News: USA wins six medals in rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline at 2007 Pan Am Games

USA wins six medals in rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline at
2007 Pan Am Games

For immediate release July 28, 2007

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, July 28, 2007 – In rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline, the USA today won six medals, representing two gold, three silver and one bronze, at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In trampoline, Chris Estrada of Lafayette, La., won the men’s gold medal, and teammate Ryan Weston of Chubbuck, Idaho, claimed the bronze medal. In rhythmic gymnastics, Lisa Wang of Buffalo Grove, Ill., won the ribbon gold medal, as well as two silver medals. Julie Zetlin of Bethesda, Md., claimed the silver medal in ribbon.

Between the two disciplines, the USA won a total of three gold, three silver and one bronze medal at this year's Games.

Rhythmic gymnastics

On the heels of her victory in the all-around, Wang took top honors in ribbon, as well as earned the silver medal in both rope and clubs, for a total of two gold and two silver medals at the Pan Am Games. Zetlin won her first Pan Am medal when she finished second behind Wang in ribbon.

"It’s been absolutely amazing," said Wang, who also won the all-around earlier in the competition. "This whole competition has been so thrilling, being around all of these elite athletes and doing well. I am really happy with my performance at these Games."

Zetlin said, "I have never been to the Pan Am Games and I am very pleased. We have been to numerous Grand Prix competitions abroad, but I have not medaled yet, so this is a great accomplishment."

Even a dropped ribbon couldn’t keep Wang from mounting the podium as the ribbon gold medalist. She earned a 13.900, besting teammate Zetlin, who scored a 13.525, and Mexico’s Cynthia Valdez, who finished in third at 13.425.

"I felt like I could have done better," said Wang. "Yesterday I was much happier with my performance than I was today, but it is a learning experience and you can’t expect perfection every day. This whole competition has been a dream come true and I could not ask for anything more."

"This was a learning experience," said Zetlin, who finished fourth in the all-around earlier in the competition. "The first day I had some downs, but I climbed back and finished 500th away from getting the bronze (in the all-around), and today getting the silver and medaling in ribbon was icing on the cake."

In both rope and clubs, Canada’s Alexandra Orlando took the gold medal, with Wang taking the silver and Valdez receiving the bronze. In rope, Orlando scored a 14.650, followed by Wang at 13.975 and Mexico’s Cynthia Valdez was third at 13.850. The scores in clubs were: Orlando, 15.350; Wang, 14.200; and Valdez, 13.950.

"Every competition has been an experience for me, whether I do great or not so great," said Wang. "I think we just have to learn from our mistakes. Today I had some fumbles here and there, but I try to always recover and boost myself up a little more and try to make every performance better."

In hoop, Orlando also took top honors. Wang had some difficulties and finished in sixth place.

Trampoline

In the men’s competition, the USA won both the gold and bronze medals. Estrada scored 38.80, to finish 0.2 points ahead of silver-medalist Jason Burnett of Canada, who posted a 38.60. Weston’s 37.30 put him in third place.

"The Pan Am Games have been a great experience and it’s been really fun to compete here," Estrada said. "After my final routine, I just waited and watched for the scores to come. When I realized I won, I was happy because I went in to finals to impress the judges and was able to do it. This is a totally different atmosphere with the international competition and it was good to feel the pressure. This is really going to help me be prepared going in to World Championships."

"Today, (coach) Dmitri (Poliaroush) said, ‘You need to go for it, you have nothing to lose,’ so I did, and I did a pretty a pretty good routine,” Weston said. “I decided I didn’t need to hold back and it went a lot better for me today. I still feel like I have some technical things that I need to work on, so I’m definitely going to go back home and work on those things so I can up my performance score, which is where I’m getting hurt a lot—in the performance of my optional (routine)."

2004 Olympic silver-medalist Karen Cockburn of Canada won the women’s trampoline title with a score of 37.50, one point ahead of teammate Rosannagh MacLennan, who earned 36.50 points. Brazil’s Giovanna Matheus rounded out the medalists, claiming bronze at 34.30. Alaina Williams of Amarillo, Texas, just missed the medals podium and finished fourth with a 33.70. Brittany Dircks of Orland Park, Ill., was seventh with a score of 21.70.

"I think I did pretty well, but you can always do better," Williams said of her performance. "It was cool getting to compete with the crowd around in such a big venue. It’s new, it’s different and it was really fun. It definitely gives me some confidence because it’s something I’m not used to and next time I go to a competition, I can use it to be a little more prepared."

"In finals, I was pretty nervous and I didn’t do as well as I could have," Dircks said, "but the overall experience was good because there was a lot of pressure. It was a good experience being out here and seeing different crowds and different people. The crowd was really loud and it was good to experience that because I’m sure that’s how most World Championships and Olympic Games are. It gave me goosebumps every time I went out onto the floor."

This year marks the first time that trampoline has been included in the Pan American Games since 1959. Each athlete performed one voluntary routine in the final round. Yesterday’s preliminary round determined the starting order for today’s finals.

"Overall since I have been in Rio, it has been a good experience, and it’s amazing to see how many people at the village come together to run this event,v Estrada said. vIt has been great to meet tons of new people and I was involved in a group with a lot of support. The best part of our event was the crowd support."

"This was a huge honor, not only for me to be able to compete at the Pan American Games, but also for the sport of trampoline to be here," Weston said of trampoline’s inclusion in the Pan Am Games. "It’s been awesome hanging out with the whole U.S. Team and to see them compete, and for them to support us and for us to support them in their competitions. Anytime you can go out and compete at a competition this big, and do well, is a huge psychological boost."

2007 Pan American Games - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - July 28, 2007

Rhythmic gymnastics individual event finals

Rope
1. Alexandra Orlando, Canada, 14.650 2. Lisa Wang, Buffalo Grove, Ill., 13.975
3. Cynthia Valdez, Mexico, 13.850

Hoop
1. Alexandra Orlando, Canada, 14.450
2. Rut Castillo, Mexico, 13.850
3. Ana Paula Scheffer, Brazil, 13.375
U.S. finish:
6. Lisa Wang, Buffalo Grove, Ill., 12.950

Clubs
1. Alexandra Orlando, Canada, 15.350
2. Lisa Wang, Buffalo Grove, Ill., 14.200
3. Cynthia Valdez, Mexico, 13.950

Ribbon
1. Lisa Wang, Buffalo Grove, Ill., 13.900
2. Julie Zetlin, Bethesda, Md., 13.525
3. Cynthia Valdez, Mexico, 13.425

Trampoline Finals

Men
1. Chris Estrada, USA, 38.80
2. Jason Burnett, Canada, 38.60
3. Ryan Weston, USA, 37.30
4. Bryan Milonja, Canada, 36.50
5. Carlos Pala, Brazil, 35.20
6. Dario Arias, Argentina, 27.40
7. Ramses Zavala, Mexico, 24.60
8. Rafael Andrade, Brazil, 7.80

Women
1. Karen Cockburn, Canada, 37.50
2. Rosannagh MacLennan, Canada, 36.50
3. Giovanna Matheus, Brazil, 34.30
4. Alaina Williams, USA, 33.70
5. Nadia Solis, Mexico, 32.40
6. Veronica Lorenzo, Argentina, 30.70
7. Brittany Dircks, USA, 21.70
8. Bruna Garambone, Brazil, 4.40

USA Gymnastics
Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for the sport of gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport.
For more information about USA Gymnastics and its programs, access USA Gymnastics online at
www.usa-gymnastics.org.