Visa Championships • San Jose, Calif.

USA Gymnastics

Aug. 13, 2007

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois assistant coach Justin Spring and soon-to-be senior Wes Haagensen will proudly be carrying the Illini flag this week as they head to the 2007 Visa Championships Aug. 15-18 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. With the 2008 Olympic Games a year away, the Visas is the place to see the USA's best gymnastic stars, all of whom are vying for coveted US titles and a berth on the 2007 World Championships Team.

"On the men's side, we've got a great group of guys," Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics said. "They're young with incredible potential. Anything can happen with this very deep field of athletes."

Each competitor is competing for a spot on the US senior national 15-member squad, which from that roster is chosen the 2007 World Championships team - equivalent to an Olympic team in an Olympic year.

The 2007 World Championships also mark another milestone in preparations for Beijing, as it serves as the qualification for the 2008 Olympics, with only the top-12 teams advancing to compete for the Gold.

In the men's field, Spring, who won the US's first gold medal in 16 years at the Pan American Games, joins 2003 world all-around and floor exercise champion Paul Hamm of Waukesha, Wis., and 2001 world parallel bars champion Sean Townsend of Houston. The world medalists also include 2006 world pommel horse bronze-medalist Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo., 2001 and 2003 world team silver-medalist Raj Bhavsar of Houston and 2003 world team silver-medalist Morgan Hamm of Waukesha, Wis.

Haagensen, who is vying for his first selection to the US senior national team of his career, will look to use his collegiate experience that includes six All-America laurels to his advantage at the competition.

The three Olympians that will be in attendance are 2004 Olympic all-around champion and team silver-medalist Paul Hamm, 2004 Olympic team silver-medalist Morgan Hamm and 2000 Olympian Townsend.

The Visa Championships also feature 14 medalists fresh from their success at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The United States claimed 16 medals in artistic gymnastics (six gold, seven silver and three bronze) and five in rhythmic gymnastics (two gold and three silver).

The senior men qualified for the Visa Championships via several different avenues: a member of the current senior national team; finished in the top six from the USA in the all-around at the 2007 NCAA Championships; the top 24 athletes from the U.S. Men's Qualifier based on the approved points system; and the top three athletes on each event at the U.S. Men's Qualifier. Some athletes successfully petitioned the Men's Program Committee for inclusion. The qualification options for the juniors were based on performances at the 2007 Winter Cup Challenge, 2007 Men's Junior Olympic National Championships and the 2007 U.S. Men's Qualifier.

Visa Championships tickets for men and women's artistic and rhythmic/acrobatic gymnastics are on sale now at the HP Pavilion at the San Jose Ticket Office; all Ticketmaster locations, charge by phone at (408) 998-TIXS; or online at www.ticketmaster.com. NBC Sports is broadcasting action from the women's competition on a same weekend, tape-delayed basis during prime time. Coverage from the men's competition airs on Sept. 9.

At the HP Pavilion at San Jose, the artistic gymnastics competition schedule for the Visa Championships is: Wednesday, Aug. 15 - 1 p.m., junior men's all-around and event finals, and 7 p.m., senior men's first day of competition; Thursday, Aug. 16 - 1 p.m., junior women's first day of competition, and 7 p.m., senior women's first day of competition; Friday, Aug. 17 - 7 p.m., senior men's final day of competition; and Saturday, Aug. 18 - 1 p.m., junior women's final day of competition, and 6 p.m., senior women's final day of competition.

For continued coverage of Spring and Haagensen and the rest of the USA's top gymnasts, visit www.fightingillini.com or the official Visa Championships web site at http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/events/2007/championships.