2005 World Champion Irina Karavaeva (RUS) and 2005 World silver medalist Yasuhiro Ueyama (JPN) took very large leads after the preliminaries of the Ghent World Cup.  The scores are reset for the final though.  The detailed results are attached at the bottom of this article.

The preliminary round saw a huge number of crashes possibly due.  In addition, the competition ran off schedule as the men's and women's groups alternated.

In the men's, the absence of Alexander Rusakov (RUS) freed Yasuhiro Ueyama (JPN) from the threat of his primary rival.  Ueyama had finished silver medalist at the last three major international competitions (i.e., the 2005 World Championships, the 2005 Ostend World Cup and the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championship), each and every time behind Rusakov.  Ueyama delivered in Ghent two superbs routines thanks his precise technique.  He never left the rectangle in any of them.  He finished the preliminaries with a 2.00 pt lead over Flavio Cannone (ITA - pictured on the right).  Ueyama obtained a total of 70.70 pts thanks to a 40.90 pt optional, performing his classic 15.50 pt difficulty.  Ueyama's lead was built entirely on the execution of his optional.  He obtained an execution mark of 25.40 pts whereas no other athlete obtained more than 23.40 pts.  2005 World finalist and silver medalist at the 2005 Krasnodar World Cup Flavio Cannone took the 2nd place of the qualification.  He appeared very comfortable with his slightly restructured 15.90 pt routine starting with a front in full middle half out triffis and finishing with a miller lay.  The recordman of the highest scoring first routine obtained a total of 68.70 pts thanks to two solid and well mastered routines.

Three Chinese men achieved to make it to the top 8, even though none of their performances appeared truly exceptional like Ueyama's did.  Once again, they midly struggled in the compulsory and delivered some of the best optionals.  Youngster and newcomer Lu Chunlong (pictured on the right), who has been highly touted by AcrobaticSports.com for quite some time now, did not miss his entrance on the world stage.  Lu, who just turn 17, which is the minimal age to compete at a World Cup, obtained a very good total of 68.20 pts.  He was originally attributed a score of 67.60 pts, but his difficulty was subject to an official contestation.  After a meeting of the judges' commission, the degree of difficulty of Lu's routine was changed from 15.10 pts to 15.70 pts.  The effect of the change was to put him ahead of his teammate Liu Qipeng (CHN), and thus allow him to qualify to the final.  Que Zhicheng (CHN), who had finished 4th at the 2005 World Championships, delivered a new high difficulty performance.  He performed once again the most difficult routine of the competition with 16.70 pts.  No other athlete competed more than 16.00 pts.  He obtained a score of 68.20 pts, tied with Lu.  Liu Qipeng (CHN) grabbed the 6th place of the preliminary round with 67.90 pts, but he will not be able to compete in the final as Lu and Que obtained more than him, and only two athletes per country can qualify for the final.  Liu performed a 16.00 pt routine rather than his usual 16.50 pt tariff, starting with only three triffises instead of the usual four.  He displayed very good take offs, particularly in his back moves.  However, his execution could be improved as the position of his feet is not in line with the rest of the legs and his landings are far from being the most aesthetic.  The 4th member of the World Champion Chinese team, youngster Ye Shuai, jumped very high but encountered issues to master the trampoline.  He finished only 20th with two disappointing routines (16.00 pt tariff for his optional).  He jumped very high in his first routine with a little traveling.  In his optional starting with rudy out triffis pike, half in half out triffis tuck and half out triffis pike, he lost of lot of height in the middle of the routine, and significantly flexed his legs in his full in full out lay. 

2003 World Champion Henrik Stehlik (GER - pictured on the left) proved his consistency once again.  He took the 5th place of the preliminary round with 68.00 pts, thanks to his traditional 15.60 pt routine that he executed very well despite a couple of travels.  His first routine featured a very nicely executed miller tuck.  It is a very good performance for Stehlik, who has been heavily focusing on his exams over the past few months.  His high flying teammate Adam Goetz, who won the Krasnodar World Cup last year, borderline made it for the final.  He finished 9th of the preliminary round with 67.40 pts, but qualified nonetheless as Liu Qipeng could not.  Goetz' powerful style coupled with his usual amplitude was not favored by the trampolines.  His power allowed him to recover from a significant traveling at the beginning of his optional.  He could still win a medal tomorrow though.  Martin Gromowski (GER) delivered solid routines and finished 10th with 67.20 pts.  Their teammate Dennis Luxon crashed at the beginning of his optional after two skills.  

Shunsuke Nagasaki (JPN), who was not on the initial start list, proved once again that he his improving competition after competition.  In Japanese domestic competitions, he has been rivaling with Ueyama and World bronze medalist Tetsuya Sotomura.  In Ghent, he took the 7th place of the preliminary round and made it to the first final of his career.  He competed a moderately high difficulty (15.40 pts), but delivered a pretty good execution.   Masaki Hitomi (JPN) performed at the level expected from him.  He finished 12th.  Tetsuya Sotomura (JPN), who is one of the most consistent and talented trampolinist on the circuit, unexpectedly missed the final as he could not complete his optional that had a lot of traveling.

The last finalist is Peter Jensen (DEN - pictured on the left), who obtained the 8th place by competing a 15.40 pt optional with a so-so execution.  He had obtained a solid score for his first routine.  Jensen recently competed a 17.20 pt routine, which could be a new world record if perform in the final tomorrow.  

Some other solid trampolinists missed the final by not much: Mickael Jala (FRA - 11th with 66.50 pts), Michel Boillet (SWI - 13th with 66.10 pts), Vladimir Kakorko (BLR - 14th with 66.00 pts), Nikolai Kazak (BLR - 15h with 66.00 pts).  They were followed by U.S. Champion Chris Estrada, Gary Smith (GBR), Scott Brown (AUS), Yuri Nesterov (UKR), Ye Shuai (CHN), and 2000 Olympic silver medalist Ji Wallace (AUS).  2004 Olympic Champion Yuri Nikitin (UKR) did not compete.

As we mentioned, many potential contenders for the medals crashed, including Tetsuya Sotomura (JPN), former European Champion David Martin (FRA), who was coming back from a 1 year break caused by an ankle surgery, or 2001 World silver medalist Alexander Chernonos (UKR), also back from a 1 year break.  Martin landed on the mat on the final vertical jump of his first routine.  He also crashed in the second routine.  The Ghent World Cup will be a competition to forget for the men's Russian team: the 4 athletes (former World Champion German Khnychev, European Youth Champion Dimitri Ushakov, Alexander Leven, and Yuri Koziakov) crashed in their optionals.  Khnychev completely missed his competition as he touched the mat at the end of the final vertical jump that followed his miller lay at the end of the first routine.  He crashed on the 7th move of his optional.  A lateral traveling forced Ushakov to interrupt his routine after his half out triffis pike, half in half out triffis tuck and half out triffis tuck.  Leven's randy out pike (7th move) landed on the mat.        

In the women's, 2000 Olympic Champion and 4-time World Champion Irina Karavaeva (RUS - pictured on the left) secured a 1.80 pt lead after the preliminaries. Her 69.80 pt total would place her in 2nd place in the men's.  She competed the best first routine of the competition, and topped that performance with a 39.90 pt optional, that was 1.70 pt better than any other athlete.  Her tariff was 14.70 pts as usual, which was 0.50 pts better than the 2nd best athlete.  Karavaeva could win her 20th World Cup tomorrow.  In comparison, no other female athlete has won more than 6.  

The Russians did much better in the women's than in the men's as World silver medalist Natalia Chernova took the second place with 68.00 pts and a 1.60 pt margin over the 3rd athlete.  Chernova competed a very good optional that obtained 38.20 pts with a 14.00 degree of difficulty.  Jaime Moore (GBR) took an unexpected 3rd place after the preliminaries with 66.40 pts.  Moore performed a difficulty lower than her rivals (12.70 pts) but bet on a good execution. 

Olympic Champion Anna Dogonadze (GER - pictured with Natalia Chernova on the right) was tied with Moore with 66.40 pts, but ranked 4th as she had a higher difficult (13.60 pts).  Dogonadze appeared in good shape and should be dangerous tomorrow.  Luo Dan (CHN) and her teammate Wang Wenjuan (CHN), who both had a very nice body line, respectively took the 5th and 7th places with 13.60 pt routines.  Both were members of the 2005 World Champion team.  The two leaders of the Chinese team had very disappointing showings.  Olympic medalist Huang Shanshan (CHN) crashed in the first routine whereas Zhong Xingping could not complete her optional.  Huang started her first routine with a half out triffis pike but landed on the mat on her 7th move.

2006 Ukrainian Champion Yulia Domchevska (UKR) took the 6th place whereas 2003 World Champion Karen Cockburn (CAN) secured the last spot for the final with 63.90 pts.  Domchevska had a lot of traveling in her optional but delivered a good quality performance.  Cockburn had a lot of traveling in her optional.  Tatiana Petrenia (BLR - 9th with a 14.20 pt routine that started with half out triffis pike but that lost some height and traveled) and 2003 World silver medalist Elena Movchan (UKR), missed the final for only a few tenths.  They were followed by Ana Rente (POR), Katherine Driscoll (GBR), Andrea Lenders (NED), Ekaterina Khilko (UZB) and Erin Blanchard (USA). 

Many crashes or interruptions also occured in the women's including Huang Shanshan (CHN), Zhong Xingping (CHN), Claire Wright (GBR), and Alaina Hebert (USA), who were all medal contenders.  Wright crashed in her first routine on her half in rudy out.  She also very heavily crashed in the optional on her half in rudy out pike that was placed right after her half out triffis tuck.  She had to be assisted and left on stretchers.  She later on appeared to be able to walk.  Natalia Kolesnikova (RUS) fell on her bottom after the full in full out lay at the end of her optional.