LAKE PLACID, N.Y., April 2, 2007 — 2006 U.S. tumbling champion Kalon Ludvigson of Cedar Lake, Ind., and 2007 Winter Classic tumbling champion Susannah Johnson of Roanoke, Va., both won their first World Cup medals when they claimed bronze medals in men’s and women’s tumbling, respectively, at today’s Trampoline and Tumbling World Cup at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, N.Y. Canadian trampolinists set two world records for degree of difficulty at the World Cup. Canada’s Jason Burnett set the mark in men’s trampoline at 17.5, while Rosannagh MacLennan and Karen Cockburn of Canada set a world record at 14.2 in their women’s synchronized trampoline win.
“It’s definitely exciting,” said Johnson, who placed behind Russians Anna Korobenikova and Alina Yarullova. “It’s terrifying being with all of these girls who have done it for so long because they’re so good. I did not expect to place at all, so I’m really excited.”
In addition to Wang, Korobenikova, MacLennan and Cockburn, the other event champions were: 2000 Olympic trampoline champion Irina Karavaeva of Russia, women’s trampoline; 2004 Olympic trampoline champion Yuriy Nikitin of the Ukraine, men’s trampoline; and Tetsuya Sotomura and Yasuhiro Ueyama of Japan, men’s synchronized trampoline.
In men’s tumbling, Wang won the gold with a score of 77.20, followed by Murtazaev at 76.10. Ludvigson was third with a score of 74.40 points. Also competing for the United States in men’s tumbling was Chris Adair of Lubbock, Texas, who finished eighth at 65.50.
Russia went 1-2 in women’s tumbling with Korobenikova, the reigning tumbling world champion, in first with a score of 69.80, followed by Yarullova at 67.90. Johnson scored a 64.80 to place third in women’s tumbling.
In women’s synchronized trampoline, Erin Blanchard of Lafayette, La., and Brittany Dircks of Orland Park, Ill., placed fifth with a total score of 44.80. The pair of MacLennan and Cockburn won the gold medal with a score of 47.90, while Karavaeva and Natalia Chernova took second at 47.00. Maryna Kyiko and Yulia Domchevska of the Ukraine claimed the bronze medal with a 46.50.
Ueyama and Sotomura won men’s synchronized trampoline with a 49.90, followed by Vladimir Kakorko and Nikolai Kazak of Belarus in second at 49.30. Alexander Leven and German Khnychev of Russia placed third at 48.00.
Karavaeva won women’s trampoline gold medal with her 38.60. Cockburn was second with a 37.90, followed by Zhong Xinping of China in third at 37.60. Blanchard placed seventh at 35.60.
In men’s trampoline, Nikitin’s 40.70 put him in first. Burnett and Shunsuke Nagasaki of Japan were second and third, respectively, with just a tenth of a point separating them. Burnett scored a 40.00 and Nagasaki scored a 39.90.
A world record can only be set in an official International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) competition.
The majority of these athletes will compete in the second World Cup event of the season, April 6-7, in Quebec City, Quebec.
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2. Jason Burnett, Canada, 40.00
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