Trampoline - Landmark silver a Page turner for Britain

By Colleen Stopforth RIO DE JANERIO (Reuters) - Bryony Page carved out a slice of trampoline gymnastics history at the Rio Games on Friday when she became the first British woman ever to win a medal in the event. Holding back tears, the 25-year-old appeared shocked at her success as the judges revealed their scores and the realisation finally dawned that she would be taking home the silver. Page and her teammate, Kat Driscoll, were Britain's first women's trampoline gymnasts to reach an Olympic final in a sport that has been dominated by Chinese athletes in recent years. However Page, the 2015 British champion, looked determined to buck this trend from the moment she first stepped onto the trampoline. Opening her set routine with a floating three-quarter front somersault, a technically simple skill that requires extreme physical control, she appeared to hang momentarily in the air, weightless. A slightly weaker performance in the voluntary round pushed her into seventh position, yet her composure was unaffected. With the scoreboard set to zero heading into the final round, the Sheffield University graduate visibly oozed confidence. "If I want to get a medal, if I want to do my best, I have to give it absolutely everything with no holding back," she said. There was certainly no reserve in evidence. A booming piked triple front somersault with half twist, known as a triff, kicked off an elegant and powerful routine packed with strong lines and tight shapes. Pinned to the central cross, her natural power made a 14.400 difficulty routine look effortless. The top spot was hers and she successfully defended it against Chinese attacks from world champion Li Dan and 2008 Olympic gold medallist He Wenna before Canada's Rosie MacLellan rose to the occasion and became the first trampoline gymnast to win back-to-back golds. "I was really happy with my routine in the final," Page, who finished seventh in qualifying, told reporters. "It was the best routine I could have done. "Finding out I'd got a medal, I couldn't hold my legs up. I just collapsed and I was crying my eyes out. When I found out I got the silver, I was just shell-shocked." (Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes)