Artistic Gymnastics

Li Ning achieved a major publicity coup...

04. März 2009  
Beijing, China  
Artistic Gymnastics

Li Ning achieved a major publicity coup...

Jelena Isinbajewa (RUS)
(c) laureus

Yesterday the "Li Ning Company Limited", owned by the triple Olympic gold medallist of artistic gymnastic in 1984 Li Ning (CHN), signed  a 5-year- contract with Jelena Isinbajewa, worth 7,5 US-$.
The former Russian gymnast and now highly decorated athlete has won two  Olympic Gold Medals (2004 and 2008). She was not only voted three times by the International Athlete Federation IAAF as the athlete of the year but also broke 26 world records. This makes her a star of the highly qualified sports team of LI-NING.
* read more >> "CHINAdaily", 2009, March 04
Jelena Isinbajewa is looking forward to the collaboration with LI-NING:
"I like this oriental brand that is taking over the international market and that established itself well next to the international competition. I am convinced that the Li Ning Company Limited
creates the perfect products for my needs that will help me to promote my performances."
"Everything is possible...!"
She answered the question to her next target by showing her ideal height on the electronic display: "Everything is possible":

Through the development of the professional product design and his f&e capacities is Li Ning Company Limited going to produce Miss Isinbaeva´s competition and trainings gear, to support her to reach new heights  in future competition and to put the "everything is possible" concept to reality.
The core of Li Ninng international sports resources form famous sporters such as O´Neal, Baron Davis and Ljubici as well as international teams like the Spanish gymnastics national team and the national basketball team from Argentina. Jelena Isinbajewa is now a new part of LI NING´s team.
* Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of Li Ning Company Limited
<< Everyone still remembers the spontaneous support for the German artistic gymnast Oskana Chusowitina after she won her Silver medal in Peking, when Li Ning gave her a check from his foundation to hold her extraordinary life performance in high regard. This happened in front of over 400million Chinese spectators.

GYMmedia Eventservice:Japanese victory at the 14th International Junior Team Cup

28. Februar 2008  
Berlin, Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

GYMmedia Eventservice:Japanese victory at the 14th International Junior Team Cup

...and again the Japanese team is unbeatable!
For the fourth time in a row the team of JAPAN won the 14th International Junior Team Cup 2009 team cup in Berlin with 247.800 in front of the teams from Switzerland (239.800) and Lithuania (237.250). althought they started with three athletes only, after that one of the boys injured in training.
The best German team were the hosts of the club SC Berlin on the 7th place behind Pôle France Lyon, the Netherlands and Belgium.

Also in the individual rankings nobody managed to get ahead of the Japanese gymnasts. With the victories of Sho YOKOYAMA (age group 17/18), Hiroki HOSHIJIMA (age group 15/16) and Hiroko KONDO (age group 14 & younger) they won all gold medals.

Bänfer GmbH
- reliable partner of competition organizers and gymnastics clubs
- presents The INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM CUP 2009

Sho YOKOYAMA, today the
number one of the juniors

14. INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR TEAM CUP 2009
   - Berlin, February 28th 2009 -
____________________________________________

Japese domination
Although 15-year-old Tomomasa HASEGAWA injured himself during training and couldnt' compete, the remaining three gymnasts won the team competition  - with all their scores counting for the team result! - about eight points ahead of Switzerland. Also the titles in the individual ranking in the three different age groups went to Japan
Berlins head coach Jens MILBRADT was impressed: " ...It wasn't really the super difficult content in their routines but more the way in which they presented their routines technically clean. They showed very aesthetic presentations and were very concentrated until the end to stick their landings.
With this solid technique the Japanese gymnasts were role models for all other competitors and they impressed everyone with their high level of performance on the junior level!"

This only works with high efforts and qualified coaches: The four gymnasts came to Berlin with four coaches.

More than 80 boys in the age betw. 12 and 18 years, starting in 19 teams,
representing 14 different nations


In the junior category (age 17/18) and overall the Swiss team confirmed their improvement of the last years. Despite of a few injured gymnasts at home they managed to reach the second place - being the best European team behind the Japanese gymnasts. This was a a good result for Rolf Dahlmann in his first competition as Switzerland's head coach for the juniors.GYMmedia Admin

The new Swiss head coach for juniors Rolf Dahlmann and his boys,
happy about the second place!

Not suprising for the 'insiders' was the third place for the Lithuanian team of Kauno CSM, which they managed to reach despite of competing already in the first competition group in the morning.
Rokas GUSCINAS and Patrikas PRUSINSKAS reached the places 4 and 4 in the junior category and with this manged to continue their good development of the last years.


In the age group 15/16  Switzerland's Christopher TOMCIK was the best European gymnast with his second place - four points behind the winner Hiroki HOSHIJIMA. In Belgium the investment in a new, very modern gymnastics center in Gent which was opened in 2001 now seems to pay off. Thomas NEUTELEERS ended his competition on the third place.
A good development could also be seen at Thao HOANG VIET from the hosts SC Berlin. He reached the third place.
The Berlin coaches were also satisfied with the 7th place of a meanwhile very athletic Paolo LANDO (<< photo on the left) in the age group 17/18. This competition was his first full all-around after a two-year-long break!
In the category of the 15-year old gymnasts (and younger) the second place went to Toby SHOULS from Nottinghamshire/ Great Britain. The Lithuanians managed to reach another good result with the third place of Thomas KUZMIKAS.
For the first time Bulgaria took part in this competition. They came only with two individual competitors, the brothers Veliko (4th) and Vladimir Tushev. This shows that Bulgaria now in the junior field restarts with old traditions in order to reach the best level of the world again.


* Detailed Results
> TEAM CUP RESULTS  2009

* individual all-around:
> Juniors (age group 17/18)
> Youth (age group 15/16)
> Pupils (age group 14 & younger)
* Conclusion:
After longtime head coach of Berlin and "maker" of the International Junior Team Cup  Siegfried Wuestemann and his wife Barbara recently moved to Austria, the team around Berlin's new head coach Jens Milbradt manged to continue with the tradition of this valuable and high-quality international competition.

The tasks were pooled, whereas Lisa WORTHMANN (Foto, left) pulled the strings in the preparations, Jens DEBRAY, as head of the gymnastics section of the club SC Berlin, and head coach Jens Milbradt helped with many tasks and also the Berlin Gymnastics Federation took a lot of responsibilities for the event this year.



With this, also Siegfried Wüstemann in Austria should be relieved that his "works" is being continued in a good way. The e-mail greetings from him and his wife Barbara with their "keeping their fingers crossed for a smooth running of the event" reached his former team and were succesfully realised!

...Let's try again!
Everyone can be excited for the 15th International Junior Team Cup in 2010, the year of the next Junior European Championships!
* Eckhard HERHOLZ, GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL

** ... more about the  International Junior Team Cup
         also in our  >> GYMmedia-preview

** ... and the Berlin's organizer offers
         >> Photo IMPRESSIONS 2009

Swiss gymnast Roger Sager retires following injury

26. Februar 2009  
Switzerland  
Artistic Gymnastics

Swiss gymnast Roger Sager retires following injury

Roger Sager (SUI)

* stv-info --: Swiss artistic gymnast Roger SAGER (28) has announced his retirement from top-level sport after an eight-year international and national career.
Roger Sager sustained an injury last Saturday at the first Swiss qualifying competition for the individual European Championships, which are to take place in Milan from 2 – 5 April 2009.
Roger Sager represented Switzerland in the European Championships in 2002, 2004 and 2006, as well as in the World Championships in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.


Roger SAGER - Retirement following injury
He enjoyed his greatest success at the 2006 World Championships in Aarhus (DEN), when he achieved 8th place with the team and at the 2003 Universiade  in Korea, when he came 5th in the vault final. 
Roger Sager, who represented BTV Lucerne and lives in Zollikofen has been plagued by injury for the past two years. 
On four occasions he had to undergo surgery before major competitions. The knee injury (tearing of the anterior cruciate ligament and damage to the meniscus) which he suffered at the 1st European Championship qualification competition on 21 February forced Sager into retirement:
«It is difficult to make this decision, as I would like to have attained my goals in gymnastics! However, I have now reached the point where I have to make a rational decision and take seriously the signals that my body is giving me.»
Despite his sadness at leaving the gymnastics circuit, Roger Sager is proud of what he has achieved:
«Nevertheless, I am satisfied with what I have shown and achieved and all in all I am glad to have gone through the school of life that is artistic gymnastics. I will be able to benefit from all my experiences throughout my life.»
Sager wishes to thank everyone who has supported him in his 21-year gymnastics career. 
* Source: Renate Ried, Head of Media STV

Germany names gymnasts for Cottbus World Cup 2009

24. Februar 2009  
Cottbus, Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

Germany names gymnasts for Cottbus World Cup 2009

Brinker, Hambuechen
head Germany's World Cup team

After the end of the registration period for the "33rd TOURNAMENT of MASTERS 2009" (March 20 - 22) the German host has named its "temporary" team:
Top of the list will be the Olympic high bar bronze medallist and world champion  Fabian HAMBUECHEN - who has just successfully competed at the American Cup last weekend .
On the women's side Kim BUI from Tuebingen, who was placed third in the American Cup, will also be on the team, as will Olympian Anja BRINKER from TV Herkenrath...
>> Cottbus' WORLD CUP 2009
end

USA’s Wieber, Germany’s Hambuechen win Tyson American Cup

21. Februar 2009  
Chicago, USA  
Artistic Gymnastics

USA’s Wieber, Germany’s Hambuechen win Tyson American Cup

Jordyn Wieber, Fabian Hambuechen
(c) usa gymnastics

*USA Gymnastics --: The thirteen year-old US newcomer Jordyn WIEBER (60,200) of DeWitt, Mich., and Germany’s Fabian HAMBUECHEN (90,650) won the all-around titles at the 2009 Tyson American Cup in front of a crowd of 6,388 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Chicago).
Bridget SLOAN (USA/Pittsboro, Ind.,) placed second for the women and the USA’s David SENDER of Arlington Heights, Ill., and Joseph HAGERTY of Rio Rancho, N.M., finished second and third, respectively, for the men.

The German Kim BUI came third, followed by British gymnast Rebecca Downie ...


2009 Tyson American Cup
Chikago, Hoffman Estates, Ill.  Sears Centre Arena
February  21
___________________________________________

* Men’s all-around
1. Fabian Hambuechen, (GER)  90.650
2. David Sender,  (USA)              90.450
3. Joseph Hagerty, (USA)          89.550

4. Koji Uematsu, (JPN)               89.350
5. Benoit Caranobe, (FRA)         88.650
6. Yury Ryazanov, (RUS)             86.900
7. Adrian Bucur,(ROU)                84.250
8. Luis Rivera, (PUR)                 83.950
   >> Detailed Results

* Women’s all-around
1. Jordyn Wieber, (USA)          60.200
2. Bridget Sloan, (USA)            59.600
3. Kim Bui, (GER)                        56.000

4. Rebecca Downie, (GBR)       55.600
5. Amelia Racea, (ROU)            55.150
6. Kristina Goryunova, (RUS)    54.600
7. Koko Tsumuri, (JPN)              54.350
8. Youna Dufournet, FRA)          52.950
9. Brittany Rogers, (CAN)           52.600
10. Jessica Lopez, (VEN)          51.600
   >> Detailed Results

Cirque du Soleil in the 2012 Olympic City

10. Februar 2009  
London  
Artistic Gymnastics

Cirque du Soleil in the 2012 Olympic City

For the third time in this new millenium - after 2000 and 2001 - the unique Canadian movement circus "Cirque du Soleil" is giving guest performances of its show "QUIDAM" in London, the host city of the next Olympic Summer Games in 2012, but not in a special tent, as is usual. Instead, the cosmopolitan ensemble is performing in the time-honoured "Royal Albert Hall".
The only German artiste in the show is Tony MEVIUS, who has already celebrated his 1,000th performance ...

Act from Quidam, Tony at the top, upside-down...

 >> Tony MEVIUS - a former artistic gymnast who participated in the German national league, representing SC Berlin, and was a member of the national junior team in the 1990s - is enjoying performing in one of the oldest and surely most elegant venues in the world, the "Royal Albert Hall", in front of an audience of 4,000. Over the past four years, the Cirque programme "Quidam" has taken him to four different continents. ...
After a European tour, which incorporates an eight-week tour of Britain and Ireland, "Quidam" will be proceeding to Brazil, where another six cities are on the schedule.  

In this way, the only German artiste in this show - who was selected in a casting in Berlin in 2003 which was organised by GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL on behalf of the talent scouts of "Cirque du Soleil" - will have the chance to visit his second homeland, Brazil. As GYMmedia reported in 2008, he married the Brazilian artiste Gracilene de Moura -Mevius, who also works for Cirque du Soleil in April 2008.

Despite the interesting global travel and the exciting experiences connected with it, Tony Mevius will probably be leaving Cirque du Soleil at the end of 2009 in order to devote his time fully to his Berlin company, the show troupe "Cosmic Artists" which produces highly successful shows for customers in the industrial and business sectors.(C) GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL

Former World champion Tanskanen - Technical Director now

04. Februar 2009  
Finland  
Artistic Gymnastics

Former World champion Tanskanen - Technical Director now

Jani TANSKANEN (FIN),
... new targets after a very long and successful career...!

Finnish Gymnastics Federation (Svoli) has appointed former top gymnast Jani TANSKANEN (33) as Technical Director for men’s artistic gymnastics.

The World Champion on high bar 1997 (Lausanne) is a familiar face to international gymnastics scene thanks to his long career as a gymnast.

Tanskanen competed in all eleven World Championships from 1994 (Brisbane) up to the 2007 Worlds in Stuttgart.
He also participated in numerous world cup events < photo left: World Cup 2008 in Cottbus)  and eleven times in European Championships.

Jani TANSKANEN finished his international career as a gymnast in November 2008 at the DTB Cup in  Stuttgart, and his national career in front of a home crowd in his hometown Jyväskylä on December 9th 2008.


Finnish Gymnastics Federation has appointed Jani Tanskanen as Technical Director
_____________________________________________
For more than one and a half decades this Finnish gymnast was one of the leading and extraordinary athletes on the international artistic gymnastics scene!

** Photo, right: Tanskanen at his last Worlds, Stuttgart 2007

Until May Tanskanen will work part time for the federation while finishing his studies at the University of Jyväskylä.
He will graduate as a Master of Sport and Health sciences, majoring in Sports Administration.
From 1st June onwards he will start working full time.

"I´m very excited about this opportunity. I´m also very motivated and really looking forward to working for the benefit of gymnasts and gymnastics in Finland.
In a way I feel that I’ve got so much from doing gymnastics that now it is my turn to (at least try to) give something back. Of course there are a lot of new things to learn, but I hope that with hard work and strong determination (as a gymnast) I will manage this challenge", Tanskanen said.

** source: Svoli press-release

Hello from Plano, USA... say the Girls from Germany s National Team

05. Februar 2009  
Plano, USA  
Artistic Gymnastics

Hello from Plano, USA... say the Girls from Germany s National Team

Anja Brinker (2nd from left) in prominent company

Today we received our first greetings from the training camp of the German women's national team in Plano (Tenn./USA), sent to us by Anja BRINKER (TV Herkenrath; 2nd from left) who represented Germany in the last Olympic Games.
At the "WOGA", the training centre of Nastia LIUKIN (2nd from right), Olympic all-around champion at Beijing 2008, the Rhineland gymnast is more than just close to the gymnast she most looks up to and is getting a real motivation boost just a few weeks before the European Championships in Milan...:

The German squad im
at the camp of the 'World Olympic Gymnastic Academy' in Plano, USA

>> VIDEO-INTERVIEW with Nadine JAROSCH & Pia TOLLE
(c) Anne Phillips, gymnastike.org

Coach and father Valeri Liukin, Anja Brinker, Nastia Liukin and Brinker's coach Oleg Chekmarev at the training camp

Anja Brinker: "What fascinates me about Nastia is her elegance and precision in competition. 
It is a joy to watch her routines because she communicates so much through them. 
It was the same with Catălina Ponor, who I also always admired for her charisma. 
What's more, Nastia is such a perfect team player, as I noticed in Beijing.

She is therefore exactly the right model for me. 
It is therefore great for me to be here in the USA, along with my coach Oleg Chekmarev, so close to this successful father-daughter team;  ... I'm sure we'll learn a great deal here!".

* from Plano: Anja Brinker (RTB)

... TOP conditions in a TOP training camp!
_______________________________________________________

German National coach Ulla KOCH and warming up atmosphere before the following training of the young German national selection

Austria s World Cup bronze medal winner Sandra Mayer announces her retirement

31. Januar 2009  
Austria  
Artistic Gymnastics

Austria s World Cup bronze medal winner Sandra Mayer announces her retirement

Sandra MAYER (AUT): Retirement

* Ö F T --: Just under two years after her last competition at the World Cup in Cottbus in March 2007, which ended sadly with a torn cruciate ligament, Austrian gymnast  Sandra Mayer has now drawn a line under her career as an active gymnast and  in the last week of January 2009 announced her retirement from international competition.
The 20-year old who won the Austrian national championships six times was the first Austrian gymnast to win a World Cup medal: "I have experienced all the ups and downs," she says.

World Cup bronze at the 38. Solomunov-Memorial 2005 in Maribor

Mayer's finest hour in international gymnastics came at the end of October 2005, when she even managed to outperform the then-reigning Olympic champion Monica Rosu (ROU) in the vault finals at the World Cup in Marburg and to gain the bronze medal in a field featuring numerous other Olympic and European Championship medal winners. 
The potential of this talented gymnast from Upper Austria became evident when she achieved sixth place at the Stuttgart World Cup in autumn 2004.
Mayer's world-class ability was confirmed when she was placed fourth in Marburg 2006 and seventh in the Paris World Cup 2005: - all high points on the international calendar in which the best gymnasts in the world compete!
Having taken part in five European and World Championships(between 2003 and 2006), she was regarded as certain of nomination for an FIG quota place at the Beijing Olympics*, but her career unfortunately came to an abrupt end as a result of the torn ligament. ** Source: ÖFT-Info, Mag. R. Labner,

GYMmedia interview: Oleg Chekmarev shortly before leaving for a training camp in the US

02. Februar 2009  
Herkenrath  
Artistic Gymnastics

GYMmedia interview: Oleg Chekmarev shortly before leaving for a training camp in the US

Oleg CHEKMAREV,
protégé Anja Brinker

As was reported last week, the German national women's gymnastics squad is setting off today for Piano (Tenn./USA) where they will train at the "WORLD OLYMPIC GYMNASTICS ACADEMY' (WOGA) run by Valeri Liukin, whose daughter Nastia wrote history in 2008 by winning overall gold at the Olympics.  

<< CHAMPION MAKER ...:
The group also includes Herkenrath coach Oleg CHEKMAREV, who trains Anja Brinker, the only member of the 2008 German Olympic team to be participating in the training camp. Shortly before their departure, GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL conducted the following exclusive interview with him:

Anja Brinker: ... 'almost' in the Olympic bars finals!

GYMmedia Exclusive:
Oleg CHEKMAREV - TV Herkenrath (RTB)
___________________________________

GYMmedia: - "Belated congratulations for Anja's participation in the Olympics in 2008! What important progress did your protégé make during the Olympic year? Oleg Chekmarev: --" Actually, your congratulations are sufficient answer to that question: Anja took part in the Olympics! In view of the foot operation she had to undergo in spring 2008, that wasn't necessarily on the cards. Our aim was therefore to get into the Olympic team, which we did indeed achieve."

GYMmedia: - … then I'll go on to Part 2 of the question: A good gymnastics coach always sees reserves: where are they to be found, i.e. what are the main focal points of your work with Anja this year?

Chekmarev, Brinker ... she is a 'pearl'!

O. Chekmarev: --"If Anja is not unlucky with injury this year, we will be able to fulfil our planned training programme. Our aim is, of course, that Anja should not just take part in the European Championships in Milan and in the World Championships. She should definitely achieve a good position there".

GYMmedia: - We both know that top-level artistic gymnastics is not easy and young girls have thousands of other distractions... How do you motivate Anja? … and how do you motivate yourself, as a coach, to meet the international performance requirements in Germany? Are the conditions adequate for top-level performance in women's gymnastics? 
O. Chekmarev: --" Anja loves her sport. She loves the diversity of movements and gymnastics is her life!  Anja possesses an extremely high level of self-motivation, which naturally makes my work as a coach exciting, ...
... but not necessarily easier.
In addition, Anja benefits from individual training grants, e.g. from the North Rhine-Westphalia Sports Foundation and the 'Business Unit Technical Rubber Products' of the LANXESS company. This makes it possible to conduct training and competition measures which would otherwise be impossible to finance. It provides a secure basis for the promotion of her dual career. She needn't worry about anything and can concentrate fully on her top-level sports training."

The Rhenish team at the Kienbaum training camp in 2008

GYMmedia: -As a young national gymnast, Anja Brinker still has her career in front of her: What are your specific goals as regards content on the various apparatus? What step-by-step measures are you taking with regard to the content of her routines so as to reach international apparatus finals?
* O. Chekmarev: --"Here at the national training centre in Bergisch Gladbach we have very good general conditions for promoting Anja's development and reaching the top international level. Our plans have always been oriented towards international standards. But that also means that we have to plan and work in accordance with an individual 'recipe'. We still have reserves for the future in this respect. Especially on the bars, Anja is already at world-class level. A small mistake on her dismount prevented her from reaching the apparatus final at the Olympics.
But Anja is also a serious contender in all-around competition. We will adapt her individual routines in accordance with the new Code of Points so as to achieve the highest possible A-scores. In the upcoming international competitions, and also during our training in the USA, we will see in which direction developments are going."

GYMmedia: - Is Anja a "difficult" personality? Where do her strengths lie… and, if you don't mind me asking, where are her weaknesses?
O. Chekmarev: --" Anja is a 'pearl'! She trains conscientiously and hard, she can concentrate very well. She is a fighter who asserts herself when it matters: namely, in competition.
Does she have any weaknesses ...? ... That is something her competitors should find out for themselves. We won't reveal them here!"

The Liukin family and their gymnastics academy are waiting to give a warm welcome to the German gymnasts:
www.woga.net

GYMmedia: - What benefits do you expect this training camp in the USA to bring …?
O. Chekmarev: --" If Anja wishes to improve, she has to go to where the best gymnasts are. This training camp is the place where the all-around Olympic champion, Nastia Liukin, comes from - so it will give her an excellent opportunity to compare herself with the best in the world."

GYMmedia: - Where do you come from yourself? What were the stepping stones of your career and who have you coached before?
O. Chekmarev: --"I came to Germany from Moscow about 7 years ago. As an active gymnast, I was myself in the Soviet national junior team. At that time, such famous gymnasts as Nikolai Andrianov and Olga Korbut were in the Russian team. ...

... This week GYMmedia will be reporting from Piano;
... see also ' ... Germany needs new gymnasts!'

My successes as a coach have included my protégés winning individual apparatus finals at the Russian Championships. In addition, I regularly had gymnasts who were selected for the Russian national team. In my home city of Moscow I have a 28 year old daughter whose name is also Anja. Perhaps that is my destiny ...!?

** The interview was conducted by E. Herholz on behalf of GYMmedia 

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