KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Olympian Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) leads the men’s World Team Trials after preliminary competition on Sept. 15. Wilson, four-time national champion, carries a score of 40.288 into the Sept. 17 finals.

Two-time Olympian John Roethlisberger (Falcon Heights, Minn.) is in second place with a score of 38.943, followed by Sean Townsend (Dallas, Texas) with a score of 38.350.
Competition in the World Team Trials continues with women’s preliminaries on Sept. 16, men’s finals on Sept. 17 and women’s finals on Sept 18. The top six male and female qualifiers advance to the World Championship in Tianjin, China, on Oct. 9-16. The top 12 countries in that team will compete in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

POST-COMPETITION QUOTES

Blaine Wilson

“I felt really good. I think I’ve figured it out. I’m going to do the same things on Friday, hopefully with even better results.”

On John Roethlisberger: “Johnny is spectacular! Nobody will be in the sport as long as he has been. He seems to get better and better. He pushes me, and one thing I’ve learned from John: Pain don’t hurt!”

“The first meet is usually my weakest. I’m going to relax tomorrow by playing some golf.” (His best score is a 79 on the Ohio State course in Columbus.)

On his 9.9 on the rings: “The scoring here is a little different. It probably would have been a 9.7 in international competition, but I’ll take a 9.9. It’s more exciting for fans to see high scores.”

Sean Townsend

“Blaine was a pace-setter. He’s a pacesetter and awesome competitor. I’m pumped to be in the same arena with Blaine.”

“I struggled on the rings because of a shoulder injury, but it went good.”

Chris Young

“Getting into the rhythm was key tonight. I had so much fun competing.”

Brett McClure

“I didn’t stay focused because I was thinking too much…it really took me out of my zone.”