07. April 2008  
Cottbus / Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

Glance at the the men s World Cup competition 2008 in Cottbus

The German company SPIETH Gymnastic has been supporting the GYMmedia Weltcup-Service from Cottbus for years!

For the international elite, the qualifications of the 32nd "TOURNAMENT of MASTERS" on Friday, April 11th, in the Lausitz-Arena in Cottbus will be the actual starting signal of the Olympic year 2008. 
The rush corresponds to this:
Over 110 men from 44 countries and 67 young ladies from 31 countries, all of them being the most outstanding representatives of their discipline, will meet to compete and for a serious test of their programs.  
While the ladies can seize their chances for a EuCh-revenge, ( > Clermont-Ferrand), at least for the European men this will be a welcome dry run before the continental championships in May in Lausanne (Switzerland) ...

LI, Xiaopeng - Superstar...!

What a competition...!
As for the men, it seems that the old strategist LI, Xiaopeng has been missing Cottbus since he won the floor final here nine years ago (1999).
With 16 years of age he was part of the WORLDS-squad in 1997 in Lausanne already, in 2000 he was Olympic Champion and multiple World Champion on vault and bars in Tianjin, Debrecen, Anaheim .... now, the 26-year-old is lured by Beijing, Olympic Games at home...!

And he is taking the young ZHOU Kai to Cottbus to start for the Olympic host China.

... we are anxious to see the duels on horse, where Krisztian BERKI from Hungary, winner last year, has to compete with the young, support-ambitioned Louis SMITH from the UK.
Local hero Robert JUCKEL wants to reach the final on horse as well. His last dry run in the National Team Cup in Buttenwiesen  was not bad at all! 

Jordan Jowtschev: If he is fit for Beijing, these would be his fifth Olympic Games...!

Genuine giants on rings will fight for the sovereignty over the airspace in the Lausitz-Arena:
Names like Yuri VAN GELDER (NED), Jordan JOWTSCHEW (BUL) make the experts click their tongues, and not only them. The younger ones want to give these gymnasts a good dressing down again, just like the 17-year-old Alexander BALANDIN (RUS) did last year; he is in the rings final already....

World Champion on vault Leszek BLANIK from Poland is reaching for golden Olympic dreams after his gold medal in Stuttgart - for him, too, Cottbus will be the most important station on his way to Beijing...

How about the Chinese "sovereignty over the beams"?
The Ukrainian Olympic Champion on parallel bars of Athens 2004 will be there, the Greek beams-expert TSOLAKIDIS, too, and World and European Champion as well as multiple World Cup Champion Mitja PETKOVSEK.
Will Germany's elegant Marcel NGUYEN reach the final among the best gymnasts on this apparatus?

... Fabian Hambüchen cheering one week before Cottbus at his start into the season in the 3rd NTC-Cup

In Cottbus, the weather is always flyable ...!
Under this arena roof in Lausitz region, the very best gymnasts on the king of apparatuses will meet again like so many times before:
A home match actually for the current World Champion on high bar Fabian Hambüchen.
After he has accomplished his Pre-Olympic competition start into the meaningful year 2008 one week ago at the 3rd National Teamcup in Buttenwiesen, he will meet with top-class competitors already: 
- Ex-champion Aljaz PEGAN, who is still fighting for an extra-ticket to Beijing...!
- Ex-World Champion Vlasios MARAS from Greece who wants to manage the Hattrick here after 2006 and 2007 ... and to defeat Hambüchen is a goal for many!

Downright gymnastics diamonds want to shine in the early run-up  to the Olympic Games.
Cottbus will be the mecca of international gymnastics again from April 11th to13th!
* E. Herholz