Hometown girl fell short of three-peat

By Robert Belardi 

King City native Rosie MacLennan fell short of winning her third consecutive medal at the Olympics last week. 

MacLennan finished 0.275 points shy of third place in the Women's Trampoline Final. 

Zhu Xueying, a 23-year-old woman from Beijing, China came in first place and her compatriot Liu Lingling finished in second. Great Britain's Bryony Page finished in third place. 

MacLennan, who already made history in the Olympics, becoming the first trampolinist to win back-to-back gold medals in London 2012 and in Rio 2016, while also becoming the first Canadian to win back-to-back golds in an individual event walked into this competition with an easy, step-by-step formula. 

“One routine at a time. Just focus on one routine at a time. Try to think about what I can do to make the routines as strong as possible and see what happens,” MacLennan said, a day before the start of the competition. 

She admitted she had some extra energy in training ahead of the event being in this environment again. She adjusted to the feel of the trampolines and felt great in training. 

As she gained more focus in training she said she always has in mind how much she loves this sport. 

“Always keeping in mind this is the sport that I love and I have an opportunity to represent Canada at the Olympic games again and I am really grateful for that opportunity.” 

Xueying finished with a total score of 56.635 and Lingling right behind her with 56.350. Page recorded 55.735 and MacLennan with 55.460 in fourth. 

Although falling short of a historic three-peat opportunity, MacLennan told media after the game this obviously wasn't the result she had hoped for, but she was very thankful for representing Canada for a third consecutive Olympic games. 

When MacLennan won her first gold medal in London she recorded a 57.305 score to win it all and a score of 56.465 in Rio in 2016. 

There's no telling just yet what MacLennan's plans are four years from now. Maybe the 32-year-old gives it one more go, to represent Canada for a fourth time and brings home a medal then.