COIMBRA, Portugal – The USA’s mixed pair of Clare Brunson of Riverside, Calif., and Michael Rodrigues of Livermore, Calif., claimed the bronze medal at the 2006 World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships in Coimbra, Portugal. The USA’s women’s group of Mariah Henninger, Allysha Kidd and Tisa Penny, all of whom are from Livermore, finished sixth. The World Championships are acrobatic gymnastics’ most prestigious event and are held every two years.

“Our athletes definitely achieved their goals for this year’s Acro Worlds,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “We are very proud of Michael and Clare’s medal performance, as well as the trio’s top-eight finish. These athletes turned in consistent performances throughout the competition and demonstrated that the next generation of acro gymnasts from the United States will continue the legacy of their predecessors.”
The USA also has entered athletes in the International Age Group Competition, which serves as acrobatic gymnastics’ junior world championships and is slated for June 22-24 in Coimbra.
In the finals, Brunson and Rodrigues finished behind two mixed pair teams from Russia. The duo of Revaz Gurgenidze and Anna Katchalova were first at 29.252. Their teammates Anton Glazkov and Maria Kovtun edged out Brunson and Rodrigues, 28.751 to 28.650.
In the women’s group, Russia again took the top two places, with Belarus finishing third.
The United States had entries in just the mixed pair and women’s group, and both advanced to the final round. At the World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships, the champions in the other categories were: Great Britain, men’s group; Ukraine, men’s pair; and Belarus, women’s pair.

2006 World Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships – Final results

Mixed Pairs
1. Revaz Gurgenidze/Anna Katchalova, Russia, 29.252
2. Anton Glazkov/Maria Kovtun Russia, 28.751
3. Clare Brunson, Riverside, Calif./Michael Rodrigues, Livermore, Calif., 28.650

Women’s Group
1. Elena Moiseeva/Elena Kirilova/Tatiana Alexeeva, Russia, 28.800
2. Ekaterina Loginova/E.Stroynova/Albina Zinnurova, Russia, 28.589
3. Maria Girut/Tatiana Motuz/Alina Starevich, Belarus, 28.302
U.S. finish
6. Mariah Henninger/Alysha Kidd/Tisa Penny, Livermore, Calif., 27.751

Men’s group
1. Adam Smith/Adam Dobbs/Adam Denny/Andrew Price, Great Britain, 28.450
2. O.Bondarenko/Vladimir Boychuk/V.Gluchenko/Andrei Perunov, Ukraine, 28.303
3. Liang Chen/Tao Shen/Zhen Wang/Run Xu, China, 28.065

Men’s Pair
1. Mikola Cherbak/Sergei Popov, Ukraine, 29.257
2. Alexei Dudchenko/K.Pilipchuk, Russia, 28.862
3. Adrian Czyz/Pavel Walczewski, Poland, 28.151

Women’s Pair
1. K.Murashko/Alina Yushko, Belarus, 28.530
2. Yanna Cholaeva/Anna Melnikova, Russia, 28.307
3. Yiting Liu/Zhiyue Wang, China, 28.266

NOTE: Official results only had first initials for some competitors.