Samuel Mikulak reacts after competing in the Men's Vault at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics All-Around World Cup Tokyo on April 7, 2019 in Tokyo.
U.S. gymnasts got a clean sweep at the fourth and final stop in the world cup all-around series with Morgan Hurd and Sam Mikulak taking first place in the all-around competitions Sunday in Tokyo.
Hurd, the 2017 world all-around champion, edged Canada’s Elsabeth Black for the women’s title. Her total score of 55.099 was .067 ahead of Black’s, buoyed by the top score on the floor exercise with a 13.633. Hurd also had the best score on the uneven bars and was the only gymnast to crest 14.000 with a score of 14.300. Her vault scored a third-best 14.233 and her beam routine earned 12.933. Japan’s Asuka Teramoto took the bronze medal at 54.799.
Mikulak finished with a score of 86.599 in the men’s competition. The two-time Olympian and five-time national champion had the best score of the night on the pommel horse with a 14.200 as well as the horizontal bar with a 14.766. He was also top three on floor, rings and parallel bars. Athletes from Japan took the next two spots, with Wataru Tanigawa winning silver and Kenzo Shirai the bronze.
The U.S. entered the weekend first in the women’s standings and third in the men’s. Sunday’s wins gave the U.S. the overall titles in both the men’s and women’s all-around. The women took first place in three of the four events, with Leanne Wong winning in Greensboro, North Carolina, Simone Biles getting the victory in Stuttgart, Germany, and Hurd’s victory in Tokyo. Grace McCallum and Riley McCusker both added silver medals to the U.S. women’s haul.
Yul Moldauer won gold for the men and Mikulak claimed silver in Greensboro.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
