Antolin earns trip to World Championships

Gymnast Jeanette Antolin is making her way to China, and on her way

to making her dreams come true.

Last weekend, the Marina High senior earned a trip to the World

Championships by giving a strong performance at the U.S. World Team

Trials, which were held in Kansas City, Mo.

The prestigious World Championships are scheduled for October in

Tianjin, China.

Antolin, who trains at SCATS Gymnastics in Huntington Beach, is

currently the fifth-ranked gymnast in the nation. She placed second in

the All Around competition at the team trials, and earned a spot on the

seven-member U.S. squad.

Her spot on the U.S. World Championships Team is a first for

Antolin, who served as a team alternate during the 1997 competition.

Antolin, who will attend UCLA next year on scholarship, departed

for Allentown, Pa. on Monday, where she and the other six members of the

U.S. team will train for the next week in preparation for next month’s

World Championships.

Forty-two countries will compete in China, and the top 12 national

teams will advance to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

After the World Championships, Antolin will compete at next

summer’s USA Championships, and then it’s on to the Olympic Trials.

The top six gymnasts at the Olympic Trials will represent the U.S.

in Sydney.

‘Making the Olympic team has been a dream of mine for a long

time,’ said Antolin, who added that she tempers her excitement over her

current successes with a firm resolve. ‘I’m happy with what I’ve

accomplished so far, but I’m really concentrating on doing well in

practice. Staying focused at this point is the key.

‘However it (the Olympic team) turns out, I’ll be happy with what

I’ve done, because I know that I’ve given this my all - 100-percent - and

that’s all I can ask of myself. It’s an exciting time for me.’

The only drawback to competing in China, Antolin says, is that

‘I’ll miss our (Marina’s) homecoming. It’s my last year, so this is my

last homecoming.’

But for right now, Antolin has a dream to pursue.