Boston-area’s Raisman selected to compete in 2010 Tyson American Cup

Come see Boston-area’s Raisman compete in 2010 Tyson American Cup

Worcester, MA, March 2, 2010 – Alexandra Raisman of Needham, MA, is the final U.S. woman to accept an invitation to compete in the 2010 Tyson American Cup. Raisman, who trains at Brestyan’s American Gymnastics, joins 2009 World all-around silver-medalist Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas; 2010 Winter Cup Challenge all-around champion Chris Brooks of Houston; and 2008 Olympic horizontal bar silver-medalist, 2009 U.S. all-around champion and two-time Tyson American Cup champion Jonathan Horton of Houston, Texas, in representing the USA on March 6 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass.

Raisman, who moved to the senior level this year, won the vault and floor exercise titles at the 2009 Junior Pan American Championships and finished third in the all-around; she also helped the U.S. win the team gold medal. She was third in the junior all-around at the 2009 Visa Championships, where she placed second on the balance beam.

The Tyson American Cup features a mix of the world’s top gymnasts and rising stars. Reigning Tyson American Cup champion and 2008 Olympic horizontal bar bronze-medalist Fabian Hambuechen of Germany highlights the international field at the Tyson American Cup that consists of seven 2008 Olympians and three 2009 World medalists, including 2009 World all-around silver-medalist Daniel Keatings of Great Britain, 2009 World vault silver-medalists Ariella Kaeslin of Switzerland and Flavius Koczi of Romania, 2009 World all-around fifth-place finisher Maxim Devyatovsky of Russia, 2009 World vault-finalist Elsa Garcia of Mexico, and World Cup floor exercise bronze-medalist Elisabeth Seitz of Germany. Two U.S. alternates have also been named: 2009 World horizontal bar fourth-place finisher Danell Leyva of Miami, and 2009 U.S. floor exercise bronze-medalist Kytra Hunter of San Antonio, Texas.

The entire field, representing 11 countries, is listed below.

Women

Canada, Dominique Pegg

Germany, Elisabeth Seitz

Japan, Yuko Shintake

Mexico, Elsa Garcia

Switzerland, Ariella Kaeslin

Venezuela, Jessica Lopez

United States, Rebecca Bross

United States, Alexandra Raisman

Alt. United States, Kytra Hunter

Men

Colombia, Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez

Germany, Fabian Hambuechen

Great Britain, Daniel Keatings

Japan, Koji Yamamuro

Romania, Flavius Koczi

Russia, Maxim Devyatovsky

United States, Chris Brooks

United States, Jonathan Horton

Alt. United States, Danell Leyva

Tickets, which range from $35-125, are still on sale and can be purchased through Ticketmaster by phone at 800-745-3000; online at www.ticketmaster.com; at all Ticketmaster outlets; or at the DCU Center Ticket Office. Visa is the preferred method of payment.