BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- For the Olympics, trampoline is a newcomer as it became one Olympic sport just eight years ago in Sydney. For trampoline, China is also a newcomer with a professional history of not more than a decade.

    Sports officials and analysts have said that it is possible for Chinese trampolinists to shine in the Beijing Olympics slated for next month.

    The Chinese national trampoline squad was set up in 2002. Relying on its experience in developing artistic gymnastics, China saw a rapid progress in the sister discipline. Huang Shanshan, then a 18-year-old girl who participated in the Olympic Games for the first time in Athens, won bronze for China with acrobatic and demanding flipping and twists.

    It was also the first Olympic trampoline medal of China.

    Facing the challenge of Chinese rookies, Huang did not waver but strived to improve her performance. She has raised her routine's difficulty to 14.7 since last year, the same as that of Irina Karavaeva of Russia, an Olympic veteran who won the inaugural Olympic event in 2004. That enabled her to stand as one of the most competitive in the Beijing Olympics.

    In the men's individual, Ye Shai and Dong Dong have begun to show the poise to capture an Olympic medal for China. They took gold and silver respectively in the 2007 Trampoline/Tumbling World Championships in Quebec, Canada.

    Zhao Jiawei, official from the gymnastics center of the General Administration of Sport of China, told local media that China has had three to four top trampolinists in the two Olympic events and their competitiveness was similar to those from traditional trampoline powers such as Russia. "Who can make better use of his or her potential to stage more perfect performance, who will be rewarded the gold."

    Arch rivals of the Chinese women trampolinists include high-profile Karavaeva who defeated Huang to claim the world title in Quebec championship, and Canada's Karen Cockburn, a two-time Olympic trampoline medallist. But Cockburn is suffering from a right knee injury.

    In the men's individual, defending Olympic champion Yuri Nikitin of Ukraine, veteran gymnast Henrik Stelik from Germany who was 2004 Olympic bronze medalist and Japan's Yauhiro Ueyama are competitive challengers of the Chinese athletes.

    Moreover, the new regulations of the Olympic trampoline competition will be an obstacle for many trampolinists on their way to medals as it is not allowed to carry out on-sport warm-up. That forced many established athletes to fail to finish routines in the star-studded test event for the Beijing Olympics in December last year.