THE CANADIAN PRESS
REGINA — Toronto’s Karen Cockburn turned in a vintage performance at the Canadian gymnastics championships on Saturday, winning her 13th women’s individual trampoline title with a personal best score.
Cockburn — who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics and followed up with silver medals at both the 2004 and 2008 Games — finished well ahead of Vancouver’s Samantha Smith.
"This was definitely a step towards London," said Cockburn in a release. "I feel like I’m right on track and I’m not getting too stressed out with the Games getting closer. I feel like I’m in a really great place right now.
"My routines are set and now I’m fine tuning trying to get more execution points and more flight time points."
In men’s trampoline, Toronto’s Jason Burnett, who will be chasing his second straight Olympic medal in London, delivered a clean routine en route to his seventh Canadian title.
While Canada’s trampoline team is set for the London Games, the competition for Olympic spots in men’s and women’s gymnastics is in full flight.
The top eight women earned automatic invitations to a final Olympic selection camp to be held in Gatineau, Que., at the end of June, with up to four more to be added to the mix.
The five-woman Olympic team plus one reserve athlete will be named following the final selection meet.
The top three ranked gymnasts so far are Kristina Vaculik of Whitby, Ont., Victoria Moors of Cambridge, Ont., and Dominique Pegg of Sarnia, Ont.
Rounding out the top eight are: Ellie Black of Halifax, Jessica Savona of Oakville, Ont, Brittany Rogers of Coquitlam, B.C., Madeline Gardiner and Mikaela Gerber, both of Cambridge, Ont.
Competition on the men’s team is even more fierce with just one Olympic spot up for grabs.
Calgary’s Nathan Gafuik was the only competitor to meet the selection standard in Regina with just two more qualification events in Europe remaining for others to challenge for the Olympic berth.
Gafuik, who won the men’s all around title, reached the standard in the men’s qualification round with a score on high bar that would have placed him fourth at the 2011 world championships.
In Saturday’s event finals, Vancouver’s Scott Morgan won three medals including gold on rings and vault.
Other winners were Gafuik on high bar, Saskatoon’s Jayd Lukenchuk on parallel bars, Robert Watson of Coquitlam, B.C. on floor and Ken Ikeda of Abottsford, B.C. on pommel horse.
In double mini trampoline, Keegan Soehn of Red Deer, Alta., and Toronto’s Mariah Madigan finished first respectively in the men’s and women’s events.
Calgary’s Jonathon Swaiger and Emily Smith of Burlington, Ont., took the men’s and women’s titles in tumbling.
