Valeri Liukin Invitational 2011 Results: Jumpei Oka triumphs in the all-around at WOGA Frisco, Texas
This year, the Valeri Liukin Invitational was held at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) on Saturday, December 10, in Frisco, Texas.
It has somewhat become a traditional partnership between WOGA Gymnastics and Valeri Liukin Invitational, as this has been the chosen venue for the event since as early as 1996.
The facility expands over 32,000 square feet worth of training space, housing the latest in gymnastics equipment, in-ground training pits, team training area and support amenities such as locker rooms, party room, and a full-service Pro-shop.
The Valeri Liukin Invitational is one of the longest running competitions held on such a large, international scale.
This year, Japanese elite gymnast, Jumpei Oka, took the title for the all-around. This was a commendable improvement from last years’ performance by Oka in the same event, where he secured the third place.
Oka’s topping all-around score was 88.6 points – almost a point ahead of the runner-up, Jesse Silverstein of United States, who scored 87.5 points.
Tying in second position with Silverstein was the recently turned pro, American gymnast, John Orozco.
Oka had the highest scores in the entire meet on the high bar and the floor exercise with scores 15.60 and 15.35 points, respectively.
Silverstein’s highest hit was on the vault with 15.8 points to his claim. He also placed second on the still rings.
Meanwhile Orozco’s strength in the event was the still rings apparatus, where the 15.55 points that the judges gave him were unmatched in the meet.
"Definitely not my best meet but I survived! #learnfromyourmistakes" was a twitter update posted by Orozco following the competition.
Orozco also placed third on the floor exercise, parallel bars and high bar, earning 15.05, 15.10 and 14.70 points on the apparatus, respectively.
Gymnast Edward Mesa, who is also from the United States, came fourth – or third, technically – with his total of 87 points. Messa also had the highest score on the pommel horse (14.25 points).
American gymnast, Ryan Lieberman, who otherwise ranked at an unimpressive 20th position, received the top score from the judges on his parallel bars routine.
Fifth in the all-around, Japanese gymnast, Yu Suzuki, secured silver medals on the vault (15.75) and floor (15.15).
Suzuki had strong performances in all the events, except the pommel horse, which most likely cost him one of the top three positions.
Had he maintained his 14-point range in the pommel horse event too, he would have surely taken the title from his fellow countryman, Oka.
Ukraine’s Oleg Vernaiev specialised in the pommel horse and took the silver for the apparatus, while the bronze went to Fabian Meza.
Andrew Elkind placed third on the still rings. Cypress’ Chris Brooks, who is also an Olympic hopeful, took the silver for the parallel bars routine.
Japanese gymnast, Yoshiaki Furutani also took home a silver medal for his performance on the high bar.
It will not be wrong to say that Japan and the United States saw a good event at the Valeri Liukin Invitational.
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