Katy, Texas, Ready to Host Top Gymnastics Talent

There will be two four-man teams representing the United States at the RD761 International Team Cup on January 17-18 in Katy, Texas. Team one will consist of Isaiah Drake of Los Angeles/Gymnastics Olympica USA, Asher Hong of Tomball, Texas/Cypress Academy of Gymnastics, Ian Lasic-Ellis of Dover, Mass./Massachusetts Elite Gymnastics Academy and Khoi Young of Bowie, Md./Sportsplex Gymnastics. Team two is represented by Jaden Bottarini of Valley Village, Calif./Gymnastics Olympica USA, Alex Duebler of Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics, Danila Leykin of Frisco, Texas/WOGA Gymnastics and Kai Uemura of Chicago/Lakeshore Academy of Artistic Gymnastics.

Held at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, Jan. 17-18, the countries invited to participate in the RD761 International Team Cup include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Poland, and USA. Four gymnasts will compete for each team, with three scores counting toward the team score. The all-around ranking will be based on performances in the team competition, with a maximum of two per country. For the individual event finals, the top eight athletes, with a maximum of two per country, for each event in the team competition will advance to the respective finals. Athletes from Team 2 will not be eligible to qualify to individual event finals.

Pavel Sargsyan of Gymnastics Olympica USA is the head coach of team one, and Igor Vernyi of Cypress Academy of Gymnastics is the assistant coach. Sergei Pakanich of WOGA Gymnastics is the head coach for team two, and Arkadiy Andryushchenko of Lakeshore Academy of Artistic Gymnastics is the assistant coach.

The RD761 International Junior Team Cup is named in honor of U.S. Junior National Team member Ricky Deci, who tragically passed away in 2001. The annual RD761 age group invitational competition supports the Ricky Deci Memorial Fund. For more information, go to rd761.com.

Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that encourages and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has already taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to usagym.org.