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Canadian Jason Burnett takes tumble in defending trampoline silver medal

LONDON — Jason Burnett could feel it as he took off for his second skill in the men's trampoline final.

He had over-rotated slightly on his first jump, affecting the angle of his second bounce. Instead of bounding straight into the air, the Canadian was angled straight towards the mats.

After entering the final round in sixth place, the defending Olympic silver medalist fell on the mats to end his routine and his medal hopes.

Burnett finished eighth overall in the event; the impeccably named Dong Dong of China win it with a score o 62.990, earning his first gold after taking bronze in Beijing.

"The plan I had written down on paper was an 18.2 degree of difficulty routine. That would have been four-tenths over Dong Dong," said Burnett.

However, even with a top score, both Burnett and his coach felt he may have still finished out of the money — fourth or fifth at best, based on how well the rest of the field competed.

It was quite a journey for Burnett from Beijing to the London Games.

He was Michael Cera's stunt double in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World", which shot in Toronto. He worked on a TV commercial. He was looking to increase his film work … and then he broke his leg while filming a demo reel.

The injury resulted in a plate and screws being placed in his leg, and the loss of 50 percent of his training time in the lead up to London.

He was still battling minor injuries heading into the trampoline competition. "I woke up pain free today. Well, pain free in my book anyway," he said.

Now, he'll regroup for Rio in 2016 — looking back both at what went right in Beijing and what went wrong in London.

"I've kind of been considering all events, whether I win or whether I fall and bust. In Beijing, I had an incredible experience. I won and I came out on top. Now I've gotten to experience the complete opposite of that. I failed — miserably, some might say. I get to experience both ends of the spectrum," he said.

Burnett added a caveat: "That's not the mindset I took out there today [before the event]."