Back-to-back Olympic trampoline gold for MacLennan
Rosie MacLennan has become the first Canadian summer athlete to successfully defend an individual Olympic gold medal with her victory in the women’s trampoline at Rio 2016.
The Canadian flag bearer competed third to last, after qualifying for the eight-woman final in third place, behind Belarus’ Tatsiana Piatrenia and China’s Li Dan. In that qualification round, she had placed sixth in the first compulsory routine, before tying for the highest degree of difficulty in the optional routine with Li, laying down an impressive score of 15.000 points.
Canada’s Rosie MacLennan, from King City, Ont., holds up her gold medal after winning the trampoline gymnastics competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics Friday, August 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
In the final, Brit Bryony Page was the early leader, laying down a score of 56.040 as the second competitor to go. MacLennan then took the lead with a 56.465, matching her 15.000 degree of difficulty from the qualifying round. She also received 25.200 for execution and 16.265 for her time of flight.
Li followed, scoring 55.885 to take bronze. Piatrenia closed the event, earning 54.650 to finish fifth.
Along with being the first Canadian athlete to win back-to-back gold medals in an individual event at the summer Games, MacLennan is also the first female Canadian athlete to win two gold medals in an individual event at the summer Games.
She also joins Catriona Le May Doan and Alex Bilodeau as the only Canadian athletes, winter or summer, to win back to back gold medals in the same individual event.
More to come.
