SOFIA, Bulgaria, Nov. 10, 2013 – Kristle Lowell of Three Rivers, Mich./Branch Gymnastics, won the women’s double mini-trampoline gold medal today at 2013 World Trampoline and Tumbling Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. Alex Renkert of Indianapolis, Ind./Geist Sports Academy, won the silver medal in the men’s double-mini final.

Lowell began with a one-and-a-half twisting double front to a laid out, double-twisting, double back for a 35.500. Lowell’s second pass finished with a stuck full-twisting, double layout. She earned a 35.600. As the scores flashed and Lowell realized the gold medal was hers, she sprinted across the arena into the arms of coach Dr. George Drew. Erin Jauch of Crystal Lake, Ill./Fox Valley Tumbling and Trampoline, stuck her double layout dismount in her first pass for a 34.500. She received a 33.900 for her second pass, just missing the medals in fourth.


In his first run, Renkert executed a tucked triple front barani out to a stuck triple back for a 36.600. He followed that up with a one-and-a-half twisting front layout to a full-full for a matching 36.600. His 73.200 total gave him the silver medal behind of Russia’s Mikhail Zalomin, 77.800. Portugal’s Bruno Nobre won the bronze with 69.200. Austin Nacey of Braidwood, Ill./TwistStars Tumbling and Trampoline, finished sixth in the final. He performed a piked Triffus barani out to triple back, but he landed back on the trampoline in his first pass. He scored 26.000. He was clean in his second run that dismounted with another triple back flip and gave him a score of 36.600.

Nacey returned to the competition floor minutes later in the men’s tumbling final. He earned a 34.300 for his first pass, which ended in a double pike. His second run was a layout full-out through to a tucked, triple twisting double back. He earned a 34.200 for a 68.500 total and fifth place.

Yuliya Stankevich-Brown of Idaho Falls, Idaho/Idaho Elite Gymnastics, tumbled a double layout through to a full-twisting double pike in her first pass (32.200). Stankevich-Brown closed out competition for the U.S., performing consecutive whip backs through to a full-twisting, double layout for a 31.000. She finished sixth in the final with a 63.200 total.

Trampoline events involve athletes using trampolines that can propel them up to 30 feet in the air, during which they can perform double and triple twisting somersaults. Tumbling utilizes elevated rod-floor runways that enable athletes to jump at heights more than 10 feet and execute a variety of acrobatic maneuvers. For the double-mini competition, the athlete makes a short run, leaps onto a small two-level trampoline, performs an aerial maneuver and dismounts onto a landing mat. Trampoline was added to the Olympic Games in 2000, and at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the USA had its first athlete in history advance to the finals.