China's Lu Bin continued to show his dominance at the 2007
Gymnastics International Invitational Tournament, a test event for
the 2008 Olympic Games, by winning two more gold medals on men's
rings and vault yesterday at the National Indoor Stadium in
Beijing.
"I'm very glad to win another two gold medals here," said the
18-year-old Lu. "It seemed that this venue is a lucky place for me.
I hope it can bring luck to the whole Chinese gymnastics team as
well at next year's Olympic Games."
Together with his young teammates, Lu also won gold in men's
team last Thursday, and he stepped atop the podium in pommel horse
on Saturday as well.
But the four gold medals are still not enough to guarantee Lu a
spot on China's star-studded Olympic gymnastics team next year.
"It is my first competition after a year's rest for my injury,
so I'm not in high ranking on the Chinese team right now," he said.
"Starting next January, we will have a squad list for about 10
members, and I will try to raise my ranking among them and strive
for a seat on the final squad."
Lu's teammate Yan Mingyong settled for silver on the rings,
while Flavius Koczi from Romania won the silver for vault.
In the women's uneven bars, Dariya Zgoba from Ukraine clinched
the gold medal, leaving China's Jiang Yuyuan to finish in second
place. Daria Joura from Australia finished third.
"I just completed the movements, but I didn't do my best," said
Jiang, who won the women's all-around on Thursday. "The rhythm of
my movements at the end of my routine was fast and I didn't control
it well."
In another area of the National Indoor Stadium, Olena Movchan
from Ukraine emerged as the surprising gold-winner in an
error-prone women's final at the 2007 Trampoline International
Invitational Tournament, an event held concurrently with the
gymnastics tournament.
Canada's Rosannagh Maclennan, the reigning world bronze
medalist, came in second. China's He Wenna finished in third after
committing a major mistake.
China's Olympic bronze medalist Huang Shanshan was the biggest
disappointment of the day yesterday, failing to finish her routine
and finishing second-to-last among the eight competitors.
"It's an unusual mistake during my training," said Huang, who
entered the final with the highest score in the qualification. "I
was trying to find a better position in the latter half of the
routine, but I lost my power and could not continue."
In the individual events held on Saturday, China's Cheng Fei
swept the gold of both women's events on vault and floor exercise,
while Makoto Okiguchi of Japan won the men's floor exercise.
The two tournaments will conclude tonight, with three gold
medals for gymnastics and men's gold for trampoline on the
line.
(China Daily December 3, 2007)