June 7, 2008

Toronto's Elyse Hopfner-Hibbs, who will be joining the UCLA Gymnastics team for the 2009 season, has earned one of Canada's two individual berths at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Hopfner-Hibbs concluded competition at the Canadian National Championships on Saturday night with a pair of third-place finishes on uneven bars and balance beam. On Thursday night, she won the all-around title for the second time in the last three years. Hopfner-Hibbs was the No. 2 Olympic qualifier for Canada, which used a points system from the national championships and international competitions to determine its Olympic berths. Montreal's Nansy Damianova surpassed Hopfner-Hibbs for the No. 1 slot after winning the vault and placing second on uneven bars on Saturday.

Hopfner-Hibbs will become the sixth Canadian Olympian to compete for UCLA, joining Kate Richardson (2000, 2004), Yvonne Tousek (1996, 2000), Michelle Conway (2000), Stella Umeh (1992) and Gigi Zosa (1984).