Sophiane Méthot gave herself quite the birthday present. The day before she turns 26, the Olympic rookie won the bronze medal in the women’s trampoline event at Paris 2024.
In a final where athletes have only one routine to impress the judges, Méthot completed one of the best performances of her life.
“This was really a performance on demand, as I know to do so well. This was an incredible moment, and I will remember it for the rest of my life,” said Méthot.
READ: Méthot flips and flies to trampoline bronze at Paris 2024
The sixth athlete to jump in Friday’s final, Méthot stepped off the trampoline second in the standings with 55.650 points, behind Neutral Independent Athlete Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya. Two more formidable athletes still had to execute their final routine: defending world champion Bryony Page of Great Britain and Hu Yicheng of China, who placed third after the qualifying round.
Page offered the best performance of the final, scoring 56.480 points to jump into first place, then Hu quickly ended the suspense with large lateral movements sending her on the mat at the end of the trampoline, unable to complete her performance.
Méthot explained she was not nervous as she looked at the final two competitors. “Honestly, I was happy with the result, whatever happened. I did a great performance in this final. We were 16 incredible athletes at these Games who all worked really hard during this Olympic cycle.
“Whatever the rank, I would have been satisfied, but I must say it’s now fun to have this medal around my neck,” she admitted.
Méthot earned the last spot into the final, placing eighth in the morning’s qualification round. She said this result did not destabilize her nor undermine her confidence, but actually contributed to reducing the pressure ahead of the final.
“Since I was eighth after the qualifying round, I stepped into this final with the mindset that I had nothing to lose. I knew I could do better than in that first routine. I was doing really well at training recently with good flight times and good runs. I complete the routines a thousand times. I knew I was able to come up with something big, I just needed to execute it at the right time and that’s exactly what happened,” she said.
This Olympic podium occurs after several tough years for the experienced gymnast who won a bronze medal at her first world championships back in 2017.
Battling through several injuries on the path to Tokyo 2020, she also had to overcome mental blocks that made her lose her bearings in the air. She missed a big chunk of the qualifying process and had let go of her Olympic dream in Japan.
At the beginning of the Olympic cycle leading to Paris 2024, she was in a good shape and had a great progression in the last few years and months, including a fifth-place finish at the 2023 World Championships.
“I was at my lowest point three years ago. I had an injury, I had mental blocks, I was no longer able to step on a trampoline and jump. I had doubts, anxiety and fears. Three years later, here I am with an Olympic medal.”
To overcome the mental blocks that kept her away from her sport, Méthot explored available resources. She worked with a psychologist, had hypnosis treatments, visualization and meditation.
“There are so many people around us to help and give us tools. This is what helped me get through,” she said.
This difficult, rough patch set up the stage for a comeback, all the way to the podium.
“I know that if mental blocks return, I have all the tools I need to get out of a slump.”
How will the Olympic medallist celebrate her birthday?
“I’m having cake, that’s certain,” she laughed.
