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Ivana Hong Ivana Hong on the Balance Beam Personal information Full name: Ivana Hong Country Represented:  United States Date of birth: December 11, 1992 (1992-12-11) (age 17) Place of birth: Worcester, Massachusetts Discipline: Women's artistic gymnastics Level: Senior International Elite Club: WOGA Head coach(es): Valeri Liukin Assistant coach(es): Natalya Marakova Former coach(es): Al Fong, Armine Barutian-Fong Music: Armenian Duduk (2008), My Sweet and Tender Beast (2009)

Medal record Gymnastics World Championships Gold 2007 Stuttgart Team Bronze 2009 London Balance Beam Pan American Games Gold Rio de Janeiro 2007 Team Bronze Rio de Janeiro 2007 All-Around

Ivana Hong (born December 11, 1992 in Worcester, Massachusetts) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the gold medal American team at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the all-around bronze medalist at the 2007 Pan American Games. Hong was named an alternate to the 2008 U.S. Olympic team and was a member of the U.S. Women's Team in the 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in London.

Hong is of Chinese ancestry^[1]. Hong lived in Blue Springs, Missouri, and trained at Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE) for four years.^[2] She currently trains under Valeri Liukin at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA).^[3]

Contents 1 Career 2 Routines 2.1 Vault 2.2 Uneven bars 2.3 Balance Beam 2.4 Floor Exercise 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Career

Hong qualified to Junior Elite status in 2004 and made the United States Junior National Championships at age eleven. While she was not successful in making the national team, she had nonetheless made her mark on the United States gymnastics scene. A year later, she qualified to the national team. She did so again in 2006, earning a solid 5th place in the all-around and a bronze medal on beam.

Hong became a Senior International Elite in 2007. She was part of the American team which won gold in the Pan-American Games in Brazil. Hong also won a bronze medal in the all-around at this competition. Hong's strong showing at this competition and the U.S. Nationals qualified her to the World Championships team where she again won gold as a member of the United States team.^[4]

Hong earned a spot on the 2008-2009 U.S. Senior National team^[5], and competed for a spot on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Hong offered clean lines and tremendous form throughout the selection process, but did not earn a particularly high mark on any of the four pieces of apparatus, making it difficult for her to contribute in the team finals format where only the top three gymnasts on each event compete. Hong's skill as an all-around athlete without a weak event enabled her to be named, along with Jana Bieger and Corrie Lothrop, as one of three alternates for the U.S. Olympic team.^[6]

Following the Olympics, Hong left her former gym and moved to WOGA to train with Valeri Liukin.

Hong finished second in the all-around at the 2009 U. S. National Championships with a total score of 117.250 in Dallas, Texas. Ivana also won the national title on balance beam with a total score of 30.350 (15.150 on Day 1 and 15.200 on Day 2.) She also won the vault, scoring 14.700 on Day 1 and 15.250 on Day 2 (total 29.950) to edge out Bridget Sloan by a 0.05 margin.

At the 2009 World Championships in London, Ivana scored a 14.550 on balance beam to win the bronze medal on the event. This accomplishment made medalists of all four American gymnasts (Bridget Sloan, Kayla Williams and Rebecca Bross in addition to Hong) in the women's competition.

[edit] Routines

[edit] Vault

Double Twist Yurchenko

-5.8 Difficulty (D) Score

[edit] Uneven bars

Mount on LB; Pike stalder 1/2 (D) Endo 1/2 (C) Toe shoot to HB (B); Pike stalder 1/1 (E) Tkachev (D) +0.2 Connection; Kip, cast to HS 1/2, Giant (B) Toe on 1/1 (D) Bail to HS on LB (D) Stalder shoot to HB [Ray] (C) +0.2; Giant, Giant, Double layout dismount (D)

6.0 D Score

[edit] Balance Beam

Press to Handstand mount (B); Front aerial (D) Backhandspring (B) Layout stepout (C) +0.2; Full turn with leg at horizontal (C); Switch leap (C) Back tuck (C) +0.1; Onodi (D) Sheep jump (D) +0.1; Aerial cartwheel (D); Switch ring (E); Side somi (D); Split jump (A) Wolf jump (A); Backhandsrping (B) Backhandspring to 2 feet (B) Double pike (E) +0.2

6.4 D Score (there are times when Ivana fails to get credit for her switch ring leap, which is seen as a switch leap so no credit is given. This drops her D score to 6.2)

[edit] Floor Exercise

Pike full-in (E); 1-1/2 (C) Rudi (C) +0.1; Split leap 1/1 (C); Double turn with leg at horizontal (D); Switch ring (C)...Switch side 1/2 (C); 2-1/2 (D) Front layout (B) +0.1

5.5 D Score

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ivana Hong

• Ivana Hong's Official Website
• Ivana Hong at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique
• Ivana Hong at USA Gymnastics

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