BIRMINGHAM, England – Asher Little (Provo, Utah/High Altitude) posted the best finish by an American Sunday with a men’s double mini silver medal at the 2023 FIG Trampoline Gymnastics Junior World Championships.
Little earned silver with a score of 25.800 to hold off Jake Westgarth of Great Britain in third (25.500). Francisco Jose of Portugal won the competition with a 28.000. West Fowler (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Panhandle Perfection) placed sixth in the first final round with a 21.900, and Joseph Borders (Austin, Texas/Champions Westlake) was 11th in the semifinals with a 24.900.
Fabulous fourths
A trio of Americans advanced out of their eight-person Final 1 into the four-person second round of finals, each posting top finishes.
Kennedi Roberts (North Richland Hills, Texas/Southlake Gymnastics) followed up her 15-16 double mini gold in Saturday’s World Age Group competition by advancing to the final round on Sunday, placing fourth (20.000). Alexsa Kachan of Australia won the competition with a 24.900.
Eli Nilson (Draper, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline and Tumbling) advanced to the final round of men’s tumbling by virtue of his fourth-place score of 25.500 in the first round. He retained his fourth place in the second final round, posting a 21.100. Amare Walker (Rockaway, N.J./CAVU Trampoline and Tumbling) was sixth in the first final round with a 23.900. In the semifinals, Carter Garn (Bluffdale, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline and Tumbling) was 11th with a 23.700, and Luke Todd (Calhoun, Ga./Culprit Athletics) was 16th with a 21.400.
Women’s 13-14 age group bronze medalist Grace Danley (Millstone, N.J./Garden State Trampoline Academy earned a fourth-place finish in trampoline with a 49.460. Leah Edelman (Holmdel, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy) was 13th in the semifinals with a 21.190, and Alexandra Mytnik (Manalapan, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy) was 14th.
Also on Sunday, Nate Erkert (Wildwood, Mo./Elite Trampoline Academy) was fifth in men’s trampoline with a 54.230; Amelia Gasper (Delavan, Ill./Jump Start Plus) and Brooklyn Jolley (West Haven, Utah/Northern Star Bounders) placed seventh (22.100) and eighth (19.700) in the women’s tumbling final, with Ingrid Campbell (Farr West, Utah /Northern Star Bounders) 15th in the semifinals (19.100); and Joseph Borders (Austin, Texas/Champions Westlake) and Rafi Pikofsky-Christiansen (Silver Spring, Md./Dynamite Gymnastics), were 11th in men’s synchro semifinals (32.050), followed by Alexander Rozenshteyn (Cranford, N.J./Elite Trampoline Academy) and Erkert in 14th.
More than 50 U.S. athletes took part in the FIG Trampoline & Tumbling World Age Group Competitions, which concluded on Saturday. Qualified athletes in the 13-4 and 15-16 age groups competed Sunday in the 1st FIG T&T Junior World Championships.