By Elaine Lies
TOKYO (Reuters) -Belarusian Ivan Litvinovich won gold in the men’s trampoline at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, claiming gold for his nation for the second straight Games and defeating compatriot and former Olympic champion Uladzislau Hancharou.
Litvinovich grabbed gold with 61.715 points, while Dong Dong of China claimed silver with 61.235 for a record fourth trampoline medal.
Dylan Schmidt of New Zealand won bronze, the first trampoline medal for his nation, with 60.675 points.
China had been gunning to reclaim Olympic gold after losing to Belarus in Rio in 2016, but four-time world champion Gao Lei failed to make it to the finals after a crash onto the mat and finished third from the bottom.
Dong, who took gold in London in 2012, was fifth after qualifications but managed to power higher after a stunning routine, overtaking Hancharou, who had come into the finals in second place but fell to fourth.
On Friday, Chinese women scooped the top two medals, with Zhu Xueying taking gold and Liu Lingling silver.
(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Stephen Coates)
