INDIANPOLIS, May 12, 2017 – 2016 Olympic alternate Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./U.S. Olympic Training Center, and Eddie Penev of Penfield, N.Y./U.S. Olympic Training Center, advanced to finals today at the 2017 World Challenge Cup in Koper, Slovenia. The top eight finishers on each event from today’s qualification round advanced to the finals. Fans in the U.S. will be able to watch finals from Koper online through NBCSports, Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET.
Whittenburg qualified to four finals: floor exercise, still rings, vault and parallel bars. He posted the qualifying round’s top score for floor (14.350) and parallel bars (15.100). Whittenburg finished third on vault with an average score of 14.375 and advanced to the still rings final in third place with a score of 14.400.
Penev advanced to the floor exercise and vault finals. He tallied a 14.300 on floor exercise, which earned him second place. Additionally, Penev qualified second on vault with an average of 14.475.
Donothan Bailey of Mission Viejo, Calif./U.S. Olympic Training Center, also competed in today’s qualification rounds, posting 13.400 on pommel horse and a 13.150 on parallel bars to finish 12th and 13th, respectively.
Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics, and Gymnastics for All (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more information, log on to www.usagym.org.