Gymnastics Canada – KHABAROVSK, RUS (September 22, 2019) – Two-time Olympic gold medallist and reigning World Champion Rosie MacLennan of King City, ON made her return to competition this weekend at a World Cup in Russia after breaking her ankle earlier this spring. She finished a strong 18^th against a talented field in the individual competition and finished 8^th in the synchronized finals with Sarah Milette of Montreal, QC. Jérémy Chartier of Montreal was the top-finisher on the men’s side – also finishing 18^th overall in the individual competition.
 
For MacLennan, the return to competition at this stage was an important step towards her goal to qualify for her fourth Olympics in Tokyo next year. The highest-ranked athletes from the 2019-2020 World Cup series will earn a place for their country at the Olympics, while the 2019 World Championships which are being held in Tokyo this December, represent another opportunity for athletes to qualify, with the eight finalists securing their ticket for the Games.
 
“My goals coming into this competition were focused on my pre-competition routine, mental preparation, and focusing on my own routines and making them as strong as possible,” said MacLennan who broke her ankle at a World Cup in Minsk, BEL this past April and earned some valuable points towards her Olympic selection with her result this weekend. “It was really challenging coming into a competition knowing that I wasn’t 100% yet, but we saw a lot of value in getting back out into the competition environment. It was a big hurdle to come up against and overcome and I’m really happy that I came. Overall, I would call the competition a success when I frame it in terms of my personal goals – and watching the women’s final was incredibly motivating.”
 
Also competing in the women’s individual competition were 2019 Pan Am Games Champion Samantha Smith who finished 23^rd overall, and Milette who finished 44^th.
 
MacLennan and Milette, who captured a silver medal in synchronized trampoline at the 2018 World Championships, qualified for the finals in fourth position, but unfortunately were unable to complete their finals routine which left them in eighth position.
 
In the men’s competition, Chartier, who is fresh off his gold-medal win at the 2019 Pan Am Games, had a strong set of routines to finish the competition with a total score of 110.330. His Pan Am Games teammate, and 2008 Olympic silver medallist, Jason Burnett of Toronto finished 35^th, while Nathan Shuh of Elmira, ON finished 47^th, and Keegan Soehn of Red Deer, AB finished 50^th, after not completing his optional routine.
 
Soehn and Shuh combined forces in the synchro competition to finish seventh in the finals. Burnett and Chartier finished 10^th overall.
 
The team will now head to Barcelona for a training camp before travelling on to the next World Cup which will take place in Valladolid, ESP from October 5-6. They will be joined at that competition by Canadian athletes competing in tumbling and double mini-trampoline as well.
 
For full results, please visit: https://sporttech.io/events/f1102f17-774a-49b9-6016-6640e88ac322/ovs/event/TRA
 
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