News: Three Olympians, five world champions highlight Visa Championships field

Three Olympians, five world champions highlight
Visa Championships field

August 10, 2007

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Aug. 10, 2007 — With the 2008 Olympic Games just one year away, the 2007 Visa Championships, Aug. 15-18 in San Jose, Calif., is definitely the place to see the USA’s gymnastics stars, all of whom are vying for coveted U.S. titles and a berth on the 2007 World Championships Team. The artistic gymnastics field boasts three Olympians and five world champions among the country’s best. The Visa Championships also showcases the nation’s best in rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics.

“At the Visa Championships, you’re going to see a real convergence of young up-and-comers and the more-established women’s athletes. They’re going to give them a run for their money, and we think that’s going to make for an exciting competition,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “On the men’s side, we’ve got a great group of guys. They’re young with incredible potential. Anything can happen with this very deep field of athletes.”

Five world champions are among the 10 world medalists scheduled to compete in artistic gymnastics: women — 2005 world uneven bars and balance beam champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, 2005 world all-around gold-medalist Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., and 2005 world floor exercise champion Alicia Sacramone of Winchester, Mass.; and men — 2003 world all-around and floor exercise champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wis., and 2001 world parallel bars champion Sean Townsend of Houston. The other world medalists are: women — 2006 world all-around, floor exercise and team silver-medalist Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla., and 2006 world team silver-medalist Natasha Kelley of Katy, Texas; and men — 2006 world pommel horse bronze-medalist Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo., 2001 and 2003 world team silver-medalist Raj Bhavsar of Houston, and 2003 world team silver-medalist Morgan Hamm of Waukesha, Wis.

The three Olympians are: 2004 Olympic all-around champion and team silver-medalist Paul Hamm, 2004 Olympic team silver-medalist Morgan Hamm, and 2000 Olympian Townsend. Memmel and Bhavsar were alternates to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team.

“I’m excited for the Visa Championships because it takes place only a week before the World Championships,” said Martha Karolyi, women’s national team coordinator. “It’ll be very interesting to see the competition between the two generations of gymnasts: the so-called veterans, even though they are still extremely young, already have several world medals; and an extremely strong, young generation is breaking into the field. The competition between these girls will be strong and I actually look forward to selecting this (World Championships) team.”

“We’re definitely going forward with a positive attitude and we’re looking forward to the Visa Championships and what this new group will bring to the table,” said Ron Brant, senior men’s national team coordinator. “It’s going to be a good time for the U.S. men to show what they’re capable of doing.”

The Visa Championships also feature 14 medalists fresh from their success at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The United States claimed 16 medals in artistic gymnastics (six gold, seven silver and three bronze) and five in rhythmic gymnastics (two gold and three silver).

The U.S. women and the men won the team gold and bronze medals, respectively, at the Pan Am Games. The members of the U.S. Women’s Team were: Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas; Ivana Hong of Blue Springs, Mo.; Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa; Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas; Samantha Peszek of Indianapolis, Ind.; and Amber Trani of Richlandtown, Pa. The U.S. Men’s Team was comprised of: Guillermo Alvarez of Denver; David Durante of Garwood, N.J.; Sean Golden of Camden, N.J.; Joey Hagerty of Rio Rancho, N.M.; Justin Spring of Burke, Va.; and Todd Thornton of Houston.

Johnson picked up the most medals by a U.S. gymnast at the Pan Am Games, adding three gold and one silver to her team gold medal. The United States swept the women’s all-around with Johnson in first, Bross in second and Hong in third. Also winning individual gold in artistic gymnastics at the Pan Am Games were Bross on floor exercise and Spring on parallel bars.

Lisa Wang of Buffalo Grove, Ill., earned four medals, including all-around gold, in rhythmic gymnastics at the Pan American Games. She took top honors in ribbon and earned the silver medal in both rope and clubs. Julie Zetlin of Bethesda, Md., claimed the silver medal in ribbon.

Visa Championships tickets for men's and women's artistic and rhythmic/acrobatic gymnastics are on sale now at the HP Pavilion at San Jose Ticket Office; all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone at (408) 998-TIXS; or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

NBC Sports is broadcasting action from the women’s competition on a same weekend, tape-delayed basis during prime time. Coverage from the men’s competition airs on Sept. 9. The USA Gymnastics National Congress and Trade Show, held in conjunction with the Visa Championships, will also be at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

In 2006, Liukin and Artemev joined an impressive list of gymnasts who have earned the coveted title of U.S. all-around champion. Some of the sport’s biggest names are former all-around champions, including Carly Patterson, Courtney Kupets, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Kim Zmeskal and Mary Lou Retton for the women and Paul Hamm, Blaine Wilson, John Roethlisberger, Mitch Gaylord, Peter Vidmar and Bart Conner for the men.

The Visa Championships traces its history back to 1897 for the men and 1931 for the women.

Artistic gymnastics

Artemev and Liukin are set to defend their 2006 U.S. all-around titles. All of last year’s individual event champions for the senior women are expected to compete: Sacramone, vault and floor exercise (tie); Randy Stageberg of Chesapeake, Va., floor exercise (tie); and Liukin, uneven bars and balance beam. For the senior men, the returning individual event champions in the field are: Jonathan Horton of Houston, floor exercise; Kevin Tan of Fremont, Calif., still rings; David Sender of Arlington Heights, Ill., vault; and Artemev, pommel horse and parallel bars.

The U.S. World Championships Teams for men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics will be named after the conclusion of the 2007 Visa Championships. The 2007 World Championships are Sept. 1-9 in Stuttgart, Germany, which serves as the qualifying event for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

The men’s artistic gymnastics field breaks down into 47 seniors and 38 juniors (19 in each of the two junior categories, 14-15 and 16-18 years of age), and 18 seniors and 25 juniors comprise the women’s field.

At the HP Pavilion at San Jose, the artistic gymnastics competition schedule for the Visa Championships is: Wednesday, Aug. 15 – 1 p.m., junior men’s all-around and event finals, and 7 p.m., senior men’s first day of competition; Thursday, Aug. 16 – 1 p.m., junior women’s first day of competition, and 7 p.m., senior women’s first day of competition; Friday, Aug. 17 – 7 p.m., senior men’s final day of competition; and Saturday, Aug. 18 – 1 p.m., junior women’s final day of competition, and 6 p.m., senior women’s final day of competition.

Rhythmic gymnastics

Fresh from her Pan Am Games success, Wang is set to defend her U.S. all-around title at the Visa Championships. In 2006, Wang won ball and ribbon, while Zetlin won clubs and rope. Rachel Marmer of Los Angeles, who won the last four U.S. rhythmic gymnastics junior all-around titles and all four junior individual event gold medals in 2006, is also competing as a senior.

At the conclusion of the rhythmic gymnastics competition, the U.S. World Championships Team will be named for the global event slated for Sept. 19-23 in Patras, Greece.

Twenty-two seniors and 20 juniors are scheduled to compete in rhythmic gymnastics.

The schedule for rhythmic gymnastics at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center is: Thursday, Aug. 16 — 9:30 a.m., junior all-around qualifier and individual event finals, and 2:30 p.m., senior all-around qualifier and individual event finals; and Saturday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. — junior and senior all-around finals.

Acrobatic gymnastics

Two-time defending U.S. men’s pair champions Julian Amaro of Pleasanton, Calif., and Tyler Spray of Livermore, Calif., look to earn their third straight senior elite title, while the trio of Mariah Henninger of Walnut Creek, Calif., Ally Kidd of Livermore, Calif., and Tisa Penny of San Leandro, Calif., will attempt to repeat as U.S. women’s group champions.

Seventeen senior elite and 10 junior elite athletes are in the acrobatic gymnastics field.

Acrobatic gymnastics opens on Friday, Aug. 17, at 10 a.m., followed by a second session at 2 p.m. The final round is Saturday, Aug. 18, at 10 a.m. Acrobatic gymnastics competition is at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center.

For a complete list of athletes competing in the 2007 Visa Championships, please visit www.usa-gymnastics.org.

About HP Pavilion at San Jose

HP Pavilion at San Jose is the premier sports and entertainment venue in Northern California. Home to the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, San Jose SaberCats of the Arena Football League, SAP Open men’s professional tennis tournament and the annual Pac-10 Women’s Basketball Tournament, HP Pavilion also hosts a multitude of events annually including concerts, family shows and civic events.

HP Pavilion at San Jose is an exemplification of architectural excellence and technological innovation. Outside, a shining stainless-steel facade supports a magnificent, glass pyramid entry, soaring 10 stories above the ground. Inside, first-class amenities and leading-edge seismic engineering contribute to the building’s reputation as one of the finest facilities in the United States.

HP Pavilion at San Jose is capable of accommodating a full-range of entertainment. State-of-the-art acoustics, plush seating and a video replay scoreboard add to the comfort and luxury for the venue’s patrons. In addition, the downtown location is easily accessible via several major freeways, light-rail and a regional train station, located across the street.

About San Jose McEnery Convention Center

Considered the hub for meetings and conventions in San Jose, the San Jose McEnery Convention Center opened its doors in April 1989. The facility has 432,000 square feet of function space, including a 22,000 square-foot ballroom and 30 meeting rooms.

About Visa USA

Visa USA is a leading payments brand and the nation's largest payments system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and business customers with a wide variety of payment alternatives tailored to meet their evolving needs. Visa USA is committed to increasing the choice, convenience, acceptance and security of Visa payments for all stakeholders – financial institutions, cardholders and merchants. In the United States, more than 521 million Visa-branded cards have been issued by our 13,320 financial institution customers.

Visa products generated nearly $1.8 trillion in total volume in the United States through March 2007 and enjoy unsurpassed acceptance around the globe. For more information, visit www.visa.com.

About the San Jose Sports Authority

The San Jose Sports Authority is a non-profit organization that serves as the sports marketing agency for the City of San Jose. Since their inception in 1991, they have worked with community partners to bring more than 150 premier events and programs to the San Jose area. For more information, visit www.sjsa.org.

About USA Gymnastics

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States, encourages participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. For more information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.