DOHA, Qatar, March 28, 2014 – Paul Ruggeri of Manlius, N.Y./U.S. Olympic Training Center, won the horizontal bar silver medal today at the Doha (Qatar) Challenge Cup at the Aspire Dome. The medal is Ruggeri’s second of the three-day event, which is part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup series, after winning the floor exercise silver yesterday.
On the high bar, Ruggeri won the silver medal with a score of 15.35. He finished behind reigning World and Olympic high bar champion Epke Zonderland of the Netherlands, who posted a 15.750, to take the gold. Belarus’ Dzmitry Barkalau won the bronze, earning a 15.200.
Ruggeri finished fifth in the vault final. He earned scores of 15.100 and 14.775 giving him an average score of 14.937. Armenia’s Artur Davtyan scored a 15.262 to win the gold medal, while Yusuke Saito, 15.237, and Kenzo Shirai, 15.200, both of Japan, took second and third, respectively.
Donnell Whittenburg of Baltimore, Md./U.S. Olympic Training Center, performed on the parallel bars and scored a 14.975. He finished just outside the medals in fourth. Germany’s Marcel Nguyen and Zonderland tied for the gold with matching 15.450 scores, while Slovenia’s Mitjia Petkovsek won the bronze with his 15.175.
On the first day of event finals, Ruggeri earned a 15.150 and the silver medal behind World floor exercise champion Shirai.