INTRODUCTION

MEN’S INDIVIDUAL

WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL

MEN’S SYNCHRO

WOMEN’S SYNCHRO

MEN’S TUMBLING

WOMEN’S TUMBLING

MEN’S DOUBLE MINI-TRAMPOLINE

WOMEN’S DOUBLE MINI-TRAMPOLINE

CONCLUSION & STATS

USEFUL LINKS

Guts, glory and really, really big air: The high ceilings of the Ocean Center Arena in Daytona Beach (USA) could hardly contain the enthusiasm – not to mention the vertical capacities – of the 288 athletes from 42 countries who took part in the 2014 World Trampoline Gymnastics Championships November 7-9.

China’s run of Trampoline dominance continued in the face of stiff competition from powerhouses Russia, Belarus, Portugal, Great Britain, Canada and the United States, among others. Chinese gymnasts romped to five of the eight World titles in Daytona, with up-and-comers like birthday girl Liu Lingling, who turned 20 the day of the Individual Women’s final, taking advantage of mistakes by more seasoned teammates and thereby bouncing themselves into the limelight.

 

 

 

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MEN’S INDIVIDUAL

GOLD FOR TU - FINALLY!

With a wealth of elite trampolinists training back home, China sent four top competitiors to Daytona, led by reigning World and Olympic champion Dong Dong (CHN) and his Synchro partner Tu Xiao.

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After a mistake from qualifications leader Gao Lei eliminated him from the two-per-country final, Dong and Tu played out their rivalry in the medal round.

After silver in 2013, the wiry Tu seized his second chance in the final, leaving Dong to content himself with the silver medal. “We have a Chinese saying: Good things sometimes come late,” the elated Tu said after the competition, noting that among the seven World golds he has won, this was his first individual title.

Good things sometimes come early, too, as in the case of 19-year-old Uladzislau Hancharou (BLR), who rose from 14th after the qualification round to win bronze in the final with two exceptionally good routines.

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WOMEN’S INDIVIDUAL

SHOWSTOPPERS AND SURPRISES

Buzz before the women’s competition was all about whether reigning World and Olympic champion Rosie MacLennan (CAN) would throw her planned three-triple routine in the final.

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After calm performances in the qualifications and semis, MacLennan unleashed her hardest set in finals, but still found herself upstaged by the 20-year-old birthday girl Liu Lingling (CHN), a relative unknown competing in her second World Championships.

Liu, who made finals by delivering a solid routine in the semis after an error by pre-meet favorite Li Dan, quietly hit in the final as well and seemed just as shocked as the spectators by her win. Still, it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. “It’s a wonderful birthday gift,” Liu avowed shyly after the competition.

Fourth in both Individual and Synchro in 2013, Hanna Harchonak (BLR) remained consistent to win bronze with a superbly pretty exercise in the final round. And none of the women’s Individual medallists were finished yet...

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MEN’S SYNCHRO

DONG AND TU STAGE A COMEBACK

After a disastrous prelim took them out of the finals in 2013, 2011 World champions Dong Dong and Tu Xiao (CHN) came to Daytona determined not to take victory for granted.

There were no such mishaps in 2014, simply great Chinese Trampoline, executed with professionalism and style. The result: Gold for Dong and Tu, in a rout.

Belarus’s Uladzislau Hancharou and Mikalai Kazak jumped to silver on the strength of high difficulty scores and excellent synchronisation, but the surprise of the final came courtesy of Artur Zakrzewski and Tomasz Adamczyk (POL), a duo who had been jumping together for all of one week when they astonished themselves by qualifying to the World final. They were even more shocked to win bronze, a result earned not on difficulty or even execution compared to the other competitors in the final, but for a very high Time of Flight.

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WOMEN’S SYNCHRO

A NEW GENERATION
IN GOLD

Spread the wealth -- if Liu Lingling had given herself a wonderful birthday present with the World title in Women’s Individual, she endeavored to share the gift with Synchro partner Li Meng the next day.

Another mistake from more experienced pair Li Dan and Zhong Xingping in the prelim left Liu and Li as the top Chinese pair in the one-per-country final, and they never looked back, giving China a golden sweep in the large-bed Trampoline events in Daytona.

Canada’s Rosie MacLennan and Samantha Sendel, unable to train together leading up to the World Championships after Sendel sustained a concussion in training, were cautious in their first routines together in Florida. But by the final, the Canadian duo was able to let loose, bouncing to a comfortable silver behind Liu and Li.

Fourth in 2013, Hanna Harchonak and Tatsiana Piatrenia (BLR) were delighted to take bronze after a finals routine bounced with exceptional grace.

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MEN’S TUMBLING

CHINA TAKES BACK ITS TITLE

The Men’s Tumbling final was a show of guts, with numerous gymnasts attempting triple somersaults and Millers (triple twisting double layouts).

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Perhaps gutsiest of all was silver medallist Alexander Mironov (RUS), who earned his prize by possibly becoming the first man to show a Miller through to a second Miller in his last pass.

Impressive as it was, Mironov’s elan was not enough to propel him past the elegant Yang Song. The 2011 World Champion came to Daytona hyper-motivated to reclaim his title after not making the final in 2013. In addition to the gold, Yang’s floated passes in the final won him the admiration of the crowd, who oohed and awwed at his catlike landings.

2009 World champion Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) was also out for vengance in Florida, but could do no better than bronze after muscling his last pass. As much as physics plays a role in the success of gymnasts in Trampoline gymanstics, as Murtazaev demonstrated, in Tumbling, willpower can be the greatest force of them all.

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WOMEN’S TUMBLING

THE RISE OF RACHAEL LETSCHE

If there was one certainty going into the 2014 Worlds, it was that two-time World champion Jia Fangfang (CHN) was the hands-down favorite for a third World title in Women’s Tumbling.

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This perception persisted until the second half of her second run in the medal round, when Jia lost her rhythm and did not finish the pass, sending shock waves through the arena.

Into the vacuum flipped Rachael Letsche (GBR), who did her job where Jia and reigning World silver medallist Lucie Colebeck (GBR) faltered. Letsche, who has been competing at World Championships since age 15, seemed shocked to win her first World title, a result she confessed she had dreamed of but never thought would actually become a reality.

Unruffled by her teammate’s misfortune, China’s Chen Lingxi, the 2013 World bronze medallist, took advantage to move up a spot, turning in consistent passes for silver. Raquel Pinto (POR) took the bronze.

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MEN’S DOUBLE MINI-TRAMPOLINE

ZALOMIN REMAINS ABOVE IT ALL

Untouchable in 2013 in Men’s Double Mini, Mikhail Zalomin (RUS) returned to the World stage in Daytona looking as though he had just stepped down from the medal podium in Sofia (BUL) last year.

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Still at the top of his game, Zalomin was a carbon copy of himself in Daytona, showing the same quadruple-twisting dismount that made him so successful a year ago. His fabulous stuck landing to a pass where he spins until he hits -- that was the same, too.

The competition, however, was different. With a nothing-to-lose attitude after a mediocre first pass in finals, American Austin White opted to break a difficulty record with a triple pike front half out to half in triple front pike half out, which he stuck cold. In spite of his first run, White’s 12.4 Difficulty on the second moved him into silver medal position.

Bronze medallist Austin Nacey took the opposite path to success, earning his medal not with spectacular difficulty but with two clean, consistent routines.

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WOMEN’S DOUBLE MINI-TRAMPOLINE

HOME GOLD FOR
THE USA!

American Erin Jauch, a face in the crowd at the 2013 World Championships, emerged as the top competitor in Daytona after teammate Kristle Lowell withdrew before the competition with an injury.

Jauch, who is trained by her mother, stepped up to win the U.S. its first -- and only -- gold of its “home” Worlds, showing lovely form and extension in a discipline often more well known for its raw power.

Britain’s Jasmin Short followed suit, sticking her first pass cold to take an early lead and executing an excellent second run for silver. With an unusual first pass, Russia’s Polina Troianova, an admirer of the style and technique of now-retired former World champion Svetlana Balandina, was thrilled to follow in Balandina’s footsteps with the bronze.

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*CONCLUSION*

STILL ON THE
UP-AND-UP

Five decades have passed since the inauguration of the (FIT Fédération Internationale de Trampoline).

Each has brought a revolution in Trampoline, in equipment improvements, augmentation of difficulty, inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games and accomplishments by present and future legends of the sport. One prevalent question in Daytona was what Trampoline Gymnastics would look like 50 years from now, since nobody believes it has finished evolving. While everyone’s answer was different, one idea remained consistent: that the sport, and its athletes, would continue to rise.

 

​GO TO RESULTS

 

STATISTICS

Total Federations: 41

MEN’S

Youngest: Wilson Santos (ANG)
17 years

Oldest: Mikalai Kazak (BLR) 
37 years

Average age: 22.36 years

Total gymnasts: 176

 

WOMEN’S

Youngest: Raquel Pinto (POR)
17 years

Oldest: Tatsiana Piatrenia (BLR)
33 years

Average age:  21.93 years

Total gymnasts: 112

 

 

 

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