Gymnastics Weekly News: Jesse Moore wins AA title, Georgia Godwin leads women's competition at Australian championships
Plus, Dana Duckworth resigns, FIG bans Kuliak for one year and a look back at Team USA on floor from LA 1984.
Artistic Gymnastics
Jesse Moore won the men's all-around title at the Australian Gymnastics Championships held at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre in Carrara, Queensland, on Friday (20 May).
Moore posted a 79.566 to take the title ahead of Clay Stephens (78.998). David Turner was third at 76.415. The 19-year-old competed at the 2019 Junior World Championships, finishing 25th in the all-around.
Tyson Bull, Australia's lone male competitor at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, competed on three of the six apparatus, posting the highest score of the day on the horizontal bar at 13.700.
On the women's side, where the all-around champion is determined over the course of two days, Tokyo 2020 Olympians Georgia Godwin and Emily Whitehead finished one-two, respectively, after the first day of competition.
Godwin's all-around total was 51.899, just ahead of Whitehead's 51.432. Romi Brown is third at 51.398.
The trio posted the top marks on all four events with Godwin's 12.900 leading the beam standings, while Whitehead topped the standings on vault (13.866) and floor (13.133). Brown had the highest score on the uneven bars, a 13.633.
Dana Duckworth steps down as Alabama head coach after 27 years with program
Dana Duckworth, the University of Alabama women's gymnastics team head coach for the past eight seasons, resigned Thursday, according to a press release from the university's athletic department.
"It has been an absolute honor to compete for, recruit and coach so many amazing women who have been a part of the Alabama gymnastics family," said Duckworth. "I cherish the relationships made by being a part of this program and our alumni sisterhood. The experiences we shared will stay with me for the rest of my life.
"This decision was not an easy one as I am forever grateful to our student-athletes, their families, my staff and fellow coaches. The University of Alabama is a special place and I care deeply about the gymnastics program, but after 27 years of involvement, I have decided to step down and focus on my family for now. I have all the confidence in the world in this team and wish nothing but great things for their future."
FIG announces one-year suspension of Ivan Kuliak
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced on Tuesday (17 May) that Russian Ivan Kuliak will receive a one-year suspension from competition following his actions at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha in March.
Kuliak wore the letter "Z" on his uniform during competition and the awards ceremony. The "Z" has symbolized support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Winner of the bronze medal on the parallel bars, which will now be forfeited, Kuliak stood next to gold medallist Ukrainian Ilia Kovtun during the awards ceremony.
The FIG says that if the measures preventing Russians from competing in international events are still in place after one year, the ban "shall continue and expire six months after the removal of said measures."
From the vault...
This week, we look back to the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and the silver medal-winning U.S. women's team on the floor exercise. Julianne McNamara led the rotation with a perfect 10.0 score, while Michelle Dusserre and Mary Lou Retton added 9.90s.