There are two events on the Olympic program, the men's and women's individual competitions.

Both events start with a qualifying round with the top eight competitors moving on to the final round.  Routines in the final consist of 10 elements that are scored for difficulty as well as execution.

Along with artistic gymnastics, trampoline will take place at the North Greenwich Arena, which is known as the O2 Arena outside of the Olympic Games.

London 2012 Storylines:
China was a non-entity in the sport when trampoline made its Olympic debut, qualifying no athletes for the Games.  But the country made a push for the podium after earning the hosting duties for the 2008 Games.  Now China is the dominant nation, winning three of the six medals at the 2008 Games and taking the top two spots on the podium in each individual event at the 2010 World Championships.  With a wealth of talent, the biggest competition is just to make the Chinese Olympic team.   

Beginning in 2011, the height achieved throughout a routine is factored into the difficulty score.  Sensors beneath the trampoline bed measure the duration a gymnast remains on the bed.  The "time spent in the air" is calculated by deducting the time on the bed from the overall time of the routine.

Canada's Outlook:
Since its introduction to the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000, Canada has been the most successful country, winning five medals.  Karen Cockburn leads all trampolinists with three medals (two silver, one bronze).  Her now-husband Mathieu Turgeon took home bronze from the 2000 Games while Jason Burnett claimed silver in Beijing 2008.

While both Cockburn and Burnett have qualified for London 2012 and intend to challenge for the podium once again, however Rosannagh MacLennan may well be the one to watch.

MacLennan, who finished seventh in her Olympic debut in 2008 has been on a tremendous roll in the lead up to London 2012.  She followed up her gold medal performance at the Pan Am Games this past October in Guadalajara, Mexico with a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships in Birmingham, England.  She then topped it off by claiming gold at the Olympic Test Event in London in January.

Other International Athletes to Follow:

MEN

Dong Dong – China

• Won the 2008 Olympic bronze medal at age 19 years, 128 days, making him the youngest men's medallist ever in Olympic trampoline competition
• Won back-to-back World titles in 2009 and 2010, following a silver medal in his world championship debut in 2007
• Won silver in the individual and gold in the synchronized event at the 2011 World Championships

• Won the 2008 Olympic title at age 19 years, 133 days, making him the youngest gold medallist ever in Olympic trampoline competition
• 2011 World gold medallist and 2009 silver medallist

• Won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal at age 18 years, 215 days, making her the youngest medallist ever in Olympic trampoline competition
• Won the World title in 2009 to go with her World silver medals in 2007 and 2010

• Won the 2008 Olympic title at age 19 years. 213 days, making her the youngest women's gold medallist ever in Olympic trampoline competition
• 2011 World gold and 2009 World silver medallist