For the first time in 20 years, an American has won the female individual vaulting World Championship. In fact, this is the first time anyone but a German has won the female individual title. The F.A.M.E. team of Devon Maitozo, Megan Benjamin, Blake Dahlgren, Elizabeth Ioannou, Katie Ritchie, Rosalind Ross and Annalise VanVrankin took the silver.

But Benjamin will be going home to California with not just her historic individual gold, but also the team silver, as she contributed to the F.A.M.E. team who challenged the dominant Germans for team gold, but fell just short and earned silver. It was the best World Championship performance so far for a U.S. team. Germany has won the team gold six times since 1986.

“We are very happy to be here,” said the German team trainer, Jessica Schmitz. “It’s very special to win, especially since this is a very young team.” The German team consisted of Antje Hill, Sarah Schaefer, Mark Phillip Goetting, Elisabeth Simon, Janika Derks, Simone Wiegle, and Pauline Riedl.

For Devon Maitozo, the 1998 WEG individual gold men’s medalist, and the leader of the U.S.’s F.A.M.E. team, the win was particularly sweet. “This team has been together for less than a year, and we’re very proud of our silver medal,” he said. Since Maitozo, 31, couldn’t compete both as an individual and on a team at the WEG, he made the choice to vault with F.A.M.E. “I decided to put my individual career aside, and vault with the team. I’ve never had the opportunity to be on the world stage with a team like this—it’s be the experience of a lifetime.”

The F.A.M.E. vaulters, however, think of Maitozo as their guide. “I think he’s a creative genius. The freestyle is a product of his artistic mind,” said Rosalind Ross.

Blake Dahlgren was the other male on the F.A.M.E. team. “I was on the team in Jerez [at the 2002 WEG] that placed fifth. This team is definitely different. Everything is to the next power; to another level. Our goal was to take what we’d done before and make it better. We’re always trying to push the sport to a new level and show people how we think vaulting should be,” he said.

Maitozo and Benjamin both made it clear that F.A.M.E. was a team put together for a year, with the WEG in mind. “This was our goal and we achieved it. This is the last official competition for this team. We’ll see, but I know I’ll miss it,” Maitozo said.

Benjamin, 18, resides in Saratoga, Calif., and is a freshman at Santa Clara University (Calif.). She was ninth at the 2002 WEG, and then seventh at the European Championships last year. She started making her mark warming up for this year’s WEG by winning all four of the U.S. selection trials, and then taking second at the prestigious Munich CVI in July, where F.A.M.E. also earned their first CVI team win.

“I think a lot of my success has to do with being on Devon’s team,” Benjamin said. “He really helped me a lot to this medal.”

Germany wasn’t to be outdone in the men’s individual event, however, as Kai Vorberg and Gero Meyer claimed gold and silver. Vorberg rode his freestyle in an elaborate Mozart costume, complete with white hair.

“This year is the 250th anniversary of Mozart, and I wanted to recognize that,” he said. “I think it was the idea of genius and madness that inspired me. When you out it all together, that may be me.”