BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 21, 2021 – U.S. athletes closed out the 2021 Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships Sunday at the Milli Gimnastika Arenasi in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a silver-medal performance in the team all-around. Shelby Nobuhara of Mapleton, Utah/High Altitude and Kaden Brown of Herriman, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline & Tumbling also picked up individual hardware on the final day of competition.
Nobuhara, who won gold with the U.S. women’s double mini trampoline team Friday, added an individual silver medal on the apparatus in her first senior World Championships. Nobuhara (70.000) was edged by Sweden’s Lina Sjoeberg (70.900) for the top spot. Melania Rodriguez of Spain (69.600) was third. Tristan Van Natta of Westerville, Ohio/Integrity Athletics just missed the podium, finishing in fourth with a 67.500.
Brown took bronze in men’s individual tumbling for the second-consecutive World Championships. The 20-year-old posted a 75.400 across two passes. The Russian Gymnastics Federation’s Aleksandr Lisitsyn claimed gold with an 80.000, while Azerbaijan’s Mikhail Malkin finished in second with a 76.300.
As the top U.S. qualifier in men’s tumbling, Brown was back in action during the all-around team final. The competition pitted the highest scoring qualifiers in each division from Canada, Great Britain, Portugal, the Russian Gymnastics Federation and the U.S., with each earning points based on their placement. The high-scoring athlete in each division during Sunday’s competition received five points, while the lowest-scoring athlete earned one point for their team. Participating teams and team members were determined based on qualifications earlier in the week.
Brown and Ruben Padilla of Bluffdale, Utah/Wasatch Trampoline & Tumbling claimed the top spots – and a full five points – in the men’s tumbling and men’s double mini trampoline divisions, respectively. Van Natta was second in women’s double mini, earning four points for her team. The pair of Cody Gesuelli of Hunstville, Ala./Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy and Padilla also took the second in men’s synchronized trampoline. Trampolinist Jessica Stevens of Ellicott City, Md./Fairland Gymnastics was third in both individual and synchronized women’s trampoline with partner Maia Amano of Honolulu, Hawaii/Merino Trampoline Gymnastics Academy. Tia Taylor of Knoxville, Tenn./Premier Athletics Knoxville notched third in women’s tumbling. Isaac Rowley of Allen, Texas/Eagle Gymnastics Academy represented the U.S. in men’s trampoline.
Overall, the U.S. team accumulated 28 points en route to the silver medal. They finished just behind defending champions, the Russian Gymnastics Federation (29). Great Britain (26), Portugal (19) and Canada (18) rounded out the standings.
The 2021 Trampoline Gymnastics World Age Group competitions, which are being held in Baku in conjunction with the senior World Championships, kick off Thursday. Fifty-one U.S. athletes between the ages of 13 and 21, are set to compete across three age groups.