Alabama Gymnastics' Shallon Olsen Qualifies for Finals at World Championships
10/29/2018 5:52:00 PM | Gymnastics
The Crimson Tide freshman qualified for Tuesday’s team finals with Canada and Friday and Saturday’s individual finals in the vault
DOHA, QATAR – Alabama gymnast Shallon Olsen made a splash during the qualifying round of the 2018 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships taking place in Doha, Qatar this week.
Olsen helped lead Canada to the finals of the team competition, which will take place Tuesday. Team Canada is in fourth place after the qualifying round, just behind China. The United States finished first out of qualify while Russia is second and Brazil rounds out the top five.
A 2016 Olympian, Olsen is in second place in the vault after qualifying for event finals with a score of 14.55. The United States' Simone Biles has the lead in the vault after scoring a 15.67 during qualifying.
"We are so proud of Shallon," UA head coach Dana Duckworth said. "She's training and competing with confidence right now and it brings all of us joy to see her share her enthusiasm with the world as she performs on the biggest stage. We can't wait to cheer her on throughout this week."
While the team competition finishes up Tuesday, the individual event finals are Friday and Saturday.
Olsen finished eighth on the vault at the Rio Olympics. She also finished seventh on the vault and 16th on the floor exercise at the 2017 World Championships.
A member of the Canadian national team since 2010, Olsen earned gold on the vault at the 2016 Pacific Rim Championships, leading Team Canada to the silver medal. She also earned a silver medal on the floor exercise and a bronze on the vault at the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships while leading Canada to team silver.
Olsen and her Crimson Tide teammates open the 2019 season on January 4 in a quad meet with SEMO, Northern Illinois and Temple. Season tickets are available through the Alabama Ticket Office (205.348.2262) located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum.
For all the latest information on Alabama gymnastics, follow BamaGymnastics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and head coach Dana Duckworth on Twitter and Instagram at @UACoachDana.
