In 2007, Rosannagh MacLennan was a young member of the Canadian gymnastics team that came to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the Pan American Games. The 18-year-old returned with a silver medal from the individual trampoline competition. When the Olympic Games are held in Rio in 2016, Rosie, as she is known, intends to go one better and celebrate her 28th birthday on 28 August having entered history as the first two-time Olympic champion in her sport.

Participating in the 2007 Pan Ams was a milestone in the career of the current Olympic and world champion in trampoline. Shortly after those Games in Rio, MacLennan  won her first world title, in doubles, alongside Karen Cockburn. This result guaranteed her a place at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, where finished in seventh place.

“I’m very excited to return to Rio de Janeiro in 2016,” she told rio2016.com. “The Pan American Games were my first major international competition and I was thrilled to take part. It was incredible. The gymnasium was great and the people’s energy was exciting. The people were very warm and welcoming. To have represented my country in the 2007 Pan American Games and 2008 Olympic Games made me want to train more and surpass my limits.”

Her rise to the top of the Olympic podium gained steam in 2011, when she won gold at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, and silver in the world championships. In London, Rosie captivated the world by taking the Olympic title with a score of 57.305 (watch her performance in the video below).

A little over a year later, the girl from King City, Ontario, confirmed her mastery with gold in the individual event at the world championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

“Reaching the top of the podium at the Olympic Games was one of the most exciting moments in my life, not because I won, but because of everything it meant, the entire journey to arrive there,” she said.

“All my training, all the people, all the challenges and all the lessons… After London, I had the opportunity to share my story with children and I could show them that it’s worth having big dreams and believing in them.”

Partly due to trampoline’s relatively recent entry into the Olympic programme (it debuted at the Sydney 2000 Games), MacLennan may go down in history as the first two-time Olympic winner in the discipline, if she repeats her London performance in Rio.

Rosie MacLennan with her gold medal in London (Photo: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez)

“Wining a second Olympic gold at the Rio Games would be incredible. No other athlete has achieved this feat in trampoline, but I don’t think about this a lot. My thoughts are on training every day and what I can do to achieve my goals and improve as a trampoline athlete.

"Before going up onto the podium, we have to go through many stages and that’s what I’m dedicating myself to now. I know what is needed to reach the top and I’m working hard to raise my level.”

According to Rosie, the main threats to her dream of a second gold will be the Chinese, with whom she shared the podium at the London Games, and her former partner Cockburn, who has won three Olympic medals.

“The Chinese have been the main names in trampoline for some time. They jump very high and execute perfect movements. I will continue to train hard to develop a more difficult routine and to manage to execute it perfectly, as well as high jumps, to beat them.

"The other Canadians also have what it takes. Karen Cockburn recently gave birth, but she’s already jumping again. My partner, Sam Sendel, too, and the British athletes will also be strong competitors at the Rio Games.”