USA wins six gold, nine silver and one bronze medal at Junior Pan Am Championships

GATINEAU, Que., Aug. 27, 2006 – The USA won men and women won a total of six gold, nine silver and one bronze medal in the individual event finals at the 2006 Junior Pan American Championships at the Palais des Congrès in Gatineau, Que. Shawn Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa, Rebecca Bross of Ann Arbor, Mich., Bianca Flohr of Creston, Ohio, Samantha Peszek of McCordsville, Ind., Tim Gentry of Plano, Texas, and Philip Onorato of Plano accounted for the six gold medals.

For the women, the U.S. squad went 1-2 in all four individual events. Each of the women won an event title. Johnson earned the most medals for the women, claiming the gold medal for the balance beam and silver medals in the uneven bars and floor exercise. Flohr won the uneven bars and was second on the balance beam. Peszek won the floor exercise and was second on vault. Bross was the champion on vault.

The junior men, who went 1-2 in two events, amassed a total of eight medals. Gentry won the gold medal on the horizontal bar and was second on vault and still rings. Onorato was the champion on the still rings and was second on the floor exercise, finishing behind Marcos Barros of Brazil. Lieberman was second on the high bar and parallel bars, as well as third on the pommel horse. Pineda was fourth on the floor exercise. Joaquin Ramirez of Mexico won the vault, Adickxon Trejo of Venezuela was first in the parallel bars and Daniel Corral of Mexico finished first on the pommel horse.

The Junior Pan Am Championships is held every two years and the 2004 competition was held in El Salvador. Earlier in the competition, the USA won both the men's and women's team titles, with Johnson and Lieberman winning the women's and men's all-around titles, respectively.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics. For more complete information, log on to www.usa-gymnastics.org.