HIGH-FLYING Bryony Page reached the peak of trampolining thanks to the GREAT FALL OF CHINA – and now she wants to run away and join the circus.
The Cheshire acrobat – who once suffered with the yips – sank to her knees and was in hysterics when she was given an impressive score of 56.480 for solo routine in the eight-woman final.
Despite the flow of waterworks and sheer shock at the marks, there was the possibility she could be denied the gold at the last minute.
But the final competitor, China’s Hu Yicheng, flopped big time, losing balance and bouncing out of the area – which is a huge no-no in this sport.
It meant an emotional Page, 33, was able to complete the full set of Olympic medals – gold in Paris, silver in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.
And despite waking up with a sore neck and dodgy ankle, she celebrated by belting out the national anthem on the podium at the Bercy Arena.
Page laughed: “I hadn’t been watching the competition, I just could hear the crowd and the scores.
“When I was on the top of the scoreboard, I thought I’d won, but I forgot there was another person to go!
“Look, I’ve still got more that I want to do. My Olympic career feels complete but I still have the idea of going to the LA Games (in 2028).
“I just love this sport and if I’m happy and healthy, then you might see me around for a few more cycles.
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“So everything from this point will feel like an absolute bonus. I still can’t believe this.”
Scores in the sport are worked out by AI machines and officials and marks are awarded for difficulty, execution, time of flight, height of the leap and horizontal displacement.
Gymnasts leap the height of a double-decker bus and only for about 30-40 seconds in total.
In a state of jubilation, Page made a point of FaceTiming family and friends, including her Devon-based grandma, who was unable to travel to Paris for this special moment.
So special has granny been to her aerial career that she named her beloved cat GRANDMA in honour of her favourite OAP.
How she performed here is a far cry from the days when she suffered “Lost Move Syndrome (LMS)” – a mental block that afflicts artistic gymnasts when they lose a sense of where they are in mid-air.
Page, who has a degree in dinosaur fossils, can use her gold medal as a bargaining chip to become a Cirque du Soleil performer after the Paris Olympics.
She is conscious she is running out of time to fulfil a lifetime dream to appear on stage with superhuman trapeze artists and tightrope walkers.
The reigning world and European champion explained: “If they still want me, I’d love to perform.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time and I’m not getting any younger, so to get to do that while I’m still feeling strong and healthy would be great.
“I’ve still got more than I want to do on trampoline straightaway, unless I have any other offers.
“If they can get me a temporary contract and I love it then I might stick around, but if I feel like I haven’t given it everything in terms of Olympic journeys then I will come back.
“I love the idea of performing, wearing costumes, putting on make-up, being part of a group.
“I try to go to the Royal Albert Hall to watch them. I’ve got loads of friends who have gone to Las Vegas to watch them. And I watch them when they are touring.”
Nearly 15,000 residents – around 10,500 of which are athletes – will be cramming into the Olympic village between July 26 and August 11.
To ensure the athletes feel at home, a number of provisions have been made by organisers.
One of these is the stocking of some 300,000 condoms, in theory enough for around two every day during the run of the Games.
A number of Olympic athletes have opened the door on their steamy lives behind-the-scenes when in camp, including huge sex orgies and parties.
London 2012 had claimed the title of “the raunchiest Games ever”, but the 150,000 condoms ordered paled in comparison to the 450,000 ordered for the Rio Games four years later.
Condoms have been laid on by organisers at every game since Seoul 1988, when it they were used to spread awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Even with an intimacy ban at Tokyo 2020 due to Covid-19, some 150,000 johnnies were handed out.
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