Canada's only gold medal winner at London 2012, Rosie MacLennan defended her Olympic title with a win in the women's trampoline, solidifying the victory by opting for a less-risky routine.

"I was so grateful to have the opportunity to come out and compete against such a strong group of women. I couldn't be more excited or more proud to stand on top of the podium again," said the 27-year-old resident of Toronto who carried her country's flag at the opening ceremony.

Read more about Team Canada

MacLennan edged Great Britain's Bryony Page for gold on 12 August at Rio Olympic Arena. Li Dan of China earned bronze.

High-flyers in women's trampoline (Photo: Getty Images/David Ramos)

Although she did not do her most difficult routine, MacLennan posted a score of 56.465 in the finals, just a touch better than Page's 56.040.

"I held back. I was a lot more confident in it. The other one was a little shaky and I knew it would be a bit of a gamble and the Olympics isn't a time to gamble," she said about her choice of routine. "I was really happy with the way it went."

Rio-time updates: follow the action with our daily liveblog

MacLennan was third during qualifying but put together an aggressive series of 10 skills in the high-flying sport that sends gymnasts two storeys into the air over the course of their one-minute routine. MacLennan received massive roars from the contingent of Canadian fans at the 13,000-capacity Rio Olympic Arena, where artistic gymnastics is also hosted.

MacLennan eyes her landing spot (Photo: Getty Images/David Ramos)

After she fell during a 2015 trainin session, MacLennan suffered a concussion and was temporarily sidelined. She said the journey back to health and competition was "a tough one."

"I would have been gracious for any outcome," said the Canadian. "There was a lot of time that I didn't know if I would get to the world championships, which was our (Olympic) qualification. I didn't know how it would affect my training. There was a lot of uncertainty in those moments.

Read about trampoline gymnastics, a sport of grace, precision and power

"I had an incredible group of people around me, supporting me. Cheering me on, giving me strength. It was also the time when I was really reminded why I did the sport, the love of the sport. I really tried to keep that with me in my heart today."

MacLennan is the first repeat Olympic champion in the sport, which made its Olympic debut at Sydney 2000.

Rosie MacLennan carries the Maple Leaf at the Rio 2016 opening ceremony (Photo: Getty Images/Clive Brunskill)

She was aware of her country's hopes for her, but said no one put more pressure on her than she did.

"There was some expectation, that's for sure. But I don't think there's more pressure on any athlete than what they put on themselves," she said. "I was really just trying to keep in mind my family, my friends, the journey and how grateful I am to even be here."

Rather remarkably, Canada has now earned a medal in trampoline at every Olympic Games since, beginning with Karen Cockburn earning bronze at Sydney 2000 and then silver medals at both Athens 2004 and Beijng 2008. Now MacLennan has picked up the torch, winning back-to-back gold medals.

With files from Associated Press and the Olympic News Service