Simon Briggs is trying to at least look the part under the tutelage of the two-time Olympic champion. Photo: Andrew Fox for The Telegraph
It's like a feverish, anxious dream. Here I am, nervously swaying on 170 square feet of stretched canvas. Meanwhile, the eight members of the British squad sit on a nearby trampoline, looking with mild curiosity at what this middle-aged buffoon might do next.
The subject line read “Trampoline Masterclass with Briony Page” ” But Paige herself – a two-time Olympic medalist and the undisputed queen of the air – is still busy being interviewed on the other side of the room. So I was entrusted to the tender care of Zach Perzamanos and Andrew Stamp, two of Britain's rising and then falling stars.
“Do a double back [two full somersaults],” Stamp urges as I gingerly sway through several drops in the seat. “Do a Barani [forward somersault with a twist],” says someone else.
For some reason, a children’s rhyme begins to sound in my head: “If one green bottle accidentally falls…”
Luckily, Paige chooses this exact moment to show up and immediately offers some serious advice. “Just try to jump as high as you can. Keep your arms above your head. Now straighten your palms and clench your thumbs to look the part.”
Bryony Page puts Telegraph Sport' ;Simon Briggs&# 39; rebound ability test. Photo: Andrew Fox for The Telegraph
It's hardly revolutionary in any sense. I stay upright in the air. But at least I don't fall on my face, dive off the side, or bleed on an expensive canvas. Finally back on solid ground, I calm my trembling legs and realize that the audience has melted.
A lithe figure in Britain's swimsuit, Paige is an unlikely candidate for the title of Britain's best bouncer. Still, her record makes her a giant in this echoing space: a high-ceilinged room at the National Sports Center in Lilleshalle, equipped with four full-size trampolines and a small pile of dead blue trampolines.
If Page did that. a soothing, wandering manner, partly due to her complete command of the subject. But she also worked on her presentation skills, becoming something of a public athlete who takes bookings at corporate conferences.
“At school, I didn’t even raise my hand because I didn’t want to speak in front of the class, let alone thousands of people,” she tells me as soon as the morning demo ends. “But when I came back from Rio, I felt invincible, so I thought: “If I want to, I can do it.”
My first meeting with Page was during the Rio Olympics. as I reported on her remarkable silver medal at her first Games. No British trampoline player has ever reached an Olympic final before.
Bryony shows Simon how it's done. Credit: Andrew Fox for The Telegraph
To secure her silver, she demonstrated her 10 skills more clearly than ever before, even in practice. Her interview after the jump was also hilariously quirky. It turned out that she was a former biology student whose thesis discussed the possible sounds that dinosaurs could make. (It turns out that the bird calls directly contradict the entire Jurassic Park franchise.)
Paige considered quitting after Rio on the grounds that she had achieved her goals under extreme pressure. But she knew she would miss bouncing too much. Moreover, she had come close to stopping before, under circumstances that only strengthened her resilience.
Toward the end of her junior career, Paige suffered an extreme case of “lost skills syndrome.” The condition, better known as “tortuous,” reached a much wider audience when it forced Simone Biles—the world's greatest gymnast—to withdraw from two Tokyo Olympic finals.
“It was very sad to watch,” says Paige, who had to relearn every move—yes, even dropping her seat—after a glitch in her internal control computer wiped out her entire hard drive.
“This happens in sports where there is a risk of landing poorly or dangerously. I love gymnastics, trampolining, diving, trick skiing and snowboarding. But Simone has done a really good job of making it less taboo. For me, the fear has not disappeared. It's just something I've gotten better at dealing with. We have to face our fears every day in training because, as trampoline jumpers, we pull the same g-forces as Formula 1 racers or astronauts.”
Bryony Paige will head to Paris next year chasing a hat-trick of Olympic medals. Photo: Andrew Fox for The Telegraph
The g-forces on my trampoline were more like the forces generated by a stair lift. However, I could appreciate the anxiety of staring at the canvas without a clear idea of what I should do next.
However, don't let me put you off. Trampolining is a very rewarding experience (no pun intended) if you learn it systematically, and is also a very rewarding experience for middle-aged or even older adults. Simply put, it's fun. You only have to see Paige float in the air—which is what she's doing now for our cameraman—to feel your heart lift.
“Even when you're tired and it won't happen. plan,” Paige said, “then you look up and think, “I was 10 meters in the air doing a somersault!”
Now 32, her daily routine remains focused on competitions: first in the next Birmingham next month for the world trampoline championships – a competition where she won individual gold in 2021 and team gold in 2022 – and then to Paris next summer for her third Olympics.
But this event is as much about the atmosphere as it is about the medals. When Paige gets on the trampoline, she literally jumps for joy.
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