USA Gymnastics enjoys great success in 2011

USA Gymnastics enjoys great success in 2011

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 12, 2011 – The USA's top gymnasts enjoyed great international success in 2011, putting the United States in a good position heading into the Olympic year. Here's a brief look at the highlights from 2011.

• The USA qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in men's and women's gymnastics and women's trampoline, based on performances at the 2011 World Championships. The United States will have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics in rhythmic gymnastics and men's trampoline at the 2012 Olympic Test Event.
• At the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the United States won a total of seven medals, including four gold, and secured team berths to the 2012 Olympic Games in London for both men's and women's gymnastics. The women's team gold medal is the USA's first since 2007 and third overall. For the men, the team bronze medal is the first team medal since 2003. The individual gold medalists are: Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich./Geddert's Twistars USA, all-around; McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All-Olympia Gymnastics, vault; and Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics, parallel bars.
• At the World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships, the USA won three medals in addition to qualifying for women's trampoline at the Olympic Games. Austin White of Irvine, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, earned the men's double mini-trampoline silver medal, and the USA won the team bronze medal in both men's and women's double mini-trampoline.
• At the Pan American Games, the USA's gymnasts earned 18 gymnastics medals, including nine gold. The gold medalists were: women's team; women's all-around and uneven bars – Bridgette Caquatto of Naperville, Ill./Legacy Elite; women's vault – Brandy Jay of Ft. Collins, Colo./GK Gymnastics; still rings – Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors; horizontal bar – Paul Ruggeri of Manlius, N.Y./University of Illinois; and rhythmic gymnastics all-around, ball and ribbon – Julie Zetlin of Bethesda, Md./Capital Rhythmics.
• Kalon Ludvigson of Pocatello, Idaho/Team Revolution, won the USA's first World Cup series title for men's tumbling.

The top accomplishments for women's and men's gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, and group gymnastics are outlined below, by discipline.
Women's Gymnastics The U.S. women won a total of 40 medals in international competition in 2011, as of Dec. 11.

• World Championships. The U.S. women captured the team gold medal, remaining the only country in the world to have won a team medal at every World Championships or Olympic Games where a team competition was contested since 2000. With this performance, the women qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
  
  • The U.S. women earned the team gold medal for the just the third time in history (2003, 2007, 2011), besting second-place Russia by more than five points. The American squad hit 24-for-24 routines and 12-for-12 during the qualification and team finals competition rounds, respectively. The members of the U.S. Team were: Gabrielle Douglas of Virginia Beach, Va./Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute; McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All-Olympia Gymnastics; Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan's American Gymnastics; Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass./Brestyan's American Gymnastics, Sabrina Vega of Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics; Jordyn Wieber of DeWitt, Mich./Gedderts' Twistars USA; and Anna Li of Aurora, Ill./Legacy Elite Gymnastics LLC, alternate.
  • Wieber became the sixth U.S. woman to claim the all-around gold medal. In addition, she earned the bronze medal on the balance beam.
  • Maroney won the gold medal on vault, the third consecutive American to take top honors on the event.
  • Raisman captured the floor exercise bronze medal and earned a fourth place all-around finish.
  • The team gold medal gave Sacramone her 10th career World medal, the highest number earned by a U.S. female gymnast.
• Pan American Games. Team USA won five medals, including four gold, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The U.S. women's team won the team gold medal, its 12th in Pan American Games history.
  
  • The members of the gold medal team: Bridgette Caquatto of Naperville, Ill./Legacy Elite Gymnastics LLC; Jessie DeZiel of Rogers, Minn./Twin City Twisters; Brandie Jay of Ft. Collins, Colo./GK Gymnastics; Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa/Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute; Grace McLaughlin of Allen, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics; and Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind./Sharp's Gymnastics Academy.
  • Caquatto won the women's all-around gold medal, continuing the USA's streak that dates back to the 1987 Pan American Games. She also won the uneven bars gold medal.
  • Jay earned the women's vault gold medal.
  • Johnson claimed the silver medal on the uneven bars.
• AT&T American Cup. In her international debut as a senior level gymnast, Wieber claimed the AT&T American Cup all-around title in Jacksonville, Fla., while teammate Raisman won the bronze. This was Wieber's second American Cup title.
• City of Jesolo Trophy. The USA won 20 medals for the juniors and seniors combined at the 2011 City of Jesolo (Italy) Trophy. The United States' success included both the junior and senior team gold medals and a sweep of the junior and senior all-around medals. Team USA's senior gold medalists were Maroney (all-around, vault); Caquatto (uneven bars); Raisman (balance beam, floor exercise). For the juniors, Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max Gymnastics (all-around, balance beam); Lexie Priessman of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics (vault); and Katelyn Ohashi of Plano, Texas/WOGA (floor exercise). The other senior women on the team were: Douglas, Amanda Jetter of Milford, Ohio, Cincinnati Gymnastics, Vega and Wieber. The junior team also included Ericha Fassbender of Katy, Texas/Stars Gymnastics; Sarah Finnegan of Lake Latawanna, Mo./GAGE; Madison Kocian of Dallas, Texas/WOGA; and Elizabeth Price of Coopersburg, Pa./Parkettes.
• Junior Japan. Priessman and Amelia Hundley of Hamilton, Ohio, both with Cincinnati Gymnastics, finished first and second in the all-around, respectively, at the 2011 Japan Junior International in Yokohama, Japan. In the event finals, the duo combined for six medals, including Priessman's gold medals on vault, uneven bars and floor exercise. Hundley earned silver medals on vault and floor and bronze on the uneven bars.