06/20/2001

Top Names Confirmed, Prize Money Announced for
Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition
Officials Announce $286,000 (USD) Prize Purse

The top artistic and rhythmic gymnasts and trampolinists in the world representing Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, the United States and Uzbekistan will compete for a prize purse of $286,000 (USD) at this year's Goodwill Games competition in Brisbane, Australia, officials announced today. The trampoline, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics competition is scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 2 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Center and will be broadcast live on Turner Network Television (TNT).

Five-time U.S. National Champion, two-time Olympian and 2001 Goodwill Games featured athlete Blaine Wilson is one of the gymnasts confirmed to represent the United States. In addition to Wilson, also confirmed to participate are eight-time Goodwill Games medalist and 12-time Olympic medalist Aleksei Nemov (Russia), two-time Goodwill Games and Olympic gold medalist Svetlana Khorkina (Russia), 1998 Goodwill Games all-around champion and Olympian Ivan Ivankov (Belarus), 2000 Olympic silver medalist Andrea Raducan (Romania), 2000 Olympic all-around bronze medalist Oleksandr Beresch (Ukraine), Olympians Paul and Morgan Hamm (United States), two-time US Jr. National Champion Kristal Uzelac (United States), and Olympian Morgan White (United States). Raducan will return to Australia for the first time since she was stripped of her all-around Olympic gold medal for a doping violation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

"I'm looking forward to competing at the 2001 Goodwill Games and once again representing the United States in Australia," said Blaine Wilson. "I want to do my best against the greatest gymnasts in the world."

The 2001 Goodwill Games will be the first elite international multi-sport event to feature the new vault apparatus. The entire apparatus has been redesigned and will now be the same for both men and women.

The artistic gymnastics competition will feature 12 events. The men's events include all-around, floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, and high bar. The women's events include all-around, vault, uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. The prize purse will be divided among the 12 places in the men's and women's all-around event (first place $20,000 USD) and the eight places in the men's and women's individual events (first place $ 6,000 USD). The rhythmic gymnastic competition will feature five events. They include all-around, hoop, clubs, ball, and rope. The prize purse will be divided among the eight places in the all-around and the individual events (first place $ 6,000 USD). The prize purse for the trampoline competition will be divided between the top eight places for both the men's and women's individual events (first place $ 3,000 USD).

The Goodwill Games, Aug. 29-Sept. 9, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, will feature 14 sports: athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, cycling (track), diving, figure skating, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, trampoline, triathlon, weightlifting and surf lifesaving. The Goodwill Games were founded by AOL Time Warner Vice Chairman R.E. Turner in 1986 to ensure that the world's best athletes have the opportunity to compete in world-class competition. Goodwill Games, Inc. is a division of Turner Sports, the sports Programming and production business unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

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