MacLennan secures Rio 2016 trampoline berth for Canada
Trampolinist Rosie MacLennan finished fourth at the 2015 FIG World Championships in Odense, Denmark to secure an Olympic berth for Canada for Rio 2016.
MacLennan posted a final round score of 55.505, leaving her just 0.16 behind bronze medallist Tatsiana Piatrenia of Belarus and 0.25 behind silver medallist Liu Lingling of China. Another Chinese athlete, Li Dan, claimed her second career world title with a score of 56.600.
MacLennan had a clean routine, with a difficulty score matching that of Piatrenia and 0.2 greater than that of Liu, but was short on time in the air compared to the Chinese gymnast and had a lower execution score than the Belarussian.
Rosie MacLennan competes in the trampoline at the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games.
The eight world championship finalists all earned Olympic berths for their countries. That meant two each for China, Belarus and Great Britain while Canada and Georgia each claimed one.
Three-time Olympic medallist Karen Cockburn finished last of the 24 gymnasts who competed in the semifinals earlier in the day when she was unable to complete her routine.
In the men’s event, Beijing 2008 silver medallist Jason Burnett finished 18th in the semifinal. China, Russia and Japan each claimed two Olympic berths while Belarus and France each earned one.
But there is still an opportunity for Canada to earn a men’s Olympic trampoline berth. The second qualifier is the Rio 2016 test event which will take place in April. For each gender, there will be 13 gymnasts from countries which did not earn Olympic berths in Odense competing for just five spots in Rio.
