Tim McNeill
© John Cheng

• Complete Results
• 2009 World Championships Information

LONDON, Great Britain, Oct. 13, 2009 – The USA’s Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va., and 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston finished in the top five in the all-around standings at the 2009 World Championships at The O2 Arena in London, Great Britain. In addition, Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas, Danell Leyva of Miami, McNeill and Horton qualified for individual event finals. The women’s preliminary round is tomorrow, Oct. 14.

Legendre, who competes for the University of Oklahoma, will compete in the floor exercise finals. McNeill, who competed for the University of California – Berkeley, was in the top eight for pommel horse, and Leyva, who trains at Universal Gymnastics, and Horton, who trains at Cypress Gymnastics, are both in the horizontal bar finals.

“I think it has been more than 20 years since we had four of our six guys make finals at the World Championships,” said Ron Brant, the men’s national team coordinator. “We have one of the youngest teams here – three who are 23 and one each at 17, 18 and 20. I’m impressed because this shows that our training plans are working, that our athletes have taken it to heart and that we have continued leadership within the team even though we have reloaded after the last two Olympics.”

McNeill’s 88.775 put him in third, behind current leader Kohei Uchimura of Japan, who scored 90.925. Horton, the reigning U.S. all-around champion, is fifth at 88.000. The top 24 men in the all-around standings compete in the all-around finals on Oct. 15. For individual events, the top eight on each apparatus from the qualification rounds advanced to the finals (Oct. 17-18). Prelim scores do not carry forward to the final round.

McNeill, who competed in the day’s first session, started on the horizontal bar and had a solid routine with a step on his landing for a 14.175. On floor, McNeill earned a 13.800. He executed a clean routine on pommel horse, earning a 15.350, which put him in eighth place in the rankings and into the event finals. A step on his still rings dismount resulted in a 14.825 and a four-apparatus score of 58.150. He was in fourth place in the all-around after the third and fourth rotations. After five events, he moved into third in the all-around with his 15.525 for his Yurchenko double full stretched on vault. He finished on parallel bars, where he scored a 15.100 to move into second for the session. McNeill, who is competing in his first World Championships, finished third in the all-around preliminary rankings.

“I didn’t look at a single score until the end,” said McNeill. “I actually didn’t know I was doing as well as I was. It’s a little thing I started at this year’s Visa Championships – not looking at scores or results. It doesn’t help when they announce the standings at the end of each rotation, like they sometimes do, but this time I was pretty much in the dark. I tried not to make too big a deal of the situation (competing in the World Championships). I try to visualize my routine in my gym, where I am comfortable, in my head. I can’t lie, I was a little nervous out there but overall I stayed pretty calm.”

In the second prelim session, Horton started on vault, where he earned a 15.650 for his handspring double front vault. On parallel bars, he scored a 14.925 for an all-around total of 30.575. Horton cleanly hit his high-flying horizontal bar routine, including his full-twisting, double layout dismount, for a 15.325, which put him in fifth place in the event rankings and into the event finals. His three-event total was 45.900. His floor exercise score was a 14.600, giving him a four-event total of 60.500. Mistakes on pommel horse resulted in a 12.800, giving him a five-event total of 73.300. Finishing up on still rings, Horton posted a 14.700 on the rings to finish up the afternoon. He was fifth in the all-around rankings.

“I am not worried, but I am a little disappointed,” said Horton. “What’s great about today is that it is prelims. I can do so much better than today. Sometimes it is almost good to have this happen because now I am going to focus on the little details that I wasn’t worried about before. I did some uncharacteristic stuff that I can fix on Thursday.”

Leyva, who is coached by his step-father Yin Alvarez, thrilled the crowd with his series of release moves and the jam hop during his horizontal bar. He earned a 15.450 and a ticket to the finals with his fourth place ranking. On the parallel bars, he scored a 14.825.

“I was pretty high when it (his routine) started, but I’ve learned to control it by taking deep breaths,” said Leyva, who is competing in his first World Championships. “When I was on high bar, I was breathing really fast. We were all really excited, really nervous too, and expected the best. And, we did pretty good, I think. I’m really happy.

“I’ve been looking forward to making the high bar finals because I want to do high bar with Zou Kai (from China),” said Leyva.

Legendre, who was competing in his first World Championships, scored a 15.475 for his floor routine. He had a small mistake on his first tumbling pass but his score landed him in seventh place and the event finals.

“It’s a big thing for me, especially since it’s my first World Championships,” said Legendre. “It was a little nerve-wracking at first. When I started getting warmed up (in the back gym), I was getting a little nervous, but once I got out on the floor and started the warm up, I got calm. I caught a few breaks, and although my routine wasn’t my best, it was good enough today. Making the finals is awesome. It is a feeling I’ve never had before, and I can’t describe it.”

Also making his World debut, Wesley Haagensen of Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Olympic Training Center, competed on both pommel horse and still rings. He earned a 13.875 for his pommel horse routine and a 14.875 on the still rings.

“It was a good experience to get out on the floor at my first World Championships,” said Haagensen. “I wish I could have stayed loose and done a little more. I hit my routines but that’s not enough. For an individual event, you have to do a little more. I did well on the harder skills but missed some of the basic ones. Still it was great to raise my hand at the World Championships.”

Jake Dalton of Sparks, Nev./University of Oklahoma, has been battling the lingering after-effects of strep throat and was unable to train much in London. He landed his vault, a Kazamatsu one-and-half, with a small step on landing, but missed his second vault, a front handspring double full. He earned a 15.875 for his efforts.

“Basically I knew I had to come out (and compete),” said Dalton. “I was chosen for this and had to come out and do my job. (To help do it) I had on a wrist band that says, ‘Fight like a champion.’ I got it for a volleyball coach who had cancer, and I kept looking at it and that helped me get through my vaults. I wanted to come out and do my best for the guys and to wear USA on my shirt. It was a great experience, and you always take something away from it. I want to come back on the world team next year.”

This year’s World Championships feature competition in the all-around and individual events. Qualification rounds determine advancement to the all-around and apparatus finals.

Women’s qualification round is Wednesday, Oct. 13. The women compete in three of the five subdivisions: session 2 – Ivana Hong of Allen, Texas/WOGA, uneven bars and balance beam, and Kayla Williams of Nitro, W.Va./Gym Nest Inc., vault and floor; session 3 -- 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist and 2009 U.S. all-around champion Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind./Sharp's Gymnastics, all-around; and session 5 -- Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, all-around. The women’s all-around is Oct. 16, with individual event finals on Oct. 17-18.

2009 World Championships
London, Great Britain
Oct. 13, 2009
Men’s preliminary round standings
Complete Results

All-around
1. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 90.925
2. Maxim Devyatovskiy, Russia, 89.350
3. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley, 88.775
4. Daniel Keatings, Great Britain, 88.400
5. Jonathan Horton, Houston/Cypress Gymnastics, 88.000

Floor exercise
1. Kohei Uchimura, Japan, 15.775
2. Marian Dragulescu, Romania, 15.725
3. Zou Kai, China, 15.675
U.S. qualifier
7. Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas/University of Oklahoma, 15.475

Pommel horse
1. Zhang Hongtao, China, 16.275
2. Krisztian Berki, Hungary, 16.100
3. Louis Smith, Great Britain, 15.900
U.S. qualifier
8. Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley, 15.350

Still rings
1. Yan Mingyong, China, 15,900
2. Danny Pinheiro Rodrigues, France, 15.625
3. Jordan Jovtchev, Bulgaria, 15.600

Vault
1. Ri Se Gwang, People’s Republic of Korea, 16.800
2. Anton Golotsutskov, Russia, 16.500
3. Marian Dragulescu, Romania, 16.500

Parallel bars
1. Feng Zhe, China, 15.950
2. Wang Guanyin, China, 15,800
3. Kazuhito Tanaka, Japan, 15.600

Horizontal bar
1. Zou Kai, China, 15.600
2. Igor Cassina, Italy, 15.500
3. Aljaz Pegan, Slovenia, 15.475
U.S. qualifiers
4. Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics, 15.450
5. Jonathan Horton, Houston/Cypress Gymnastics, 15.325

Complete report at USA-Gymnastics here

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Sept. 13, 2009 – USA Gymnastics has finalized the U.S. Men’s World Championships Team for the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships, Oct. 13-19, at the O2 in London, England, following the team’s preparation camp. This year’s World Championships feature competition in the all-around and individual events only.

Based on performances at the training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, alternates Jake Dalton of Sparks, Nev., and Wesley Haagensen of Colorado Springs, Colo., have been named to the team. They replace David Sender, who withdrew from the team due to school commitments, and Alexander Artemev, who had petitioned to the team but was unable to demonstrate competitive readiness.

The complete team is comprised of: 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Jonathan Horton of Houston, Texas/Cypress Gymnastics; Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas/University of Oklahoma; Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics; Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley; Dalton, who trains with Nevada Gymnastics; and Haagensen, who trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. The alternate is: Daniel Ribeiro of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y./University of Illinois.

The team was named following the conclusion of the 2009 Visa Championships. Artemev, who did not compete in the Visa Championships because he was injured, petitioned to the team with the caveat that he must demonstrate competitive readiness at the recently concluded camp. Sender withdrew from the team to continue his education at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois.

© John Cheng

DALLAS, Texas, Aug. 15, 2009 – 2008 Olympic medalists Jonathan Horton of Houston, Texas, who just won the U.S. all-around title, and Alexander Artemev of Lakewood, Colo., headline the U.S. Men’s Team for the 2009 World Gymnastics Championships, Oct. 13-19, at the O2 in London, England. This year’s World Championships features competition in the all-around and individual events only.

In addition to Horton and Artemev, the members of the World Team are: Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas/University of Oklahoma; Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics; Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley; and David Sender of Arlington Heights, Ill./shonakamori.com. The alternates are: Jake Dalton of Sparks, Nev./Nevada; Wesley Haagensen of Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Olympic Training Center; and Daniel Ribeiro, Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., University of Illinois.

Horton, who trains at Cypress Gymnastics, and Artemev, who trains at 5280 Gymnastics, were both members of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that won the team bronze medal in Beijing. Horton also claimed the silver medal for the horizontal bar at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Artemev, who did not compete in the Visa Championships because he was injured, petitioned to the team and must demonstrate competitive readiness at the Senior National Team Camp in September.

© John Cheng

• All-Around Results
• Saturday's Team Results

2008 NCAA all-around champion Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas and 2009 Winter Cup parallel bars gold medalist Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics posted a strong showing on the final day of competition at the 2009 Japan Cup at the Makuhari Event Hall in Chiba, Japan.

The first international meet in the Tokyo area since 1993 concluded Sunday, July 19 with an individual all-around featuring a 12 gymnast field, including two gymnasts per country. Levya finished seventh overall with a score of 88.500, scoring as high as fourth on high bar with the mark of 15.1. Legendre finished tenth with an all-around score of 84.350, despite placing third on floor exercise with a score of 15.4.

The Japanese took first and third in the all-around, with 2008 Olympic all-around silver medalist Kohei Uchimura winning gold with a score of 92.750 and Kazuhito Tanaka taking bronze with 90.850. European champion, German Fabian Hambuechen won silver with 92.100.

Source USAG