Updated: 2008-08-15 18:46:25
(BEIJING, August 15) — The defending Men’s and Women’s gold medalists from the Athens 2004 Olympic Games will face tough competition to keep their top spot.
Trampoline, which made its Olympic debut at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, will see 16 men and 16 women battle for the Individual title at the National Indoor Stadium.
Women
Defending champion Anna Dogonadze of Germany, Sydney 2000 champion Irina Karavaeva of the Russian Federation and two-time Olympic medalist Karen Cockburn of Canada are expected to contend the medals.
Dogonadze, who at 35 is the oldest Women’s Trampolinist at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, won the gold medal at the Athens Games.
The other two medalists from the Athens Games - silver medalist Cockburn and bronze medalist Huang Shanshan of China - are preparing to give Dogonadze a new challenge in Beijing.
Cockburn is the only trampolinist at the Beijing Games who has won more than one Olympic medal. She was the bronze medalist at the Sydney Games. Huang won the silver medal at the 2007 world championships.
After a disappointing result at the Athens Games, Karavaeva should be in top form in Beijing. Karavaeva, who at the Sydney Games became the first Women’s Trampoline gold medalist in Olympic history, mistimed one of her routines in the Qualifications at Athens 2004 and failed to advance to the finals. She has since won the World title in 2005 and 2007.
China’s He Wenna is another strong medal contender. Huang and He placed second and fourth, respectively, at the 2007 world championships.
Cockburn’s teammate, Rossanagh Maclennan (CAN), has recently demonstrated top-level difficulty and consistency. She won the bronze medal at the 2007 world championships.
Other veterans of Athens 2004 on the roster for Beijing are Tatsiana Piatrenia of Belarus, Hirota Haruka of Japan, Olena Movchan of Ukraine and Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan.
Men
Yuriy Nikitin of Ukraine has his work cut out to defend his gold medal from Athens 2004.
China started a formal Trampoline program only a decade ago, but their athletes have created a reputation as the ones to watch in the Men’s competition.
2007 Individual world silver medalist Dong Dong will represent his country, alongside Lu Chunlong. Current world champion Ye Shuai did not make the Chinese Olympic squad.
The Japanese men have never made an Olympic final, but Ueyama Yasuhiro will be looking to change that. He is a world medalist, having won silver in 2005 and bronze in 2007. Sotomura Tetsuya is one step behind, with a bronze medal in 2005 and a fourth-place finish in the 2007 world championships.
Russians Alexander Rusakov and Dmitry Ushakov will represent Russia, while Germany’s Henrik Stehlik will make his third Olympic appearance at the Beijing Games. Although Stehlik’s routines are generally lower in difficulty, his clean execution often compensates. Stehlik was the bronze medalist in Athens 2004.
Chris Estrada is the first United States man to qualify for an Olympics in Trampoline. He is coached by two-time Olympian Dmitri Poliaroush of Belarus.
Competition Format
The competition is divided into Qualifications and Finals. Medals are awarded for Individual performances only.
In Qualifications, each trampolinist performs two routines. The first ‘Compulsory’ routine consists of 10 elements which are a prescribed set of skills performed in a set order. The second routine, known as ‘Voluntary’, consists of 10 elements of the trampolinist’s choice. Each routine will be judged on Difficulty and Execution. The top eight scoring competitors in Qualifications will advance to the Finals, where they will again perform their Voluntary routine.
The Trampoline competition takes place at the National Indoor Stadium. Both Men’s and Women’s Qualifications will be held August 16. The Women’s finals will take place on August 18, the Men’s August 19.
