The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, Great Britain, hosted the 8th World Cup Final in trampoline and tumbling.  The impressive 5,000 seat arena was packed by a crowd loudly cheering for the British athletes. 

The top 8 in individual trampoline, synchronized trampoline, and tumbling based on the FIG rankings competed at this bi-annual competition concluding a 2-year cycle of World Cup series.  Athletes came to Birmingham from 14 countries.  In the end, no country really dominated the competition as the medalists came from 10 countries.  No country won more than 3 medals.  Surprisingly, Russia did not win any gold medal.

MEN'S INDIVIDUAL TRAMPOLINE REPORT

2005 World silver medalist Yasuhiro Ueyama (JPN) earned the greatest victory of his career so far by winning his 5th World Cup event in a row, a record for a male trampolinist.  Ueyama swept all five World Cups held in 2006 including this 2006 World Cup Final.  Ueyama was competing last in Birmingham and made the right tactical choice of competing his well-seasoned 15.50 pt tariff instead of the 16.20 pt tariff he competed in the finals of the Savognin and Salzgitter World Cups.  Ueyama relied on his consistency and delivered a routine with less traveling than his rivals.  He obtained the best execution marks for a total score of 40.80 pts despite the pressure put on him by the performance of 2005 World Champion Alexander Rusakov (RUS - pictured on the right), who competed just before Ueyama.  Rusakov, who won the 2006 European Championship, performed his traditional 16.20 pt routine with solid execution.  Rusakov won the silver medal by obtaining a score of 40.60 pts, 0.20 pts off Ueyama.  This silver medal marks a swap of roles between Rusakov and Ueyama.  Rusakov had won the gold medal at the 2005 Worlds, the 2005 Ostend World Cup, and the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championship, each time by edging Ueyama, who collected three silver medals.  Rusakov's silver medal in Birmingham is the 3rd silver medal in a World Cup Final for him after those of 2000 and 2004.

The final started right off the bat with a sterling performance by 2005 World bronze medalist Tetsuya Sotomura (JPN - pictured on the left).  Sotomura obtained a score of 40.50 pts, which, in the end, proved to be sufficient to win the bronze medal, for a repeat of the top 3 of the 2005 Worlds (but in a different order).  Sotomura had battled with lost skills all year.  However, as announced by AcrobaticSports.com, Sotomura proved at the recent Japanese Championship that he had recovered his skills.  He actually had performed the best optional of the whole Japanese Championship.  In Birmingham, Sotomura performed his traditional 15.50 pt routine with great class and very good execution.  2004 Olympic Champion and defending World Cup Final winner Yuri Nikitin (UKR) delivered a nice routine (16.20 pt tariff) that obtained 40.20 pts.  Nikitin, who is not back at 100% yet from injury, performed well enough to put pressure on Ueyama and Rusakov.  In the end, he finished 4th though. 

Que Zhicheng (CHN) had to battle a few travels on the bed and took the 5th place with 40.00 pts, despite competing the highest difficulty of the final (his traditional 16.70 pt tariff).  2003 World Champion and 2-time World Cup Final bronze medalist Henrik Stehlik (GER) had to settle for the 6th place this time with 39.50 pts.  2002 World Cup Final winner David Martin (FRA) took 7th place with 38.40 pts.  Former World Champion and 2-time World Cup Final winner German Khnychev (RUS) crashed and finished 8th.   

WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL TRAMPOLINE REPORT 

In the women's individual trampoline competition, 2003 World Champion Karen Cockburn (CAN - pictured on the right) triumphed after 5-time World Cup Final winner Irina Karavaeva (RUS) crashed as she was last to compete.  Cockburn, who was second to last to compete, opted to compete her traditional 14.20 pt tariff instead of a more difficult but less seasoned 14.60 pt tariff.  Cockburn's choice to bet on execution paid off.  Despite a significant spread in her execution marks, the 2-time Olympic medalist delivered the cleanest performance in the final.  Cockburn, who is coached by Dave Ross at the Skyriders Trampoline Place near Toronto, obtained a total score of 37.40 pts.  This World Cup Final gold medal was a very nice final conclusion of Cockburn's successful 2005-2006 World Cup series.  Cockburn came to Birmingham after winning three consecutive silver medals in Krasnodar, Savognin, and Salzgitter.  This World Cup Final win is the 4th World Cup individual gold medal in Karen Cockburn after those of Greensboro (USA - August 2002), Upplands Vaesby (SWE - April 2004), and Savognin (SUI - July 2004).  With this World Cup Final gold medal, Cockburn clearly lays out her ambition to reconquer the World Champion title at the 2007 World Championships that will be held at home next year in Quebec City (CAN).  Cockburn became only the third woman to win the World Cup Final, joining 5-time winner Irina Karavaeva and 2-time winner Andrea Holmes.  It should be noted that the score of 37.40 pts was the lowest obtained for a World Cup win since the Almada World Cup in May 1997. 

2004 Olympic Champion Anna Dogonadze (GER - pictured on the left) took the silver medal in Birmingham with 37.00 pts.  Dogonadze competed her traditional 14.00 pt routine.  As usual, Dogonadze performed very well under pressure at a major event.  It was the second silver medal in a World Cup Final for the 2001 World Champion.  Dogonadze had won another silver medal at the first World Cup Final held in 1993.  Dogonadze barely edged crowd favorite Claire Wright (GBR - pictured on the right).  The talented athlete from Poole obtained the same score as Dogonadze (37.00 pts), but was ranked 3rd under the tie-breaking rules as her execution marks were lower than Dogonadze's.  Competing second in the final, Wright, who is the 2004 European bronze medalist, put pressure on her rivals by competing her new 14.60 pt tariff.  Wright had competed this tariff in competition only once before, few weeks ago at the David Ward-Hunt Cup.  Wright's 14.60 pt tariff proved to be the highest of the day.  Wright's strategy paid off as she obtained a loud cheer from the crowd and put a lot of pressure on her rivals, several of whom crashed right after her.   

The first one to crash after Wright was 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Huang Shanshan (CHN), who arrived in Birmingham with high expectations after winning the 2006 Savognin and Salzgitter World Cups less than three months ago.  Huang crashed after three skills.  Right after Huang, 2003 World silver medalist and 2002-2004 World Cup Final silver medalist Elena Movchan (UKR) also crashed, this time after six skills.  The 2005 World silver medalist Natalia Chernova (RUS) interrupted the series of crashes by delivering a solid routine, but that fell short of Wright's score.  Chernova obtained a score of 36.70 pts thanks to a good 14.00 pt tariff.  In the end, Chernova took the 4th place behind Wright.  Andrea Lenders (NED), who has been following a military training lately and was competing first, finished 5th with 33.00 pts, after performing a routine not as successful as hoped.

After Dogonadze and Cockburn jumped following Chernova's performance and bested Wright's performance, it was Irina Karavaeva's turn to jump.  The experienced 2000 Olympic Champion and 4-time World Champion unfortunately was not able to repeat her consecutive triumphing performances from the 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004 World Cup Finals where she won each time the gold medal.  Karavaeva crashed after six skills and finished 6th.  After analyzing her mistake with her coach Vitaly Dubko, Karavaeva has come to the conclusion that she will have to modify her routine in the future. 

MEN'S SYNCHRONIZED TRAMPOLINE REPORT

The men's synchronized trampoline competition saw the victory of 2005 World Games winners Henrik Stehlik and Michael Serth (GER - pictured on the right).  The pair had not performed together in the 2005-2006 World Cup series, but displayed their chemistry from the first skill until the last one.  Serth-Stehlik won with 49.80 pts, performing a very nice combination of execution, difficulty (14.80 pts) and synchronization (9.50 pts).  They were followed by 2005 World bronze medalists Tetsuya Sotomura-Yasuhiro Ueyama (JPN), who took the silver medal with 49.30 pts.  Ueyama-Sotomura had better execution grades, but the synchronization was not as good as the Germans'.  This silver medal came as a nice conclusion of the 2005-2006 World Cup series for the Japanese pair that won 3 gold medals in these series.   2005 World silver medalists Michel Boillet-Ludovic Martin (SUI) won a new major medal with 49.10 pts.  The Swiss pair relied on the best synchronization of the competition.

2006 European Champions and 2002 World Cup Final winners Mickael Jala-Sebastien Laifa (FRA) had to settle for the 4th place with 48.20 pts despite solid difficulty (15.20 pts) and synchronization (9.20 pts).  However, their execution was not on par with their rivals' execution.  2005 World Champions Vladimir Kakorko-Nikolai Kazak (BLR), who were competing last in the final, did not trump their rivals' performances despite the most difficult routine of the final (15.60 pts, just 0.20 pts off the world record).  Kakorko-Kazak finished 5th with 47.80 pts due to an average synchronization.  2004 World Cup Final winners Takayuki Kawanishi-Daisuke Nakata (JPN), who had not competed together since their 2004 victory, took the 6th place with 47.10 pts.   Crowd favorites Mark Alexander-Simon Milnes (GBR), who had the disadvantage of the competing first, did not repeat their performance of the 2000 World Cup Final where they had won the silver medal.  The British pair finished 7th with 45.30 pts, followed by the Dutch pair Sven Mooij-Alan Villafuerte (NED), who struggled a little.

WOMEN'S SYNCHRONIZED TRAMPOLINE REPORT

The women's synchro competition confirmed that the pair Rosannagh MacLennan-Karen Cockburn (CAN - pictured on the right) is probably the best in the world at the moment.  The 2005 World silver medalists came to Birmingham after winning three World Cup events in the 2005-2006, including the last two World Cups.  In Birmingham, they relied on high synchronization (9.50 pts), the highest difficulty (13.10 pts) and solid execution.  The Canadian pair obtained a score of 47.80 pts.  This gold medal allowed to Cockburn to leave Birmingham with two gold medals.  2005 World Games winners Anna Dogonadze-Jessica Simon (GER) took the silver medal with 47.30 pts.  Their synchronization (9.50 pts) and difficulty (13.00 pts) proved to be similar to the winners', but their execution marks were slightly lower.  The bronze medal was won by the pair Elena Movchan-Yulia Domchevska (UKR), who obtained a score of 45.20 pts.

The pair Claire Wright-Jaime Moore (GBR) finished 4th with 44.80 pts due to lower synchronization marks and lower difficulty.  They were followed by the pairs Hiromi Hanmoto-Yoko Seto (JPN) and Kirsten Boersma-Patricia Meijer (NED), who both competed tariffs significantly lower than their rivals.  2005 World Champions and 2006 European Champions Natalia Chernova-Irina Karavaeva (RUS) unfortunately did not have a final as successful as hoped as their routine came to an end after six skills.  The pair Tatiana Petrenia-Ekaterina Mironova (BLR) did not manage to successfully complete their routine either. 

MEN'S TUMBLING REPORT

The men's tumbling competition left 2005 World Champion Wang Jiexu (CHN - pictured on the left) still unbeaten in international competitions.  Since his appearance at the 2005 World Championships, Wang Jiexu left every international competition with a gold medal.  The 2006 Birmingham World Cup Final was no exception as Wang easily dominated his rivals, winning by almost 4 points.  Wang Jiexu won with a total of 77.50 pts.  The difficulty of his passes (12.90 pts and 12.80 pts) made the difference once again even though he did not try to beat his world record.  Good execution and mastered landings made the victory even more convincing.  2006 European Champion Tagir Murtazaev (RUS) was the lucky man of the day.  Originally, Murtazaev was not supposed to compete in Birmingham.  However, he was handed a wild card after a last minute withdrawal from Yves Tarin (FRA).  Murtazaev capitalized on this opportunity despite competing first in the final.  Murtazaev delivered two difficult (12.00 pt and 11.20 pt tariffs) and consistent passes.  He obtained a score of 73.60 pts, good for the silver medal.

The rest of the favorites struggled with consistency.  2005 World Games winner Jozef Wadecki (POL) finished 3rd with 70.30 pts after his second pass did not fare as well as hoped.  Likewise, 2004 World Cup Final winner Andrei Kabishev (BLR) finished 6th after struggling in his second pass.  Showman Damien Walters (GBR) took the 4th place with 69.50 pts, but missed a bronze medal as his second pass was not as brilliant as his first pass.  2000-2002 World Cup Final winner Nicolas Fournials (FRA) took a pretty good 5th place with 67.60 pts.  Pan Huanian (CHN) and 2004 European Champion Alexander Skorodumov (RUS) struggled and finished 7th and 8th.

WOMEN'S TUMBLING REPORT

2006 European Champion Samantha Palmer (GBR - pictured on the right) pleased the crowd of the National Indoor Arena of Birmingham by winning a gold medal for Britain.  Palmer displayed all her talent by convincingly beating 2005 World Champion Anna Korobeynikova (RUS) by 2.00 points.  It was the fourth time that the 2005 World bronze medalist beat Korobeynikova this year.  Palmer performed her most difficult pass first (a 9.50 pt tariff), putting the pressure right from the beginning on Korobeynikova.  Her pass went well and she scored 34.60 pts.  Korobeynikova performed a difficult first pass, but that was not as successful (33.90 pts with a 8.90 pt pass).  Palmer performed a very clean second pass that scored 34.20 pts whereas Korobeynikova could not match Palmer's second pass.  In the end, Palmer won with 68.80 pts.  2002-2004 World Cup Final gold medalist Anna Korobeynikova took the silver medal with 66.80 pts. 

Anna Terenia (BLR) took a very good bronze medal with 63.80 pts, edging Yuliya Hall (USA), who finished 4th with 63.20 pts.  Emily Smith (CAN) took the 5th place with 62.70 pts.  An De Win (BEL) finished 6th.  Zoe McLean (GBR) and Emeline Millory (FRA) struggled and took the last two places of the final.        

NOTE

The only disappointment of the competition for trampoline fans came from the internet broadcasting.  It was originally advertised that the event would be broadcasted live on the British Gymnastics TV web channel (www.bgtv.biz).  The initiative was very exciting for all trampoline and tumbling fans worldwide.  Unfortunately, on the day of the event, the fans from all over the world were left with a failed broadcasting.  The following statement was released on the British Gymnastics TV website after the end of the competition: "For those viewing from outside the U.K., BGTV was advised at a late stage by the FIG that the rights given did not cover broadcast to non U.K. viewers, and geo-blocking of all other countries had to be deployed."

VIDEO

Link to the video report on the World Cup Final