Chris Cameron (born January 16, 1989) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which assigns the '' Code of Points'' used ...

. Competing for the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, he won the individual all-around title at the 2010

NCAA Men's Gymnastics championship The NCAA men's gymnastics championships are contested at an annual competition sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team and individual national champions of men's collegiate gymnastics among its member prog ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

Biography

Early years

Cameron's hometown is

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...

, where he attended Lake Region High School. He enrolled at the

in 2007. As a freshman in the spring of 2008, Cameron was named an Academic All-American by the College Gymnastics Association. At the 2008

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

championship, he tied for third on

pommel horse The pommel horse, also known as vaulting horse, is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal bo ...

with a score of 14.850.

2009 NCAA season

As a sophomore in 2009, Cameron won his first individual all-around title at the Windy City Invitational on January 17, 2009. He followed with an all-around title at the Pacific Coast Classic on February 21, 2009, with a score of 89.750. At the Big Ten Conference team championship on April 3, 2009, he finished second to teammate Thomas Kelley in the all-around competition. At the NCAA finals on April 17, 2009, he helped Michigan to a second-place finish in the team competition with career bests on

floor exercise In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, considered an apparatus. The floor exercise (English abbreviation FX) is the event performed on the floor, in both women's and men's artistic gymnastics (WAG and MAG). The same flo ...

(15.650) and pommel horse (15.300) -- earning NCAA All-American status in both events. Cameron was also named to U.S. senior men's national team following the Winter Cup Invitational at the Las Vegas Sports Center on February 9, 2009. He was the first Michigan Wolverine gymnast to make the national team since Scott Vetere in 1999–2000. After the selection, Cameron told a reporter, "It was the most exhilarating and unbelievable thing I've felt in my entire life. I could not believe what had happened."

2010 NCAA season

As a junior in 2010, Cameron was again named to the senior national team after placing third in the all-around at the Winter Cup Invitational in Las Vegas on February 6, 2010. At the Big Ten championship in early April 2010, Cameron won the all-around competition and floor exercise. He was also named the Big Ten Gymnast of the Year. After Cameron won the Big Ten title, Michigan coach Kurt Golder told a reporter, "I think he just has an inner drive to succeed and become the best gymnast he can become. It's really hard to find, and we're fortunate at Michigan to have a guy that's driven that hard." Teammate Thomas Kelley added, "He's more dedicated than any other gymnast I've ever met. He's got that little extra drive and little extra confidence that I think a lot of us aspire to have in our gymnastics. Just to go out, and know that you're going to hit no matter what. Chris doesn't waver. He's always rock solid."

2010 NCAA individual and team championships

On April 16, 2010, Cameron won the individual all-around title and led Michigan to the team championship at the

Christl Arena Edward C. Christl Jr. Arena is a 5,043-seat, multi-purpose arena in West Point, New York. It was built in 1985 as part of the Major Donald W. Holleder Center, which also houses Tate Rink. It is home to the United States Military Academy's Army B ...

. Cameron won the all-around title with 90.500 points, including 15.600 on the floor, 15.450 on rings and

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

, 15.150 on

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars approximately long and positioned at above the floor. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally wear ...

, 15.050 on pommel horse and a 13.800 on the

horizontal bar The horizontal bar, also known as the high bar, is an apparatus used by male gymnasts in artistic gymnastics. It traditionally consists of a cylindrical metal (typically steel) bar that is rigidly held above and parallel to the floor by a syst ...

. His score was 1.55 points ahead of second-place finisher Steven Legendre. Cameron's Michigan teammate Mel Anton Santander finished third in the all-around. After winning the all-around title, Cameron told ''International Gymnast Magazine'', "It's been a lot of hard work, and all I can say is I couldn't dream of a better way to do it. I wouldn't want to do all-around if it was going to hurt the team. But it just so happens I can help the team by doing all-around tonight. I did it, I won, we won. There's nothing better than this." In an interview with ''

The Michigan Daily ''The Michigan Daily'', also known as "''The Daily''", is the independent student newspaper of the University of Michigan published in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Established on September 29, 1890, the newspaper is financially and editorially independe ...

'', he added, "I usually grasp everything I've done right away. Not this. This hasn't hit me yet." After winning the NCAA all-around title, Cameron was scheduled to compete with the US national team at the Pan Pacific championships in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung/ or ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second most-populous city in Australia, after Sydney. The city's name generally refers to a metropolitan area also known ...

, starting on April 23, 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Chris 1989 births Living people American male artistic gymnasts Michigan Wolverines men's gymnasts Sportspeople from Winter Haven, Florida