Canadian men's gymnastic team set for historic competition in China - Interview Nathan Gafuik

KUNSHAN CITY, China -- The Canadian men's gymnastics team team goes up against China's  top competitors in an historic event on Sunday, May 8th in Kunshan City near Shanghai,  marking the first time a foreign gymnastics team will compete against China at their national championships.

The competition will be a major test on the road to the 2012 Summer Games for the rebuilding Canadian team anchored by Olympic veterans Nathan Gafuik of Calgary, Ken Ikeda of Abbotsford, B.C., and Brandon O'Neill of Edmonton.

Other members of the team gearing up for their first Olympics are Casey Sandy of Brampton, Ont., Kevin Lytwyn of Stoney Creek, Ont., Jason Scott of Richmond, B.C., Jackson Payne of Edmonton and Jayd Lukenchuk of Saskatoon.

"It's definitely a great honour for us to come to China and compete against their best guys," says Gafuik, Canada's best all around gymnast who also has one of the most difficult high bar routines in the world.

"China has a lot of Olympic and world champions and it's just a great experience to see how they run their national championships. When you make it to the national team in China you're a hero and for us to come in and to experience the atmosphere here is going to be really exciting."

Chinese gymnasts won nine gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, including both the men's and women's team competitions.

Gafuik and Payne will just compete in Sunday's team event before flying off to a World Cup meet in Moscow while the other members of the Canadian squad will be in running for one of two guaranteed spots in the individual all around final and one spot in each of six event finals next week.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Gafuik
• gymnastics
• 2012 Olympics