David Baur, a 16-year-old sophomore at Lakota East, recently returned from the 28th International Silnitsky Cup in Belarus, one of the top trampoline competitions in the world. Baur has been involved with the sport for seven years and is the reigning Junior Olympic National Champion.

He took time from his training to answer five questions from Enquirer sports reporter Ryan Ernst.

How did you get started in the sport of trampoline?

It began when I started to get involved in gymnastics when I was 2 years old. My sisters were involved with an after-school gymnastics program and when I would go, the coach would let me play on the mats and flip around a little bit. That got me involved, and I did that until I was 9. Then I met (coach) Kristi Huff and she asked me to look at their gym for trampoline. They had great coaching there, and the sport didn't seem quite as hard on the body, so I thought it was something I'd rather do. So now I've been involved with it for almost eight years.

Is trampoline an Olympic sport?

Only one of the events from the sport is, trampoline. It debuted in 2000. The other two events from the sport, tumbling and double-mini, haven't been put in yet. I do all three, but trampoline is my favorite because it's the one I've progressed the most at.

Are you shooting for the 2004 Olympics?

I did want to go in 2004, but then I figured I won't be at the level I want to be at. There's different skill levels in the sports, and right now I'm a level behind the level required for the Olympics. So I have to wait until 2008, which is just fine with me.

What's the most difficult trick you can do?

That would probably be a Rudy-out. That's a double front (flip), but instead of completing the second front, it's a front full and a half. It all depends how high you are on how you want to complete a skill like that, but I usually jump between 15 and 20 feet in the air.

How was your trip to Belarus?

That went really well. I was kind of looking at it as something I wouldn't really like, but once I got there, I started to feel better with the people and the equipment. It's definitely different over there with the different government and everything. It's really strict compared to what we're used to. And it's really cold, and there was a lot of poverty. We were only in the gym for three days out of the week, so we got to see a lot of different things.