Bryony Page made history as the first British gymnast to win an Olympic trampoline title before promptly confirming her plan to celebrate by running off to join the circus. With a full set of Olympic gold, silver and bronze medals now in her collection, she should prove quite the crowd-pleaser if they can find a large enough big top to house her.
As the only gymnast still standing from the Rio final, and one of only two from Tokyo, Page used her big-stage experience to deliver a world-beating performance when it mattered. The penultimate athlete to compete, she spent the bulk of the final quietly sat in a world of her own, resolutely zoned out to proceedings until producing a series of remarkable twists and somersaults that propelled her to glory.
When the scoreboard flashed up her score of 56.480 to send her top of the standings, Page dropped to her knees and began crying tears of joy in the premature belief that the gold medal was hers. Alas, there was one more competitor to go and a few more nervous minutes to wait.
That final athlete was China’s Hu Yicheng, who started confidently but dramatically fell, forcing her to bail out of completing her routine. Belatedly, Page could celebrate becoming Olympic champion at the third attempt.
“I hadn’t been watching the competition,” explained the 33-year-old. “I just could hear the crowd and the scores. I’d been aware of what the scores were and what I needed to get. I just had to focus on myself and the routine I wanted to get.
“When I was on the top of the scoreboard, I thought I’d won. I forgot there was another person to go. But I knew that was a medal and for me that’s what I was aiming for.”
Immediately beneath Page finished Belarusian athlete Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya, whose score of 56.060 earned silver – a first medal of these Paris Games for her exiled nation, albeit the medal table will reflect her officially competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete. Canada’s Sophiane Methot took bronze.
The scale of Page’s emotion was exacerbated by a long-lasting ankle injury that has plagued her since she won the world title last year. Recent months had proven “a bit of a struggle”, forcing her to change her training methods and meaning she was unable to showcase her most difficult routine in Paris.
The one she did opt for was almost impeccable, with just one minor late error that prompted her to reduce the difficulty of her last trick. Yet, in spite of the gold medal round her neck, the inability to perform to her very best is part of the reason why she has no intention of retiring from the sport just yet.
“I’ve still got more that I want to do,” she said. “I still have the idea of going to LA [2028], so everything from this point will feel like an absolute bonus. I feel like I haven’t given it everything in terms of Olympic journeys. I just love this sport and if I’m happy and healthy, then you might see me around for a few more [Olympic] cycles.”
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Before then, there is a childhood dream that must be realised. For as long as she can remember, Page has been enchanted by the Cirque du Soleil, the world’s most famous circus. Every year she watches them in London and on tour, harbouring hopes of one day joining them on stage. Now she hopes to make that goal come to fruition.
“I would love to perform,” she said. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time and I’m not getting any younger, so to get to do it while I’m still feeling strong and healthy would be great.
“I love the idea of performing, wearing costumes, putting on make-up, and being part of a group. I used to do gymnastics with a display gym so I’d love to be part of that again.”
As a biology graduate whose dissertation subject was the sounds that dinosaurs might have made, it is the type of eccentric ambition that might fit neatly into her unusual career path. And what circus wouldn’t want an Olympic champion in their ranks?
