We would need a slapping if we didn't link to a great post by retired Michigan gymnast, Ward Black. It's all about the relative demise of U.S. excellence on pommel horse. Ward nailed it. He was very harsh on our guys, but he said what needed saying. He was not without some praise, though, especially that reserved for [...more]
All six members of the 2008 Men's Olympic Gymnastics Team successfully petitioned on to the 2009 U.S. Men's Senior National Team. Olympians Raj Bhavsar, Jonathan Horton, Joey Hagerty, Kevin Tan, Justin Spring and Sasha Artemev were joined by Tim McNeill and Kyle Bunthuwong, who were picked by the Men's Program Committee and the Men's National Team Coordinator. The remaining seven team members were chosen based on their performance at the 2009 Winter Cup. McNeill punched his ticket by scoring huge points on [...more]
Joey Hagerty backed up his dazzling first night's performance with an even better one in the finals of the Winter Cup Challenge. Hagerty posted an 89.75 to best the field. Perhaps the nation's top men's club gymnast, Danell Leyva, posted an 89.05 to finish solidly in second place. Stanford's Sho Nakamori, Guillermo Alvarez and Oklahoma's Chris Brooks rounded out the rest of the top five. The 17-year-old Leyva, from Universal, has been rewarded with a coveted spot on the U.S. Senior National Team. Seven gymnasts were named to the Senior National Team as a result of [...more]
The first day of competition is over at the 2009 Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas, NV. The top 42 gymnasts have qualified for the finals, which will be held on Saturday, February 7. Two club gymnasts placed in the top seven in the all-around competition. Danell Leyva garnered an 87.30 to take 3rd place for the evening, [...more]
The 2009 Stanford Open took place January 23-25. As usual, the folks on The Farm put on a good show. A special thanks to Meet Director Doni Thompson and Meet Co-Directors Tom Langenstein and Michael Diliberto for their great hospitality. The Stanford Open is one of the premier annual events for men's gymnastics. The highlight of the weekend was [...more]
Ohio State freshman, Alexy Bilozertchev, has left the men’s gymnastics team for unspecified reasons. The announcement was made by Head Coach Miles Avery. Supposedly he will remain on scholarship to pursue his academic goals. What’s up with this? Bilozertchev, the son of former World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Dmitri Bilozertchev, was a prized recruit […] [...more]
The field is set for the 2009 Tyson American Cup. 2008 U.S. Olympian Joey Hagerty and 2008 U.S. All-Around Champion David Sender will represent the United States. Two more Americans will be selected after next month's Winter Cup Challenge in Las Vegas. This is great news that Sender's career is still alive, especially after his heartbreaking ankle injury suffered just prior to the Olympic Trials. That injury most likely kept him off the 2008 Men's Olympic Gymnastics Team. Here is the rest of the field: [...more]
The Progressive Skating and Gymnastics Spectacular took place on Tuesday night (Dec. 23) at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, SD. The men were well represented by Paul Hamm, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring, Raj Bhavsar and Ivan Ivankov. For those who were unable to make the trek to Rapid City, don’t worry. NBC […] [...more]
StickItMedia Exclusive Interview John Orozco has certainly made an indelible impact on men's club gymnastics over the past several years. Consider the following achievements: * 2008 VISA Championships: 1st place All-Around * 2008 JO Nationals: 1st place All-Around (Level 10/14-15) * 2007 VISA Championships: 1st place All-Around * 2007 JO Nationals: 2nd place All-Around (Level 9) * 2006 JO Nationals: 3rd place All-Around (Level 9) * Current member USA Junior National Team Orozco, who trains at World Cup Gymnastics in Chappaqua, NY under Coach Jason Hebert, is on the fast track, [...more]
StickItMedia Exclusive Interview Danell Leyva has been dominating men's club gymnastics for the past several years. In fact, he has been so good that he competed in the senior division at the 2007 and 2008 VISA Championships, finishing 9th AA and 11th AA, narrowly missing a trip to the 2008 Olympic Trials. Leyva is on track to possibly become one of the youngest gymnasts [...more]
