GYMNASTICS – TRAMPOLINE: Adelaide-based gymnast Blake Gaudry had a bitter-sweet experience in his Olympic debut on Day 8, missing the final with a stumble in his second jump after setting an Olympic record in his first qualifying routine.

After nailing his first jump (set routine), Gaudry fell on the seventh of his 10 skills in the second and final qualifying jump (voluntary routine) to put him in 13th overall and costing him a top eight finals berth at North Greenwich Arena.

While disappointed to miss the final, Gaudry was excited about setting a PB and an Olympic record for the highest degree of difficulty in a set routine since trampoline was introduced to the Olympics in 2000.

“I was actually really worried about my set routine but I got through and nailed it so I was so really happy,” he said.

“I was more confident about my voluntary jump and knew I just had to keep on the bed and I would have made the final.

“I didn’t start on a good bounce...I could have re-started but I was just so excited and wanted to get it over.”

Gaudry, ranked 27th in the world, said he felt his second jump start to falter around the fourth skill and tried to correct it.

“I anticipated and overcompensated for the mistake,” he said.

“I came here to make the final and anything’s possible then as you could see by the number of falls today.”

Gaudry said he would make a point of watching video of his fall as soon as possible.

“I need to watch it; it’s probably already on You Tube,” he said.

“This has been a great learning experience. I was thinking that I was going to be very nervous but it wasn’t as bad as I expected.

“I know now to treat every competition the same because I’ve been to the biggest stage there is for trampoline.”

Tracie Edmondson in London
olympics.com.au