China’s trampoline stars returned to action as the country held its first official competition of 2020.
Olympic champion Dong Dong, world champion Gao Lei, Zhu Xueying, Li Dan and Liu Lingling were just a few of the international stars performing at the 2020 National Trampoline Championships.
They were joined at the Tianjin Tuanbo Sports Centre by more than 200 gymnasts from 13 teams from all over the country.
For Dong this competition is particularly significant.
“My training mainly focused on preventing injuries, strengthening physical fitness, and promoting special events,” explained the Olympic and world medallist.
“I hope to test the results of the training through this competition and show everyone a good performance.”
In the men’s competition, the four-time world champion Gao Lei performed the round’s highest difficulties in the first two routines – 6.1 and 17.5 – to score 52.620 points and 61.380 points respectively. He finished with a total score of 114.0 points, which placed him first at the end of the preliminary round.
Dong performed two steady routines to score 112.140 points and secure third place.
Gao Lei said: “I am very satisfied with my performance, especially for optional, because I have never done such light training before.
“Sometimes I wonder if my physical fitness is down or if my recovery ability has deteriorated? I am even a little worried about preparing for next year’s Olympics.
“But after today’s performance, I have recovered a great feeling.”
In the women’s competition, Zhu Xueying led the pack with a score of 105.240 points. Teenager Lin Qianqi followed with 104.660 points. Li Dan and Liu finished in 3rd and 4th with scores of 103.930 and 103.625 points respectively.
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