sa国际传媒's Rosannagh MacLennan has long been in the shadow of trampoline teammate and three-time Olympic medallist Karen Cockburn.
MacLennan showed Saturday that she's ready for a turn in the spotlight.
She delivered a knockout performance at the North Greenwich Arena to finish with 57.305 points, ahead of Chinese favourites Huang Shanshan and He Wenna.
MacLennan was confident before the event but didn't imagine herself standing on top of the podium.
"I really just focused on, 'OK, how can I do the best routine possible?' she said.
"Wherever that gets me - if I'm able to do that, then that's when I'm the happiest."
MacLennan, who followed Cockburn in the eight-woman final, looked strong and graceful throughout her routine. She was rewarded with a score that really put the pressure on the final three competitors.
"That's a really good place for me because you really have nothing to lose," she said. "You may as well just give 'er."
MacLennan was thrilled after her performance and sat down with coach Dave Ross to see what her score would be. Her eyes bulged out when she realized she had a shot at gold.
"I was shocked. It's the biggest score that I've ever gotten," MacLennan said. "I knew it would be a tough one to catch. But you never want to get ahead of yourself. You want to wait until all the competitors are done."
Cockburn, her friend and training partner, congratulated her, and they sat down together to see if their scores would be high enough.
"She said, 'You're going to win. That's going to take it,' " MacLennan said.
"Then we just hoped that hers would be strong enough to hold on too. She hugged me and was so proud. She's an amazing athlete and an amazing support."
It was a nerve-wracking and emotional 10-minute wait.
When Tatsiana Piatrenia of Belarus came up short, MacLennan wiped a tear from her eye, knowing she was guaranteed her first Olympic medal.
Huang was next, and she bumped Cockburn down to third. She was the final competitor and was on track to challenge for gold until she dropped to her knees after losing control at the end of her routine.
Her result was a shade better than Cockburn's score - knocking the Canadian from the podium - but it gave MacLennan the gold.
"It's definitely bittersweet," MacLennan said. "Our dream was to both be on the podium no matter which way it was."
MacLennan, 23, won silver at the world championships last year and took gold at the 2011 Pan Am Games. She's also a threetime national champion.
But this was her comingout party.
She was beaming as the gold was placed around her neck at the medal ceremony as the pockets of Canadian fans in attendance waved flags and snapped pictures before O sa国际传媒 was played.
Cockburn was pleased for her teammate but crushed that she missed out on a medal by such a slim margin.
"Obviously, I wanted to end on better than fourth," she said. "But four Olympics - I'm happy with my overall career, I'm just not happy today."
