Liukin and Memmel Tie in Honolulu (18th April, 2006)

Nastia Liukin and Chellsie Memmel tied for the all-around title at the 2006 Pacific Alliance Gymnastics Championships at the Neil Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The US women won the team title with 183.150 points over Australia, 177.050 points. Canada, with 172.050, finished third.

With the night’s highest uneven bars score of 15.950, Liukin had scored enough points to overcome a stumble on floor in the final rotation on a 1 ½ twist to a punch front. Her beam score, 15.600 points, helped to take her all-around total to 61.050 points.‘Most of my routines are really new since Worlds,’ Liukin said. ‘I just think I need a little more time with them to be consistent.’

This was Chellsie Memmel’s first competition under the new Code of Points and her first since minor ankle surgery. The 2005 World all-around champion trailed Liukin heading into her final apparatus, the floor exercise. Except for vault, all of Memmel’s scores ranked among the top three. She earned the night’s highest floor score, 15.450, with good landings on all of her difficult tumbling passes, including a high straight and a pass including two whip backs into an Arabian double front.

‘I didn’t think I was that close to Nastia going into floor so I didn’t really think about winning,’ Memmel said. ‘I’m just really happy with my floor performance and happy to be back competing again.’

Jana Bieger came third but because only two athletes per country are eligible for medals, Australia’s Hollie Dykes received the bronze medal.