China tops medals tally at test event
China’s Ye Fan took first place in the women’s balance beam yesterday as part of a solid performance by her country in the Athens International Tournament, which also served as a test event for the August 13-29 Olympics. Chinese gymnasts took three gold and one silver in the competition to lead the medals table. Fan had a score of 9.700 – ahead of Australian Monette Russo with 9.612 and Russia’s Anna Pavlova with 9.600. In the men’s vault, Romanian Slariu Razvan Dorin won the gold with 9.518. Bulgaria’s Filip Yanev was second with 9.424 and Latvia’s Evgeni Sapronenko finished third with 9.349. Kensuke Murata of Japan won the gold in the men’s parallel bar competition with 9.675, while his countryman Daisuke Nakano took the silver with 9.625. American Alexander Artemev finished third with 9.587. Greece’s Vlasis Maras won the men’s horizontal bar with an impressive 9.800. France’s Maree Florent got 9.687 and Artemev finished third with 9.662. In the women’s floor competition, Spain’s Elena Gomez finished first with 9.562. Romania’s Andreea Aura Munteanu won the silver with 9.550 and Russia’s Natalia Ziganchina got 9.462. On Saturday, the Chinese team snatched two of the five golds. Qin Xiao got 9.825 in the men’s pommel horse – the highest score in all of the day’s competitions – with Ya Li taking top place in the women’s uneven bars with 9.650. Greece’s Dimosthenis Tambakos brought a home crowd to its feet after dominating the rings and finishing first with 9.787. Romania’s Razvan Dorin Selariou came in second with 9.612, followed by France’s Pierre Yves Beny with 9.587. (AP)
