ANTWERP, Belgium, Oct. 1, 2013 – 2012 Olympic team gold medalist Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, posted the highest all-around score for the first of five subdivisions in the women’s qualification round of the 2013 World Gymnastics Championships at the Antwerp (Belgium) Sports Palace. 2013 U.S. all-around champion Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, Inc., and 2012 Olympic team gold-medalist McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All Olympia Gymnastics Center, compete in Subdivisions 3 (1:30 p.m.) and 4 (4 p.m.) tomorrow, respectively.
Ross, who started on vault, earned an all-around score of 59.198. On vault, Ross performed a clean double-twisting Yurchenko with a small hop for a 15.166. Her uneven bars routine included a piked stalder Shaposhnikova right into a Pak salto. With a nearly stuck double layout dismount, she posted a 15.133. Ross began her balance beam routine with a sky high switch ring leap. En route to a 14.566, Ross also executed a back handspring to layout step out and double back dismount. Ross opened her floor routine with an Arabian double tuck to stag leap and dismounted with a double tuck to earn a 14.333.
"I think the competition went really well today," said Ross, who was a member of the U.S. Team who won the 2012 Olympic team gold medal. "My goal is to make the all-around finals, maybe bars and beam finals for my strongest events. I hit all of my routines, and I hope this is a good start for the Americans."
The remaining U.S. line-up for the qualification round, by subdivision, is as follows.
Oct. 2
- Subdivision 3, women, 7:30 a.m. ET: Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, Inc., all-around (starts on uneven bars)
- Subdivision 4, women, 10 a.m. ET: 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.