Monthly Archives: May 2016

Cycling, Mountain Bike, UCI Mountain Bike World Cup

Lea Davison Finishes Eighth at World Cup Cross-Country Event

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While the US still doesn’t have a medalist in the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup cross-country events this year Lea Davison was able to post the best American finish of the year. Davison was 16th after the first lap but steadily improved on that position throughout the race eventually reaching eighth and finishing 3:15 behind the winner. Davison was the only top 20 finisher from the US. Chloe Woodruff wasn’t higher than 20 after any laps and finished 22nd while Erin Huck finished 24th. On the men’s side Howard Grotts was the top finisher in 31st, 5:55 behind the winner, which was actually pretty impressive after he found himself 64th after the second lap. He posted top 12 times in each of the final three laps.

The next chance for the US to go after a medal in the cross-country event is in La Bresse, France on May 28th and 29th.

Previous Mountain Bike World Cup Cross-Country Coverage:
Albstadt Preview

Cycling, UCI Women's WorldTour

Megan Guarnier Wins Amgen Tour of California

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Megan Guarnier finished with most of the Americans in the field as part of an 83-woman peloton and won the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday. It was the first win on the Women’s WorldTour for Guarnier who had finished in the top six four times previously. She won by 17 seconds over Kristin Armstrong and Evelyn Stevens who made it three Americans in the top three finishing 28 seconds back. After skipping fourth place the US also had finishers in fifth, sixth, and seventh (Leah Thomas 56 seconds back, Chloe Dygert 59 seconds back, Katie Hall 1:01 back). Cory Rivera 1:07 back in ninth, Lauren Stephens 1:25 back in tenth, and Brianna Walle 1:38 back in 13th. Five other Americans finished in the top 25, Mara Abbott in 17th, Tayler Wiles in 20th, Kathryn Donovan in 22nd, Amber Neben in 24th, and Ruth Winder in 25th.

The next UCI Women’s WorldTour event is the single day Philadelphia International Cycling Classic on June 5th.

Previous Amgen Tour of California Coverage:
Preview
Thursday Update
Friday Update
Saturday Update

Fencing, Fencing World Cup

USA Finishes Fourth in Women’s Team Foil

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Just like on Saturday the best result of the day for the US came in Tauberbischofsheim. Unfortunately this time it didn’t result in a medal. Lee Kiefer, Nicole Ross, Nicole Prescod, and Madison Zeiss cruised by Sweden in their opener and held off Germany 45-38 before running into problems in the semifinals. Italy defeated them 45-36 after leading after eight of the nine matches. In the bronze medal match against France the US lost 45-40 and led after every match but one.

In Legnano, Italy the US team of Courtney Hurley, Katharine Holmes, Katarzyna Trzopek, and Kelley Hurley lost their opening match 37-28 to Hungary before winning their next two to advance to the ninth place match against Poland. Poland got the better of the US there 35-29.

Finally in Paris the US team of Jason Pryor, Alen Hadzic, Alex House, and Yeisser Ramirez saw 45-27 scores in both of their opening matches. They beat Finland in the opener but lost to #1 France in the second. The US beat Estonia 45-26 but lost to the Czech Republic 45-34 to end up in the 11th place match. The US beat Poland there 42-31.

With the final epee grand prix event having been in Rio last month the next main even for them will be the Pan American Championships in Panama City, Panama starting June 20th. The foil athletes will compete in the grand prix in Shanghai next on June 3rd.

Previous Fencing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update
Day 2 Update

ISSF World Cup, Shooting

Will Brown Finishes 16th in 50m Pistol at ISSF World Cup in Munich

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No Americans advanced to the finals on Sunday but the best finish of the day for the US came in the men’s 50m pistol where 2016 Olympian Will Brown came close to qualifying for the final posting a 559, one off the final qualifier. Brown also would not have won the center 10’s tiebreaker even if had scored one point higher and finished 16th. It’s the third straight top 16 finish this year for Brown who will certainly be in contention to medal in Rio if he has a strong event. 2016 Olympian Jay Shi was 31st with a 554. His middle four series were very strong but he started with an 89 and ended with an 88 which doomed his chances. Nickolaus Mowrer finished 42nd with a 547.

In the 25m women’s pistol 2016 Olympian Enkelejda Shehu shot a 286 in the rapid fire portion to finish with a combined 570, 12 behind the last final qualifier and in 47th place. Shehu was 45th in Rio and would need to improve a lot on those performances to contend in the Olympics.

In the 25m rapid fire pistol event 2016 Olympian Emil Milev was the top American on Sunday in the first half of the qualification round but his 288 was only good enough for 22nd and he faces a four point deficit on the top eight going into the second day. Alexander Chichkov is in 38th after shooting a 285. Qualification warps up tomorrow with the finals later in the day.

Beginning on Monday will be the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions Virginia Thrasher is a 2016 Olympian in the event and finished tenth in Rio when she competed in the event earlier in the year. There will only be an elimination round on Sunday to narrow the field to 70 shooters for Monday’s qualifying round.

Previous ISSF World Cup Munich Coverage:
Preview
Saturday Update

Olympic Trials, Rio 2016 Olympic Trials, Shooting

Janessa Beaman Maintains Trap Lead at Shotgun Olympic Trials

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With three days left in the women’s trap competition Janessa Beaman continues to maintain a two point lead over 2012 Olympian Corey Cogdell with Beaman sitting on 303 points. Ashley Carroll is still in contention but after scoring only a 69 on Sunday she now trails by seven points. Beaman and Cogdell will have a lot on the line tomorrow when there is a final after two rounds of shooting that could be a big difference maker in who eventually claims the Olympic spot.

In the non-Olympic qualifying men’s trap competition Dustin McGowen saw his five point lead over Christopher Haire disappear after he shot a 67 and Haire shot a 72. Collin Wietfeldt was just one point back but after shooting a 64 he is now four points back.

Previous US Shotgun Olympic Trials Coverage:
Event II Preview
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update
Friday Update

Boxing

Good 4-1 Day for US at AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

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Five US boxers entered the ring to continue their preliminary round competition on Sunday and all but one earned berths in the quarterfinals. 2012 gold medalist Claressa Shields won her second bout in the 75kg division, this time dispatching Uzbekistan’s Nafisakhon Askarova 3-0 with all the judges scoring it a sweep for Shields. 2015 Golden Gloves champion Christina Cruz in the 54kg division also swept her bout, though each judge had it 39-37 over Helina Bruyevich of Belarus. Naomi Graham and Ukraine’s Mariia Bova Badulina had a bout where ever judge saw it 39-37, but not all in the same direction. Graham moved on in the 69k division with two of the judges seeing it her way. Franchon Crews swept Italy’s Flavia Severin in the 81kg division to become the fourth American to reach the quarterfinals. The only loser on the day was Stalacia Leggett in the 57kg division as she came out on the wrong end of a bout with Italy’s Alessia Mesiano where all three judges scored it 38-38 but preferred Mesiano as the winner.

On Monday 19-year-old Jajaira Gonzalez in the 64kg division returns to the ring while Marlen Esparza in the 45-48kg division and Shadasia Green in the +81kg division have their first bouts. We will also be keeping an eye on Canada’s Mandy Bujold who must win twice more to grab an Olympic berth for Virginia Fuchs

Monday will end the preliminaries and narrow the field in those weight classes to eight for Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Previous 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships Coverage:
Preview
Thursday Update
Friday Update
Saturday Update

Boxing

Pablo Ramirez and Sardius Simmons Both Winners at Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions

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It’s a two-peat for Pablo Ramirez in the 108lb division at the Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions as the Texan who was 2015’s Golden Boy has his second straight title. Ramirez took care of Joseph Ortiz of Florida in the final but this was no walkover, a 3-2 decision for the defending champion. After finishing third earlier this year at the Olympic Boxing Trials it seems quite possible Ramirez will be headed to a pro career after this title. It’d be a long four year wait as an amateur to try and qualify for the 2020 Olympics and who knows what boxing in the Olympics will even look like in four years with professional boxers a potential wild card.

Sardius Simmons of Michigan had lost the 201lb final in 2015 and was a more comfortable winner over Marquise Williams of New York by a score of 4-1. Simmons is another good young prospect having reached back-to-back finals and like Ramirez will need to think about where he wants his career to go from here.

The women’s golden gloves tournament is in Fort Lauderdale, Florida from July 5th-9th.

Previous 2016 Golden Gloves Coverage:
Preview
Tuesday Update
Wednesday Update
Thursday Update
Friday Update

Canoeing, ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup

Lydia Keefe Sampson Finishes Eighth in Final B at ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg

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Lydia Keefe Sampson finished eighth in the Final B of the C1 200m race on Saturday at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg, Germany. Sampson only finished ahead of one competitor who did not start but put up a better time on Saturday, 52.314, than her semifinal run on Friday.

The second of three ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup event is in Racice, Czech Republic next weekend starting on Friday.

Previous ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup Coverage:
Duisburg Preview
Friday Update

Boxing

Virginia Fuchs and Mikaela Mayer Eliminated at AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

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After five wins to start the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan the US boxers finally tasted defeat. 2016 Olympian Mikaela Mayer didn’t need to keep winning to reach Rio thanks to her win in the Americas qualifying tournament but will surely be disappointed by being eliminated this early. Mayer lost 3-0 to China’s Junhua Yin, an Olympic qualifier from the Asian tournament. All three judges had it 39-37. Virginia Fuchs lost to Azerbaijan’s Anna Alimardanova 2-0 after one judge saw it a tie but the other two had it 39-37 against Fuchs. For Fuchs this loss may end her chances of qualifying for the Olympics. She now needs Canada’s Mandy Bujold to advance to the semifinals and earn one of the global qualifying spots and pass the second Americas qualifying spot on to Fuchs, who finished third in that tournament. Bujold is the third seed here and is now in the round of 16.

Sunday will be the busiest day yet for Americans as five will take the ring. 2012 gold medalist Claressa Shields has her second bout in the 75kg division as does Stalacia Leggett in the 57kg division. 2015 Golden Gloves champion Christina Cruz in the 54kg division,  Naomi Graham in the 69k division, and Franchon Crews in the 81kg division will have their first bouts.

19-year-old Jajaira Gonzalez in the 64kg division has the day off while Marlen Esparza in the 45-48kg division and Shadasia Green in the +81kg division, are still waiting for their first bouts.

Preliminaries continue Sunday and run through Monday to narrow the field in each weight class to eight for Tuesday’s quarterfinals.

Previous 2016 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships Coverage:
Preview
Thursday Update
Friday Update

Fencing, Fencing World Cup

Lee Kiefer Grabs a Bronze in Tauberbischofsheim

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The best result of the day for the US came in Tauberbischofsheim where Lee Kiefer won her first four matches as she went on to win a bronze medal. Starting from the #3 seed Kiefer won all four of her opening matches by scores of 15-10 or greater. Running into #2 seed Inna Deriglazova of Russia in the semifinals Kiefer lost 15-9 and ended up with a bronze medal. Deriglazova won the gold and no one came closer than 15-10 against her all day. Nicole Ross also had a strong day as she won three times, twice by margins of ten or more, before losing in the quarterfinals to #4 seed Elisa Di Francisca of Italy by a score of 15-12. Nicole Prescod won once before losing 14-9 to Italy’s Carolina Erba, a quarterfinalist. Finally Jessie Laffey was eliminated 15-11 in the first round by #6 Aida Shanaeva of Russia. Kiefer, Ross, Prescod, and Madison Zeiss will compete for the US in the team competition Sunday.

Only one of the five women competing in Legnano, Italy advanced at all on Saturday. Courtney Hurley, who had a bye to table of 64, won once before losing 13-12 to Giulia Rizzi of Italy. Rizzi also took out Katharine Holmes in the opening round 15-11. Rizzi would go on to finish as runner-up. Katarzyna Trzopek lost to #10 Ana Maria Popescu of Romania, a quarterfinalist, 15-9, Kelley Hurley lost 15-12 to the eventual champion, Erika Kirpu of Estonia, and Catherine Nixon lost to Auriane Mallo of France 15-7.

Finally in Paris Jason Pryor and Alexander Tsinis both lost their opening matches. Pryor lost to #5 Daniel Jerent of France by a 15-14 score, Jerent going on to reach the semifinals, while Tsinis lost to Benjamin Steffen of Switzerland 15-8. Pryor will be joined by Alen Hadzic, Alex House, and Yeisser Ramirez for the team competition on Sunday. 

 

Previous Fencing World Cup Coverage:
Preview
Day 1 Update