BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Oct. 14 2018 – Brandon Briones of Gilbert, Ariz./Aspire Kids Sports Center, won the vault title at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Briones competes tomorrow in the parallel bars and horizontal bar finals. Live scoring and results are available through the official website. The Games will be broadcast on the Olympic Channel, and OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app offer a 24/7 channel with live streams, replays and highlights.
Briones earned a 14.466 for his first vault and a 13.733 for the second for a 14.099 average and the gold medal. Ukraine’s Nazar Chepurnyi came close but settled for the silver with his 13.983 average. Norway’s Jacob Karlsen claimed a 13.883 average for the bronze medal.
In the still rings final, Briones missed the bronze by just .034, posting a 13.266. China’s Yin Dehang’s 13.300 gave him the bronze medal. Japan’s Takeru Kitazono won the still rings crown at 13.533, with Canada’s Felix Dolci in second with a 13.366.
Alyssa Oh of Rocklin, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, took eighth place in the women’s trampoline final with a 28.210. China’s Fan Xinyi was first (52.560), followed by Australia’s Jessica Pickering (51.645) and Russia’s Vera Beliankina (51.435). China’s Fu Fantao was the men’s champion.
Yesterday, Briones finished fifth in the floor exercise and pommel horse finals. For the floor exercise, Briones earned a 13.466 for fifth place. Kitazono won the title at 13.633, with Hungary’s Krisztian Balazs on his heels at 13.600. Russia’s Sergei Naidin was third with 13.566. Briones, who was the first reserve athlete, competed in the pommel horse final, registering a 12.733 and fifth place. China’s Yin Dehang was first at 13.900. Naidin and Iran’s Reza Bohloulzade Hajlari finished second (13.500) and third (13.241), respectively.
The competition schedule is listed with local Argentina time, which is one hour ahead of Eastern; when it is 12 noon in New York City, it is 1 p.m. in Buenos Aires. The multi-discipline team event serves as the qualification round for each discipline’s finals.
Oct. 15 – 5 p.m. – Finals for women’s balance beam and floor exercise; men’s parallel bars and horizontal bar; acrobatic gymnastics, mixed pair
Oct. 16 – 5 p.m. – Rhythmic gymnastics all-around final
In addition to hosting competition in 12 sports, the Youth Olympic Park also has a variety of cultural activities, including artistic workshops, collaborative murals, massive games and music shows.
For more information, go to buenosaires2018.com.