Link to source of the interview (in Russian)

Vitaly Dubko, the Head Coach of the Russian trampoline national team and the Krasnodar club, presented the World Cup competition to the be held in Krasnodar, starting tomorrow.  We translated the interview.

The trampoline stars will shine under the arches of the "Olympus" arena in Krasnodar in the new stage of the trampoline World Cup series.

Vitaly Dubko: The entries to participate to the competition came from teams from 23 countries.  All the best will be there. 

Question: Who will the people from Kuban see in the "Olympus" arena?

Vitaly Dubko: The teams of Great Britain, the U.S., Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Australia, Japan, China, Canada, Ukraine, Belarus...

Question: And if we speak about the individuals...

Vitaly Dubko: In the women's competition, there is the prospect of the interesting rivalry between two Olympic Champions - Irina Karavaeva and the German Anna Dogonadze.  But others will for sure interfere with the fight, including Natalia Chernova, the silver medalist at last year's World Championship, the former World Champion from Canada Karen Cockburn, the Chinese women Huang Shanshan, who was the winner of the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Li Dan, who greatly competed at the Pacific Alliance championship in Hawaii, the Englishwoman Claire Wright, the Ukrainian Elena Movchan, and the athlete from Belarus Tatiana Petrenia.  The participation of the Japanese Hiromi Hanmoto is of interest too...

You do not have less stars in the men who are gathered, led by Ukrainian Olympic Champion Yuri Nikitin (pictured on the right) and the reigning World Champion Alexander Rusakov from Yeisk.  The level swiftly improves with the Japanese Yasuhiro Ueyama and Tetsuya Sotomura, the Dutchman Alan Villafuerte, the Canadian Jason Burnett...The Germans are traditionally strong with Adam Goetz, Markus Kubicka and the former World Champion Henrik Stehlik.  France will feature the famous David Martin.  There are outstanding champions on the Belarus team with Nikolai Kazak and Vladimir Kakorko.  You should not discard from the predictions the Australian Ji Wallace, the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the Chinese champions...There are favorites in the competition, and they are strong rivals, but the trampoline is an insidious apparatus.

Question: Which other athletes are from the Kuban region besides Karavaeva, Chernova and Rusakov?

Vitaly Dubko: Natalia Kolesnikova, German Khnychev, Dimitri Ushakov from Yeisk and Alexander Leven.  In the female team of four, there are three athletes from Krasnodar and a trampolinist from Saint Petersburg, Galina Goncharenko.  In the men's, there are two athletes from Krasnodar and two athletes from Yeisk

Question: What are the chances of the Russian trampolinists ?

Vitaly Dubko: The leaders of our team contend for the victory both in the individual and in the synchronized trampoline competitions.  But our rivals are skillful champions.  In a word, the trampoline will decide. One thing that I have no doubt about: A gripping spectacle awaits the people from Krasnodar at the "Olympus", which, I think, will leave nobody indifferent.  A bright constellation of champions will gather at the "Olympus".

Question: This Krasnodar stage of the World Cup will be the last review of the forces in presence before the European Championships in France.  Which trampolinists from the Kuban region already have their tickets for Paris in the pocket?

Vitaly Dubko: The fabulous four - Irina Karavaeva, Natalia Chernova, Alexander Rusakov and German Khnychev.  Natalia Kolesnikova and Dimitri Ushakov have great chances to make the team too.

AcrobaticSports Note: Yeisk is a town right by Krasnodar.  The Kuban is a river that goes through Krasnodar and that gave its name to the region around.  

We are not that sure that France and Italy will compete in Krasnodar as these two countries scheduled their national championships for this same week-end.  In addition, it is our understanding that Alan Villafuerte is still recovering from a shoulder injury and will not compete in Krasnodar or at the European Championships in Metz.  We are not so sure that Li Dan will compete in Krasnodar either.  The four Chinese ladies at the Ghent World Cup this past week-end were Huang Shanshan, Zhong Xingping, Luo Dan, and Wang Wenjuan.  It was our understanding that the same Chinese team would compete in Ghent and in Krasnodar.

Olympic Champion Yuri Nikitin and World Champion Alexander Rusakov did not compete at the Ghent World Cup.  Their performances should be among the highlights of this competition held three weeks before the European Championships, where both are regarded among the top favorites.  Nikitin has not competed in any of the 5 World Cups held in 2005 and 2006 due to two serious injuries.  He will sign his comeback in Krasnodar to a competition where he has been so successful in the past, as he won a record 6 out of the 8 World Cup competitions of the 2003-2004 World Cup series.

Today was a day of training and warm ups for the athletes competing in the World Cup.  A press conference was also organized.  Nikolai Makarov, the President of the Russian Trampoline Federation and Vice President of the FIG Trampoline Technical Committee thanked former Olympic Champion and 5-time World Champion Alexander Moskalenko (pictured on the right) for the organization of the World Cup.  Moskalenko was the head of the sports and physical education department of the Kuban/Krasnodar region until he recently stepped down.   

Schedule of the competition:

Friday, May 5, 2006:
4 pm - 9 pm: Preliminaries in individual trampoline (men and women), tumbling (men) and double mini-trampoline (women)

Saturday, May 6, 2006:
10 am - 2 pm: Preliminaries in synchronized trampoline (men and women), tumbling (women) amd double mini-trampoline (men)
4 pm - 6 pm: Finals
6.15 pm: Awarding ceremony

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