ANTWERP, Belgium, Sept. 30, 2013 – Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif./University of Michigan, earned an all-around score of 89.532 to lead the standings after the first of the four men’s subdivisions in the qualification round at the 2013 World Gymnastics Championships at the Antwerp (Belgium) Sports Palace. The USA has four gymnasts competing in Subdivision 3, which begins at 6 p.m. local time.
Competing in Subdivision 3 are: John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), parallel bars; Jake Dalton of Reno, Nev./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), floor exercise and vault; Alexander Naddour of Gilbert, Ariz./Team Hilton HHonors (USA Youth Fitness Center), pommel horse; and Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors (Ohio State University), still rings. Men’s qualification wraps up on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Mikulak wasted no time, coming out of the blocks with a 15.400 on the parallel bars. His routine included a giant Suarez directly into a straddled front one-and-a-quarter to a Moy.
In rotation two, Mikulak was spectacular on the horizontal bar, where he soared on two full-twisting Kovacs variations, before sticking his double-twisting, double layout dismount. His 15.366 for the high bar earned him an all-around total of 30.766, which moved him into the top-ranking spot where he remained for the rest of the subdivision.
On the floor exercise, Mikulak opened with a back one-and-a-half twist to double front and then dismounted with a nearly stuck triple full, which was good enough for a 15.033. In rotation four, Mikulak was steady and solid on the pommel horse and earned a score of 14.233. On the still rings, he performed a back-up rise to Maltese, kip to Maltese and a tucked double-double dismount. His performance gave him a 14.700. Mikulak took to the vault in the final rotation where his Kasamatsu one-and-a-half scored a 14.800.
"It was fun to be out there, and I started it off with some really good routines," said Mikulak, who is the reigning U.S. all-around champion. "Parallel bars and high bar were my best today.
"Parallel bars was my first World’s competition event ever," said Mikulak, "so to hit my routine and stick the landing was pretty cool."
The remaining U.S. line-up for the qualification round, by subdivision, is as follows.
Sept. 30
- Subdivision 3, 12 p.m. ET: John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), parallel bars; Jake Dalton of Reno, Nev./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), floor exercise and vault; Alexander Naddour of Queen Creek, Ariz./Team Hilton HHonors (USA Youth Fitness Center), pommel horse; and Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors (Ohio State University), still rings (the USA’s first event is the parallel bars).
Oct. 1
- Subdivision 4, 10 a.m.: Steven Legendre of Port Jefferson, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (Oklahoma), floor exercise and vault; Orozco, pommel horse and horizontal bar; Naddour, still rings; and Wynn, parallel bars (the USA starts on floor).
- Subdivision 1, women, 2 p.m.: Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, all-around (starts on vault)
Oct. 2
- Subdivision 3, women, 1:30 p.m.: Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, Inc., all-around (starts on uneven bars)
- Subdivision 4, women, 4 p.m.: McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All Olympia Gymnastics Center, all-around (starts on floor)
The qualification round determines which gymnasts advance to the finals. The top 24-ranked gymnasts qualify for the all-around finals, with the top eight for each event advancing to the event finals. The 2013 World Championships is an individual competition and does not have a team component. The men’s division has four subdivisions, and the women’s competition has five subdivisions. The qualifiers are determined following the conclusion of the final subdivision.
The compete competition schedule for the World Championships is: Sept. 30 – men’s qualification, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.; Oct. 1 – men’s and women’s qualification, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Oct. 2 – women’s qualification, 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; Oct. 3 – men’s all-around finals, 8 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around finals, 8 p.m.; Oct. 5 – event finals, men’s floor exercise, pommel horse and still rings and women’s vault and uneven bars, 2:30 p.m.; and Oct. 6 – event finals, men’s vault, parallel bars and horizontal bars, and women’s balance beam and floor exercise, 2:30 p.m. The times listed above are for Antwerp, Belgium.
Here’s a quick overview of the various ways to watch and follow the U.S. Team’s performances at the 2013 World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium. For more information on the World Championships, please go to usagymworlds.com.
- Live webcast. UniversalSports.com will have a live webcast of the all-around and individual event finals from Antwerp, which will also be available at usagymworlds.com. For U.S. Eastern Daylight Savings time, the live webcasts are scheduled for: Oct. 3 –men’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 5-6 – individual event finals, 8:30 a.m. (NOTE: Antwerp is 6 hours ahead of New York City; when it is noon in Antwerp, it is 6 a.m. in New York.) A live webstream of the qualification round is also available at USAGymWorlds.com.
- Cable TV. Universal Sports will show all of the finals live on its cable network: Oct. 3 –men’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 4 – women’s all-around final, 2 p.m.; Oct. 5-6 – individual event finals, 8:30 a.m. All times are Eastern. Universal Sports will also carry encore presentations of its World telecasts. Calling the action throughout the competition will be a team comprised of play-by-play announcer Steve Schlanger alongside analysts 1984 Olympic gold medalist Bart Connor, 1996 Olympic gold-medalist Amanda Borden, and Olympian Kip Simons. Be sure to check your local listings for times. Universal Sports Network is now available on Time Warner Cable, Cox, satellite providers DIRECTV and DISH and numerous regional cable and IPTV operators in markets across the country. To find Universal Sports Network in your area, go to http://universalsports.com/tv-listings/channel-finder/.
- NBC. NBC will broadcast coverage of the World Championships from 2-4 p.m. ET on Oct. 12-13. The commentators are Al Trautwig, 1984 Olympic gold-medalist Tim Daggett and 2008 Olympic gold-medalist Nastia Liukin.
- usagymworlds.com. USA Gymnastics will provide enhanced coverage from Belgium that will include results and photos from the competition, as well as interviews and the webcast. Fans can also follow the action on Facebook, facebook.com/USAGymnastics, and Twitter, @usagym or #FIG2013Antwerp.
- Live scoring. The International Gymnastics Federation provides live scoring from its World Championships. For more information and access, go to antwerp2013.fig-gymnastics.com.