When her score flashed up on the board, Bryony Page could not believe it. With child-like relief, she cradled her head in her hands, crumpled to the floor and screamed with delight. Olympic gold was the one medal that had eluded Britain’s most decorated trampolinist for much of her distinguished career. Not anymore. After securing silver eight years ago at the Rio Games before taking bronze at Tokyo, Page finally struck gold.

As a double world champion who defended her European title this year, Page admitted she had felt the nerves coming into Paris. She was the penultimate to perform in a tense final which only exacerbated the anxious wait. But once her willowy frame was confidently spinning, tucking and twisting through the air at heights which exceeded that of a double-decker bus, it was as if she knew this was her time.

“When I was on the top of the scoreboard, I thought I’d won, I forgot there was another person to go,” said an ecstatic Page, who had internally dialled down her own expectations heading into her third Games after a recent ankle niggle. “But I knew that was a medal and, for me, that’s what I was aiming for. I was aiming for gold since the World Championships but I had an injury coming out of them, so that gold changed to a medal, and almost changed to just to get to the Olympics and final.”

Her mini eruption came after China’s Hu Yicheng, the last to go and the only person who could dethrone Page, endured a nightmare routine in which she veered off to the side of the trampoline. She lost all momentum, bounce and flight and with it, the chance of a medal, as Page’s biggest victory of her career was confirmed.

The Crewe athlete now has the full set. Surely it would seem the perfect time to call it a day?

“No, I’ve still got more that I want to do,” insisted Page who, aged 33, was seven years older than anyone else in the field. “My Olympic career feels complete, but I still have the idea of going to Los Angeles [in 2028] so everything from this point will feel like an absolute bonus. Sorry, but I still can’t believe it.”

After reaching the pinnacle of their sport, most Olympians would draw the curtain on their career but Page calmly stated her next target: to fulfil her childhood dream of performing in the Cirque du Soleil.

She has harboured ambitions to join the world-renowned circus show since she was little, when she would make a yearly pilgrimage with her family to the Royal Albert Hall to watch the acrobatic troupe. In an individual sport, she has always been enamoured with the idea of being part of a community and all the creative energy that comes with it, from the eye-catching make-up to the flamboyant costume designs.

“If they still want me, I would love to perform,” Page said. “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 that I want to do on trampoline straightaway, unless I have any (other) offers.”

After her golden performance, offers may be flying in. Page had finished fifth in the qualifying round but saved her best until last, upping the level of difficulty as she staked her claim for the ultimate prize.

Her ankle injury in the build-up to these Games had forced her to change tack - removing her “triple three” from her routine, which would have included an exceptional three triple somersaults mid-flight. Her watered-down exercise was still nevertheless audacious and far more bold than most of her rivals as she executed 10 different acrobatic exercises over the course of 24 quickfire seconds in a central position above the trampoline. Her score of 56.480 catapulted her to the top of the leaderboard, pushing neutral athlete Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya down into second place, as Canada’s Sophiane Methot took bronze.

After the euphoria subsided, Page had come back down to earth and in a testament to the determined competitor, was left wanting more. “I didn’t do the routine that I wanted to do, that I competed at the World Championships, so that’s one of the reasons why I might come back for another Olympics, just to get that routine out there because no one’s competed it in the Games,” she said.

Watch this space – nothing seems out of reach for Britain’s terrific trampolining talent.

Page soars to Olympic trampoline gold: As it happened

01:54 PM BST

“Completed it mate”

01:46 PM BST

Medal moment

Some quotes to come!

01:38 PM BST

Number 1

01:33 PM BST

Silver for AIN, bronze for Canada

The podium is completed by Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya, competing under the AIN flag and originally from Belarus, whilst Canada’s Sophiane Methot is in bronze.

01:28 PM BST

The winning moment

01:26 PM BST

Page the champion

Page and her coaches are holding up the number one for the cameras. She came 2nd in 2016, 3rd at Tokyo, this has been the magic number they’ve been aiming for since she missed London 2012 through illness. Her face is one of genuine awe. Great scenes.

01:21 PM BST

Hu stumbles, GOLD FOR PAGE

She’s off the trampoline! Hu makes a big mistake and China go without a medal in this event for the first time since 2000. Page is the winner!!

Hugs all round as Page’s gold is confirmed with Hu’s score of 11.790. 33-years-old, third Olympics and fourth Olympic cycle and her perseverance has finally paid off.

1. Gold: Bryony Page - 56.480

2. Silver: Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

3. Bronze: Sophiane Methot - 55.650

4. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

5. Anzhela Bladtceva - 55.020

6. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

7. Madeline Davidson - 54.230

8. Yicheng Hu - 11.790

01:19 PM BST

One more to go...

Before Page can really celebrate - it’s Yicheng Hu who has opted for a lower difficulty. She qualified in 3rd!

01:18 PM BST

Page in FIRST

She gets 56.480 and hits the deck in disbelief! She’s guaranteed silver!!!

1. Bryony Page - 56.480

2. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

3. Sophiane Methot - 55.650

4. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

5. Anzhela Bladtceva - 55.020

6. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

7. Madeline Davidson - 54.230

01:16 PM BST

Bryony Page finishes jump

She’s hitting that central ‘x’ on every landing, it looks good and she’s smiling! Scores to come...

01:16 PM BST

Sophiane Methot

She celebrates as she lands, quite the contrast from her competitors, and a 55.650 puts her in second, she’s very happy having qualified in eighth! The tears continue to flow elsewhere, whilst leader Bardzilouskaya looks icey cool. Her medal is guaranteed! Page up next...

1. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

2. Sophiane Methot - 55.650

3. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

4. Anzhela Bladtceva - 55.020

5. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

6. Madeline Davidson - 54.230

01:13 PM BST

Madeline Davidson

Now. She looks happier but is subdued by a score of 54.230. Her difficulty of 14 is a point or so lower than her previous jumpers, well-executed though. It might be a good tactic to build momentum rather than end your first, more difficult routine in tears...

1. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

2. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

3. Anzhela Bladtceva - 55.020

4. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

5. Madeline Davidson - 54.230

01:11 PM BST

Anzhela Bladtceva

Of AIN (Russia) is next, and joins China’s Zhu in tears immediately after her routine finishes. The jumpers’ coaches stand by the trampoline with a crash mat ready for any errors, and you can get good insight to how well someone’s doing by how engaged the coach is. Bladtceva’s was on edge the whole time, and she scores 55.020

1. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

2. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

3. Anzhela Bladtceva - 55.020

4. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

01:09 PM BST

Hikaru Mori

Of Japan is next, and her flight time also drops below the 16+ that Bardzilouskaya achieved on the way to a total of 54.740...

1. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

2. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

3. Hikaru Mori - 54.740

01:06 PM BST

Xeuying Zhu

The Chinese woman qualified in first with a score of 56.720, but a score of 55.510 in her first jump in the final is sub-par, her score suffered in the ‘flight time’ metric.

1. Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya - 56.060

2. Xeuying Zhu - 55.510

01:04 PM BST

Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya

Is up first, flying the Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) flag given her country of birth is Belarus. She scores a solid 56.060

01:00 PM BST

How will this work

The trampolining takes quite a simple format, thankfully, given some Olympic events are fond over over-complication. The jumpers have just one routine of ten elements each, their best score being the one that will rank them in their pursuit of Olympic glory. Based off the first routine, difficulty can be increased for the second.

Page qualified in fifth, and will be jumping very shortly. A score of 55.735 was good enough for bronze at Tokyo, 56.040 enough for silver in Rio. Her 2023 World Championship title came from a score of 56.680, although qualification saw her jump 57.210 - that’s her best individual score in competition so she’s on good form at the moment. Her qualification score was 55.620, so she’s performing close to her best today.

12:54 PM BST

Songhurst backing Page for gold

We’ve just heard from GB’s Izzy Songhurst following her departure from the competition in the qualifying stages. Here’s what she said:

The 25-year-old on her own qualification and future:

12:47 PM BST

Page a master of her craft

Our very own Simon Briggs infiltrated Bryony Page’s camp last October, and was put through his paces mentally and physically. Page suffered with the infamous twisties as a youngster, so her ascent to the top of world trampolining is an inspiring one.

12:40 PM BST

Bryony Page aims to complete medal collection with gold

Good morning and welcome to our live blog of the women’s trampolining final, where Great Britain’s Bryony Page looks to upgrade her Rio 2016 silver, and Tokyo bronze to a gold having qualified for the final earlier this afternoon.

Her qualification wasn’t a medal statement, her scores of 54.970 and best of 55.620 sending her through fifth of eight, meaning she will be the fourth athlete to jump in the final. Her compatriot Isabelle Songhurst finishes outside the qualification spots in 13th, her best score of 52.920 leaving her 1.720 points from Canada’s Sophiane Methot in eighth, and 1.2 from a reserve spot for the final.

She will be disappointed on her Olympics debut, but she is a synchronised specialist having won the last two European Championships, and the Olympics doesn’t run a synchronised trampolining event.

Page, on the other hand, is a definite medal hope, and with her qualification position can lay down a gauntlet early on if her first routine lives up to her potential. The 33-year-old has come a long way, 11 World Championship medals including four gold in fact, since missing London 2012 through illness. One of those World Championship medals was in 2023, and her Olympic record boasts a silver in 2016, and a bronze in 2021, today is likely her last chance to add the holy grail to that collection, so consider her experienced, resilient, and ultra-focused - as we all know athletes don’t need a second invitation to perform on their ‘last dance’