Print

Mail

wiki links

Johnson, Hypolito shine at Pan Am gymnastics finals

Maria Aidee Garcia Lopez of Mexico uses her hands to signal the upcoming play to her teammates in a beach volleyball match against Venezuela at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday. PHOTO: AP

US teenage sensation Shawn Johnson and Brazilian fan favorite Diego Hypolito each won two gold medals in the gymnastics finals at the Pan American Games on Tuesday.

Hypolito's feat helped Brazil move into third place in the medal count, behind Cuba and the US, which has dominated the four-day-old games.

The US has won 23 gold medals and 55 overall. Cuba trails with nine golds, and host Brazil has seven.

The 15-year-old Johnson ruled women's gymnastics and added four golds and one silver to the US tally.

She won the balance beam and the uneven bars on Tuesday, while teammate Rebecca Bross was first in the floor exercise and Brazilian Jade Barbosa in the vault.

"I feel so proud of everything and that the hard work has really paid off," Johnson said. "My coaches, parents and teammates have helped me get through the good times and the hard times. It is pretty amazing."

The rising star of US gymnastics, Johnson won the beam from teammate Nastia Liukin and Diego Hypolito's third-placed sister Daniele.

Johnson, the all-around winner on Sunday, captured the uneven bars title. Liukin was second again, ahead of Brazil's Lais Souza.

Johnson's other gold came on Monday when the US won the team finals.

Hypolito won the men's floor exercise, beating Guillermo Alvarez of the US and Chilean Enrique Gonzalez. Hypolito won the vault, edging Gonzalez and Puerto Rico's Luis Rivera.

"I am very happy and I think the effort was worthwhile," Hypolito said. "I dedicate this victory to my parents and I thank Brazilian fans for all the support."

Hypolito, who in 2005, became the first Brazilian man to win gold at the world championships, had won two silver medals four years ago in the Dominican Republic, and was runner-up in the floor exercise at last year's world championships.

Another Brazilian with two gold medals on Tuesday was swimmer Thiago Pereira.

Pereira broke his own South American record by .77 to win the 400 medley in 4 minutes, 11.14 seconds, easily beating the US' Robert Margalis (4:17.52) and Canada's Keith Beavers (4:19.01) at the packed Maria Lenk aquatic complex.

Pereira joined Brazilian teammates Rodrigo Castro, Lucas Salatta and Nicolas Oliveira to win the 800 freestyle relay in 7:12.27, breaking the Pan Am record. The US was second, nearly three seconds behind, with Canada third.

Brazil's top swimmer, Pereira entered the Pan Ams with medal chances in seven events. He is ranked fourth in the world in the 200 medley, and won a silver and a bronze at the 2003 Pan Ams in Santo Domingo.

The US' Jessica Rodriguez, who turned 17 on Tuesday, won the women's 400 freestyle in 4:12.22, with Mexico's Patricia Castaneda second and the US' Corinne Showalter third.

"The gold medal is the best birthday present I've ever received," Rodriguez said.

In cycling, 38-year-old Colombian Maria Luisa Calle broke the Pan Am record to win the women's individual pursuit, repeating the gold she won four years ago in the Dominican Republic.

Chile and Canada claimed one gold each in rowing.

The US' Courtney Hurley won the women's epee fencing final.

Heavy rain caused the postponement of Tuesday's baseball games, and delays in the shooting competition.

Castro glued to TV screen

Convalescing Fidel Castro said in an essay on Tuesday that he has been so engrossed with Cuba's performance at the Pan American Games in Brazil that he forgets to eat and take his medicine.

"I hardly take my eyes off the television set," the Cuban president wrote in the latest of a series of essays he has penned in recent months. "Sometimes I forget the hour of some meal, or a pill."

Castro mentioned watching Cuba's baseball team and the women's volleyball team in its game against the US "in which our players did everything perfect."

He also praised the women's and men's handball teams -- "What speed, what force!" he wrote -- and said he was absorbed by Cuban competitors in weightlifting, rowing, cycling and women's gymnastics. The government e-mailed the essay to international reporters in Havana.
This story has been viewed 8840 times.