By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2017 TexSport Publications
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (July 22, 2017) Great Britain's Tom Daley shocked the crowd at the Danube Arena in Budapest in winning the 10-meter platform final at the FINA 17th World Championships on Saturday. The 23-year-old took the gold emdal with the score of 590.95 points, knocking off 2016 Olympic Champion Chen Aisen of China, who plced second with the score of 585.25 points.
Daley, who was eliminated in the semi-finals of the same event at the Rio Olympics last year, dominated in the final to give him his second individual world title. In 2009 in Rome, he won his first individual world title at the age of 15. Earlier in these championships, he combined with fellow Brit Grace Reid to win the silver medal in the mixed 3-meter springboard.
Daley is coached Jane Figueiredo. Figueiredo, who coached Russian female divers to four Olympic medals, was the diving head coach at the University of Houston for 23 years.
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HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS (October 5, 2009) 2008 Olympic team silver-medalist and 2009 U.S. all-around champion Bridget Sloan of Pittsboro, Ind., Sharp's Gymnastics; Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics; Ivana Hong of Lovejoy, Texas, WOGA Gymnastics; and Kayla Williams of Nitro, W.V., Gym Nest Inc., will represent the United States on the U.S. Women’s Team at the 2009 World Championships, Oct. 13-18, in London, England.
The alternates are Kytra Hunter of Frederick, Md., Hill's Gymnastics and Mackenzie Caquatto, Naperville, Ill., Naperville Gymnastics Club.
The format for this year’s World Championships features all-around and individual event competition. The U.S. Women’s Team was selected based on performances at the 2009 Visa Championships in Dallas, Texas, and two U.S. Women’s Team Selection Camps, which were held at USA Gymnastics Women’s National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas.
Sloan, a member of the 2008 silver-medal winning Olympic Team, won her first U.S. all-around title, as well as the uneven bars and floor exercise crowns, at the 2009 Visa Championships in August. 2008 Olympic Team alternate Hong finished a close second in the all-around and won the U.S. balance beam title. 2007 U.S. junior champion Bross was third in the all-around. Williams won the vault title at the 2009 Visa Championships.
The competition will be held at the O2, the gymnastics venue at the 2012 Olympic Games. Qualification rounds determine advancement to the all-around and apparatus finals. The top 24 men and women compete in the all-around finals on Oct. 15-16. For individual events, the top eight on each apparatus from the qualification rounds advance to the finals (Oct. 17-18).
The U.S. Men’s Team for the World Championships was named earlier and is comprised of: Jake Dalton, Sparks, Nev./University of Oklahoma; Wes Haagensen, Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Olympic Training Center; Jonathan Horton, Houston/Cypress Gymnastics Academy; Steven Legendre, Flower Mound, Texas/University of Oklahoma; Danell Leyva, Miami/Universal Gymnastics; and Tim McNeill, Falls Church, Va./University of California – Berkeley.
By Robert H. Kelly
Copyright 2009 TexSport Publications
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND (September 13, 2009) FINA, the international federation for swimming, diving and water polo, has reported than no athlete failed a doping test conducted at the recent World Aquatics Championships in Rome.
It has been reported that 391 tests were conducted; including 252 swimmers, 76 water polo players, 33 divers, 30 open water swimmers and 11 competitors in synchronized swimming.
FINA does not store sample for future testing, as do some other international sports federations, but is considering doing so in the future.
The championships saw 43 world records fall during the 19-day championships, mostly due to high tech suits. The suits will be banned at all levels of competitive swimming by the end of the year.
American Michael Phelps and Italy’s Federica Pellegrini were selected as the best male and female swimmers of the championships.
Phelps won five gold and one silver medal, in addition to setting two individual world records in the 100-meter butterfly and 200-meter butterfly at the bi annual event.
Pellegrini won two golds and set three world marks in the 200 and 400 freestyle.
HOUSTON, TEXAS (February 2, 2009) University of Houston freshman swimmer Kim Eeson was recently selected to swim at the 13th International Swimming Federation (FINA) World Championships in Rome this summer.
The Harare, Zimbabwe native is one of eight swimmers that were selected to compete for her home country and she will be coached at the Championships by head swimming coach Mark Taylor.
Swimming events at the Championships are scheduled to begin on July 26th. More information and results of the Championships will be available at www.UHCougars.com to follow Eeson’s progress in Rome.
This is not the first time that Eeson has been in the spotlight for her swimming, in high school she was in the Top Eight in the South African Olympic Committee in the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle.
Last weekend at the LSU Invitational, Eeson finished second in the 200-yard freestyle and was a top six finisher in four other events.
Eeson and the Cougars will be back in the pool on February 11 at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Natatoroium for the Sprint for the Cure dual against Texas. The first event is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
BANGKOK, THAILAND (August 26, 2008) After and up-and-down morning Tuesday, Team USA finds itself tied for fourth place halfway through preliminaries in the team event at the 2008 World Tenpin Bowling Association Men's World Championships.
Team USA's five-player lineup - Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio, Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla., Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C. - posted 3,010 in three games on the low-scoring long oil pattern.
Norway holds the lead with 3,198, followed by Finland in second with 3,046 and England in third with 3,027. Korea, also at 3,010, shares fourth place with the United States.
The top four teams after six preliminary games advance to the one-game semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday (8 a.m. EDT), with the winners meeting in the one-game finals at 8:30 p.m. (9:30 a.m. EDT). The semifinal losers will each receive bronze medals.
Team USA put together games of 1,032, 991 and 987 - the last of which featured a late flurry of strikes by each player to avoid a disastrous finish.
"The event wasn't going to be won today, but you definitely could've lost it today," said Jones, who shot 597 Tuesday. "It was challenging obviously. We didn't get off to a very good start, but the troops rallied at the end. We made a lot of good shots at the end to right the day."
Hoffman led Team USA with 639, followed by Williams at 608, Allen with 585 and Barnes with 582.
Team competition continues Wednesday with the final three preliminary games on the short oil pattern. Rhino Page of Topeka, Kan., joins the five-player lineup on the short oil pattern with Allen, Barnes, Jones and Hoffman, while Williams will pace for his all-events total in the second squad at 2 p.m. local time (3 a.m. EDT).
"We need to make some good shots," said Jones, who is averaging 223.5 over 10 games on the short pattern at the World Championships. "We put ourselves a little bit behind today by not getting as many pins as we wanted, when we knew other teams would struggle. A lot more teams are going to bowl good tomorrow."
In all-events, Allen is currently fourth after 15 of 24 games with 3,282 (218.8 avg.), trailing leader Alejandro Cruz of Mexico by 75 pins. Norway's Tore Torgersen and the United Arab Emirates' Mahmood Ahmad Al Attar are tied for second with 3,295.
Page, who entered the day second in all-events, shot 533 as a pacer to move to 3,273, dropping to seventh place.
Jones is 18th with 3,223 in the all-events standings, from which the top 16 after 24 games will advance to the best-of-five, single-elimination Masters event.
The 2008 Men's World Championships marks the much anticipated first appearance of professionals in major WTBA competition thanks to a change in legislation last August.
The Men's World Championships, which is being held at SF Strike Bowl Ngamwonwan and continues through Saturday, features more than 300 athletes from 57 countries competing in six disciplines - doubles, trios, team, singles, all-events and Masters.
Visit bowl.com for complete coverage of the 2008 WTBA Men's World Championships, including videos, photos, stories, results and blogs.
United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress, as the national governing body, ensures the integrity and protects the future of the sport, provides programs and services to more than 2.6 million adult and youth members and enhances the bowling experience.
Bowl with US
2008 WTBA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
(at Bangkok, Thailand)
Tuesday's Results
TEAM
Preliminaries
(Through 3 of 6 games)
Top 10
1. Norway, 3,198; 2. Finland, 3,046; 3. England, 3,027; 4. (tie) United States, 3,010; Korea, 3,010; 6. Philippines, 2,995; 7. China, 2,987; 8. Germany, 2,985; 9. Colombia, 2,987; 10. Sweden, 2,964.
ALL-EVENTS
(Through 15 of 24 games)
Top 20
(Top 16 after 24 games advance to Masters)
1. Alejandro Cruz, Mexico, 3,357; 2. (tie) Tore Torgersen, Norway, 3,295; Mahmood Ahmad Al Attar, United Arab Emirates, 3,295; 4. Patrick Allen, United States, 3,282; 5. Choi Bok-Eum, Korea, 3,280; 6. Joe Ciach, Canada, 3,274; 7. Rhino Page, United States, 3,273; 8. Mads Sandbakken, Norway, 3,270; 9. Choi Ki-Bong, Korea, 3,265; 10. Hussain Nasir Al Suwaidi, United Arab Emirates, 3,264.
11. Martin Larsen, Sweden, 3,258; 12. Pasi Uotila, Finland, 3,256; 13. Glenn Morten Pedersen, Norway, 3,255; 14. Jason Belmonte, Australia, 3,240; 15. (tie) Andrew Frawley, Australia, 3,231; Robert Andersson, Sweden, 3,231; 17. Saed Al Hajri, Qatar, 3,229; 18. Tommy Jones, United States, 3,223; 19. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 3,216; 20. Jaime Monroy, Colombia, 3,215.
Other U.S. placements
30. Bill Hoffman, 3,186; 46. Walter Ray Williams Jr., 3,129; 53. Chris Barnes, 3,119.
BANGKOK, THAILAND (August 25, 2008) With the possibility of an all-American final, Team USA settled for a pair of bronze medals in trios competition Monday at the 2008 World Tenpin Bowling Association Men's World Championships.
Patrick Allen of Wesley Chapel, Fla., Rhino Page of Topeka, Kan., and Bill Hoffman of Columbus, Ohio - seeded second after preliminaries - lost a heartbreaker to Japan's Toshihiko Takahashi, Shota Kawazoe and Tomokatsu Yamashita, 615-614.
In the first semifinal, top seed Choi Bok-Eum, Choi Ki-Bong and Kim Tae-Young of Korea remained hot on the short oil pattern in defeating Walter Ray Williams Jr. of Ocala, Fla., Chris Barnes of Double Oak, Texas, and Tommy Jones of Simpsonville, S.C., 673-603, en route to the gold medal.
Korea defeated Japan, 723-553, for its second straight trios gold medal at the Men's World Championships.
Allen, Page and Hoffman started strong in their match, with Allen striking on five of his first six shots and Page on four of his first five. However, Hoffman only struck twice and opened in the final two frames, failing to convert on a 2-4-10 split in the 10th.
"We started off pretty well, but caught a little transition in the middle of the game and the ball started to do some sporadic things down the lane," said Page, who struck out in the 10th frame for a 222 to force Yamashita to convert a 1-2-8 spare on his final ball for the victory. "Hoff just didn't have a very good look on that pair.
"We gave them a good scare toward the end. Japan bowled really well and got us by a stick. That happens sometimes."
Allen led the trio with 223, while Hoffman finished with 169.
Like their Team USA brethren, Williams, Barnes and Jones - who had the front five strikes - started strong and led Korea by as many as 35 early in their semifinal. Korea, however, took over as Kim closed with seven consecutive strikes while Team USA struggled to string strikes together.
"We probably were the underdogs going in. Everybody beat us by at least 100 on the short," said Barnes, who had 194 in the semifinal. "Walter struggled on the short the whole time, which I know is hard to fathom. We didn't have great ball reaction and we haven't matched up on these patterns. We grinded our way through to qualify (for a medal), though."
Jones led the squad with 221, while Williams - who converted on two of three consecutive splits - had 188.
Earlier Monday in preliminaries, Allen, Page and Hoffman took the lead after the morning session - finishing their six-game total with 3,826 on the strength of 2,021 in three games on the short oil pattern.
Williams, Barnes and Jones moved into third place after the second squad with 3,787 - shooting 1,947 in the final three games. Japan moved into third on the final squad, finishing with 3,805.
Korea took the top spot with 3,833 on the strength of a dominating 2,109 set in the second squad. Kim converted on a 4-7-9 split in the 10th frame and struck on his fill ball to push the Koreans past Allen, Page and Hoffman.
In all-events, Page is currently second after 12 of 24 games with 2,740 (228.33 avg.), trailing Mexico's Alejandro Cruz by seven pins. The United Arab Emirates' Mahmood Ahmad Al Attar is third with 2,734, while Allen is fourth with 2,697.
Jones is 16th with 2,626 in the all-events standings, from which the top 16 after 24 games will advance to the best-of-five, single-elimination Masters event.
The 2008 Men's World Championships marks the much anticipated first appearance of professionals in major WTBA competition thanks to a change in legislation last August.
Team competition begins Tuesday with the first three of six preliminary games. Williams, Barnes, Allen, Jones and Hoffman will form the U.S. squad competing on the long oil pattern with Page pacing for his all-events total in Squad 1 at 9 a.m. local time (10 p.m. EDT Monday).
The Men's World Championships, which is being held at SF Strike Bowl Ngamwonwan and continues through Saturday, features more than 300 athletes from 57 countries competing in six disciplines - doubles, trios, team, singles, all-events and Masters.
Visit bowl.com for complete coverage of the 2008 WTBA Men's World Championships, including videos, photos, stories, results and blogs.
United States Bowling Congress
The United States Bowling Congress, as the national governing body, ensures the integrity and protects the future of the sport, provides programs and services to more than 2.6 million adult and youth members and enhances the bowling experience.
Bowl with US
2008 WTBA MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
(at Bangkok, Thailand)
Monday's Results
TRIOS
Gold medal: Choi Bok-Eum/Choi Ki-Bong/Kim Tae-Young, Korea
Silver medal: Toshihiko Takahashi/Shota Kawazoe/Tomokatsu Yamashita, Japan
Bronze medal: Bill Hoffman/Patrick Allen/Rhino Page, United States; Walter Ray Williams Jr./Chris Barnes/Tommy Jones, United States
Semifinals
(1) Korea (Choi Bok-Eum, Choi Ki-Bong, Kim Tae-Young) def. (4) United States (Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones), 673-603
(Choi B-E 212, Choi K-B 226, Kim 235; Williams 188, Barnes 194, Jones 221)
(3) Japan (Toshihiko Takahashi, Shota Kawazoe, Tomokatsu Yamashita) def. (2) United States States (Bill Hoffman, Patrick Allen, Rhino Page), 615-614
(Takahashi 187, Kawazoe 226, Yamashita 202; Hoffman 169, Allen 223, Page 222)
Finals
(1) Korea (Choi Bok-Eum, Choi Ki-Bong, Kim Tae-Young) def. (3) Japan (Toshihiko Takahashi, Shota Kawazoe, Tomokatsu Yamashita), 723-553
(Choi B-E 223, Choi K-B 255, Kim 245; Takahashi 155, Kawazoe 224, Yamashita 174)
Preliminaries
(6 games)
Top 10
1. Korea (Choi Bok-Eum, Choi Ki-Bong, Kim Tae-Young), 3,833.
2. United States (Bill Hoffman, Patrick Allen, Rhino Page), 3,826.
3. Japan (Toshihiko Takahashi, Shota Kawazoe, Tomokatsu Yamashita), 3,805.
4. United States (Walter Ray Williams Jr., Chris Barnes, Tommy Jones), 3,787.
5. Norway (Mads Sandbakken, Petter Hansen, Tore Torgersen), 3,780.
6. Mexico (Daniel Falconi, Benjamin Corona, Alejandro Cruz), 3,766.
7. United Arab Emirates (Hussain Nasir Al Suwaidi, Shaker Ali Al Hassan, Nayef Eqab Al Abadla), 3,750.
8. Sweden (Robert Andersson, Tomas Leandersson, Martin Larsen), 3,732.
9. Sweden (Dennis Eklund, Tobias Karlsson, Peter Ljung), 3,729.
10. Malaysia (Zulmazran Zulkifli, Mohd Nur Aiman, Alex Liew), 3,725.
ALL-EVENTS
(Through 12 of 24 games)
Top 20
(Top 16 after 24 games advance to Masters)
1. Alejandro Cruz, Mexico, 2,747; 2. Rhino Page, United States, 2,740; 3. Mahmood Ahmad Al Attar, United Arab Emirates, 2,734; 4. Patrick Allen, United States, 2,697; 5. Choi Ki-Bong, Korea, 2,693; 6. Pasi Uotila, Finland, 2,688; 7. Mads Sandbakken, Norway, 2,678; 8. (tie) Joe Ciach, Canada, 2,677; Martin Larsen, Sweden, 2,677; 10. Gery Verbruggen, Belgium, 2,672;
11. Jesper Agerbo, Denmark, 2,667; 12. Andrew Frawley, Australia, 2,660; 13. Frederick Ong, Philippines, 2,639; 14. Hussain Nasir Al Suwaidi, United Arab Emirates, 2,639; 15. Choi Bok-Eum, Korea, 2,631; 16. Tommy Jones, United States, 2,626; 17. Saed Al Hajri, Qatar, 2,624; 18. Cheng Hsing-Chao, Chinese Taipei, 2,618; 19. Jaime Conroy, Colombia, 2,616; 20. Tore Torgersen, Norway, 2,603;
Other U.S. placements
42. Bill Hoffman, 2,548; 43. Chris Barnes, 2,537; 50. Walter Ray Williams Jr., 2,521.
