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French Finalize Olympic Squads
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Yann Cucherat

France named its final Olympic squads Sunday following the conclusion of the French Gymnastics Championships in Toulon.

2004 Olympian Marine Debauve and Kathleen Lindor will join the four members of the women's bronze medal-winning team from April's European Championships in Clermont-Ferrand, already named to the 2008 team: Laetitia Dugain, Pauline Morel, Marine Petit and Cassy Vericel. Rose-Eliandre Bellemare is the alternate.

The French men will be represented in Beijing by Pierre-Yves Beny, Benoît Caranobe, Yann Cucherat, Gael da Silva, Dmitry Karbanenko and Danny Rodrigues. Thomas Bouhail is the alternate.

Beny and Caranobe were members of France's ninth-place team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, while Cucherat and Karbanenko will be making their third straight Olympic appearances.

The French National Championships featured an open division, with four Chinese female guests and Slovenia's Mitja Petkovsek for the men.

The Chinese women dominated Sunday's finals, winning three of the four apparatus titles. (The highest French finisher earned the title of national champion.)

China's Cheng Fei won vault, showing a double-twisting Yurchenko and Yurchenko 2 1/2. Teammate Yang Yilin, who won the Open all-around title on Saturday, earned the highest score of the competition in Toulon on Sunday with a 16.825 on uneven bars.

On balance beam, Marine Petit gave the host team its only women's victory in the French Open category, edging China's Sui Lu in a tie break. Despite a fall on a sheep jump, Sui tied Petit with 15.350. Debauve, the 2005 European champion, showed a strong routine with a standing Arabian; punch front; ff two-foot layout; ff, ff 2 1/2 dismount) for third (15.325).

Jiang Yuyuan (1 1/2 to triple twist; tucked full-in; 2 1/2 twist; double pike) won floor exercise over 2007 world bronze medalist Cassy Vericel (piked Arabian double front; double layout; triple twist).

The French women's team will host Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland on June 28 in Vittel.

Marine Petit's bronze medal-winning floor routine

Click here to download detailed results.

2008 French Open/National Championships
June 15, 2008

Women's Vault
1. Cheng Fei CHN 15.275
2. Magaly Hars (Dunkerque) 14.088
3. Jiang Yuyuan CHN 13.000
4. Lindsay Lindor (Les Mureaux) 12.088

Uneven Bars
1. Yang Yilin CHN 16.825
2. Jiang Yuyuan CHN 15.675
3. Katheleen Lindor (Les Mureaux) 14.500
4. Pauline Morel (Dijon) 14.400
5. Cassy Vericel (Chassieu) 14.200
6. Marine Petit (Dijon) 14.075
7. Rose-Eliandre Bellemare (Rouen) 13.950

Balance Beam
1. Marine Petit (Dijon) 15.350
2. Sui Lu CHN 15.350
3. Marine Debauve (Dijon) 15.325
4. Yang Yilin CHN 15.325
5. Laetitia Dugain (St. Etienne) 14.875
6. Katheleen Lindor (Les Mureaux) 14.775
7. Pauline Morel (Dijon) 14.450

Women's Floor Exercise
1. Jiang Yuyuan CHN 15.425
2. Cassy Vericel (Chassieu) 15.000
3. Marine Petit (Dijon) 14.775
4. Pauline Morel (Dijon) 14.650
5. Laetitia Dugain (St. Etienne) 14.200
6. Yang Yilin CHN 13.750
7. Magaly Hars (Dunkerque) 13.025

Men's Floor Exercise
1. Gael Da Silva (Bourges) 15.300
2. Dmitry Karbanenko (Orleans) 14.800
3. Raphaël Wignanitz (Bourges) 14.750
4. Arnaud Willig (Sotteville) 13.750
5. Hamilton Sabot (Juan-Les-Pins) 13.200

Pommel Horse
1. Pierre-Yves Beny (Orléans) 14.900
2. Thomas Bouhail (Sotteville) 14.300
3. Arnaud Willig (Sotteville) 13.850
4. Florent Maree (Juan-Les-Pins) 13.450
5. Dmitry Karbanenko (Orléans) 13.350

Still Rings
1. Danny Rodrigues (Sotteville) 16.650
2. Gael Da Silva (Bourges) 14.950
3. Arnaud Willig (Sotteville) 14.750
4. Pierre-Yves Beny (Orléans) 14.750
5. Hamilton Sabot (Juan-Les-Pins) 14.450

Men's Vault
1. Thomas Bouhail (Sotteville) 16.425
2. Raphaël Wignanitz (Bourges) 15.975
3. Benoît Caranobe (Noisy-Le-Grand) 15.775
4. Samir Ait Said (Juan-Les-Pins) 14.875

Parallel Bars
1. Yann Cucherat (Lyon) 16.100
2. Dimitri Karbanenko (Orleans) 15.150
3. Gael Da Silva (Bourges) 15.050
4. Arnaud Willig (Sotteville) 14.750
5. Benoît Caranobe (Noisy-Le-Grand) 14.600
6. Mitja Petkovsek (Slovénie) 13.750

High Bar
1. Benoît Caranobe (Noisy-Le-Grand) 14.550
2. Gael Da Silva (Bourges) 14.400
3. Hamilton Sabot (Juan-Les-Pins) 14.300
4. Dmitry Karbanenko (Orleans) 14.150
5. Raphaël Wignanitz (Bourges) 13.000

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Debauve Details Diverse Ambitions (August 7, 2007)

IG Magazine Related Features
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2005 European Championships report, featuring Debauve (August/September 2005)
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"Lucky Charm" - Cheng cover story (January 2005)
"C'est La Vie" - Karbanenko cover story (May 1998)
"Declaration of Independence" - Petkovsek/Slovenian team feature (February 2001)



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