MEMMEL
AND
SACRAMONE
Chellsie Memmel and Alicia Sacramone were the U.S:s dynamic duo at the 12th Artistic World Cup Finals in Birmingham, England, Dec. 11-12. The depth of the u.s. program is evident as both Memmel and Sacramone grabbed gold on bars and vault, respectively.
Memmel, who is the co-World Champion on bars from the 2003 World Championships, was once again victorious on her favorite event at the World Cup Finals, scoring 9.625. Sixteen-year-old Memmel defeated British star Beth Tweddle and China's Li Va. Memmel is from West Allis, Wis., and is coached by her dad, Andrew and Laurie Glazer at M&M Gymnastics. Memmel also won gold medals on both bars and beam at the 2004 Pan American Specialist Championships in Venezuela. This tenacious athlete sat out much of 2004 due to a broken bone in her left foot which she sustained in April. She completed a remarkable comeback to serve as an alternate to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. When asked how it felt to win the World Cup medal, Chellsie said, "It felt really good to win. It's the biggest competition I've been in since the 2003 World Championships so it was great to get back into it. It was kind of nice to just focus on the one event." Sacramone, 17, of Winchester, Mass. and Brestyan's American Gymnastics, demonstrated that she will be a force to be reckoned with in years to come by winning the vault gold with a 9.481. In the process, Sacramone held off '04 Olympic champion Monica Rosu who scored a 9.456, Olympic bronze medalist Anna Pavlova who scored 9.418 and former Olympic champion Elena Zamolodchikova with a 9.412 . . Sacramone celebrated her 17th birthday on Dec. 3 by winning the vault and floor titles at the 2004 Pan American Specialist Championships on Dec. 5. Sacramone, who has now won three gold and two silvers on vault in international competition since March, is coached by Mihai Brestyan.
She said, "I'm still in shock. It hasn't hit me yet that I won and defeated the Olympic Champion on vault. I'm so glad that I was able to hit both of my vaults."
34
USA GYMNAS1IC:S
JANUARY/FE8URARY
2005
Alicia Sacramone and Chellsie Memmel pose for the cameras after winning gold at the World Cup Finals.
The World Cup Final is the culmination of a two-year series of events in which athletes earn points for placement in FIG level A and B events. The top eight points-winners at the end of the season are invited to the World Cup Final.