Review: 2014 Anadia World Challenge Cup

The 2014 Anadia World Challenge Cup, part of the annual FIG World Cup series, wrapped up on Sunday June 1st in Portugal. This competition, set in a small, intimate arena, awards individual apparatus medals but does not include an all-around portion. Attendance was somewhat lower this year than in previous years because the event directly followed the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Nonetheless, there were several former World and Olympic competitors present in addition to many newer faces on the international scene.

Jun 2, 2014

Two More Gold and a Bronze For USA Men

On the fourth and final day of competition at the 2014 Anadia World Challenge Cup, medals were awarded on five apparatuses: men’s vault, parallel bars, and high bar, and women’s balance beam and floor.

Jun 1, 2014

USA Wins Four Medals, Lopez Dominates UB Finals at Anadia World Cup

In the first final of the day, Team USA’s Eddie Penev and Sam Mikulak went one-two for the gold and silver medals on floor exercise. Penev took the title with a 15.625, with Mikulak just behind him with a 15.550. Enrique Tomas Gonzalez (CHI) claimed bronze with a 15.375. The gold medal on pommel horse also went home with an American, as Alex Naddour scored a 15.225 to pass Hungary’s Zoltan Kallai with a 15.150. First-place qualifier Bo Wang (CHN) faltered, scoring a 12.925 for seventh place and opening the door for Dmitrijs Trefilovs (LAT) to nab bronze with a 14.825. Naddour earned a second medal on still rings, where he scored a 15.300 (a five-tenth improvement over his qualifying score) to take silver. Arthur Zanetti (BRA), who dominated the qualification round, secured gold with another strong performance and a score of 15.700. Bronze went to Markku Vahtila (FIN) with a 15.200.

May 31, 2014

Penev Misses Out on High Bar Final, Mikulak Qualifies on Three Events

May 30, 2014

Mikulak, Naddour and Penev Advance to Finals at Anadia World Cup

The first day of qualifications has wrapped up at the Anadia World Challenge Cup, and the field is set for five event finals: men’s floor, pommel horse, and rings, and women’s vault and uneven bars.   The USA’s Eddie Penev qualified in first place to the floor final with a 15.30, followed by Enrique Tomas Gonzalez (CHI) with a 15.05. Sam Mikulak (USA) also made it to the finals with the fourth-highest qualifying score of 14.95. On pommels, Bo Wang of China set himself apart from the field with a 15.40 for the top qualifying spot. USA’s Alex Naddour tied with Zoltan Kallai (HUN) for the second qualifying spot with a 14.95. Unfortunately Mikulak was not able to put together a clean routine, and he finished in 26th place with an 11.95. Naddour also advanced to the finals on his other event, the still rings, with a 14.80 and the third highest score. However, it was Arthur Zanetti (BRA) who set himself apart on this apparatus with a 15.80 (D-score 6.7) and a full 0.85-point lead over second-place qualifier Markku Vahtila (FIN). Mikulak was preliminarily expected to compete on rings but decided not to participate.   There were also several expected competitors from the women's preliminary participant list who did not take part in qualifications; among them were Noemi Makra (HUN) and Oksana Chusovitina (UZB). With their absence, the door stood open a bit wider for other gymnasts hoping to qualify to the finals. On vault, Martina Castro (CHI) nabbed the top qualifying score with a 13.725 average, while Jessica Lopez (VEN) led the uneven bars field by a wide margin of 0.65 points above the second-place qualifier. Her score of 14.15 (D-score 6.2) will be tough to beat in the finals.

May 29, 2014

Preview: Anadia World Challenge Cup

May 28, 2014