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Charlotte Worthington's Olympic success down to toddler trampolining


Great Britain’s Charlotte Worthington’s mother thinks her Olympic victory is down to trampolining as a toddler.

The 25-year-old cyclist became the first woman to land a 360-degree backflip in the sporting event’s first-ever BMX freestyle on Sunday (01.08.21) in Tokyo, and her mum Sarah – who was watching the competition from home in Manchester – is convinced she helped her bag the gold medal because she sent her to bounce classes as a youngster and, therefore, taught her the art of balance.

Speaking to the Guardian newspaper, Sarah said: “It was a great place for her to grow up, because everything is so close by. I always encouraged lots of sporting activities, from roller skating to kayaking, so she had a very active childhood.

“From age four-and-a-half, I took her to trampolining at Trafford trampoline club, and she did that a couple of nights a week, doing all the upside down front-flip stuff and I think it all helped with the balance.”

The dramatic final over the weekend had fans clutching the edge of their seats after the former chef fell on her first run, but her mother knew her daughter had a “new trick up her sleeve” because she had been working on it for “weeks” at a skate park in Telford.

She explained: “The phone just went mental as soon as she’d won. I knew she’d got a new trick up her sleeve: she worked on that for weeks in Telford where they made a skate park an exact copy of the Tokyo Skate Park.”

Shortly after she had won, Charlotte said she was determined to pull out all the stops in the final because walking away with anything but the gold medal would been like leaving with “nothing”.

She said: “I think it’s been gold medal or nothing this whole journey. I think as soon as we set the goal of gold medal, it’s go big or go home. I’ve learned on the years prior to this, competing, that if you gamble and give yourself that chance it’s going to pay off better – and you’ll feel better than if you hold back and think of what might have been.”

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