Wieber became the
second woman to win
the American Cup
three times (Mary Lou
Retton, 1983-85).
THE American Cup at New York City’s Madison Square Garden seems to be a new Olympic-year tradition, and this year’s event on March 3 showcased a mix of talent from the host country.
The U.S. entries included current world all-around
women’s champion Jordyn Wieber and world parallel bars titlist Danell Leyva, and for the first time
two Americans—Gabrielle Douglas and Chris
Brooks—were competing exhibition. And although
their scores didn’t count in the official results, the
all-around total of Douglas, which surpassed
Wieber’s winning score, was impossible to ignore.
It also changed her Olympic-team potential from
bubble gymnast to major all-around threat.
On the men’s side, the competition provided a
measure of redemption for reigning U.S. champion
Leyva, who won the men’s title in a squeaker over
2011 runner-up Nikolai Kuksenkov of Ukraine. At
the 2011 Tokyo world championships, Leyva had
nearly knocked himself out on high bar during the
all-around final (he hit his chin on the bar), and he
placed only fourth at the 2012 Winter Cup. The
latter was dominated by New Yorker John Orozco,
who also was in this American Cup field.
