The first Asian Junior Champion in trampoline history was crowned today in Chiba, Japan as the women's trampoline final took place today at the Makuhari Messe, an arena and convention center located in Chiba, approximately 40 km (25 miles) east of Tokyo, Japan. 

The event was actually the 11th Junior Asian Championships in artistic gymnastics, but it featured trampoline for the first time. 

Besides the gold medal, the main reward from the competition was a qualification for the top two Asian trampolinists for the 1st Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore on August 14-26, 2010.  A maximum of one male and one female trampolinist is allowed per country.  In addition to the two Asian trampolinists qualified based on the results of these Asian Junior Championships, one spot at the Youth Olympic Games will be reserved for Singapore, the host country.  The event was opened to trampolinists born in 1993 or 1994.

The women's trampoline final held on Monday the 15th saw the expected victory of rising superstar Dong Yu (CHN), who was born in 1994.  Dong Yu was highly touted before these Asian Junior Championships as she took the 8th place of the 2009 Chinese National Games thanks to a 14.20 pt routine kicking off with a half out triffis pike.  Although she shares the last name Dong with World Champion Dong Dong (CHN), and is like him from the Shanxi region, Dong Yu and Dong Dong are unrelated.  In Chiba, Dong Yu had qualified for the final in first place, and thus was competing last in the final.  Dong Yu had a little pressure in the final as her teammate Liu Lingling (CHN), who was competing right before her, failed to complete her routine and finished 6th and last in the final.  Dong Yu seemed unfazed despite quite a few vertical jumps before kicking off her routine with a half out triffis tuck.  Dong Yu captured the gold, winning in a landslide (more than 4.00 pt margin over her rivals).  Instead of competing her 14.20 pt routine, Dong Yu wisely settled for a 13.10 pt tariff, which was still 2.30 pts higher than the next most difficult routine.  Dong Yu competed her routine with nice height, superb execution and very limited traveling as she landed outside the box at the center of the bed only on her 4th skill. .  Overall, she scored 38.50 pts.

Local hopes Chisato Doihata (JPN - pictured left) and Miyu Yoshimura (JPN - pictured right), who won together the 2007 World Age Group Competition gold medal in synchronized trampoline, captured the silver and bronze medals for the host country.  This means that a Chinese trampolinist and a Japanese trampolinist qualified for the women's trampoline event at the Youth Olympic Games.  Competing 3rd in the final after taking the 5th place of the preliminaries, Doihata delivered a high quality routine, scoring 34.30 pts.  Doihata performed moderate difficulty (10.10 pts) with a lot of twisting single somersaults, and relied on neat execution and body positions.  Yoshimura, who was competing 3rd to last in the final, scored 33.30 pts with a solid optional (10.30 pts) displaying power, but that suffered from some traveling after skill 4. 

Yoshimura edged Asse Yegizkarayeva (KAZ - 4th with 33.30 pts too but with a 10.80 pt tariff) only under the tie breaking rules as her execution marks were higher than Yegizkarayeva's.  Yegizkarayeva's routine started very nicely with height, clean execution, and very limited traveling.  Unfortunately, she started traveling in the second half of her routine, and significantly struggled in her last two skills, which ultimately cost her a medal.  Ekaterina Novikova (KAZ) took the 5th place of this 6-trampolinist final with 32.00 pts (10.40 pt tariff).  Novikova traveled throughout the routine and lacked some height.  Liu LingLing (CHN - 18.5 pts) came only in 6th place after interrupting her optional at mid-routine.  Liu Lingling kicked off her routine with a half out triffis tuck, but she failed to master her traveling thereafter, landing outside the rectangle in the center of the bed on skills 2, 4, and 5.  She crashed on the mat on her 6th skill.  

The men's individual trampoline final will take place tomorrow.