Sooners Take Olympic Dreams to St. Louis

June 6, 2012

NORMAN, Okla. - With less than two months remaining before the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the United States draws closer to determining its lineup for men's gymnastics.

The next step for selecting the U.S. National Team is the 2012 Visa Championships, June 7-9, in St. Louis, Mo., at Chaifetz Arena.

Gymnasts' performances at the Visa Championships will determine the final field of competitors for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif., beginning June 28.

Sooner junior Jake Dalton will join Oklahoma letterwinners Alex Naddour (2010-2011), Steven Legendre (2008-2011), Chris Brooks (2006-2009) and 2008 Olympian Jonathan Horton (2005-2008) in the field of 43 competitors. Freshman Dylan Akers was scheduled to participate but will not compete due to injury.

Dalton, the 2012 NCAA all-around and parallel bars champion, claimed national titles at last year's Visa Championships on vault and floor. In April, Dalton became the first gymnast in OU history to earn All-America honors on six events (all-around, floor, rings, vault, parallel bars, high bar) in one season. Through three seasons at Oklahoma, Dalton boasts 13 All-America honors and four individual national titles.

In addition to his strong showing at the NCAA Championship, Dalton also won conference titles on all-around, parallel bars, high bar and rings. Following the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championship, Dalton was named the conference's Gymnast of the Year.

Legendre, who competed for OU from 2008-2011, served this past season as an undergraduate volunteer assistant and trained with OU Head Coach Mark Williams in preparation for the Olympic qualifying process. The 2011 Nissen-Emery Award winner and 2009 NCAA all-around champion, Legendre owns Oklahoma records for career NCAA individual titles at six, a mark previously held by Olympian Horton. Legendre is also a 12-time All-American.

Sooner gymnasts posted a strong showing at last year's Visa Championships with Dalton, Legendre, Naddour, Brooks and Horton all qualifying for the 2011 U.S. World Championship Team. Team USA took bronze in last October's World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, which qualified the United States for the team portion of men's gymnastics at the 2012 Olympic Games.

"The Visa Championships are half of the qualification for the Olympic team," said Williams. "Steve and Jake have prepared in excellent fashion. I expect them both to advance to the Olympic Trials in good positions."

Similar to how the NCAA Championships highlight the top collegiate gymnasts, the Visa Championships showcase the top American senior-level gymnasts in all of U.S.A. gymnastics. The event also determines the 15-member U.S. Senior National Team. In an Olympic year, the championship has the added importance of deciding the field for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

The U.S. Olympic Trials are set for June 28-July 1 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The five men who will represent the United States in London will be determined by the Trials, subject to the approval of the U.S. Olympic Committee's board of directors.

NBC Sports will broadcast live coverage of the final day of the men's competition, June 9 from 12-2:30 p.m. CT. Live scoring will be available at www.usagym.org/visa.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Take Olympic Dreams to St. Louis

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