By Vera Atkinson FIG Editor.
- 7 countries represented in Beijing: x2 CAN; x1 RUS, CHN, GEO, UKR, GER, UZB
- 2004 Olympic Champion Anna Dogonadze (GER)- in contention
- 3.30 pts. Difference between 1st and 8th positions in the Qualifications
- Only Canada represented by two competitors (Maclennan and Cockburn)
- Karen Cockburn (CAN) is the only female competitors who have medalled at the previous two Olympic games (Bronze in Sydney 2000 and Silver in Athens 2004).
- Youngest competitor Luba Golovina (GEO), 18
- Three competitors over 30 years of age – Dogonadze 35, Karavaeva 33, Movchan 32
- Highest Difficulty in the previous Olympic Finals – Sydney 13.80; Athens 14.60
The Gold medal could be a very strong competition between HE Wenna and Irina Karavaeva (Diff, 14.7), but watch out for the two Canadians, especially Cockburn who had the second highest score in the second routine, 37.00 and is presently in wonderful form.
Qualification ranking:
HE Wenna (CHN), 19- 67.20pts in the Qualifications; highest scores for both routines in the Preliminaries. Competed 2nd routine with 14.1 Difficulty. Will she increase to 14.5 as shown during the season? She has won two World Cup events in 2008 (Osaka, JPN and Albacete, ESP); 4th place at the last World Championships; Bronze medal at the Pre-Olympic Games in Beijing 2007; From Funjian Province.
Irina Karavaeva (RUS), 33- 2000 Olympic Champion, 5 times World and European Individual Champion; Finished the Qualifications in second position 0.800 behind He Wenna; Competed with the highest Difficulty of 14.7. Unlikely to increase to a record 14.9, as she has done at World Cup events during the season; From Krasnodar, the Russian capital-city for Trampoline (2000 Olympic Champion Al. Moskalenko and 2008 medal contender Dmitry Ushakov are also from Krasnodar).
Rosannagh Maclennan (CAN), 19- Bronze medal at the last World Championships; Silver Good Luck Beijing’07;
Karen Cockburn (CAN), 27- She was only tenth in the current ranking after the first routine in the Qualifications, but compensated with a second best result for her second routine. Bronze medal in Sydney 2000 and Silver Athens 2004; 8th place World Championships’07.
Luba Golovina (GEO), 18- the youngest finalist; 2006 European Youth Champion;
Olena Movchan (UKR) - Turned 32 in the day before the Qualifications, 15/08/08; Winner of the Good Luck Beijing 2007; Three times Olympian.
Anna Dogonadze (GER), 35- The most senior competitor in the TRA competition in Beijing for both Women and Men. 2004 Olympic Champion in Athens; Originally from Georgia; Has represented three countries, USSR, Georgia and Germany.
Ekaterina Khilko (UZB), 26- Known for her capability to perform difficult routines- 14.4 in the Qualifications, second best after Karavaeva.
