Michael Rodrigues (acrobatic gymnast)

Michael Rodrigues (born August 31, 1982[1]) is a retired elite acrobatic gymnast who now performs in the Cirque du Soleil show Viva ELVIS in Las Vegas, Nevada, along with his former mixed-pairs partner, retired elite acrobatic gymnast Kristin Allen.[2]

Michael Rodrigues
Country represented	United States
Born	(1982-08-31) August 31, 1982
Hometown	Livermore, California
Discipline	Acrobatic Gymnastics
Level	Senior International
Gym	West Coast Training Center
Head coach(es)	Youri Vorobyev Marie Annonson
Retired	2010
Medal record Acrobatic Gymnastics Representing  United States World Games 2009 Kaohsiung Mixed Pair All-Around World Championships 2010 Wroclaw Mixed Pair All-Around 2008 Glasgow Mixed Pair All-Around 2006 Coimbra Mixed Pair All-Around World Cup 2009 St. Paul Mixed Pair All-Around 2006 Puurs Mixed Pair All-Around International Competitions 2009 Acro Cup Mixed Pair All-Around 2005 Freedom Cup Mixed Pair All-Around 2005 Machuga Cup Mixed Pair All-Around 2004 Acro Cup Mixed Pair All-Around 2003 Freedom Cup Mixed Pair All-Around 2002 Winterthur Cup Mixed Pair All-Around National Championships 2010 Kissimmee Mixed Pair All-Around 2009 Dallas Mixed Pair All-Around 2008 Des Moines Mixed Pair All-Around 2006 Kansas City Mixed Pair All-Around 2005 Louisville Mixed Pair All-Around 2004 Palm Springs Mixed Pair All-Around 2003 Jacksonville Mixed Pair All-Around 2002 New Orleans Mixed Pair All-Around

Allen and Rodrigues won the gold medal in the mixed-pair all-around at the 2010 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships in Wroclaw, Poland. They also won the all-around title at 2010 U.S. National Acrobatic Gymnastics Championships in Kissimmee, Florida, placing first in the all-around, dynamic and balance.[3]

They became the first U.S. athletes to win the mixed-pairs gold medal at the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, which are considered the equivalent of the Olympic Games for acrobatic gymnastics.[4] At the 2009 Acro Cup in Albershausen, Germany, the pair placed first in dynamic and second in the all-around and in balance.[5]

The previous year, Rodrigues and Allen won the mixed-pair all-around silver medal at the 2008 World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. At the 2008 National Championships and Junior Olympics Nationals in Des Moines, Iowa, the pair won the all-around, dynamic and balance.[6])

Allen and Rodrigues trained together at West Coast Training Center in Livermore, California, with coach Marie Annonson.[7] The pair became partners in August 2007.[8]

Rodrigues was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team from 2002–11, and Allen was a member of the U.S. Senior National Team from 2006-11.[9]

Prior to competing with Allen, Rodrigues was the base of an elite mixed pair with now-retired acrobatic gymnast Clare Brunson, and they trained together at Empire AcroGymnastics in Riverside, California and Mission Hills Gymnastics, also in Riverside.[10] The pair were trained by Russian coach Youri Vorobyev,[11] who is now owner and head acrobatics coach of Realis Gymnastics Academy in Moreno Valley, California.[12]

In 2006, Michael Rodrigues and Clare Brunson won the mixed-pair all-around bronze medal at the 2006 World Championships in Coimbra, Portugal, and were designated World Class Gymnasts by the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG).[13] They also won the all-around silver medal at the 2006 World Cup in Puurs, Belgium.[14]

In 2005, Rodrigues and Brunson placed fourth all-around at the 2005 World Games in Duisburg, Germany.[15]