Flying through the air under intense scrutiny
Propelling oneself to such extreme heights and breathtaking acrobatics requires a trampolinist to be conditioned precisely and to be acutely aware of what each body part is doing at every instant. Feet hitting the trampoline bed at the wrong time, the wrong angle or with insufficient power won’t give the athlete enough air or velocity to perform the skills (moves) and earn points from the judges.
Canada’s Olympic hopefuls in trampoline are immersed in the science of success. Their coach, Dave Ross, has a degree in physics and is an equipment innovator with a sophisticated sense of how a trampoline moves and reacts. They also rely on specialists in biomechanics, Pilates, ballet, performance psychology and strength and conditioning to tune their bodies and minds to succeed in an explosive 20-second event where every degree of movement is crucial.
Here at Ross’s trampoline club, Skyriders Trampoline Place, Burnett, a 2008 Olympic silver medalist, trains with the other two Canadians who will compete at the 2012 London Summer Olympics: Rosannagh MacLennan and Karen Cockburn.
MacLennan is the 2011 Pan American Games gold medalist and Cockburn has two silver medals and one bronze from the last three Olympics.