CALI, Colombia, November 25, 2021 – The 2021 Junior Pan American Games got underway today in Cali, Colombia, with the opening ceremony of the inaugural event. The competition will run from November 25-December 5 and will see nearly 3,500 athletes from North, South and Central America who are under the age of 23 compete in more than 25 sports. Some participants will also have the opportunity to qualify by name to the 2023 Senior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
U.S. gymnasts are set to compete across four Junior Pan American sports – men’s artistic, women’s artistic, rhythmic and trampoline gymnastics – as outlined below.
Gymnasts will vie for team, all-around and individual event titles on six apparatus: floor exercise, pommel horse, still rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar. The team and all-around competitions, which are slated for November 26, will also serve as qualifications for the event finals. The all-around champion will automatically qualify by name to the 2023 Senior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
U.S. team members are listed alphabetically below. Participating gymnasts must be between the ages of 16-18 as of December 31, 2021 to be eligible to compete.
- Toby Liang of Roswell, Ga./Roswell Gymnastics
- Cole Partridge of Bountiful, Utah/USA Gymnastics World
- Vahe Petrosyan of Van Nuys, Calif./Gymnastics Olympica USA
- David Shamah of McKinney, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics
The event schedule for the men’s artistic gymnastics competition is as follows. The U.S. will compete in group two. All times are in eastern.
- November 26: men’s team and all-around competitions (group 1 at 1 p.m. and group 2 at 5:30 p.m.)
- November 28: floor exercise at 1 p.m.; pommel horse at 1:30 p.m.; still rings at 3 p.m.
- November 29: vault at 1 p.m.; parallel bars at 1:40 p.m.; horizontal bar at 3:10 p.m.
The women’s artistic competition will feature team, all-around and individual event championships on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise apparatus. The all-around champion will also earn a spot by named to the 2023 Senior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. Performances in the team and all-around competitions will determine the athletes that will compete in the event finals.
The U.S. will be represented by the following gymnasts. Eligible competitors must be between the ages of 14-15 as of December 31, 2021.
- Kailin Chio of Las Vegas, Nev./Gymcats Gymnastics
- Madray Johnson of Dallas, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics
- Katelyn Jong of Allen, Texas/Metroplex Gymnastics
- Tiana Sumanasekera of Pleasanton, Calif./West Valley Gymnastics
The competition schedule for women’s artistic gymnastics is listed below in eastern time. The U.S. will compete in group three for the team and all-around competitions.
- November 27: women’s team and all-around competitions (group 1 at 1 p.m., group 2 at 3 p.m. and group 3 at 6:30 p.m.)
- November 28: vault at 1:30 p.m.; uneven bars at 3 p.m.
- November 29: balance beam at 1:40 p.m.; floor exercise at 3:10 p.m.
U.S. athletes will compete in the individual and group divisions. The individual competition will feature all-around and apparatus titles for hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon. A group all-around title will also be up for grabs, as will championships in the five balls and five ribbons categories. The individual all-around gold medalist will qualify by name to compete at the 2023 Senior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Participating U.S. individual and group gymnasts are listed alphabetically below. Athletes must be between the ages of 14-15 as of December 31, 2021 in order to compete.
Individual
- Sarah Mariotti of San Diego, Calif./Emerald City Academy of Rhythmic Gymnastics
- Nayenne Pollini Ashenaffi of Reseda, Calif./Rhythmic Academy of Los Angeles
Group
- Irina Fesyun of Aventura, Fla./IK School of Gymnastics
- Sophia Miller of Aventura, Fla./IK School of Gymnastics
- Angelina Mirer of Hollywood, Fla./IK School of Gymnastics
- Natalia Ortigosa of Hollywood, Fla./IK School of Gymnastics
- Alexandra Rykova of Hollywood, Fla./IK School of Gymnastics
The full competition schedule is outlined below. Times are in eastern.
- December 3: hoop and ball individual qualifications at 10 a.m.; five balls group qualifications at 4:30 p.m.
- December 4: clubs and ribbon individual qualifications at 10 a.m.; five ribbons group qualifications at 4:30 p.m.
- December 5: hoop and ball individual finals at 9 a.m.; five balls group final at 10:10 a.m.; individual clubs and ribbon finals at 11:30 a.m.; five ribbons group final at 12:40
U.S. athletes will compete in the men’s individual and synchronized trampoline divisions with the individual champion set to earn a spot by name to compete at the 2023 Senior Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
Participating gymnasts must be between the ages of 17-21 as of December 31, 2021 to compete. The U.S. will be represented by Zachary Ramacci of St. John, Ind./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline and Elijah Vogel of Longmont, Colo./Elevated Trampoline Sports Academy. Both gymnasts made their World Championships debuts last week in Baku, Azerbaijan, and will look to gain additional international experience next month in Cali.
The men’s trampoline competition schedule is as follows. Times are in eastern.
- December 3: men’s synchronized trampoline qualifications at 12:45 p.m. and men’s individual qualifications at 6:40 p.m.
- December 4: men’s synchronized trampoline finals at 1 p.m. and men’s individual finals at 6:20 p.m.
The U.S. did not qualify a women’s team for the event.