JUMP FOR JOY
Team GB in brilliant medal bounce as Bryony Page seals second gold of day on trampoline
The triumph comes after Team GB rowers Emily Craig and Imogen Grant won gold in the women's lightweight double sculls on Friday
HIGH-FLYING Bryony Page became Olympic champion in trampoline – thanks to the Great Fall of China.
The Cheshire acrobat completed the full set of medals at Olympic level as she topped the eight-woman final at the Bercy Arena.
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Page qualified in fifth spot but was the penultimate jumper to go and she scored 56.480 by the judges with her solo routine in the final.
They were impressed with her difficulty, execution, time of flight and horizontal displacement.
Page, 33, fell to her knees in shock and started crying when the score flashed up on the big screens in the arena where Simone Biles had stunned the world of artistic gymnastics the night before.
There was only one more competitor to go and China’s Hu Yicheng was expected to produce something special, especially as she had qualified in first place.
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However, during her routine she lost balance and came off the mat which is a big no-no in trampolining.
Even before the scores came through – the mark of 11.790 placed her last – it was obvious that Page was the winner.
It means she has the full collection -- gold in Paris, silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.
The four-time world champion can now go away and complete an ambition to become a Cirque du Soleil performer after the Paris Olympics.
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Though the LA Games in 2028 are a real possibility, she is conscious she is running out of time to fulfil a lifetime dream to appear on stage with fellow trapeze artists and rope walkers.
Page, the reigning world and European champion, said: “I really want to join Cirque du Soleil as an acrobat performer and use my trampoline skills for that.
Imogen Grant and Emily Craig win rowing gold for Team GB at Olympics
“If I left that until after the LA Olympics I might miss my opportunity.
“Speaking with the talent scouts, the opportunity is still there.
“So it is about talking to them and seeing if there is anything for me to go in and get a short-term contract and do that.
“If I love it I will stick with that but if I love it and also feel like I can make a comeback in trampolining, I will do that. LA is still on the table, even if I do that.
“I have wanted to do it since I was a kid. The trampolining is a performance of what you have been training.
“I love the idea of the performance and the costumes and using trampolining in different ways.
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“If something crops up that the talent scout thinks will suit them, there might be an invitation.
“It depends on the show and what they are looking for.”
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