China defeats Russia for World Title
Tianjin, China – The U.S. men turned in solid performances at the 1999 World Gymnastics Championships in Tianjin, China, but were unable to move ahead of strong teams from Asia and Eastern Europe, finishing sixth. The team improved their consistency, scoring higher than their total from the qualifying round.
“Our guys kept fighting,” said Yoichi Tomita (Gymnastics World of Tucson), U.S. men’s coach. “I am most proud of the fact that we scored better than we did last night, and that’s pretty amazing. We certainly showed everyone that we belonged.”
In the end, however, China captured the overall team victory with a total of 230.395 points. Russia won the silver with 228.145, and Belarus the bronze with 227.631. Japan was fourth (225.908), and Korea finished fifth (225.870). The U.S. team accumulated 225.196 points in their effort.
The U.S. team started strong on the vault, and was third after the first rotation. Blaine Wilson’s (Columbus, Ohio) 9.725 and Chris Young’s (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 9.575 gave the team an early emotional lift. The team averaged 9.28 on their second event, the parallel bars, and was fifth after the 2nd rotation. Young and Wilson bolstered the U.S. chances during the third rotation on the high bar, scoring a 9.60 and 9.537 respectively. The team was fourth heading into the second half of the evening.
“Our goal was to go out there and hit 30 routines,” said Wilson. “I think we were pretty close to that.”
The U.S. team struggled a bit on the floor exercise during the fourth rotation, but would come back on the pommel horse with three men scoring better than 9.5 – Wilson, Yewki Tomita (Tucson, Ariz.), and John Roethlisberger (Falcon Heights, Minn.). Wilson and Roethlisberger stayed strong through the final apparatus, the rings, each scoring 9.612. Stephen McCain (Houston, Texas) and Sean Townsend (Dallas, Texas) both scored better than 9.2, but the effort was not enough to move ahead of Korea, who scored no less than 9.512 on the vault.
“We had a good time,” said Roethlisberger. “We have a great bunch of guys and we are really proud of what we did. We knew we were an outside shot for a medal, and we went out there and gave it everything we had like the U.S. men do every time. We’re one of the top six countries in the world and international gymnastics is more competitive than it’s ever been.”
Similar to the women’s competition, the atmosphere in the competition hall was rowdy. Each country had fan representation, with the Chinese reacting to every routine performed by the home team. The U.S. men reacted well, generating additional enthusiasm throughout their rotations.
“This isn’t golf,” added Wilson, who will compete in the all-around on Thursday. “You go out there and do your stuff whether or not people are screaming in your ear. I love noise.”
Team Results
Rank Nation FX PH SR Vault PB HB TOTAL 1. China 38.012 38.324 38.649 38.549 38.787 38.074 230.395 2. Russia 37.624 38.799 37.361 38.649 38.187 37.525 228.145 3. Belarus 37.599 37.862 38.424 37.586 38.186 37.974 227.631 4. Japan 36.161 38.199 37.962 38.287 37.637 37.662 225.908 5. Korea 36.374 37.625 37.737 38.286 38.124 37.724 225.870 6. USA 36.912 37.974 37.711 37.750 37.137 37.712 225.196
Competition Schedule
The men’s competition continues on Thursday night with the individual all-around. Americans Blaine Wilson and Yewki Tomita will compete in the men’s all-around. Wednesday is an off-day for competition.
Thursday, October 14 – 3:00 p.m. – Women’s All-Around Finals (CII)
Thursday, October 14 – 7:30 p.m. – Men’s All-Around Finals (CII)
Friday, October 15 – 7:30 p.m. – Men’s and Women’s Apparatus Finals (CIII)
Saturday, October 16 – 2:00 p.m. – Men’s and Women’s Apparatus Finals (CIII)
*** Tianjin is 12 hours ahead EST.
Thursday, October 14 – 7:30 p.m. – Men’s All-Around Finals (CII)
Friday, October 15 – 7:30 p.m. – Men’s and Women’s Apparatus Finals (CIII)
Saturday, October 16 – 2:00 p.m. – Men’s and Women’s Apparatus Finals (CIII)
*** Tianjin is 12 hours ahead EST.