Sept. 10, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Competing against the top still rings performers in the world, Penn State men's gymnastics coach Kevin Tan shined, placing fourth in the event in the individual finals of the 2007 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany on Saturday. With his impressive effort, Tan moves one step closer to earning a spot on Team USA for the 2008 Summer OIympics in Beijing, China.
The six-time All-American received a score of 16.325 for his performance, finishing behind only Yibing Chen of China (16.700), Yuri Van Gelder of the Netherlands (16.625), and Bulgaria's Jordan Jovtchev (16.575). In March, Tan bested Jovtchev, an Olympic silver medalist in 2004, to win the still rings title at the prestigious French International World Cup - Paris-Bercy in Paris, France.
Tan was just one of three Americans to advance to the individual event finals at the world championships and tied with former Minnesota gymnast Guillermo Alvarez (fourth, floor exercise) for the top place among U.S. qualifiers.
Earlier in the week, Tan helped Team USA secure a fourth place finish in the team finals of the world championships and qualify the U.S. men's team for the 2008 Olympics.
Tan will bid to qualify for the team that will represent the United States at next year's Beijing Olympics at the U.S. Olympic Trials, scheduled for June 19-22 in Philadelphia, Pa.