TOKYO, Japan, July 3, 2010 – The U.S. men won the team bronze medal at the 2010 Japan Cup at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, site of the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships, in Tokyo, Japan, today. Competition continues tomorrow, July 4, at 3:20 p.m. JST with the men’s all-around finals.
With a score of 265.400, the U.S. men’s team took the bronze medal in the team competition, earning the second highest score on parallel bars (44.550), still rings (44.400) and high bar (45.100). Japan won the team gold medal with a score of 276.100, scoring the top marks on pommel horse (44.500), still rings (45.000), vault (48.250), parallel bars (45.550) and high bar (47.750). Germany took the silver at 266.900, posting the top score on floor exercise.
The U.S. team was comprised of five members: Chris Brooks of Houston/University of Oklahoma; Chris Cameron of Winter Haven, Fla./University of Michigan; Jonathan Horton of Houston/Cypress Academy; Alex Naddour of Mesa, Ariz./University of Oklahoma; and Paul Ruggeri of Manlius, N.Y./University of Illinois. Tom Meadows and Yuan Xiao are coaching the U.S. team. John Orozco of Bronx, N.Y./World Cup Gymnastics, was the alternate.
The men’s all-around is scheduled to begin at 3:20 p.m. on July 4. The top 12 gymnasts based on performances during the team competition, with a maximum of two per country, advanced to the all-around finals. All times are Japan standard time, which is 11 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
The Japan Cup featured an eight-team field that included France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Korea, Romania, Russia, and the United States. In the team competition, three gymnasts competed on each apparatus and all three scores count toward the team score, just like in the finals of the World Championships and Olympic Games.