U.S. men advance to team finals, qualify for 2008 Olympic Games

In the qualifying round of the 2007 World Championships, the U.S. men showed the world that they can hold their own on the global stage. The U.S. men qualified for the men’s team finals at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany,

September 5, 2007

STUTTGART, Germany, Sept. 4, 2007 – In the qualifying round of the 2007 World Championships, the U.S. men showed the world that they can hold their own on the global stage. The U.S. men qualified for the men’s team finals at the 2007 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, in fourth place, as well as qualified to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games. The U.S. women compete in the team finals on Wednesday, Sept. 5.

“The team stood up today and demonstrated that their talent and determination are real,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “There is a great sense of pride in their performance today and optimism about what lies ahead.”

What a difference a year makes. Just one year ago, a young, but talented U.S. Men’s Team narrowly missed finishing in the top 12 at the 2006 World Championships, suffering from a series of misfortunes. This year, with four members of last year’s team returning, the U.S. men put in an impressive performance on all six events to finish third after their subdivision and fourth overall.

The six members of the team are: Guillermo Alvarez of Denver; Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo.; David Durante of Garwood, N.J.; Sean Golden, Camden of N.J.; Jonathan Horton of Houston; and Kevin Tan of Fremont, Calif. Sho Nakamori of Albany, Calif., is the team alternate. Alvarez, Artemev, Horton and Tan were members of the 2006 squad.

“These guys were absolutely awesome,” said Kevin Mazeika of Houston, head coach. “Our goal was to count all hit routines and this is what we