China's Lu Chunlong stormed to the host nation's second Olympic trampoline gold medal Tuesday at the Beijing Olympic Games.
Lu took the gold in 41 points, followed by Burnett Jason from Canada, in 40.70. Lu's teammate Dong Dong won the bronze in 40.60.
Yesterday, China's female trampolinist He Wenna already won the host country's first Olympic trampoline gold medal.
Lu, first in the qualifications, took to the floor as the last of the 8 finalists. Before the cheering home crowd, he executed high-flying somersaults and twists and scored his winning mark at a difficulty of 16.2 points.
Burnett Jason started with the highest difficulty value of 16.8 points, but ended second with lower execution mark.
"Our female counterparts already won China's first Olympic trampoline gold. I think we cannot lose to them," Lu said.
"I was surprised when I saw Dong's score was the second high and I felt a little bitter nervous," he said. But he said he overcame his nerves after two flips. "I knew I cannot afford any mistakes, so I just went ahead," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2008)