Csollany, Bin and Khorkina Earn Event Finals Gold Medals; Chaschina Wins Rhythmic All-Around

Brisbane, Australia- Hollie Vise, 13, from Dallas, took the uneven bars bronze medal with a score of 9.212 as the 2001 Goodwill Games gymnastics competition continued this evening at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center. Events contested were still rings, men’s vault, uneven bars and the rhythmic all-around.

“I’m so happy to get a medal here,” said Vise. “I was really glad to hit my routine and I did the best I could do. It was really exciting to be on the medals stand with Khorkina. This is a great experience for me and I’m looking forward to competing beam tomorrow.”
“Winning this medal is a great boost of confidence for the U.S.,” said Yevgeny Marchenko, Vise’s coach. “It’s important for our country because it shows we are doing something right. We got what we deserved and did what we came to do. This is great satisfaction for me as a coach and for Hollie as a gymnast because she achieved what she has been working for.”
In the still rings, reigning Olympic Gold Medalist Szilvester Csollany from Hungary, a rings specialist, took the title with 9.775. Finishing in second was Ivan Ivankov of Belarus with 9.7 while Jordan Jovtchev of Bulgaria finished in third with 9.687. Jovtchev took the Goodwill Games floor exercise title Wednesday. American Jason Furr (Woodbridge, Va.) took sixth place with a clean routine that earned a 9.337.
The men’s vault gold medal was earned by Lu Bin of China with 9.550. Vaults from two different families were performed and scores were averaged. The silver medal was earned by Leszek Blanik from Poland with 9.525. Blanik earned the Olympic bronze medal in Syndey. Third place went to Romanian Olympian Marian Dragulescu with 9.387. Furr placed seventh with 8.575.

Svetlana Khorkina
, reigning Olympic, World and European Uneven Bars Champion, earned the bars gold medal with 9.712. Taking the silver was her Russian teammate Natalia Ziganshina with 9.425 while Vise earned bronze with 9.212.
In rhythmic all-around competition, Irina Chashchina was near flawless in earning the gold medal with 113.550. Russian teammate Alina Kabaeva, world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, placed second with 112.6. Winning the bronze medal was Simona Peychevea from Bulgaria with 107.975. Three-time U.S. rhythmic national champion Jessica Howard placed sixth with 100.25.
“It was a very good experience for me to be here,” said Howard. “I know that I need to go back and work really hard. I can do a lot better, especially on my first two events, but the last two I pulled up a little bit. Hopefully in the next few years with a lot of work I’ll be up there and be more consistent.”
Competition continues Friday with event finals for rhythmic, balance beam, parallel bars and high bar. Howard will compete in rhythmic while Carly Patterson and Hollie Vise will compete beam, Jason Furr will compete parallel bars and Brett McClure will be on high bar.