Sophiane Méthot earns Olympic trampoline bronze for Canada on eve of 26th birthday
Scores 55.650 points for country's 8th Games podium finish all-time in the sport
Canadian gymnast Sophiane Méthot will be starting her 26th birthday celebration a little early in Paris while sporting an Olympic bronze medal around her neck.
Confidence gained from a bronze performance last month at a World Cup in Portugal propelled Méthot to the podium at Bercy Arena on Friday after she scored 55.650 points in the final of her Olympic debut.
It represents Canada's eighth all-time trampoline medal at the Summer Games Canada and at least one top-three finish at six of seven Games since the sport's Olympic debut in 2000.
"It wasn't my best performance in qualifications, but [the final performance] was really a performance on demand, as I know how to do so well," said Méthot, who will officially celebrate her birthday on Saturday.
"I practised it thousands of times, so I knew that I was really producing something solid. I had to do it at the right time. That's exactly what I did."
Retired gymnast Kyle Shewfelt, who won 2004 gold on floor exercise for Canada's first-ever Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics, said Méthot delivered the routine of her dreams in the Olympic final.
"That was fantastic … a total home run for [her] coming into this final ranked in eighth position," said the CBC Sports analyst. "There was a plan [with Méthot and her coach]: get into the final and then give it your everything.
"Coming into this Olympics, she said she was in such a great mental space coming off [the World Cup bronze]. Look at that execution. Those knees are glued together. She was so centred during this routine."
WATCH | Méthot reacts to learning she's won Olympic bronze:
Méthot, who hails from Varennes, Que., was in bronze position before the final gymnast in the eight-woman final, Yicheng Hu of China, who went on to fall and that meant her routine was terminated.
Reigning world champion Bryony Page of Great Britain won gold (56.480) and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya of Belarus captured silver (56.060), the first medal by a neutral athlete at the Paris Olympics.
"Most of the routine was very well done," Shewfelt said of Page. "Bryony is a class act and sets a golden standard on trampoline."
Zhu Xueying, who won 2021 Olympic gold in Tokyo, was fourth (55.510).
Over the past year, Shewfelt noted Méthot has had mentorship from Rosie MacLennan, the former Canadian gymnast who won back-to-back Olympic trampoline gold in 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio).
Winning that bronze medal is because of her courage, her fight, her grit and her determination.— CBC Sports analyst Kyle Shewfelt on Canadian Olympic medallist Sophiane Methot
"Rosie told her the process leading up [to the Olympics] was not going to be perfect," said Shewfelt, "but that she would be able to deliver if she trusted herself and her training."
Earlier Friday, Méthot, who is ranked 11th in the world, earned the last spot for the final with a best score of 54.640 from her floor exercise after playing it safe, Shewfelt pointed out, with a lower-level routine, in terms of difficulty, to better her chances of reaching the final.
"What is admirable is she went after [the gold medal]. She knew she had nothing to lose [after qualifying eighth]," he said. "Winning that bronze medal is because of her courage, her fight, her grit and her determination."
Karen Cockburn, another Canadian gymnastics legend and three-time Olympic medallist, met Méthot on the arena floor to congratulate her after Friday's final along with MacLennan.
"She has done her work," said Shewfelt of Méthot. "She's been pushing herself in the gym to improve on her weaknesses and it paid off."
WATCH | Methot collects Canada's 8th all-time Olympic trampoline medal:
Méthot struggled with an injury during the qualification process for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics — she went to the Games as an alternate — and returned to competition late in 2021.
Last year, Méthot placed fifth in the women's individual event at the world trampoline championships to give Canada one Olympic quota spot.
"She got to have the behind-the-scenes Olympic experience," said Shewfelt. "All the preparation, saw the way [MacLennan] got ready [for competition]. She said that played such a big role to have her as a mentor, and what a performance for Sophiane. You can see the emotion in her eyes."
Méthot is a two-time Pan American champion who won individual bronze in her 2017 debut at worlds in Sofia, Bulgaria, the same year she took synchronized bronze at a World Cup in Minsk, Belarus.
WATCH | Olympic medal ceremony — Méthot receives trampoline bronze:
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