News: Artemev, Durante lead senior men’s all-around at 2007 Visa Championships

Artemev, Durante lead senior men’s all-around
at 2007 Visa Championships

August 15, 2007

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 15, 2007—2006 U.S. all-around champion Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo., and David Durante of Garwood, N.J., are tied for first and lead the men’s senior all-around competition at the 2007 Visa Championships at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The final round is Friday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m. PT. Scores from both days of competition are combined to determine the final all-around and individual event rankings.

Competition at the 2007 Visa Championships continues tomorrow with women’s artistic gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics competition.

“I feel all right after tonight’s competition,” Artemev said. “I was a little shaky here and there, and was kind of surprised by my pommel horse mistake.”

“I started off a little slow tonight, but showed myself, the crowd and the judges that I’m a fighter,” Durante said. “In the past, I might have let early mistakes get the best of me, but not tonight. I’m so proud of that.”

The first day of senior men’s competition was anybody’s game. By the end of six rotations, five gymnasts had either held or tied for the all-around lead. At the conclusion of tonight’s competition, Artemev and Durante were tied at 89.500. In the last rotation, Artemev scored a 15.550 on his triple twisting Yurchenko vault to move from third into a tie for first with Durante. Durante scored a 14.500 on his final event, a high bar routine that included a double-twisting, double-layout dismount.

Guillermo Alvarez of Denver is on their heels, finishing third with a score of 89.450. Local Stanford University gymnasts Sho Nakamori of Albany, Calif., and David Sender of Arlington Heights, Ill., are fourth and fifth, respectively.

Paul and Morgan Hamm of Waukesha, Wis., competing for the first time since the 2004 Olympic Games, competed in two events, pommel horse and floor exercise. Paul Hamm posted the highest score of the night on floor exercise with a 15.700.

Two gymnasts lead the individual events they won last year at the Visa Championships: Sender on vault and Kevin Tan of Fremont, Calif., on still rings. The highest scores of the night in the senior men’s competition were: Paul Hamm, floor exercise, 15.700; Sender, vault, 16.000; Nakamori, pommel horse, 15.000; Durante, parallel bars, 15.450; Tan, still rings, 16.400; and Yewki Tomita of Tuscon, Ariz., horizontal bar, 14.650.

From today’s competition, 36 men advanced to the final day of competition based on a points system that awards credit based on performances.

Tickets are still available for the Visa Championships, the national championships for artistic, rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics. Tickets may be purchased at the HP Pavilion Ticket Office; all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone at (408) 998-TIXS; or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Artistic gymnastics will be held at HP Pavilion at San Jose, and rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics are set for the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. 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.

At HP Pavilion, the artistic gymnastics competition schedule for the Visa Championships is: 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.

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.