Acapulco Welcomes 2nd Mexican Gymnastics Open Amanda Turner - International Gymnast Magazine
go to original October 1, 2012

Reigning European all-around Russia champion Anna Dementyeva (Reuters)

Gymnasts from eight nations will be warmly welcomed to sunny Acapulco for next month's Mexican Open, says event organizer Estela de la Torre Borja.

"We welcome all the gymnasts, coaches and judges from all over the world with a big hug and a big smile and treat them so they feel like they are at home," Borja said.

The men's lineup includes Sergio Sasaki (Brazil), Jorge Hugo Giraldo (Colombia), Daniel Purvis (Great Britain), Mattia Tamiazzo (Italy), Luis Sosa (Mexico) and David Belyavsky (Russia).

The women's competition roster consists of Georgia-Rose Brown (Australia), Jessica Gil (Colombia), Chiara Gandolfi (Italy), Ana Lago and Yessenia Estrada (Mexico), Anna Dementyeva (Russia), and Kennedy Baker and Brenna Dowell (USA).

The competition includes the Junior Mexican Cup on Oct. 11, followed by the international event Oct. 12-13. The international event features both an all-around competition and mixed-pairs event. This year's event also will feature special awards for the winners of each apparatus.

At the inaugural Mexican Open in December 2011, Russia's Ksenia Afanasyeva and American Danell Leyva captured the all-around titles. Purvis — a member of the bronze-medal winning British team at this summer's Olympic Games in London — took second behind Leyva and is back again this year.

The unique format of dividing the all-around competition into two days takes pressure off the gymnasts, said Borja, a 1980 Mexican Olympian.

"Artistic gymnastic has been increasing a lot in difficulty," she said. "This is great for the sport but this causes a lot of mistakes with the pressure of the event. For example at the London Olympics, many great gymnasts made a lot of mistakes for this reason. For sure gymnastics in the future has to continue increasing the level and the gymnasts will try to be as perfect as they can with this high difficulty."

The competition takes place at the Fairmont Acapulco Princess Hotel & Resort, located on the city's famous beach.

"It's also a great event because we have the competition arena at the resort, so the gymnasts don't have to spend the week moving from one place to another," Borja said.

Borja said she and the event sponsors hope the competition will continue to grow in prestige.

"Grupo Pegaso and The Mexican Open are working very hard to have the best all-around level like a World Cup," she said.

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