Not even an earthquake could dampen the enthusiasm at the Abierto de Gimnasia, which concluded Saturday evening in Guadalajara, Mexico with a gala that allowed gymnasts to let their hair down (or in the case of one popular Russian gymnast, put it up in pigtails.)
World event champions Danell Leyva and Ksenia Afanasyeva were the all-around champions, recording the top scores in an impressively competitive field that drew gymnasts from five continents.
In her first meet since winning the World floor title in Tokyo in October, Afanasyeva scored 58.15 to top Canada's Christine ("Peng Peng") Lee by more than 2.5 points (Lee scored 55.5). 2010 World team member Mai Yamagishi of Japan finished third (55.0), just edging Emily Little of Australia (54.9).
Leyva tallied 89.35 over six events to win over day one leader Daniel Purvis, who came second with 88.7. Russia's Sergei Khorokhodin was a point behind for third. Mexico's own Daniel Corral, winner of two gold medals at the recent Pan American Games, shone on pommel horse and parallel bars -- his best events -- and totaled 87.35, good enough for fourth.
The event was interrupted briefly by an earthquake which shook the building during the last rotation, but no one was hurt, and the meet continued after the shaking stopped.
Leyva and mixed pairs partner Lee won the mixed pairs competition, which tallied the men's and women's all-around scores.
The event concluded with gala performances where gymnasts were invited to get creative. Here's Afanasyeva's fun, Russian-inspired floor routine from the gala -- it's quite unlike how she usually performs on floor!
Women's all-around results:
- 1. Ksenia Afanasyeva, RUS, 58.15
- 2. Christine Lee, CAN, 55.5
- 3. Mai Yamagishi, JPN, 55.0
- 4. Emily Little, AUS, 54.9
- 5. Yessenia Estrada, MEX, 52.6
- 6. Mikaela Gerber, CAN, 52.15
- 7. Catalina Escobar, ARG, 51.2
Men's all-around results:
- 1. Danell Leyva, USA, 89.35
- 2. Daniel Purvis, GBR, 88.7
- 3. Sergei Khorokhodin, RUS, 87.7
- 4. Daniel Corral, MEX, 87.35
- 5. Jorge Hugo Giraldo, COL, 86.75
- 6. Rafael Martinez, ESP, 86.55
- 7. Masahiro Yoshida, JPN, 85.350
- 8. Santiago Lopez, MEX, 82.45
- 9. Marius Berbecar, ROM, 81.850
Mixed pairs results:
- 1. Danell Leyva - Christine Lee, 144.85
- 2. Rafael Martinez - Ksenia Afanasyeva, 144.7
- 3. Sergei Khorokhodin - Emily Little, 142.6
- 4. Daniel Corral - Mai Yamagishi, 142.35
- 5. Daniel Purvis - Catalina Escobar, 139.9
- 6. Jorge Giraldo - Mikaela Gerber, 138.0
- 7. Santiago Lopez - Emily Little, 137.35
- 8. Masahiro Yoshida - Catalina Escobar, 136.55
- 9. Marius Berbecar - Yessenia Estrada, 134.45
Follow The Gymnastics Examiner on Facebook or Twitter, or click "Subscribe" above to receive the latest gymnastics news and results via e-mail.
Comments