American Cup 2005

Commentary by: Brian Bakalar

US Victorious at the American Cup

The newly revamped American Cup has been forced to the front of the gymnastics world this week, with the community's eyes upon the competitors at the Nassau Coliseum, in Long Island, NY.

In the past the event has become a glorious exhibition, and with dwindling entries, USA Gymnastics made major changes in the competitive format, and reopened the event to the world.  But even the largest competitive field in years couldn’t stop the American women, who took top honors on three of four events, and of the 12 medals awarded (bronze, silver, gold on each of Vault, Bars, Beam, and Floor), the team took six. 

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Photography: Philip Morton

Alicia Sacramone, a crowd favorite, and resident Region Six gymnast, was unstoppable on Vault, where her final average was 9.387.  Her nearest competition was silver medalist, and teammate, Melanie Sinclair.  Sinclair, new to the Senior International scene, also competed on Floor Exercise.  Her unbelievable power resulted in a missed step in Finals, and a final score of only 9.012.  Sacramone, however, took the silver with a 9.537.

On the Bars, the crowd was treated to a show when Nastia Liukin, perfect in warm-ups and preliminaries, fell from the bar after a release move.  Her Geinger, without question the highest in the meet, was just a little off, and resulted in a final score of 8.875.  Nastia would recover, however, and turn in a beam performance full of difficulty, and worthy of the gold medal, tied with China’s Nan Zhang, scoring 9.587.  Chellsie Memmel, just behind Nastia, scored a 9.500, with an equally stacked routine.  On the bars, it was Chellsie scoring a 9.6, and taking home the gold once again.                                    

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The new format of the American Cup virtually eliminates the AA title, making way for higher scoring individual events.  The Americans clearly made their adjustments, and with a relatively young team, showed the world that the Americans are not going away!  Since the Athens Olympic Games of 2004, the USA has experienced unprecedented growth in its gymnastics programs, and although not one of the young women on the floor was a member of the Athens team, it is perfectly clear that the USA will continue to be on the world map of gymnastics for years to come.