Belarus trampoline gymnasts earn first medals by neutral athletes at the Paris Olympics
Associated PressPARIS — Ivan Litvinovich and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya of Belarus won the first medals by neutral athletes at the Paris Olympics on Friday, each doing so on trampoline. The 23-year-old Litvinovich defended the gold he won in Tokyo three years ago with a fairly comfortable victory in the men’s final, hours after Bardzilouskaya earned silver in the women’s competition. “At the next Games, I would like to compete with my flag and with my national anthem and I’d like to represent my country in the best possible way,” Litvinovich said. Three years after winning in a near-silent arena in Tokyo because the COVID-19 pandemic closed the Games to spectators, Litvinovich acknowledged he was a little nervous in a decidedly different — not to mention louder — setting, particularly following France’s Pierre Gouzou.