Parkour athletes kick off the 2023 World Cup season in France, while rhythmic gymnasts get ready for the Elite Qualifier in Indianapolis, the final qualifying event for the 2023 USA Gymnastics Championships.
The Montpellier World Cup May 19-21 in France will feature six U.S. athletes in the first parkour World Cup event of the 2023 season. After a top-15 finish in the 2022 Parkour World Championships, Reagan Chan (Lehi, Utah/YGT Free Running) will compete alongside Audrey Johnson (Greenville, S.C./World Chase Tag-Anarchy) in women’s competition. Leading the men’s roster is Calen Chan (Lehi, Utah/YGT Free Running), who notched a fifth-place finish in men’s freestyle at the 2022 Parkour World Championships. He will be joined by Sean Higgins (Denver, Colo./Path Movement), Shea Rudolph (Middleboro, Mass.) and Luke Mizel (Azusa, Calif.).
Competition begins Friday, May 19 with women’s speed and men’s freestyle qualifications beginning at 6:30 a.m. ET. Women’s freestyle qualifications lead off Saturday’s schedule at 5:30 a.m. ET, followed by men’s speed qualifications at 7 a.m. ET. Men’s freestyle and women’s speed finals will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. ET. All remaining finals are slated for Sunday, May 21 starting at 8 a.m. ET.
Following speed qualifications, athletes will enter semi-final competition, where three athletes per country are allowed to participate. The top six athletes, limited to two per country, will advance to speed finals. In freestyle competition, the top eight athletes, limited to two per country, will move onto finals.
Nearly 250 gymnasts are in Indianapolis this weekend for the 2023 Rhythmic Elite Qualifier for a last chance to qualify into this year’s USA Gymnastics Championships, set for June 19-24 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The competition this Friday through Sunday will feature both junior and senior competition and serves as the final qualifying event into nationals for Level 9, 10 and elite gymnasts.
Headlining the registered athletes are several National Team members who have found success on the world stage this season. Among the top expected competitors are seniors Jaelyn Chin (Aventura, Fla./Bessonova’s School), Deanna Georgieva (Centennial, Colo./Zara Rhythmic Gymnastics Academy), Yana Golovan (Las Vegas, Nev./Nevada Rhythmic Academy), Alexandria Kautzman (Simi Valley, Calif./California Rhythms) and Sarah Mariotti (San Diego, Calif./Pacific Stars Rhythmic Academy). Top juniors include Megan Chu (San Diego, Calif./Pacific Stars Rhythmic Academy), Natalia de la Rosa (Woodland Hills, Calif./Burlo Gymnastics), Rin Keys (Porter Ranch, Calif./Burlo Gymnastics), Ksenia Pototski (Brooklyn, N.Y./Isadora by Match Point) and Erika Rusak (Auburn, Wash./Evergreen Rhythmics).
Group competition kicks off the qualifier Friday, May 19 beginning at 5 p.m. ET. On Saturday, junior and senior individual competition will be split into two halls, with juniors starting at 8:30 a.m. ET and seniors at 9 a.m. ET. The event concludes on Sunday, May 21 with more individual competition to run until 9:10 p.m. ET.
The top 25 elite junior and 25 elite senior individual all-around champions, excluding those who have already qualified, and the top three junior groups at the end of the event will advance to the 2023 USA Gymnastics Elite Championships.
More information about qualification procedures and the competition schedule can be found on the event website. Same-day video coverage of all routines will be uploaded to FlipNow.tv each day and can be watched on a pay-per-view basis.