Elizabeth “Ebee” Price, alternate for the 2012 women’s Olympic gymnastic team, won the all-around competition in dominating fashion at this weekend’s Stuttgart World Cup, while fellow U.S. teammate and Olympic all-around bronze medalist Danell Leyva finished fifth in a deep men’s field.
World Cup events remain popular with athletes abroad, particularly those in European nations, but are rarely attended by U.S. Gymnasts, who choose to focus on the major international competitions such as World Championships and Olympic games.
The Stuttgart World Cup, however, tends to draw many returning Olympians given it’s proximity to the games. On the men’s side alone six of the seven competing gymnasts finished in the top ten in London. London Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura withdrew last minute with minor shoulder and ankle injuries, but this competition should be a good indicator that he plans to continue in the sport.
Leyva didn’t fair as well in Stuttgart as London. He posted the top score on high bar but struggled on his first two events leaving him in fifth. Olympic all around silver medalist Marcel Nguyen from Germany grabbed the top spot followed by Daniel Purvis of Great Britain and David Belyavsky of Russia.
As expected on the women’s side Elizabeth Price won the competition by almost three points (yup, that’s a lot) ahead of Germany’s Elizabeth Seitz and Switzerland’s Giulia Steingruber. Price was one of the most memorable athletes at the U.S. Olympic trials that were essentially her coming out party. Ebee was a long shot to make the team until late in the season and she brought her famous coaches Bill and Donna Strauss to tears after her final floor routine that essentially sealed her placed as a team alternate. She’ll be one to watch over the next four years leading into Rio.
Also on the women’s side, the Russian team (which included Olympic uneven bars champ and resident diva Alyia Mustafina) won the team title ahead of Japan and Germany.
Elizabeth Price and Danell Leyva will move on to compete at the Glasgow World Cup on December 8th, which will conclude the 2012 World Cup Series for Gymnastics.