© FIG Photo

Despite the participation of 2008 Olympic silver-medalist Jonathan Horton and 2008 NCAA all-around champion Steven Legendre of Flower Mound, Texas, the U.S. men finished sixth in the team all-around competition at the 2009 Japan Cup, July 18, in the Makuhari Event Hall in Chiba, Japan, the first international meet in the Tokyo area since 1993.

Error and injury contributed to the 258.550 earned by the U.S. team, which included Horton, Legendre , Kyle Bunthuwong of El Cerrito, Calif./University of California – Berkeley, Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics, Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley, and Sho Nakamori of Albany, Calif./Stanford University.

Japan won the team competition with an all-around total of 275.500. China finished second with 273.850, and Germany came in third with 266.800. The team all-around was decided for the first time by the "5-3-3" format, the system that will be applied at the 2012 London Olympics. The team score consisted of three gymnasts on each apparatus.

Competition continues at the Japan Cup on Sunday, July 19, with the individual all-around. Legendre and Leyva will represent the USA. The all-around will feature 12 gymnasts, with a maximum of two per country. The event will be televised on Fuji Television Network.