Canadian Maclennan defends Olympic title of women's trampoline at Rio (updated)

Canadian Rosannagh Maclennan jumped to defend her title in the women's trampoline at the Rio Olympic Games here on Friday.

Maclennan finished third in the qualification but managed to lead the squad of eight finalists with a score of 56.465 points.

"I couldn't be more excited or more proud to stand on top of the podium again," said the 27-year-old who became the first athlete to win two gold medals in trampoline gymnastics.

British Bryony Page trailed in 56.040 points to grab the silver medal and China's world champion Li Dan took the bronze in 55.885 points.

"I'm so satisfied with my performance today," said the 27-year-old Li, who also prepared for the previous two Olympics, but made her Olympic debut until the Rio Games.

Li ranked second in the qualification and jumped amazingly in the final. She seemed to be astonished when she saw her score was lower than both Maclennan and Page, but smiled happily in the mixed zone.

"I believed my performance was as good as the one at the World Championships last year," said Li. "But I don't really care about the scores, because I cannot control the judges. I only focus on what I could show in the competition and I'm happy with my routines."

Beijing Olympic champion He Wenna of China finished her third Olympic Games with a fourth place and announced retirement immediately.

"I felt a little bit sorry for the result," said a tearful He. "I really hoped that I could stand on the podium and I thought I performed well enough to receive a better result." Endit