ANADIA, Portugal, June 23, 2013 – 2012 Olympian Sam Mikulak of Corona del Mar, Calif./University of Michigan, won the horizontal bar gold medal today at the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Challenge Cup – Portugal 2013 in Anadia, Portugal. Mikulak won the bronze medal on floor exercise in yesterday’s competition.
Having competed in all three of the day’s finals, Mikulak went to the high bar in search of his first medal of the day. After performing a nearly flawless routine, including a stuck laidout double double dismount, he earned a 15.275 to claim the top spot. Angel Rivera of Puerto Rico, 14.600, and Russia’s Igor Pakhomenko, 13.925, rounded out the top three.
Mikulak began his competition on the vault, where he performed Kasamatsu one-and-a-half and a front handspring Rudi vaults to average 14.412. He finished in tie for seventh place with Romania’s Marius Berbecar. Chile’s Tomas Gonzalez won the gold medal, followed by Ukraine’s Igor Radivilov and Brazil’s Diego Hypolito in second and third, respectively.
On parallel bars, Mikulak was again solid, posting a 14.875, which was good for fourth place, with a dynamic routine that included a giant Suarez into a straddled front one-and-a-quarter to Moy. Uzbekistan’s Anton Fokin, Colombia’s Jossimar Moreno, and Slovakia’s Samuel Piasecky, claimed gold, silver and bronze, respectively.
The event, which had a field of 170 athletes from 33 countries, is part of the FIG’s World Cup series and features individual event competition.