CBC SPORTS ONLINE - Double Commonwealth Games champion Kyle Shewfelt of Calgary received a giant international acknowledgement as he was named to the World All Star team for the inaugural T.J. Maxx International Gymnastics Challenge this Thursday at Anaheim, California.
Kyle Shewfelt on the parallel bars at the Commonwealth Games. (CP Photo) "I'm pretty excited about it," said Shewfelt, who'll compete on the floor exercise and high bar at the competition. "It was a surprise for me, but I think it puts me up there in that class of gymnasts."
The competition pits the world all-stars against the United States. It will serve as a test event for the 2003 World Championships, which are scheduled for Anaheim's Arrowhead Pond.
Shewfelt will rub shoulders with several superstars such as world and Olympic champions Alexei Nemov of Russia, Jordan Jovtchev of Bulgaria and Alexander Beresh of the Ukraine.
"I've competed against these guys for the last three years, and I respect them a lot," said Shewfelt, who took a vacation after his superb performance at the Commonwealth Games last month. "It'll be an honour to be on their team. I think I can learn some things even in a one-day competition."
Shewfelt's international reputation has been on the rise since an impressive 12th-place finish at the 2000 Olympics on the floor. The 20-year-old is also a four-time World Cup medallist, including two at the most recent World Cup in Cottbus, Germany.
In Manchester last month at the Commonwealth Games, he delivered under pressure as the favourite to win the vault and floor events.
NBC is scheduled to broadcast a taped version of the event on November 24, 2002.
Courtesy of Canadian Sport News