Stouffville Olympic trampolinist Karen Cockburn looking for London gold
With the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England just around the corner, Karen Cockburn thinks she’s ready to go for the gold in the women’s trampoline competition.
That elusive gold is something the 31-year-old Stouffville resident would love to add to the two silver and one bronze medals from three prior Olympic appearances – in what’s probably her Olympic swan song.
But based on her last two World Cup events prior to the Olympics. Cockburn is riding the crest of a wave, winning bronze in an event in Albacete, Spain, and silver in Arosa, Switzerland last weekend.
Making the silver medal even more rewarding, Cockburn said, was in finishing behind Canadian teammate Rosie MacLennan of King City to make it a 1-2 finish for Canada.
More significantly though, Cockburn and MacLennan finished ahead of whom she said could be her main Olympic adversaries, Shanshan Huang and Li Dan from China.
“It went so well,” Cockburn said of her last two World Cup performances. “To win bronze and silver I think I’m right on track.
“And we finally beat China, they’re always winning. I think it was a huge statement in the last World Cup event. But they will still be strong contenders at the Olympics. We proved we can do it. It was an amazing feeling.”