From Eindhoven, The Netherlands                                                                    25 September 2005

 

Verification:  The official website of the World Championships and International Age Group Competitions is http://www.wctrampoline2005.nl/

 

 

Vercruyssen Wins World Trampoline Championships

 

Three Hawaii gymnasts, all US trampoline national champions, will return home world ranked athletes following their participation in the International Age Group Competitions (previously called the World Age Group Games) in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, this past week.

 

Nani Vercruyssen (13yrs, Kaimuki Middle School) returns to Honolulu the 2005-2007 Double Mini-Trampoline World Champion!  The 11-day ordeal for Nani ended with her performing more flips and twists than her competition.  Despite showing exceptional execution, the other top finishers simply didn’t have Nani’s high level of difficulty.  In the finals, Vercruyssen won with a score of 65.9 followed by Svetlana Karavaeva (Russia) with 64.4 and Kristina Peunova (Russia) with 63.6.  Vercruyssen was ranked number one coming into the event because of her sting of international wins throughout the world. 

 

Two days earlier in individual trampoline she interrupted (flew off the trampoline – onto soft mats) falling from the number one ranked athlete to a disappointing 73rd place.  Despite winning all of the major international events this year and leaving Hawaii fully prepared Vercruyssen made her first mistake in 18 months of challenges.  When asked if she was disappointed she replied ‘Yes, I prepared for two years for this event and wanted to show what I could do.  However, one of the great parts about this sport is that nothing is certain … anything can happen … even to the best (e.g., Olympic gold medallists) … at any time the slightest thing can throw an athlete completely out of the running.  I’ll do better on trampoline next time.’  In synchronized trampoline she placed 14th overall, outstanding considering she was a last minute replacement for an injured athlete—thereby allowing the healthy athlete of the original pair to perform after travelling all that way for only the synchro event.

 

Matt Moniz (18yrs, Aiea High School) finished his only event, double mini-trampoline, with a 69.1 to place 7th overall.  Gold went to Kirill Ivanov (Russia) with a 71.1, silver to Jon Vellner (Canada) with a 70.3, bronze went to Dmitri Fedorovsky (Russia) with a 69.6.  Among the flurry of triple flips and triple twisting double somersaults, especially from the flawless Russian super stars, Matt was close to a medal but took a small step on the landing of one of his preliminary passes and got bumped out of finals.  Originally he was told to prepare for finals because he had placed sixth in preliminaries.  However, minutes before the start of finals he was told an appeal was won and another athlete was moved to sixth knocking him out of finals and a chance at challenging for a medal.  Despite the emotional rollercoaster ride and the last minute disappointment, Moniz returns to Hawaii a hero in the sport – US elite national champion, seventh in the world in the 17-18 age group.  His comment:  ‘My Miller (triple twisting double layout somersault) isn’t enough. To win next time I have to have triffises (twisting triple somersaults).  I’ll be even stronger next time.’  

 

Spencer Dupio (14yrs, Roosevelt High School) dropped from the top three to 43rd on double mini-trampoline because of a foot placement error that disqualified one of his passes.  Gold went to Mikhail Mel’Nik (Russia, who also won the trampoline event) with a 67.5, silver to Valeri Anisimov (Russia) with a 65.9, and bronze to Alvaro Calero (Spain) with a 65.4.  Dupio, the US Level 10 National Champion, returns home from his first international event inspired to prepare for making his next US team and hitting all of his passes.  When asked what he thought of the international experience, being with top athletes in an Olympic village environment, and seeing the world’s best perform, his comment was ‘Cool!’

 

The closing ceremony was Saturday evening (9/24).  The American team did its best in a decade, despite strong performances from Russian, Chinese, Japanese, European, and South American teams.  The US was third in the medal count behind Russia and Great Britain.

 

National champions from 41 countries (over 1600 athletes) competed for a world rank that lasts for two years (until the next world championships); all participants forged friendships and made memories that will last a lifetime.  Although national pride is strong and competition is keen, participation in events like this bond everyone to behave as good sports players, win or lose, and promotes constructive collaboration.  A ‘world championship’—what a wonderful way of helping children acquire foreign friends, an international perspective, tolerance of divergent philosophies, cultural cooperation, and peaceful approaches to conflict resolution … all in the name of their sport.

 

Moniz and Dupio are away from training for the next two weeks and then start preparing for the 2007 world championships, Matt as a senior elite and Spencer as a junior elite.  Nani has one more competition, the All Japan (senior elite) Championships, next month near Tokyo before she can rest.

 

For additional information see www.hawaiiacademy.com (‘Six Hawaii Gymnasts Win National Titles – Three Go On To World Championships’) or phone 741.2223.