While World Selection Camp was taking place in the U.S., another worldwide gymnastics event was taking place in Guimarães, Portugal. The seventh and final World Challenge Cup competition in this series happened over the last four days, and gymnasts showed up from Canada, Croatia, Finland, Mexico, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and South Africa. 

Paula Mejías of Puerto Rico took first on vault, as we predicted she might, due to her strong tumbling skills on vault and floor. Tijana Tkalčec took second, competing for Croatia, while Sophie Marois of Canada came in third. 

Mexico was awarded the top two podium spots for uneven bars, which went to Frida Esparaza and Elsa García, respectively. Esparaza’s routine ended up in first place not only due to her difficulty, but her clean lines and fluid connections, as seen below. Portugal’s Ana Filipa Martins came behind them in third.

Martins also won beam, tied with Croatia’s Ana Đerek. (Please note, the video below is not Martins routine at this competition, but an earlier World Cup this season.) Đerek only competed on beam and floor at this meet, and she won a medal on floor as well, taking third. Her best event is usually floor, so to place ahead on beam is unusual, especially taking first place! Due to the first place tie, there was no second place on beam. Bronze on beam went to Sophie Marois, giving her two third-place finishes in this meet, and both of Canada’s medals for the competition. 

Mexican gymnasts once again dominated on floor, taking the top two podium spots like they did on bars, however, this time it was Ana Lago taking first on floor and Anapaula Gutiérrez in second. Đerek rounded out the floor podium in third. 

In the end, Mexico won the most medals, scoring four during this weekend’s competition. Croatia took home three, while Canada and Portugal both scored two, and Puerto Rico took home one medal. Finland and South Africa both went home without any hardware. Mexico also won the highest amount of gold medals, winning two, while Croatia, Portugal, and Puerto Rico each had one. Although the World Challenge Cups are over, next up for artistic gymnastics in this series is the 2019 Cottbus World Cup, taking place in late November.