SOFIA, Bulgaria, May 14, 2013 – Kiley Boynton and Ryan Ward, both of Riverside, Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy, won the gold medal in the mixed pairs competition at the 2013 Sofia World Cup for acrobatic gymnastics. The competition, held in Sofia, Bulgaria, took place May 9-11 and is part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup series. Two U.S. Junior National Team members earned two silver medals, bringing the USA’s total to three. In addition, age-group competitors won four additional medals (two gold and one silver and bronze).
Boynton and Ward posted a 30.105 to take the gold in the mixed pairs final, followed by Great Britain’s Eleanor Franks and Christopher Rogers, 29.555, and Russia’s Anna Ivaseva and Alexander Kurennoy, 29.520. The USA’s Kyle Bloom of San Jose, Calif., and Eirian Smith of Livermore, Calif., who train atWest Coast Training Center, finished sixth in the final, scoring 27.930.
In the senior women’s pair competition, Beth Landeche of New Orleans, La., and Nicole Barrilleaux of Metairie, La., who both train at Crescent City Gymnastics, earned a 25.925 and finished sixth. Belgium’s Nikki Snel and Eline De Smedt won the title with their 28.340.
In the junior competition, Aerial Tumbling and AcroGymnastics’ Bryan Allen of San Jose, Calif., and Brennan Astatt of Santa Cruz, Calif., claimed the men’s pair silver medal with a 79.760 total. The title went to Great Britain’s Ryan Bartlett and Luke Sewell. The USA also picked up the silver medal in the junior women’s group competition, when Daphne Kirschner of Rockville, Md., Mackenzie Meyer of Silver Spring, Md., and Belinda Wilson of Arnold, Md., who train at Xtreme Acro and Cheer, earned a 78.410 total. Great Britain’s Jennifer Bailey, Josephina Russell and Cicely Irwin took the gold.
