Rosie MacLennan headlines Canada's trampoline gymnastics team for Tokyo 2020
Two-time Olympic champion is joined by Samantha Smith for Summer Olympics
Rosie MacLennan and Samantha Smith have been nominated as Team Canada's trampoline gymnastics athletes for the Tokyo Olympics, Gymnastics Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Monday.
MacLennan is set to compete in her fourth Olympic games as a two-time defending champion, having claimed gold medals at London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016.
The King City, Ont. athlete became the first trampolinist in history to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals and the first Canadian athlete to successfully defend an Olympic title at the summer Games.
Smith, who resides in Vancouver, will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo. The Toronto-native won the gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and two bronze medals at a World Championship competition held in Baku, Azerbaijan that same year.
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Sarah Milette and Sophiane Méthot, both from Montreal, will serve as Team Canada's alternates.
"I am incredibly excited to be named to the Olympic Team and to have the opportunity to compete in my fourth Olympic Games," said MacLennan, who served as Canada's Olympic flag-bearer in 2016.
"So much has happened in the last five years but what hasn't changed is my love for the sport and the support from those around me," added MacLennan. "I am honoured to once again have the opportunity to represent Canada and all of the communities it represents."
Is it a bird? A plane? Nope, it's the two <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TeamCanada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TeamCanada</a> trampolinists heading to Tokyo 🙌🤸♀️<br><br>• Back-to-back Olympic champion Rosie MacLennan will head to her fourth Olympic Games 🤩🥇<br>• Samantha Smith will make her Olympic debut ✨<br><br>👀 the details ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/d1GpHgvVC2">https://t.co/d1GpHgvVC2</a> <a href="https://t.co/RFlGOeul0h">pic.twitter.com/RFlGOeul0h</a>
—@TeamCanadaSmith, who served as an alternate in London 2012, only learned she had clinched an Olympic spot in mid-June.
Both athletes clinched their Tokyo spots at the 2019 World Championships held in the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, which will serve as the Tokyo 2020 gymnastics venue. MacLennan and Smith qualified for the event's final in fourth and eighth places, respectively.
Canada has achieved podium-results in Olympic trampoline events since the sport debuted in the Games at Sydney 2000, winning seven medals in total.
