The XVth Pan-American Games are taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 12, 2007, through July 29, 2007.  The multi-sports event is a quadrennial competition similar to the Olympic Games, but on a Pan-American scale.   

The event will feature a trampoline competition for the first time since 1959.  The first trampoline event at the Pan American Games took place in 1955 in Mexico City, Mexico at the IInd Pan-American Games.  It was the first ever international competition in trampoline.  Donald Harper (USA) won the gold medal, beating William Roy (USA), and Eduardo Fereda from Venezuela.  Four years later, trampoline great Ron Munn (USA) captured the gold medal after competing the first triple front somersault in trampoline history.  Harold Holmes (USA) took the gold medal ahead of Abie Grossfeld (USA).  Both the 1955 and 1959 events also featured a tumbling competition, where William Roy (USA) beat Joseph Kotys (USA) and Juan Caviglia (ARG) in 1955, and Harold Holmes (USA) beat Jay Ashmore (USA), and Abie Grossfeld (USA) in 1959.   

The trampoline preliminaries of these 2007 Pan-American Games will take place in the morning of July 27, 2007, whereas the finals are scheduled for the morning of July 28, 2007.  The competition will take place at the Riocentro Pavilhao 3A. 

Trampolinists from Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico will compete in Rio de Janeiro.  The men's start list features Dario Arias (ARG), 27, Rafael Andrade (BRA), 21, Carlos Pala (BRA), soon-to-be-22, Jason Burnett (CAN), 20, Bryan Milonja (CAN), 21, Hector Zavala (MEX), 21, Chris Estrada (USA), 24, and Ryan Weston (USA), 27.  In the women's, the following athletes will compete: Veronica Lorenzo (ARG), 24, Giovanna Matheus (BRA), 18, Karen Cockburn (CAN), 26, Rosannagh MacLennan (CAN), 18, Maria Fernanda Reynaud (MEX), 17, Nadia Solis (MEX), 18, Brittany Dircks (USA), 20, and Alaina Williams (USA), 17.

The athletes qualified partially based on the results of the 2006 Pan American Championships held in Monterrey, Mexico, last August.             

The favorite in the men's competition of these 2007 Pan American Games will be 2006 Pan American Champion Jason Burnett (CAN - pictured on the left), who beat the 20-year-old world record in difficulty earlier this year at the Lake Placid World Cup where he took the silver medal.  Burnett appears in great shape so far this year and counts among the very best trampolinists in the world.  If Burnett manages to stay focused, he will likely leave Rio de Janeiro with a gold medal.  His three most likely rivals for the gold medal will be 3-time U.S. Champion Chris Estrada (USA - pictured on the right), who displayed his great shape at the recent 2007 Ostend World Cup where he reached the final, 8-time U.S. Champion Ryan Weston (CAN), and 2004 Pan American Champion and 2005 Canadian Champion Bryan Milonja (CAN), who stepped up his difficulty this year.

Carlos Pala (BRA) and Rafael Andrade (BRA) will try to join the battle for the medals, which should not be far from their reach as witnessed by their performances at the recent Ostend World Cup where Pala competed a 15.30 pt tariff.  Dario Arias (ARG) and Hector Zavala (MEX) will likely have only an outside shot in this individual trampoline competition.    

At the 2006 Pan American Championships, Burnett took the gold medal, by edging Estrada, whereas Weston edged Andrade for the bronze medal.  Arias took the 7th place of the final. 

In the women's, the obvious favorite will be 2006 World Cup Final winner and 2003 World Champion Karen Cockburn (CAN - pictured on the left).  The 2006 Pan American Champion proved that she was in great shape so far this year, competing a more difficult routine that allowed her to win the silver medal at the Lake Placid World Cup and the bronze medal at the Quebec City World Cup.  If the 2-time Olympic medalist competes at her top level, she should normally leave Brazil with a new gold medal.  Her main rivals should be 2006 Savognin World Cup bronze medalist and 2005 Canadian Champion Rosannagh MacLennan (CAN), and 2007 U.S. Champion Brittany Dircks (USA - pictured on the right).

Alaina Williams (USA) and Giovanna Matheus (BRA) will also try to join the battle for the medals as they both can compete routines with tariffs in excess of 13.00 pts.  Veronica Lorenzo (ARG), Maria Fernanda Reynaud (MEX), and Nadia Solis (MEX) are expected to have more modest ambitions.  

As a reminder, Karen Cockburn won the 2006 Pan American Championships where she was joined by Dircks and MacLennan at the awards ceremony.  Matheus took the 5th place, whereas Reynaud and Lorenzo respectively came in 6th and 8th places.       

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