Clare Brunson (born November 6, 1989) is a retired elite
acrobatic gymnast
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine ...
who competed as the top in a mixed-pair team with elite acrobatic gymnast
Michael Rodrigues Michael Rodrigues may refer to:
* Michael Rodrigues (politician) (born 1959), Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate
* Michael Rodrigues (table tennis), Pakistani table tennis player
* Michael Rodrigues (acrobatic gymnast)
Michael Rodrig ...
, also now retired.
Brunson and Rodrigues were the second U.S. mixed pair (after Arthur Davis and Shenea Booth) to medal at the
Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships The Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships are the World Championships for acrobatic gymnastics. Before 2006 they were known as the World Sports Acrobatics Championships.
Editions
Junior and Age Group
Championships:
1989 to 1999 : Junior
2 ...
, earning the bronze medal in the all-around at the 2006 World Championships in
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...
, Portugal.
Also in 2006, Rodrigues and Brunson won the all-around silver medal at the 2006 World Cup in
Puurs
Puurs () is a former municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. It is located in the Flemish Region. The municipality comprised the towns of Breendonk, Liezele, , Ruisbroek (old spelling: ''Ruysbroeck'') and Puurs proper. There ...
, Belgium, and they won the all-around, dynamic and balance at the U.S. National
Acrobatic Gymnastics
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine ...
Championships for the second straight year.
In 2005, Rodrigues and Brunson placed fourth all-around at the 2005
World Games
The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 ...
in
Duisburg
Duisburg () is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruhr Region, Duisburg is the 5th largest city in No ...
, Germany.
Brunson and Rodrigues also won their first national all-around title in 2005, placing first in the all-around, dynamic and balance at the 2005 U.S. National Championships in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
.
The pair trained together at Empire AcroGymnastics in
Riverside, California
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...
, Mission Hills Gymnastics, also in Riverside, and Realis Gymnastics Academy in
Moreno Valley, California
Moreno Valley is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, and is part of the Riverside–San Bernardino–Ontario metropolitan area. It is the second-largest city in Riverside County by population and one of the Inland Empire's ...
. Their coaches included Youri Vorobyev, who is now owner and head coach of Realis Gymnastics Academy.
Prior to her partnership with Rodrigues, Brunson also competed as the top in a mixed pair with elite acrobatic gymnast Kristopher Duncan (now retired). Brunson and Duncan trained together at Empire AcroGymnastics.
Brunson and Duncan placed second all-around in the 12–19 category at the 2004 International Age Group Games in
Liévin
Liévin (; pcd, Lévin; ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. The inhabitants are called ''Liévinois''.
Overview
The town of Liévin is an old mining area of Pas-de-Calais. Near Lens, this town is of modest size bu ...
, France.
The pair also placed second all-around at the U.S. National Championships in
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by la ...
, where they also earned second-place finishes in dynamic and balance.
Prior to her partnership with Duncan, Brunson competed as the top in a women’s pair with acrobatic gymnast Olivia Solo (now retired). In 2002, the pair won the all-around at the Flanders International Acro Cup in Puurs, and they placed second all-around at the 2002 World Age Group Games in
Riesa
Riesa is a town in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany. It is located on the river Elbe, approximately northwest of Dresden.
History
The name ''Riesa'' is derived from Slavic ''Riezowe''. This name, romanised as "Rezoa", appears first ...
, Germany.
Brunson and Solo placed second all-around at the 2002 U.S. National Championships in
SeaWorld
SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
and at the
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is ...