ESP) 83.20
11. Kamil Hulboj (POL) 83.15
12. Dmitrii Paramonov (RUS) 82.95
13. Eduard Golub (ISR) 82.75
14. Vitalii Kochkin (KAZ) 81.25
15. Waldemar Eichorn (GER) 80.80
16. Ignacio Losantos (ESP) 80.45
17. Aleksei Kolpakov (UKR) 79.55
18. Pavel Barchuk (UKR) 78.90
19. Oleg Osipov (KAZ) 78.80
20. Oleg Shakirov (UKR) 78.60
21. Luke Boyd (CAN) 78.50
22. Sabui Aslanov (AZE) 78.30
23. Felix Aranovich (ISR) 78.00
24. Sergei Sheffer (KAZ) 77.50
25. Timur Kurbanov (KAZ) 76.60
26. Devon Sidwell (CAN) 74.95
27. Igor Kozlov (BLR) 70.95
28. Nurtas Kozhakov (KAZ) 69.90
29. Belo Matan (ISR) 68.30
30. Ivan Bekov (GER) 54.80
31. Aleksei Ignatovich (BLR) 53.55
32. Pavel Gofman (ISR) 43.35
33. Asaf Tsuts (ISR) 41.10

Men's Junior All-Around
1. Viktor Stepanenko (UKR) 86.00
2. Pyotr Pakhnyuk (UKR) 85.50
3. Cristian Bazan (ESP) 85.15
4. Chen Shuechan (CHN) 84.75
5. Wan Pen (CHN) 84.25
6. Mikhail Bodner (RUS) 84.25
7. Vladimir Yaroslavtsev (UKR) 83.10
8. Reese Person (GBR) 82.75
9. Takuya Inatera (JPN) 82.50
10. Sam Oldman (GBR) 82.45
11. Dmitrii Stolyarov (RUS) 81.00
12. Retaka Deguchi (JPN) 80.65
13. Paolo Principi (ITA) 79.33
14. Jackson Payne (CAN) 77.25

Senior Women's All Around
Senior All Around
1. Keiko Mukumoto (JPN)
2. Nadezhda Chikheryova (RUS)
3. Lauren Mitchell (AUS)
4. Alyona Zmeu (RUS)
5. Mercedes Alcaida (ESP)
6. Valeria Maksyuta (UKR)
7. Xiao Tingting (CHN)
8. Manami Ishizaka (JPN)
9. Marina Sergienko (UKR)
10. Cynthia Lemieux (CAN)
11. Thais Escolar (ESP)
12. Stephanie Desjardins-Labelle (CAN)
13. Angelina Kislaya (UKR)
14. Karina Tapalova (KAZ)
15. Olga Shakot (BLR)
16. Zhenya Gorbunova (KAZ)
17. Deng Ying (CHN)
18. Togman Manasova (KAZ)

Junior Women's All-Around

1. Xiao Sha (CHN)
2. Aliya Mustafina (RUS)
3. Anastasiya Koval (UKR)