2011 World Champions Ksenia Afanasyeva and Danell Leyva rule the Abierto de Gimnasia in Mexico
The earthquake was not the only thing that shook the competition floor on the final day of the Abierto de Gimnasia. The event was wrapped up on Saturday, December 10, in Guadalajara, Mexico with Danell Leyva and Ksenia Afanasyeva accepting all-around titles
amidst clamorous applause.
Talented gymnasts from five different continents travelled to Mexico to take part in the event. Russia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, United States, Great Britain, Spain, Colombia, Romania, Australia and host, Mexico, were the competing nations.
The competition spanned all-around finals for men and women, as well as a mixed pairs’ competition.
Russian gymnast, Ksenia Afanasyeva, who recently obtained the gold medal on floor exercise at the World Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, topped all scores in the women’s all-around with her total of 58.15 points.
The others trailed behind at a comfortable distance from Afanasyeva but close together in competition with each other. Christine Lee of Canada was placed second with 55.50 points, while the Japanese gymnast, Mai Yamagishi, came third with 55.00 points.
Emily Little was painfully close to the bronze, having missed it by just 0.10 points to Yamagishi.
On the men’s side, the 2011 U. S. National All-Around gold medallist, Danell Leyva, led the results with 89.35 points to his claim.
Like his female counterpart titlist, Leyva is also a World titlist (parallel bars) from the 2011 World Gymnastics Championships held in Tokyo.
Great Britain’s Daniel Purvis earned a total of 88.70 points on his routines and secured the silver medal. Exactly one point behind was the Russian gymnast, Sergei Khorokhordin, with a score of 87.70.
The closest the host country gymnasts could come to the top positions was in the men’s all-around, where Daniel Corral missed the bronze by a mere 0.35 points when he finished in with 87.35 points.
Following were the pairings for the mixed pairs’ finals:
Danell Leyva (U. S.) and Christine Lee (CAN) Rafael Martinez (ESP) and Ksenia Afanasyeva (RUS) Sergei Khorokhordin (RUS) and Emily Little (AUS) Daniel Corral (MEX) and Mai Yamagishi (JPN) Daniel Purvis (GBR) and Catalina Escobar (ARG) Jorge Hugo Giraldo (COL) and Mikaela Gerber (CAN) Santiago Lopez (MEX) and Emily Little (AUS) Masahiro Yoshida (JPN) and Catalina Escobar (ARG) Marius Berbecar (ROM) and Yessenia Estrada (MEX)
The mixed pairs’ finals were won by Danell Leyva and Christine Lee who scored the competition topping 144.85 points. Hot on their heels were Rafael Martinez and Ksenia Afanasyeva with 144.70 points.
Sergio Khorokhordin and Emily Little took the third place with 142.60 points – a small edge, worth merely a quarter of a point, over Daniel Coral and Mai Yamagishi.
Fortunately the earthquake that interrupted the event was innocuous and did not lead to a postponement or injuries. Gala performances by competing gymnasts marked an enjoyable end to the tournament.
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