MacLennan chalks up another victory at World Cup

October 29, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner

Over the years, Rosie MacLennan’s star has just kept rising and the trampolinist from King City has recently added another achievement to her resume.
Earlier this month, she won a gold medal in synchro trampoline with her partner Samantha Sendel and a bronze in the individual competition at a World Cup in Denmark.
“It was pretty exciting, because I hadn’t competed internationally since London (2012 Olympics), so it was nice to know that a year later I’m still up there among the top trampolinists and especially leading into Worlds it was positive,” she said.
In the synchro event, MacLennan and Sendel blew away the rest of the competition with a final score of 47.900 points (the second place team scored a 45.300).
“We completed the hardest difficulty, so it was the hardest routine ever in synchronized trampoline for women,” she explained. “For us, it’s a bit of a hit or miss, if we do the routine well it gives us a really good leg up, but it’s also a little riskier.”
With her old partner, Karen Cockburn, leaving the sport to raise a family, MacLennen has since been partnered up with the younger Sendel and the two have clicked nicely.
“It has been going really well. We’ve competed three times internationally together and we’ve gotten a fourth and two firsts,” she said.
“I’ve been jumping with her since she started when she was about nine, so it’s kind of a similar dynamic with Karen and I, as in we know how the other bounces, so it was really easy to just come together and put some routines together. She’s fearless and very determined, so it’s great to have her as a training partner and a synchro partner. She’s definitely pushing me to stay ahead of the game and she’s unbelievably talented and very hard working, so it’s exciting.”
The individual competition was much more competitive for MacLennan, with only 0.055 points separating first and third place.
The upcoming Worlds will take place in Bulgaria and MacLennan said she is looking forward to getting right back out there.
“I feel pretty good,” she said. “You never know on the day of a competition how you’re going to respond to the trampoline and the environment, so I’m just trying to do everything in my power to be as prepared as I can be.”
As for now, she is still balancing her time between completing her masters degree at the University of Toronto in exercise science and training.
“It’s going well, but obviously you have to prioritize certain things at certain times,” she said. “Right now training has kind of taken priority leading into Worlds, but my faculty has been amazing and they’ve been very supportive of my training and what I’m trying to accomplish. I think because of that I’m able balance those things.”
And she has also been able to find her way home every once in a while.
“I was there for Thanksgiving and I’m still training in Richmond Hill, so it’s not too far away.”