INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – USA Gymnastics named its men’s and women’s World Championships Teams at the 1999 World Team Trials, Sept. 15-18, 1999 in Kansas City, Mo.

The top six male and female qualifiers will compete in Tianjin, China, in the World Championships, Oct. 9-16. The World Championships advance 12 countries to the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

MEN

Olympian Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) earned the number one spot on the 1999 World Team with a score of 57.455 in the World Team Trials. The 1999 World Championships is Wilson’s third time representing the United States.
Joining Wilson on the United States World Team are John Roethlisberger (Falcon Heights, Minn.); Yewki Tomita (Tucson, Ariz.); Sean Townsend (Dallas, Texas); Chris Young (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Stephen McCain (Houston, Texas). Jay Thornton (Augusta, Ga.) is alternate.
The head coach of the men’s team is Peter Kormann (Columbus, Ohio). Vitaly Marinitch (Team Texaco-USOTC) and Yoichi Tomita (Gym World-Tucson) are the assistant coaches.
The team heads to Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich. this week for a training camp to prepare for the World Championships.

WOMEN

Elise Ray (Columbia, Md.) was the top female qualifier at the World Team Trials with a score of 76.378. Also qualifying for the World Championships Team were Jeanette Antolin (Paradise, Calif.) and Alyssa Beckerman (Wyoming, Ohio). Jamie Dantzscher (Palmdale, Calif.) earned the alternate spot.
Already qualifying for a spot on the U.S. World Team prior to the World Team Trials finals were Kristen Maloney (Pen Argyl, Pa.), Vanessa Atler (Canyon County, Calif.) and Jennie Thompson (Cincinnati, Ohio).
Thompson did not compete in the finals of the World Team Trials due to illness. Her petition was accepted based on her second-place finish at the American Classic meet earlier this summer.
Maloney and Atler, who finished first and second at last month’s John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships, were able to petition directly on to the World Team based on results from the 1998 and 1999 John Hancock U.S. Gymnastics Championships.

Kelli Hill (Hill’s Gymnastics, Gaithersburg, Md.) is head coach while Donna Strauss (Parkettes-Allentown, Pa.) is the assistant coach.
The team will attend a training camp at Parkettes in Allentown, Pa., prior to departing for China.