Beijing Olympic Games

Gym officials: China’s 2008 gold medalists of age

By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer

Though the case is closed on China’s Olympic gold medalists, the age controversy in gymnastics is far from over.

Continue reading ‘Gym officials: China’s 2008 gold medalists of age’ »

Updated: 2008-08-19 22:01:46

Lu Chunlong in competition. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 19) — Lu Chunlong of China became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic title in Gymnastics Trampoline, in the Men’s final at the National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Lu, the top qualifier to the eight-man final, scored 41.00 to take the gold medal. He was one of four finalists with a 16.20 difficulty level but he rose above the others with his superior execution scores.

The three medalists: Lu (C), Burnett (L) and Dong (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Seventh-placed qualifier Jason Burnett of Canada performed the highest level of difficulty (16.80) and earned the silver medal with a steady performance (40.70). Burnett’s was the best Trampoline result by a Canadian man in Olympic history.

Dong Dong of China, who at age 19 was the youngest male competitor, won the bronze medal (40.60) for his clean routine. Dong, who qualified second to the final, placed second at the 2007 world championships. Lu’s and Dong’s medals were the first Trampoline medals for the Chinese men in Olympic history.

Sotomura Tetsuya of Japan and Athens 2004 gold medalist Yuriy Nikitin of Ukraine each scored 39.80 but Sotomura placed fourth based on his better execution scores.

Updated: 2008-08-19 21:26:17

Lu Chunlong (C), Dong Dong (R) and Jason Burnett (Photo credit: Xinhua)

China’s Lu Chunlong won the Men’s Trampoline gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games here on Tuesday. Lu scored the winning 41.00 points, while Canada’s Jason Burnett took the silver with a score of 40.70 and Dong Dong of China took the bronze with 40.60 points.

Lu Chunlong competes. (Photo credit: Cheng Min/Xinhua)
Lu Chunlong competes. (Photo credit: Cheng Min/Xinhua)
Lu Chunlong celebrates. (Photo credit: Wang Lei/Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:49:31

He Wenna celebrates her win. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 18) — He Wenna won China’s first Olympic Games Trampoline gold medal at the National Indoor Stadium on Monday.

He Wenna, who finished fourth in the Individual finals at the 2007 world championships, impressed the judges with a difficult routine that earned her a final score of 37.80 points.

He Wenna competes. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Karen Cockburn of Canada won her second Olympic Games silver medal, finishing with 37.00 points. The three-time Olympian’s medal collection already includes a bronze medal from Sydney 2000 and a silver from Athens 2004.

Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan was third with a score of 36.90. She was the first to perform and is the first Uzbekistan athlete to win an Olympic Games medal in trampoline.

Anna Dogonadze of Germany, the Athens 2004 gold medalist, fell midway through her routine, taking her out of medal contention. Sydney 2000 gold medalist Irina Karavaeva of the Russian Federation, the current Individual world champion, made a small slip after her voluntary elements and finished in fifth place.

The Men’s Finals take place at the National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, August 19.

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:31:59

He Wenna celebrates after claiming the title. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

He Wenna of China claimed the Trampoline Women’s gold medal with a score of 37.80 on Monday.Canada’s Karen Cockburn took the silver and Uzbekistan’s Ekaterina Khilko took the bronze.

He Wenna (C), Karen Cockburn (R) and Ekaterina Khilko (Photo credit: Xinhua)

He Wenna competes during the final. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

He Wenna gestures after her performance. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

Updated: 2008-08-18 21:10:34

He Wenna celebrates. (Photo credit: Xinhua)

(BEIJING, August 18) — He Wenna of China won the gold medal in the Trampoline Women’s final with a score of 37.80. Canada’s Karen Cockburn claimed the silver, scoring 37.00. Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan placed third at 36.90.

Updated: 2008-08-18 20:40:00

(BEIJING, August 18) — Finishing first and second in qualification, China’s Lu Chunlong and Dong Dong are well placed to win China’s first ever Men’s Trampoline Olympic medals at the National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Lu finished first in qualification, after he either earned or shared the highest score of the field for his Compulsory and Voluntary routines. Lu’s total for two routines was 0.70 higher than Dong’s.

To challenge Lu for the gold medal, Dong will need to improve his Voluntary score, where he tied for third place in qualification. Dong won the silver medal at the 2007 world championships.

Although Russian Dmitry Ushakov’s difficulty value is one of the lowest of the eight finalists, a solid execution score should keep him among the medal contenders. He finished third in qualification.

Athens 2004 gold medalist Yuriy Nikitin of Ukraine, who finished fourth in qualification, has one of the highest difficulty values of the eight finalists. With a clean performance in the final, he is capable of successfully defending his title.

The eight finalists will perform their Voluntary routine only, and scores from qualification will not be carried over into the final.

Competition will be held at 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday, August 19.