Another Great Leap Forward

And how's that for a way to a put a bounce into your morning?
Yes, that's Toronto's Karen Cockburn smiling at a third straight Summer Olympics after soaring to a silver medal in the women's trampoline final in Beijing today. That follows up on a bronze eight years ago in Sydney and silver in 2004 in Athens, making Cockburn on the fourth Canadian athlete to win a medal at three straight Games (track athlete Phil Edwards, rowing coxwain Lesley Thompson-Willie and kayaker Caroline Brunet are the others, in case you're wondering).
Trampoline is one of those TV-friendly Olympic sports. The tricks look spectacular, especially from the overhead view, and with just eight competitors turning in one short routine, it only requires about half an hour of your time to see who wins gold, silver and bronze (that sort of timing allowed CBC to get off to Hong Kong for the drama of the team showjumping final, but more on that later in another post).
Cockburn is one of those rare athletes who manages to turn medal potential into a trip to the podium each time she shows up at an Olympics (and this may well have been her swan song). This one, though, took some doing after she tore cartilage in her right knee just before last year's world championships — the qualifier for these Games.
Somehow, Cockburn got through it, had surgery afterward then got herself into the right shape to soar in Beijing.
"I learned how tough I am. The week before worlds, I couldn't even walk," Cockburn told Scott Russell on CBC's Olympic Morning. "I'm just so happy. That's why this medal means so much to me, after what I had to go through to get to this point."
Only thing missing from her day: Cockburn hadn't managed to get through to her husband, Mathieu Turgeon (also an Olympic trampoline medallist in Sydney) to share the good news. We're guessing he was watching back home in T.O., though.
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No doubt, Michael Phelps has inspired many money-making schemes already.
Here's one we hope doesn't see the light of day. Turned on ESPN Radio on my drive to work and heard them suggesting (I kid you not) "Swimming With Celebrities," featuring the eight-time gold medallist and assorted buff bodies.
There are no words to accurately describe the flat-out silliness of that. Scary (sad?) part is, they might not be far off.