AMANDA TURNER:
… African championships is the first of five continental qualifications events this spring for artistic gymnastics …
Each of the five regions can secure a specific number of berths to the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. The artistic gymnastics competition — for female gymnasts born in 1999 and male gymnasts born in 1997 and 1998 — takes place Aug. 17-24 at the Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium.
The inaugural Youth Summer Olympiad took place in 2010 in Singapore, where Viktoria Komova (Russia) and Yuya Kamoto (Japan) were crowned as the first Youth Olympic all-around champions …
Click through for details on how athletes qualify. Africa, for example, could send 4 MAG, 4 WAG.
On Thursday, Egypt dominated day one of the African championships. In the junior men’s competition, the Egyptian men won the team title over South Africa and Morocco. Egypt’s Ahmeed Youssef (76.000) topped teammate Ahmed Amin (75.133) to take the junior all-around title. South Africa’s Muhammad Khaalid Mia (73.433) won the bronze. …
Egypt can send 1 male gymnast. South Africa one, most likely Muhammad Mia.
Of course those nominations must be approved by the Egyptian and South African Olympic Committees. That’s not guaranteed.
Steve Penny says that USA, again, will not send a female gymnast to YOG. When is Marta going to retire? 😦
