UCLA signee Madison Kocian tied for the UB gold at the World Championships. She tied with Yilin Fan of China and Russia's Viktoria Komova and Daria Spiridonova. The USA's Gabrielle Douglas was fifth, and LSU commit Ruby Harrold was 7th. Simone Biles of the USA won the Bronze on VT; Maria Paseka of Russia won the gold.
Former OU Sooner Alex Naddour was seventh on the PH, while former Ohio State standout Brandon Wynn was fifth on the Rings. The USA's Donnell Whittenburg was 8th on Rings. Japan's amazing Kenzo Shirai won FX, while the UK went 1-2 on PH with Max Whitlock winning the Gold. Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias joyfully won his country's first gold on Rings, qualifying to the Olympics in the process.
Link: USA Gymnastics
Link: USA Videos
King Kohei (Uchimura) of Japan won his sixth straight World AA title. Cuba's Manrique Larduet was 2nd while China's Shudi Deng was 3rd. Donnell Whittenburg of the US was 8th while teammate Danell Leyva was 17th.
Link: USA Gymnastics
Despites a few mistakes, Simone Biles won her third straight Women's AA title at the World Championships. Biles became the first woman to win three straight title (Svetlana Khorkina won three non consecutive titles). The final margin of victory was her greatest in her three wins, despite having to grab the beam on her front tuck (near fall) and bouncing out of bounds on her second FX pass. Olympic Champion Gabrielle Douglas won the silver while Romania's Larisa Iordache won the bronze.
LSU commit Ruby Harrold (UK) was 22nd AA.
Link: USA Gymnastics
Videos: Link
The US men finished fifth in a thrilling final at the World Championships. Entering the final round in 2nd place, the US men struggled a bit on their weakest event, the pommel horse, enabling the field to pass them by. Japan pulled out a narrow win, despite a fall from Kohei Uchimura on the final routine of the their final event, PB. Finishing a surprising and historic 2nd were the men from Great Britain, while China was close behind in third. Russia was 4th.
The US team includes former OU Sooners Chris Brooks and Alex Naddour, and former Illini Paul Ruggeri. They sorely missed former Michigan star and NCAA Champ Sam Mikulak, who suffered an Achilles injury before the Championships.
Link: USA Gymnastics Story
Link: Results
Link: USA Videos
World Champion Simone Biles and OU commit Maggie Nichols led the US Women to the Gold medal at the team finals of the World Championships in Scotland. Counting no major mistakes, they easily outdistanced the field. UCLA signee Madison Kocian helped the team to the easy win with a big 15.3 on UB. Canada, featuring UGA's Brittany Rogers and Ohio State signee Victoria Kayen Woo, finished 6th.
Link: Videos
Link: USA Gymnastics
The US Men secured a spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics by placing fifth in the qualifying round at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships. The squad was led by Olympian Danell Leyva, who qualified 4th to the AA and made finals on PB and HB, where he leads the qualifiers.
Former OU star Chris Brooks, an alternate who was added when Sam Mikulak dropped out with an Achilles injury, also made the HB final. Former OU star Alex Naddour qualified to the PH final, while Ohio State alum Brandon Wynn qualified to the Ring final. The USA's Donnell Whittenburg made the Ring final and the Vault final. Former Illini Paul Ruggeri is the first alternate on vault.
The Men's Team Preliiminaries are underway at the 2015 World Championships in Glasgow. Japan leads the way, with China in 2nd. Great Britain is 3rd, just ahead of Russia.
Link: Results
Despite several mistakes, the US women won the preliminary rounds of the World Championships. They'll want to eliminate these falls in the next round, as the finals are 3 up and 3 count. Simone Biles leads the AA, with Gabrielle Douglas in 3rd. Biles qualified to the VT, BB, and FX finals, while Douglas made the finals on UB, along with UCLA commit Madison Kocian. OU commit Maggie Nichols made the floor final.
UGA's Brittany Rogers is the 2nd reserve to the final on VT while LSU commit Ruby Harrold (UK) made the UB and AA finals.
Russia took the lead after Day 1 of the Women's Qualifying at the World Championships. Great Britain was 2nd and Italy was 3rd. The US and China compete tomorrow. The top eight teams qualify to the Olympics automatically, putting extra pressure on this event. Teams that finish 9 to 16 must compete for a spot at the Olympics during a test event next spring in Rio. In a surprise, one of those teams not qualifying automatically is likely to be former super power Romania. They currently stand in 8th, with the US and China expected to surpass them. Japan is 4th, Canada 5th, and Oympic host Brazil in 6th. The teams in particular will be watching the likes of Australia, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and others attempt to surpass them.
USA Gymnastics has named the seven members of the women's World Championships. They include: Simone Biles, Gabrielle Douglas, Brenna Dowell (OU), Madison Kocian (UCLA signee), Maggie Nichols (OU Commit), Aly Raisman, and McKayla Skinner (Utah signee). Alyssa Bauman (UF commit) and Bailie Key (UF commit) will continue to train at the Ranch as the team prepares.
Link: USA Gymnastics
The FIG has released the complete list of nominative rosters for the 2015 World Championships. The meet is set for October in Scotland.
Many countries have named 7 athletes, with the reserve to be named later.
The US women's squad includes Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Brenna Dowell (OU), Madison Kocian (UCLA signee), Maggie Nichols (OU Commit), Aly Raisman, Mykayla Skinner (Utah signee). However, because the US has not completed their selection camp, this is not yet final. The selection camp is in two weeks.
The US men's squad includes Sam Mikulak (ex Mich), Alex Naddour (ex OU), Paul Ruggeri (ex IL), Dannell Leyva, Donnell Whittenburg, and Brandon Wynn (ex Ohio State). Chris Brooks (former OU) is the alternate.
Also nominated were UCLA's Danusia Francis (Jamaica), UGA's Brittany Rogers (Canada), and Cal's Toni Ann Williams (Jamaica). In addition, signee Victoria Woo (Canada, Ohio State) and commits Madison Copiak (Canada, Washington), Rubu Harrold (UK, LSU), Courtney McGregor (New Zealand, Boise State) and Charlotte Sullivan (New Zealand, Iowa) are on the list. Former DU stars Jessica Lopez Arocha will represent Venezuela while Simona Castro will represent Colombia. Armenia's roster includes former Iowa standout Houry Gebashian. (Note: Canada has confirmed their team but not named which is the alternate)
Current PSU senior Alexis Torres (Puerto Rico) will represent the PSU men. He'll be joined by former PSU standouts Tommy Ramos, Tristian Perez Rivera, and Nestor Rodriguez. Current Cal athlete Ryan Patterson will represent South Africa, while Bear teammate Yordan Aleksandrov will represent Bulgaria. Former Ohio State Buckeye Mikhail Koudinov will represent New Zealand, while former Iowa standout Javier Balboa will compete for Mexico.
Link: Rosters
Stephanie Stoicovy Worrell, a former George Washington gymnast, joins the GWU Staff.
On September 11th, 2001, Mari-Rae Sopper was on her way to California, ready to start her job as Head Coach of the women's team at UC Santa Barbara. Sopper, a former standout at Iowa State, was known as "ISUFan" on the College Gymnastics Board. She had given up her job as a Navy JAG Corp lawyer to pursue her dream, and to help save the program at UCSB. She lost her life during the events of that fateful day as the plane she was on was deliberately crashed into the Pentagon. We pause to remember her spirit and dedication to the sport, and her inspiring effort to pursue her dreams.
This year, a book has been published about her life and dreams: "Within Her Grasp". Both print and e-book versions are available. Amazon Prime subscribers can borrow it for free.
Our original tribute page: Link
Kirsten Strausbaugh, a former UPenn gymnast, has landed a staff position with the team.