Trampoline History
Olympic Update
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the governing body for trampoline, determined that only one athlete per country will be allowed to compete in Sydney. The top 10 teams from the World Championships automatically qualified for the 2000 Olympic Games. The FIG will select the remaining two countries based on other criteria.
The results of the World Championships were as follows:
Women
- Irina Karavaeva (Russia)
- Oksana Tsyhuleva (Ukraine)
- Anna Dogonadze-Lilkenday (Germany)
- Olena Movchan (Ukraine)
- Natalia Tchernova (Russia)
- Natalia Karpenkova (Belarus)
- Karen Cockburn (Canada)
- Ekaterina Khilko (Uzbekistan)
- Jaime Moore (GBR)
- Tina Ludwig (Germany)
Men
- Alexandre Moskalenko (Russia)
- Nikolai Kazak (Belarus)
- David Martin (France)
- Dmitri Poliarouch (Belarus)
- Ji Wallace (AUS)
- Oleksandr Chernonos (Ukraine)
- Sergei Iachev (Russia)
- Alan Villafuerte (NED)
- Michael Serth (Germany)
- Daisuke Nakata (Japan)
L-R: Jan Parilla, mom, and Jennifer.
Based on the Olympic qualification specifications, the United
States qualified Jennifer Parilla, in ninth position, to compete
in Sydney. Parilla is 18 years old and lives in Lake Forest, California.
She
has been trampolining since she was five years old with her coach,
Robert Null. She graduated from high school in 1999 and is delaying
her enrollment in college to concentrate on training.
Ryan Weston, from Chubbuck, Idaho, finished 19th in the World Championships. Coached by Joy Umenhofer, Weston narrowly missed automatically qualifying a U.S. men's spot at the Olympic Games by finishing 13th in the Olympic selection rankings. However, if one of the 12 designated male competitors is unable to compete in Sydney, Weston will become qualified to compete.
[Left-Right: US Trampolinists, Ryan Weston and
Brian Beech. Sychronized trampoline was performed in exhibition
at the 2000 Olympics. photo by Steve Sarafian]