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He Kexin is back; Samantha Shapiro makes a statement

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It is never too early to begin looking for the next crop of gymnastics stars. With that in mind, the U.S. women’s and men’s teams sent a group of budding stars last weekend to the Pan American Union Individual Event Championships in Rosario, Argentina.

Of note were the results of Samantha Shapiro of Los Angeles. The 15-year-old who trains with Mattie Larson at All Olympia Gymnastics Center finished first on balance beam with scores of 15.650 (preliminaries) and 15.775 (finals) and on uneven bars with scores of 15.475 and 15.425.

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Meanwhile, China’s He Kexin reportedly scored an eye-opening high score of 17.000 on this routine in Italy last weekend. He was the controversial winner of the Olympics uneven bars gold medal, when she beat Nastia Liukin because of a tie-breaking procedure. Her correct age was questioned throughout the Olympics.

-- Diane Pucin

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