|
|
Saturday, September 23
Wallace nabs trampoline gold
Associated Press
SYDNEY, Australia -- Ji Wallace's coach gave him the ride of
his life. Now it's his turn to return the favor.
Elated after he finished his routine in the men's trampoline
finals, the Australian threw himself into his coach's arms. Nikolay
Zhuravlev scooped Wallace up and raced off the podium, almost
knocking a cameraman over in the process.
And this was all before Wallace got his silver medal.
"I was laughing, I was crying, I was trying to look for my
Mum," Wallace said after winning the silver medal Saturday in the
Olympic debut of the men's trampoline.
"It was just the best feeling in the world. I can't describe
it."
Four-time world champion Alexandre Moskalenko of Russia, who
ended his three-year retirement to compete in the Olympics, took
the gold. Mathieu Turgeon of Canada won the bronze.
Though his best finish in international competition was a third
place, Wallace was considered a longshot to win a medal. He even
promised to give Zhuravlev the mountain bike he rode to practice
every day if he won a medal.
So when the final results were posted, it set off a raucous
celebration in the SuperDome. Wallace threw his arms in the air as
the hometown crowd of 14,000 waved kangaroo flags and serenaded him
with chants of "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!"
He then grabbed an Australian flag and sprinted around the
arena, stopping occasionally to wave at the fans.
"Two years ago when I came to Australia, I told everyone we
could win a gold medal," Zhuravlev said. "I'm sorry I was wrong.
It was just silver. But we have a good medal and I am very happy."
So was Turgeon. Not to be outdone by Wallace's romp, Turgeon
grabbed the Canadian flag and raced across the podium.
Even the serious-looking Moskalenko got into the act. Showing a
little more restraint than his fellow medal winners, Moskalenko
walked along the side of the floor, holding the Russian flag above
his head.
"It's no secret that for all sports the Olympic Games is the
actual peak, the top," Moskalenko said. "This is the moment which
is the moment of truth for each sportsman."
And the cynics say trampoline doesn't belong in the Olympics.
Trampoline is making its Olympic debut at the Sydney Games, and
it's drawn more than its fair share of guffaws. This is, after all,
child's play. Put a trampoline in someone's back yard, and kids
will flock to it like an ice cream truck when that annoying bell
starts ringing.
It didn't help the sport's image that carnival music played on
the P.A. system and competitors wore sherbert-colored uniforms. A
few even changed their outfits for the finals.
And then there was the coach of the Netherlands' Alan
Villafuerte. Standing at the edge of the trampoline, he watched
Villafuerte's routines like they were tennis matches, his head
cocked to one side, bouncing up and down with each trick.
But trampolinists insist they deserve to be at the Olympics just
as much as Marion Jones or Ian Thorpe. The male bouncers made their
cohorts in artistic gymnastics look like 'fraidy-cats as they
hurled themselves 30 feet in the air, flipping and twisting.
They threw so many somersaults and twists in it's a wonder they
didn't walk with a wobble after they got off the mat.
And talk about extreme sports. Villafuerte landed on his head
after he got off-center on one of his flips in the finals.
"I think every kid has a trampoline," Wallace said. "It was
thought of as a backyard sport. I hope tonight will change that."
|  | |
|
