From an early age, they make you compete in those skin-tight numbers that leave your legs totally exposed and almost nothing else to the imagination – not to the people watching on TV, not to the fans in the stands, not to the judges, not to your competitors looking for any sign of self-doubt so they can knock you off the podium.  But Rosie is a super-fit, world-class athlete. She works out, like, a million hours a week. She’s always been totally comfortable with her body.  “It can be [hard], especially for younger girls who are kind of going through that awkward phase we all go through,” says Rosie, who’s listed at 5-foot-2 and 119 pounds (sounds crazy, but some consider that a bit thick in the waify world of elite gymnastics and trampoline).  “I did at times feel uncomfortable or feel like I didn’t have the right body for the sport, especially standing next to the Russians or the Chinese, who were all at the time a lot smaller than I was and didn’t have the same curves that I have.”  Like any good mom, Rosie’s gave her a pep talk.  “Rather than thinking my legs were bigger than the stick legs the Russians had, my mom would ask me, ‘Well, how do you think you jump so high? You need those powerful legs to get you to jump higher.’ She got me to see [the legs] as an asset. The other thing she said was, ‘Do you want to be the smallest one and fit in with the crowd? Or do you want to be the best trampolinist you can be?’”  “If you’re focused on what you look like in a leotard standing on the trampoline, you’re not focusing on the routine you’re about to do."
The Canadian trampolinist has soared to the top of her sport by trusting in herself, her coach and a special friendship - CBC Longform