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Height Requirement
TWO YORK TRAMPOLINISTS CATCH AIR AND MEDALS AT SYDNEY OLYMPICS
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FOR THE first time since the trampoline became a newly sanctioned Olympic event, two York kinesiology students, Karen Cockburn and Mathieu Tourgeon, both scored bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
They regularly put in more than 25 hours a week training. "But some trampolinists spend even more than that," says Tourgeon. "I know lots of people who probably train eight hours a day."
The trampolines that Cockburn and Tourgeon train on aren't your rinky-dink backyard variety though. "Those cost about $400. The ones we use are more like $10,000."
Although trampolining might seem dangerous, Tourgeon claims it's not, despite the fact that they perform their routines at heights of 25 feet and more.
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"You do everything by the book. Follow the rules and you don't get hurt. Injuries are very rare, and usually are only a sprained ankle."
Cockburn and Tourgeon met 10 years ago in the Richmond Hill gym where they train. They've been pursuing their love of their sport
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 photos: Horst Herget |
(and each other) ever since.
Although they put in as many hours training per week as most people do at full-time jobs, Tourgeon says he and Cockburn still have time for their school studies and each other. Do they talk about trampolining in their off hours? "Nope. Mostly it's life stuff. Or movies," says Tourgeon.
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