MacLennan jumps into action to support Cystic Fibrosis

Two-time gold medallist Rosie MacLennan took to the trampolines on Saturday at Yonge-Dundas Square in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.

The Springfree Summer Jumpoff was held in Toronto to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday and promote the benefits of staying active and healthy, something especially important for people like Mikayla Bianchin.

Bianchin, 16, was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at two months old. CF is a genetic disease that can have various effects on a person’s body, but mainly affects the digestive system and lungs. For Bianchin to stay healthy, she does three hours of inhaled medication treatment and chest physiotherapy to keep her lungs clear. On top of that, she takes 12 different kinds of medications for a total of 50 pills per day.

She found a new form of therapy when she moved to her current home near Stoney Creek, Ont., when she was younger. The house came with a trampoline and she loved it, so Bianchin’s mother, Tammy Strong, got her into trampolining on a recreational level and then Bianchin took on the sport competitively.

"I love sports, so I was so happy that she found something she loved," Strong said. "And especially when you have kids with CF and they take an interest in a sport and you know that that activity is going to help them maintain their health – [trampoline] is almost a form of chest physio for them."

“I remember we moved to our new house and a trampoline came with the house, so we were really excited about that and we started jumping on it and it was so much fun so my mom signed us up for recreational trampoline,” Bianchin recalled. “I really enjoyed it and as I started to learn more tricks, so my coach suggested that I do competitive trampoline and I really enjoyed that. It was when I was 13 I started taking an interest in it.”

Unfortunately due to the demands of high school and a part-time job, the 16-year-old couldn’t keep up with how much time competitive trampoline required, but that doesn’t stop her from hopping on the backyard trampoline that started it all.

“Because [competitive trampoline] was lots of fun it was kind of hard to leave, but I can still jump on my trampoline in the backyard, so I still really enjoy it,” Bianchin said.

MacLennan, who won two-straight gold medals on the trampoline at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, owes some her own success to humble beginnings on the family trampoline in the backyard.

“[Trampolining in the backyard] was definitely a way that my family interacted with each other,” The King City, Ont. native said. “Trampoline was always thought of as a backyard sport [before the Olympics], but if you can’t be in a gym, then why not do it in your backyard?”

MacLennan has certainly transformed the landscape of the sport of trampoline in Canada. But above all, she enjoys what a higher profile has allowed her to do within the community through events like the Summer Jumpoff. She made sure to interact with many of the people that came out to Yonge-Dundas Square, sign autographs, show off some of her gold medal-calibre trampoline skills and meet Bianchin and Strong.

She understands that an Olympic gold medallist has a certain level of influence and MacLennan tries her best to use it to bring awareness to her sport and support multiple causes, whether it's Cystic Fibrosis Canada or the Right to Play foundation.

“I think the main difference coming home from London [in 2012] and Rio [in 2016] is you get the opportunity to be involved with a lot of different causes and I think it’s something I’m really passionate about just because I’m able to get involved in the community and hopefully, especially with younger athletes and younger kids, inspire them to follow their dream, whether it’s in sports or outside of sports,” the 28-year-old said. “It gives me inspiration and meaning, too, and new forms of motivation and reminds me why I do the sport.”

Bianchin and Strong couldn’t be happier to have MacLennan involved with Cystic Fibrosis.

“I think it’s really exciting that Rosie’s involved. We saw her at the 2015 Pan-Am Games [in Toronto] and we saw her win gold and that was really exciting. So the fact that she’s now involved in a CF event is really cool and to meet her in person is going to be really fun,” Bianchin said.

“And for me, as a parent, when Mikayla was born 16 years ago, nobody knew what CF was," Strong added. "Everywhere I was going I was explaining what Cystic Fibrosis was and now people are understanding and word is getting out and having a high-profile athlete like Rosie MacLennan being involved and having her able to learn about Cystic Fibrosis and help her spread awareness for us is crucial because it’s just going to lead to more donations and more donation dollars equal more research for CF Canada and research equals a cure.”