USA wins 12 individual event medals at 2009 Junior Pan American Championships
11/08/2009
 C.J. Maestas and Kyla Ross each won three medals © Champion Images and John Cheng
ARACAJU, Brazil, Nov. 8, 2009 – The U.S. Team won 12 individual event medals at the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships in Aracaju, Brazil. The U.S. women won four gold and three silver medals in the individual events, with the men claiming one gold, three silver and one bronze. Earlier in the competition, the U.S. gymnasts won two gold, three silver and one bronze, bringing the total medal count for the competition to 18 medals (seven gold, nine silver and two bronze). In the women’s competition, the United States won the gold medal in all four events and went 1-2 in every event except beam. Both 2009 U.S. junior champion Kyla Ross of Aliso Viejo, Calif., who trains at GymMax, and Alexandra Raisman of Needham, Mass./Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, won two gold medals. Ross took top honors on the uneven bars (14.150) and balance beam (15.000), as well as earning a silver medal on floor exercise (13.800). Raisman won the titles for vault (14.700) and floor exercise (14.400). Sabrina Vega of Carmel, N.Y./Dynamic Gymnastics, was the silver medalist on the uneven bars (14.100). Teammate Bridgette Caquatto of Naperville, Ill./Naperville Gymnastics Club was second on vault at 14.238. The USA’s C.J. Maestas of Corrales, N.M., and Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif., won a combined five medals. Maestas, who trains at Gold Cup Gymnastics, won the gold medal on still rings (14.875), along with silver medals on pommel horse (14.225) and parallel bars (14.225). Mikulak, who trains at SCATS, was second on floor exercise (14.625) and third on vault (15.363). He just missed the podium on parallel bars, finishing fourth. Host Brazil had another strong showing in event finals. Sergio Sasaki took first place on floor exercise (14.800), vault (15.763) and parallel bars (14.400). His teammate Petrix Barbosa finished first on the horizontal bar (15.500). Colombia’s Jhonny Munoz won pommel horse with a score of 14.450. The Junior Pan American Championships was the continental qualifier for North, South and Central America for the Youth Olympic Games. Six women and five men, with a maximum of one spot per country, will qualify from the event for the Youth Olympics. The Junior Pan Am Championships is held every two years, with the last one held in 2007. Junior Pan American Championships Women’s events Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise Men’s events Floor Exercise Pommel Horse Still Rings Vault Parallel Bars Horizontal Bar |
