© Ricardo Bufolin

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (July 16, 2022) – Six U.S. gymnasts amassed 14 medals and clinched seven apparatus titles as junior competition at the 2022 Pan American Championships wrapped Saturday with event finals at Rio de Janeiro’s Parque Olimpico – Arena Carioca 01. In total, U.S. juniors collected 19 medals across two days of competition.

Two-time men’s junior all-around champion Fred Richard (Stoughton, Mass./Massachusetts Elite Gymnastics Academy) successfully defended his 2021 vault title and added gold medals on floor exercise and still rings. The U.S. women went four for four. Tiana Sumanasekera (Pleasanton, Calif./West Valley Gymnastics School) topped the field on vault, balance beam and floor, and Alicia Zhou (San Antonio, Texas/Loves Gymnastics) snared gold on uneven bars in her first international appearance.

Richard will leave Brazil with five gold medals, a silver and a bronze, narrowly missing out on the complete medal sweep after finishing fourth on horizontal bar (12.100). He broke the 14-point mark on back-to-back vaults (14.100, 14.050) to repeat as the apparatus champion with a 14.075. He also claimed gold on floor exercise with a 13.800. Teammate Cole Partridge (Bountiful, Utah/USA Gymnastics World) snagged the bronze medal on floor with a 13.350. The pair delivered a similar showing on still rings. Richard finished in the top spot with a 13.050, and Partridge’s 12.850 landed him third. Richard and Toby Liang (Roswell, Ga./Roswell Gymnastics) added silver medals on parallel bars (13.400) and horizontal bar (12.750), respectively, and Richard picked up bronze on pommel horse with a 12.250.

Liang was fourth on pommel horse (12.150) and vault (13.700). Partridge finished fourth on parallel bars with a 13.000. Colombia’s Keynher Camilo Vera Carrascal led the way on pommel horse (12.550) and parallel bars (13.650). His teammate Angel Gabriel Barajas Vivas topped the high bar standings with a 13.400.

Like Richard, Sumanasekera was one medal shy of a full card after failing to advance to the uneven bars final. She will return home with four gold medals and a silver. On Saturday, her 13.450 on vault, 13.200 on balance beam and 13.133 on floor exercise catapulted her to three gold medals, equaling Richard’s event-finals haul.

Zhou (13.500) captured the uneven bars title in dominant fashion, finishing more than a point ahead of runner up Evandra Zlobec of Canada (12.467). All-around champion Dulcy Caylor (Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre) added silver on vault (12.850) and bronze on beam (12.600). Zhou finished just off the podium in fourth on floor (12.700), while Audrey Snyder (Annapolis, Md./First State Gymnastics) was fifth on uneven bars (11.833).

The 2022 Pan American Championships will conclude Sunday with senior team finals. The U.S. men advanced in the top spot Friday. After struggling on balance beam, the U.S. women qualified in second behind Brazil. The women’s final is slated to kick off at 9 a.m. ET with the men to follow at 3 p.m. ET.