The World Games 2009 Kaohsiung
Review ACRO Women’s and Mixed Pair, Men’s Synchronised Trampoline Qualifications and Finals, July 20, 2009
KAOHSIUNG (TPE), FIG Office, July 20, 2009: In his inaugural speech Mr Tsai Ching-hua, Director of the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC), gave a warm reception to the spectators, delegations and athletes attending the Trampoline, Tumbling and Acrobatic Gymnastics events of the 2009 World Games tonight in the Kaohsiung Arena. FIG Vice President Dr Michel Léglise (FRA) addressed the public with words of welcome and wished the best of luck to all participants before declaring the competitions open.
Firing up the gymnasts, tonight’s spectators in a crowded Kaohsiung Arena were visibly flabbergasted by the spectacular routines! Here’s what they witnessed:
Acrobatic Gymnastics Mixed Pair
In a competition showcasing harmonious elegance and a full range of acrobatic moves, the Acrobatic Mixed Pairs captivated the crowd with perfectly synchronised routines. In the end, 2008 World Champion runners up Kristin Allen and Michael Rodrigues (USA) came in first with a score of 28.806, edging out Julie van Gelder and Manno Vanderghote from Belgium, who were initially leading the Qualifications. Third in the preliminaries, the British Pair confirmed its rank in the Finals and carried off Bronze with 28.551. Forth came Russia’s Revaz Gurgenidze and Tatiana Okulova. The Ukrainian and Belarusian Pairs did not qualify for the Finals.
Results Qualifications
Results Finals
Gold – USA: ALLEN Kristin / RODRIGUES Michael - Total: 28.806
Silver – BEL: VAN GELDER Julie / VANDERGHOTE Menno - Total: 28.653
Bronze – GBR: AXTEN Katie / ILLINGWORTH Nicholas - Total: 28.551
Acrobatic Gymnastics Women’s Pair
Today was a great day for Belgian Acrobatics! After the Silver Medal in Mixed Pair, Belgian Tatjana de Vos and Florence Henrist topped the rankings of the Women’s Pair competition with a total score of 28.612, edging out Ayla Ammadova and Dilara Sultanova (AZE) by a slim .010! The Azerbaijani Pair that we’ve seen rise to power over the past few years was leading the qualifying earlier today. Third came British Pair Mollie Grehan and Maiken Thorne with 28.453 points. Belarusian stars Katsiaryna Murashko and Alina Yushko were unlucky today, missing out on a medal due to a major mistake in the beginning of their routine. They scored 27.650 and placed fourth.
Results Qualifications
Results Finals
Gold – BEL: DE VOS Tatiana / HENRIST Florence - Total: 28.612
Silver – AZE: AMMADOVA Ayla and SULTANOVA Dilara - Total: 26.602
Bronze – GBR: GREHAN Mollie and THORNE Maiken – Total: 28.453
Men’s Synchronised Trampoline Final
After having passed the Qualifications glitch-free in first and third place, the Japanese and French Pairs carried off Gold and Silver as expected in a strong and close Men’s Synchronised Trampoline Final. Masaki Ito and Shunsuke Nagasaki (JPN) gave a flawless routine that earned them 51.100 points. French world ranking leaders Sébastien Martiny and Grégoire Pennes scored 50.000. Germany’s Martin Gromowski and Dennis Luxon earned a well-deserved if not unexpected Bronze, having just barely qualified for the Finals in rank seven: 49.500. Pumped for having achieved the best ranking of their career so far, the Pair edged out Portugal’s Nuno Merino and Ganchinho Diogo by only .100 points. Although they initially placed a comfy second in the qualification, Ukrainians Olexander Chernonos and Yuri Nikitin dropped to a colder fifth place in the Finals; too many mistakes kept them out of the medal ranks.
Results Qualification
Results Finals
Gold – JPN: NAGASAKI Shunsuke / ITO Masaki - Total: 51.100
Silver – FRA: PENNES Grégoire / MARTINY Sébastien - Total: 50.000
Bronze – GER: GROMOWSKI Martin / LUXON Dennis - Total: 49.500
Click on the respective title for detailed result lists!
After a day of fantastic gymnastic performances, spectators won’t be long in spreading the word. They’re coming back in droves to the Kaohsiung Arena tomorrow to watch the upcoming Tumbling, Women’s Group and Men’s Pair Acrobatic competitions.
