Welcome to the world of Canadian Olympic trampolinist Karen Cockburn, who took silver in the women's singles event Monday night at the Beijing Games.

 “Karen Cockburn is, by far, the best trampoline gymnast ever produced in Canada,” Jean-Paul Caron, president and CEO of Gymnastics Canada said last year.

 “In more than 12 years on the national team, Karen has overcome every obstacle, and there have been many, in her rise to the top of the trampoline world. Over the years, she achieved outstanding national and international results. Her impact on the sport is unique and she has been a great ambassador for Canada and the sport of trampoline.”

Cockburn posted a score of 37.00 in Monday's final, to finish behind He Wenna of China. She is only the fourth athlete to medal in three different Olympics. Hers is Canada's second silver and eighth medal of the Games so far.

Cockburn has been quoted as saying this would be her last Olympics because of the knee injuries.

After minor surgery on her right knee in November, Cockburn didn’t know how it would respond when she returned to the trampoline in San Jose, Calif. at the Pacific Alliance Championships for her first competitive meet.
   
But it was thumbs up for the 27-year-old two-time Olympic medalist. Her knee withstood the test in fine form as she bounced her way to a silver medal in the senior women’s individual elite division.

“I was really happy with how I did,” she said. “My main goal was to get through my routines and get my confidence back. Coming out with a silver medal was fine.”

A gold medal was within Cockburn’s reach as she finished just 0.4 points behind gold medallist Irina Karavoeva of Russia.
   
Entering the meet, which included athletes from 13 countries including the United States, Russia, China and Japan taking part, Cockburn acknowledged Karavoeva would pose a huge challenge.

 “Even if I was 100 per cent, I knew going in she would be hard to beat. To come in second was pretty good,” said the Toronto native who took up the sport at age 11.

Cockburn, who now calls Stouffville home, won silver at the 2004 Games in Athens and bronze in 2000 at the Sydney Games. She and teammates Rosie MacLennan and Jason Burnett “touched down” in Barrie last September to help open the Vertical Zone Trampoline Centre on Bayview Drive.

Burnett won silver in the men's event Tuesday night in Beijing, one of four medals for Canada on the day, to bring our tally so far at these Games to 13.

Last November, at the World Championships in Quebec City, Cockburn and MacLennan won the synchronised event. But in the individual final, Cockburn did not complete her routine and finished in eighth place.

Cockburn married her fellow Olympian and former training partner Mathieu Turgeon last year. Her biography, Karen Cockburn: Soaring High, was published in November 2007.

“Karen Cockburn has had a profound effect on the sport of trampoline in Canada ever since she won a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and the silver medal in Athens in 2004,” says Holly Abraham, chief executive officer of Ontario Gymnastic Federation.
   
“Karen’s accomplishments helped with the recognition of the sport of trampoline and her profile has brought many more aspiring trampolinists to the clubs in Canada.”

-With files from Glenn Wilkins

E-mail the author at mhayakawa@yrmg.com