Dodd, who also competed in the individual trampoline event at this competition on Thursday and finished 23rd, laid down two of the more difficult passes of the group to finish on top of the podium with a total score of 65.900. Isa Deveev of Russia and Zak Perzamanos of Great Britain tied for the silver medal with a total score of 64.200.
“I was really nervous but excited that I got to compete in the competition,” said Dodd who first started competing at the age of six with the Kamloops Gymnastics Trampoline Centre, and is competing in his first World Age Group Competition. “It was really cool to be able to win the medal and just really cool to see how everything worked (at an international competition).”
Also making the finals today was Devon Haimes of Brantford, ON in the girls 17-18 age group in tumbling. Haimes, who trains out of the Burlington BG’s club and is coached my Denis Vachon who most recently won a silver medal in the men’s team DMT event at the World Championships, finished 6th in the finals which saw Great Britain sweep the podium.
“Everything went really well today,” said Haimes. “I made all my passes and I made a World final for the first time so that was really exciting.”
Competition wraps up tomorrow with Canadians competing in the individual trampoline event for 17-18 girls and boys; DMT for 13-14 girls and boys, and synchronized trampoline for 15-16 girls.
OTHER CANADIAN RESULTS FROM TODAY:
Boys 15-16 Trampoline: Zachary Blakely, Calmar, AB – 59th; Zachary Lavallée, Terrebonne, QC – 30th
Girls 15-16 Trampoline: Jessa Bentz, Calgary, AB – 44th; Sara-Jade Berthiaume, Trois-Rivières, QC – 65th; Alison Lang, Toronto, ON – 39th; Kalena Soehn, Red Deer, AB – 64th
Boys 17-18 Tumbling: Jared Khalifa, Vancouver, BC – 19th; Niklas Letellier, Calgary, AB – 21st