Ivan Litvinovich becomes first man to repeat as Olympic champion in trampoline

PARIS – Ivan Litvinovich made history inside Bercy Arena on Friday night, becoming the first man to win Olympic gold in men’s trampoline twice.

“It’s a new status, but at the same time, I feel a bit nervous about my career (laughs),” Litvinovich said of the achievement. “I will continue to work even more and to be able to participate in the next Olympic Games, and to be in good shape, good form and to be competitive there.”

The 23-year-old qualified first to the final with a 63.420 and backed that up with a 63.090 to best silver medalist Wang Zisai (61.890) and bronze medalist Yan Langyu (60.950) both of China.

The trio have faced off multiple times this year, but Litvinovich’s difficulty, time of flight, and horizontal displacement were all superior to the Chinese efforts. Even for the untrained eye, it was clear how Litvinovich was the superior trampolinist – he jumped higher than anyone else, maintained that amplitude, and stayed almost completely in the small square box in the middle of the apparatus.

“I was quite anxious and nervous,” he said. “My coach helped me a lot. I was also listening to music before my routines. I felt I was fully prepared to show my best today.”

Following his triumph in Tokyo three years ago, it was unclear if Litvinovich would even get the chance to defend his title after Russian and Belarusian athletes were banned from international competition by the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, but a path was paved when the FIG allowed athletes meeting certain requirements to return to competition on January 1 of this year.

When the IOC signed off on individuals from the two nations being allowed to qualify as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN), Litvinovich was easily able to earn his spot in Paris through the trampoline World Cup series. Now, he’s the first AIN to win Olympic gold in Paris after fellow Belarusian Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya won silver in women’s trampoline – the first AIN medal of any color in Paris – just a few hours earlier.

Silver medalist Zisai said he was a bit surprised by the result since he came to Paris just focused on competing at his first Olympic Games.

“Of course, I was nervous in the first routine [in qualifying],” Wang said. “After that, I was able to adjust myself and gradually got in the zone. Actually, I was pretty surprised by the final result that I got: the silver medal. I wasn’t able to control my facial expressions, because I was just so happy about the result.”

Yan was a bit flustered to start his final routine, and it showed in the execution. Still, it was enough for the bronze by more than a point.

“I did put a lot of pressure on myself, and as a result, I wasn’t able to perform to my best today,” Yan said. “But I think that’s completely normal, because we all make mistakes.”

Great Britain’s Zak Perzamanos was fourth, and Gabriel Albuquerque of Portugal was fifth. France’s Pierre Gouzou was sixth after a performance that had the crowd stomping its feet and shaking the arena. Rounding out the top eight were Angel Hernandez of Colombia and Tokyo bronze medalist Dylan Schmidt of New Zealand, who crashed out in the final.

The United States’ Aliaksei Shostak was 10th – the best finish ever for a U.S. man in Olympic trampoline.

“I enjoyed every single day I was here,” Shostak said. “I just took it all in and had a really great time. Even today, like I said, I’m a little disappointed, but I’m not devastated. Everything has been a good experience.”