Mathieu Turgeon made quite an impression when he joined the Skyriders club in 1990. "He pushed the other kids around and hogged the trampolines," recalls his coach Dave Ross who operates the club. "He had a love for the sport right away. Unfortunately we had to ban him from doing backflips because he'd land on the floor all the time. But he was fearless and that was the first sign he had potential."

  Turgeon developed quickly into Canada's top male trampoline gymnast and registered his first major victory at the 1996 World Age Group Championships winning the gold on the individual trampoline in the 15-17 category. Last year at the world championships he improved 19 spots from the previous year placing 15th to automatically qualify for the Olympics.

  He'll enter the Olympics seeded 11th and he is considered a long shot for a medal. However Turgeon is among the most spectacular trampoline gymnasts and executes some of the most difficult maneuvers in the sport including the rarely attempted double layout with four twists.

2000 Games
Sept. 23: Men's singles: Mathieu Turgeon, Unionville, Ont., won bronze medal.

Photos
Toronto's Mathieu Turgeon with his medal
Turgeon up in the air


2000 Games Gymnastics Coverage