AT&T American World Cup 2012: Wieber and Horton to defend titles at Madison Square Garden
The first of the FIG World Cup Series for 2012 is inching closer. As the set date, March 3, approaches, gymnasts begin to gear up for the event that will take place in New York.
The USA Gymnastics decided the venue for the competition earlier this year, in the month of July. The prestigious one-day international will be staged at the famed Madison Square Garden.
Over the years, the competition has incorporated names of main sponsors such as Dial, McDonald’s and Visa. This year’s American World Cup has been renamed to AT&T American Cup, like last year, owing to the AT&T sponsorship.
“At AT&T, we are honoured to keep fans connected and provide the support to help these athletes achieve their very best,” said Bill Moseley, Director Corporate Sponsorships, AT&T.
This tournament is the first of the four World Cups arranged by the FIG every year. The FIG World Cup series was inaugurated in 1976, as an adaptation of a German series.
Madison Square Garden was the chosen venue for the inaugural cup too. Since then, the facility has held the American Cup 11 times. Meanwhile it is New York’s sixth chance at hosting the competition.
The FIG World Cups have been known to bring in the best gymnasts from all over the globe.
In its trailblazer history, the tournament has created gymnastics’ legends, including prominent names such as Nastia Liukin, Jonathan Horton, Shawn Johnson, Paul Hamm, Mary Lou Retton, Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner.
This season, enthusiasts are waiting to see if defending all-round champion Jordyn Wieber will continue her streak and win the cup for the third time. Wieber secured the American Cup gold in March of 2009 and 2011.
Speculators predicted Russia’s Aliya Mustafina to be up for the challenge. However, Mustafina’s injury kept her from participating in the qualifiers. Consequently, the world champion will not be participating in the AT&T American Cup.
In the men’s all-round finals, it was World bronze medalist Jonathan Horton’s third win at the American Cup this year.
Ukraine’s Mykola Kuksenkov came in second by a small margin, and is one of the probable challengers for the all-round title.
At the time of the venue announcement, Steve Penny, President of USA Gymnastics, termed the place as the “world’s most famous arena”. The arena has a capacity of about 20,000 seats.
The AT&T American Cup belongs to the category A (II) of FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup competitions. The event is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., on the day after the Nastia Liukin Cup.
“We appreciate the tradition of excellence that Madison Square Garden brings to the event,” Penny said, while acknowledging the venue of the AT&T American Cup.
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