1996 Olympian Blaine Wilson (Columbus, Ohio) won three events and led the all-around competition during preliminaries at the 1997 Visa American Cup in Fort Worth, Texas, at the Tarrant County Convention Center.
Wilson won pommel horse with a 9.150, still rings with a 9.750 and high bar with a 9.50. He also took second on vault with a 9.40 and second on parallel bars with a 9.150.
Jay Thornton from Augusta, Ga. now training in Colorado Springs, Colo. won floor with an 8.95. Russia’s Juri Kryukov won vault with a 9.50. Ukraine’s Rustam Sharipov won parallel bars with a 9.30.
Event winners received $1,000 toward their training funds.
The top eight gymnasts in the all-around, with a limit of two per country, will advance to the all-around finals on Sat. Mar. 1. The U.S. athletes that will advance include Wilson and John Roethlisberger from Minneapolis, Minn.
Below is a list of the all-around finishes.
Visa American Cup Men’s Preliminary Results
#, Name, Country, Score
1. Blaine Wilson, USA, 55.450
2. John Roethlisberger, USA, 53.750
3. Juri Kryukov, RUS, 52.800
4. Valeri Belenki, GER, 52.700
5. Fan Hongbin, CHN, 52.600
6. Rustam Sharipov, UKR, 52.450
7. Andrei Kan, BLR, 52.400
8. Jay Thornton, USA, 52.350
9. Stephen McCain, USA, 52.050
10. Chainey Umphrey, USA, 50.800
11. Giovanni D’Innocenzo, ITA, 50.300
12. Yoshiro Saito, JPN, 49.800
12. Sebastien Tayac, FRA, 49.800
14. Blaz Puljic, SLO, 49.400
15. Dan Burinca, ROM, 48.850
The competition continues on Friday, Feb. 28, with the women’s event finals and preliminary all-around competition. The top eight men and women in the all-around will advance to the all-around finals on Saturday, Mar. 1. The International 3 on 3 Gymnastics Championships which features a trio of a male, female and rhythmic gymnast, will conclude the competition on Sunday, March 2.