INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 18, 2013 – 2013 proved to be an incredible year for USA Gymnastics, from celebrating the organization’s first 50 years to record-setting performances at World Championships. The USA’s gymnasts showed their mettle on the international stage, and this year’s World Championships resulted in a number of firsts.

"Our athletes raised the bar with their accomplishments this year,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “By celebrating our 50th anniversary and the many champions who have achieved success for USA Gymnastics since 1963, we have recognized how the foundation for success has been established for the future."

Artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling each had World Championships in 2013.

At the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Kiev, Ukraine, Jazzy Kerber of Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, and Rebecca Sereda of Staten Island, N.Y./Isadora, helped make U.S. rhythmic gymnastics history when they both qualified to the all-around finals, marking the first time two U.S. gymnasts qualified to the all-around finals. The group representing the United States finished in 14th place in the all-around, and 12th and 15th in the individual events for the highest U.S. placing since 2002.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, the U.S. women’s and men’s double mini-trampoline teams claimed the gold medals at 2013 World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships. This was the U.S. women’s first gold medal in the event since 1996, while the men’s was their first since 1999. Kristle Lowell of Three Rivers, Mich./Branch Gymnastics, won the women’s double mini-trampoline gold medal, and Alex Renkert of Indianapolis, Ind./Geist Sports Academy, won the silver medal in the men’s double-mini final. Logan Dooley of Lake Forest, Calif./World Elite Gymnastics, became the first U.S. man to advance to the men’s individual trampoline finals in more than a decade. The USA also won 14 medals at the World Age Group Competition.

At the 2013 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the USA’s 12 medals (three gold, six silver and three bronze), surpassed the nine medals won in 2005 (four gold, four silver and one bronze).. Here’s a quick overview of the key accomplishments at the Worlds in Antwerp.

  • Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/Bannon’s Gymnastix, became the first U.S. woman since 1991 to qualify for the all-around and all four event finals at a single World Championships. The first African-American to win the World all-around title, she is the seventh U.S. woman to claim the World all-around title. Biles also won the floor exercise gold, the vault silver and the balance beam bronze.
  • The men’s four medals are the most the USA has ever garnered at an individual World Championships (and the most since 1979, which had the team competition).
  • McKayla Maroney of Long Beach, Calif./All Olympia Gymnastics Center, is first American to win consecutive World vault titles;
  • Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif./Gym-Max, brought home three silver medals: all-around, uneven bars and beam. Biles and Ross are just the third U.S. duo to finish one-two in the World all-around.
  • Steven Legendre of Port Jefferson, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), earned the vault silver, the U.S. men’s first vault medal since 1979.
  • Brandon Wynn of Voorhees, N.J./Team Hilton HHonors (Ohio State University), claimed the still rings bronze medal, the USA’s first still rings medal since 1994.
  • Also Jake Dalton of Reno, Nev./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Oklahoma), garnered the floor exercise silver medal, and John Orozco of the Bronx, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Olympic Training Center), took the parallel bars bronze.

USA Gymnastics also had major achievements off the field of play. For the first time, USA Gymnastics provided live feeds from the World Championships for both artistic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling, as well as posted individual U.S. routines from Worlds for artistic and rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling. The fans turned out in force, with more than 1.7 million views during the artistic Worlds and nearly 300,000 for trampoline/tumbling. USA Gymnastics also provided live streams of the national championship finals for rhythmic and acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline/tumbling, as well as sessions at the P&G Championships that were not televised or carried online by NBC. Gymnastics fans have flocked to social media to track U.S. gymnasts, yielding record numbers for USA Gymnastics. Here are the totals as of Dec. 18: Twitter, 96,755 followers; Facebook, 400,549 followers; and YouTube, nearly 57.5 million views.

National Gymnastics Day for 2013 was an outstanding day for helping children in need, either by providing more than 5,000 kids with the opportunity to experience gymnastics and/or fitness as part of USA Gymnastics’ partnership with Right To Play or by raising more than $140,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, bringing the total since 2001 to more than $1.9 million. Held annually, National Gymnastics Day celebrates and builds awareness of gymnastics, with activities ranging from open houses to cartwheel-a-thons to hosting local kids from disadvantaged areas.

Here’s a quick overview of the USA’s achievements, divided by discipline.

 

 

Women’s Gymnastics

The U.S. women had a very successful 2013, and the performances of Biles, Ross and Maroney brought the U.S. women’s World and Olympic medals since 2000 to 73 total, almost double the medals of the next country. From 2004-13, the U.S. women have won eight of the 10 Olympic and World all-around titles and medaled the other two years (2006, silver; 2010, bronze).

  • AT&T American Cup, Worcester, Mass. Katelyn Ohashi of Plano, Texas/WOGA, won the all-around title, and Biles finished second.
  • Jesolo (Italy) Trophy. Team USA won the senior team title, and the U.S. women took the top six spots in the senior all-around competition. Biles earned the all-around title, with Ross finishing second and Brenna Dowell of Odessa, Mo./Great American Gymnastics Express, rounding out the top three. Bailie Key of Montgomery, Texas/Texas Dreams, picked up the junior all-around title, and Amelia Hundley of Hamilton, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, won the bronze medal. Team USA added 13 individual event medals including seven gold: Biles – vault, balance beam and floor exercise gold; Dowell – uneven bars bronze medal; Maggie Nichols of Little Canada, Minn./Twin City Twisters – floor silver medal; Lexie Priessman of Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Gymnastics – vault bronze medal; and Ross – uneven bars gold and balance beam silver. In the junior event finals, Key won the gold medals on vault, balance beam and floor exercise and the bronze medal on bars, and Hundley claimed the bronze on beam.
  • Germany-Romania-USA tri-meet, Chemnitz, Germany. Led by the all-around titles won by Ross and Key, Team USA won the team competition. Germany was second, followed by Romania, and a USA/Germany mixed team.
  • World Cup, Tokyo, Japan. Peyton Ernst of Coppell, Texas/Texas Dreams Gymnastics, won the all-around silver medal.
  • Nastia Liukin Cup, Worcester, Mass. Alex McMurtry of Midlothian, Va./Richmond Olympiad Gymnastics, won the all-around title.
  • USA Gymnastics Women’s Collegiate National Championships, Shreveport, La. Sasha Tsikhanovich of the University of Bridgeport won the all-around title, and the University of Bridgeport captured its fifth-straight USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships team title.
  • Secret U.S. Classic, Hoffman Estates, Ill. Ross won the senior all-around title, followed by Ernst and Dowell.

  • P&G Championships, Hartford, Conn. Biles won the senior women’s all-around title. Ross was second, and Dowell took third. Key took top honors in the junior all-around.
  • International Junior Gymnastics Competition, Yokohama, Japan. Key won the all-around, and Lauren Hernandez of Old Bridge, N.J./MG Elite, the U.S. junior all-around silver medalist, claimed the bronze medal. Key also captured all four event titles, and Hernandez earned the bronze medal on vault.
  • International Junior Mexican Cup, Acapulco, Mexico. The USA won the team title, and Key and Hernandez went one-two in the women’s all-around.
  • Mexican Open. Acapulco, Mexico. Ernst earned the silver medal in the all-around. Nichols had the second highest all-around score but did not medal because she was declared an "exhibition" athlete due to the one athlete per country restriction for the all-around competition.
  • World Cup, Stuttgart, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland. Elizabeth Price of Coopersburg, Pa./Parkettes, won her second straight title at the 2013 DTB World Cup. In Glasgow one week later, Price claimed the silver medal. Both events are part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s all-around World Cup series.

 

 

Men’s Gymnastics

  • Winter Cup Challenge, Las Vegas. 2012 Olympian Jake Dalton of Reno, Nev./University of Oklahoma, won the all-around crown. Adrian de los Angeles of Long Beach, Calif./University of Michigan, and 2012 Olympic all-around bronze-medalist Danell Leyva of Miami/Universal Gymnastics, finished second and third, respectively.
  • AT&T American Cup, Worcester, Mass. Dalton won the all-around title. Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine, who finished 11th in the all-around at the 2012 Olympic Games, finished second.
  • Kyle Shewfelt Gymnastics Festival, Calgary, Canada. Akash Modi of Morganville, N.J./Monmouth Gymnastics, and Marty Strech of Fountain Valley, Calif./Azarian Gymnastics, won the senior and junior all-around titles, respectively. In addition, the USA won a total of 17 individual event medals, including five gold. The U.S. gold medalists were: Fabian DeLuna of Frisco, Texas/WOGA, junior still rings and vault; Akash Modi of Morganville, N.J./Monmouth Gymnastics, senior parallel bars; Yul Moldauer of Arvada, Colo./5280 Gymnastics, junior parallel bars; and Strech, junior vault. On the senior level, the USA brought home a total eight individual event medals.
  • World Cup, Paris and Cottbus, Germany. Leyva won the horizontal bar title at the French International. Dalton captured the silver medal for the high bar and the bronze medal for the floor exercise. Dalton also won the vault title at the 2013 Cottbus World Cup. The Cottbus World Cup and the French International are both part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s individual event World Cup series.

  • USA Gymnastics Collegiate Championships, Williamsburg, Va. The U.S. Air Force Academy and Arizona State University won the varsity and collegiate division titles at the 2013 USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Championships on the campus of the College of William and Mary. ASU’s Alex Gaudaur and William and Mary’s Daniel Potemski were the collegiate and varsity all-around champions.
  • World Cup, Ljubljana, Slovenia. Paul Ruggeri of Manlius, N.Y./Team Hilton HHonors (U.S. Gymnastics Development Center II), won the gold medal for both vault and horizontal bar. Alex Naddour of Gilbert, Ariz./Team Hilton HHonors (USA Youth Fitness), earned the silver medal for the floor exercise, along with the bronze medals for pommel horse and still rings.
  • World Challenge Cup, Anadia, Portugal. 2012 Olympian Sam Mikulak of Corona del Mar, Calif./University of Michigan, won the horizontal bar gold medal, as well as the bronze medal on floor exercise.
  • P&G Championships, Hartford, Conn. Mikulak won the men’s all-around title. Naddour finished second, and Dalton was third.
  • International Junior Gymnastics Competition, Yokohama, Japan. DeLuna won the vault silver medal and tied for a share of the bronze medal on the still rings.
  • International Junior Mexican Cup, Acapulco, Mexico. The USA won the men’s team title and took the top two spots in the men’s all-around. Kiwan Watts of N. Chesterfield, Va./Above the Bar Gymnastics Academy, and Alec Yoder of Indianapolis/InterActive Academy, went one-two in the all-around.

 

 

Rhythmic Gymnastics

  • World Cup, Corbeil, France, and Lisbon, Portugal. In Corbeil, Rebecca Sereda of Staten Island, N.Y./Isadora, qualified for the ribbon final and finished 13th in the all-around. In Lisbon, the USA’s senior group competed in the finals for both five clubs, where they finished eighth, and three balls and two ribbons, where they tied for seventh. Also, Laura Zeng of Libertyville, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, earned the junior bronze.
  • U.S. Rhythmic Championships, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Sereda won her second, consecutive U.S. rhythmic all-around title. Jazzy Kerber of Highland Park, Ill./North Shore Rhythmic Gymnastics Center, finished second in the all-around, followed by Cindy Lu of State Island, N.Y./Isadora, in third.
  • Gymnastik International, Fellbach-Schmiden, Germany. Zeng won the junior all-around and three individual event titles. Kerber won two medals, including bronze in the all-around and silver in the hoop competition.

 

 

Trampoline and Tumbling

  • U.S. Trampoline and Tumbling Championships, Kansas City, Mo. Kalon Ludvigson of Pocatello, Idaho/Team Revolution, clinched his eighth straight U.S. tumbling title. Jeffrey Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./ETA, and Hayley Butcher of Saint John, Ind./Midwest Training and Ice Center, won the senior U.S. trampoline titles. The other senior U.S. champions were: Yulia Stankevich-Brown of Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics, tumbling; Ryan Roberts of Ramona, Calif./Southern California TTC, and Lowell, double mini-trampoline; Charlotte Drury, Laguna Niguel, Calif./World Elite, and Shaylee Dunavin, Amarillo, Texas/All American Gymnastics, and Dooley and Neil Gulati, Irvine, Calif./World Elite, synchronized trampoline.
  • Flower Cup, Aalsmeer, Netherlands. 2012 Olympian Steven Gluckstein of Atlantic Highlands, N.J./ETA, captured the men’s trampoline gold medal, leading Team USA’s five-medal haul at the event. Gluckstein’s brother, Jeffrey, finished second in men’s trampoline, and 2012 Olympic finalist Savannah Vinsant of Lafayette, La./T&T Express, won the silver medal in the women’s competition. Cody Gesuelli of Middletown, N.J./ETA, won the bronze medal in the junior men’s trampoline, and Madi Webster of Odon, Ind./Tumbling Express, brought home the silver medal in the junior women’s competition.

 

 

Acrobatic Gymnastics

  • U.S. Acrobatic Championships, Louisville, Ky. Two senior U.S. elite acrobatic gymnastics all-around titles were decided this year: Ryan Ward and Kiley Boynton, both of Riverside, Calif./Realis Gymnastics Academy, mixed pair; and Emilia’s Acro Gymnastics’ Hannah Silverman, Christina Antoniades, and Julie Ruppert, all of Columbia, Md., women’s group.
  • World Cup, Sofia, Bulgaria. Boynton and Ward won the gold medal in the mixed pairs competition at the 2013 Sofia World Cup for acrobatic gymnastics. The competition was part of the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup series.
  • Pat Wade Classic, Stoke-on-Trent, Great Britain. Bryan Allen of San Jose, Calif., and Brennan Atsatt of Santa Cruz, Calif., both of Aerial Tumbling and Acro Gymnastics, won the junior men’s pairs competition at the inaugural Wade Classic. Ward and Boynton brought home the senior mixed pairs silver medal.

 

 

Gymnastics for All

Chattooga, a 31-person performance group from Marietta, Ga., earned a bronze medal in the large group category at the 2013 Gym for Life World Challenge in Cape Town, South Africa. Based on their performance, Chattooga was awarded one of two wild card spots to participate in the Gym for Life Gala, where the World Gym for Life champion was determined.