In the gymnastics world, all eyes turned to Paris this past weekend to take in the FIG’s World Challenge Cup in Paris, France. It was the biggest meet of the top names in gymnastics since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics!
It was a battle to the top of the gymnastics world with returning Olympians and World Champions competing on all apparatuses, including: Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles (USA), Rhys McClenaghan (IRL), Caio Souza (BRA), Elsabeth (Ellie) Black (CAN), Jennifer Gadirova (GBR), Flavia Saraiva (BRA), and Melanie de Jesus dos Santos (FRA).
Three out of four of the women’s apparatus Olympic champions from 2020 were slated to compete, alongside five Olympic medallists on the men’s side. The host nation, France, had a strong team with two-time Olympian Marine Boyer, favourite de Jesus dos Santos, and a strong men’s presence led by Leo Saladino and Benjamin Osberger.
On top of being a display of gymnastics excellency, this Cup was a sneak peek to what we may be seeing in Paris in two years at the 2024 Olympics and what we hope to see at the World Championships in just a few weeks.
Women’s Final Results
Floor
On the floor, Olympic silver medalist and powerhouse Jordan Chiles topped the competition with over half a point scoring 14.050. Shilese Jones, USA Championships silver medalist, came in second followed closely by Olympian and 2022 European Championships silver medalist Jennifer Gadirova.
1. Jordan Chiles, United States, 14.050
2. Shilese Jones, United States, 13.500
3. Jennifer Gadirova, Great Britain, 13.250
Balance Beam
Balance Beam was a tight race, with Jade Carey (USA) and Marine Boyer (FRA) finishing with tied scores of 13.750. Boyer won the tie-break with her higher execution score. Returning to the world stage, three-time Canadian Olympian Ellie Black took bronze with a close score of 13.700.
1. Marine Boyer, France, 13.750
2. Jade Carey, United States, 13.750
3. Ellie Black, Canada, 13.700
Uneven Bars
On the Uneven Bars, Shilese Jones beat out 2020 Olympic All-Around silver medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil for the gold with neck-and-neck scores of 14.700 and 14.650. Belgium continued its world-stage dominance on this apparatus, with Lisa Vaelen snatching the bronze.
1. Shilese Jones, United States, 14.700
2. Rebeca Andrade, Brazil, 14.650
3. Lisa Vaelen, Belgium, 14.100
Vault
Olympic floor gold medalist Jade Carey of the USA took the top spot on the vault with a score of 14.375, followed closely by teammate Jordan Chiles. Coline Devillard of France scored 13.850 to grab the bronze.
1. Jade Carey, United States, 14.375
2. Jordan Chiles, United States, 14.025
3. Coline Devillard, France, 13.850
Men’s Final Results
High Bars
The USA got their only gold on the men’s side with Brody Malone scoring 14.650 on the high bars. Ilias Georgiou of Cyprus placed second with 14.400, followed by Tin Srbic of Croatia with 14.050.
1. Brody Malone, United States, 14.650
2. Ilias Georgiou, Cyprus, 14.400
3. Tin Srbic, Croatia, 14.050
Parallel Bars
Brazil grabbed their only gold medal of the Cup with Caio Souza scoring 14.700 on the parallel bars! The USA rounded out the podium with Brody Malone and Donnel Whittenburg scoring 14.600 and 14.200 respectively.
1. Caio Souza, Brazil, 14.700
2. Brody Malone, United States, 14.600
3. Donnell Whittenburg, United States, 14.200
Vault
Adem Asil got his and Turkey’s first gold of the Cup with a high score of 14.725 on the vault. Caio Souza of Brazil and Artem Dolgopyat of Israel completed the podium.
1. Adem Asil, Turkey, 14.725
2. Caio Souza, Brazil, 14.575
3. Artem Dolgopyat, Israel, 14.325
Rings
After an extremely close competition on the rings, Asil of Turkey grabbed his second gold on the rings, with a score of 14.800, followed closely by Vinzenz Höck of Austria and Donnell Whittenburg of the USA.
1. Adem Asil, Turkey, 14.800
2. Vinzenz Höck, Austria, 14.700
3. Donnell Whittenburg, United States, 14.600
Pommel Horse
Rhys McClenaghan of Ireland dominated the pommel horse with a final score of 15.100. The next four competitors, Kurbanov (Kazakstan), Yu-Jan (Taiwan), Clay (Canada), and Sawant (Austria), all landed within 0.20 of eachother! Nariman Kurbanov and Shiao Yu-Jan topped those close scores and took home the silver and bronze.
1. Rhys McClenaghan, Ireland, 15.100
2. Nariman Kurbanov, Kazakhstan, 14.450
3. Shiao Yu-Jan, Taiwan, 14.350
Floor
Ireland took home their second gold medal with Eamon Montgomery scoring 14.250 on the floor. Followed close behind with a tie from Tang Chia-Hung of Taiwan and Benjamin Osberger of France, both scoring 14.200.
1. Eamon Montgomery, Ireland, 14.250
2. Tang Chia-Hung, Taiwan, 14.200
3. Benjamin Osberger, France, 14.200
The Recap
Shilese Jones, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey from the USA dominated the women’s competition taking home three golds and three silver medals collectively. Adem Asil from Turkey was the only competitor to take home two golds. Ireland also had a successful weekend, with Montgomery and McClenghan taking the top spots on two of the men’s six apparatuses.
The USA dominated this Cup grabbing ten medals total, four of them golds! Ireland and Turkey had great weekends as well ending up with two golds each. Brazil landed on three podiums and Taiwan on two.
We’re looking forward to seeing the world’s top gymnasts coming together again next month when the World Championships start in Liverpool, England on October 29!
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