CBC Sports

Toronto’s Karen Cockburn didn’t get the score she wanted but was more than happy to come away with a bronze medal Sunday in Albacete, Spain at the first of two key pre-Olympic World Cup meets.

The 31-year-old, who is aiming for a fourth straight Olympic medal at the London Games, placed third behind Chinese stars Shanshan Huang and Dan Li, who were first and second respectively.

Cockburn wanted to score 56 points or over in the final to keep pace with her rivals but had to settle for the slightly lower tally of 55.13.

“The trampolines here are more powerful than the ones we’ll be using at the Olympics, so that took some adjusting,” said Cockburn. “I used my optional routine with the higher difficulty in the final and I just need to keep on working on the small things.”

It’s no secret that Cockburn’s biggest obstacle to reaching the podium in London will come from the Chinese, winners at the 2008 Olympics and at the last three world championships.

“This was one of the strongest women’s field ever at a World Cup so this was a really good test leading up to the Games,” said Cockburn, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics and silver in 2004 and 2008.

Cockburn, who competed with a degree of difficulty just slightly lower than both of the Chinese medal winners ahead of her, is counting on clean execution to get her to the Olympic podium one final time.

The 13-time Canadian champion has one more chance to fine tune her Olympic routine in competition at a World Cup meet next weekend in Arosa, Switzerland.

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