News Articles - Click on the title for a link to the full article.

September 5  

US women win at gymnastics championships  The Associated Press/ESPN Sports   NEW
Bouncing back from mistakes Wednesday that would have cost a great team the gold medal on most days, the Americans finished with two of the most dazzling routines of the entire competition to clinch their second title at the world gymnastics championships.

September 5  

US golden again at gym worlds  The Associated Press/Yahoo! News   NEW
The tears of joy started as soon as Alicia Sacramone saluted the judges. Even when they're not at their very best, the Americans are good enough for gold. Bouncing back from mistakes that would have cost a great team the gold medal on most days, the Americans finished with two of the most dazzling routines of the entire competition to clinch their second title at the world gymnastics championships Wednesday.

September 3  

Americans off to fast start  USA Today
The Americans were already planning a little party back at the hotel to celebrate Shayla Worley's 17th birthday. That, though, seemed a tad tame. So they invited a few thousand of their closest friends to join in on the fun, turning the world gymnastics championships into their very own bash.

September 3  

American women lead Chinese after gymnastics worlds qualifying  The Associated Press
There were no medals awarded for this performance. Still, what a great night for the Americans to say they have the best gymnastics team in the world. From Nastia Liukin's graceful comeback to Alicia Sacramone's "Remember Me?" floor routine, the U.S. women set themselves up as the team to beat at these world championships in Stuttgart, Germany — and maybe next year in the Beijing Olympics, too — with a razor-sharp and nearly mistake-free romp through the gym in qualifying Sunday.

August 25  

Grabbing the rings?  Blue Springs Examiner
While most 14-year-olds are excited about their first year of high school, one Blue Springs freshman is sitting in a Houston airport, awaiting her flight to Stuttgart, Germany. Ivana Hong, who trains at Great American Gymnastic Express in Blue Springs, is headed to the world championships in Stuttgart.

August 23  

Gymnast spurned by the Soviets  Associated Press Sports
The family sat in the airport, minutes away from its long-awaited exodus out of a country that never felt like home. But first, one more insult - this one in the form of a decision no kid should have to make. There were two boxes, one filled with the mother's most expensive jewelry and keepsakes, the other with the medals the daughter had won during her successful but unappreciated gymnastics career in the Soviet Union.

August 20  

Hong makes world team  Blue Springs Examiner
Shawn Johnson parked herself on Alicia Sacramone's lap to watch the end of the meet, looking every bit the kid she still is.Put her on the floor in a competition, though, and she clearly looks like a champion.

August 19  

Youth is served at women's US nationals  San Francisco Chronicle
This year is not one for the most experienced United States women gymnasts. After Saturday night's women's finals at the U.S. championships in San Jose, rookies, led by rising 15-year-old star Shawn Johnson, were selected to make up the majority of the team representing the U.S. at next month's world championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

August 17  

Gymnasts looking over their shoulders  San Jose Mercury News
Martha Karolyi calls it one of U.S. gymnastics' lucky little secrets. Others say it's the fickleness of a sport always yearning for the Next Big Thing. Whatever it is, some of the world's most accomplished female gymnasts couldn't fully enjoy their stardom Thursday night at the Visa Championships while facing challenges from the sport's new faces.

August 17  

Rookies lead way at championships  San Francisco Chronicle
It was the rookies who showed veterans the way as Shawn Johnson and Ivana Hong were in first and second place after the first day of the U.S. championships at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Both are competing in their first senior national event.

August 17  

Rookies lead way at championships  San Francisco Chronicle
It was the rookies who showed veterans the way as Shawn Johnson and Ivana Hong were in first and second place after the first day of the U.S. championships at HP Pavilion in San Jose. Both are competing in their first senior national event.

August 16  

Balance of Power  Los Angeles Times
Ivana Hong is only 14 years old yet is already fluent in three languages -- English, Chinese and Vietnamese -- and is rapidly learning Spanish. Then again, what she heard while competing last month at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro was clear in any language.