As a young gymnast, Bryony saw kids jumping up and down on the trampoline and decided, "I want to try that! It looks like so much fun!" Three Olympic medals later, including her sparkling new gold from Paris, and she clearly hasn't stopped having fun.

As World & European Trampoline Champion, Bryony has all of the accolades one could dream of, but as she shares, her journey has always been about so much more than just the hardware. Bryony's path has included countless injuries as well as serious bouts of fear and a need to relearn skills she had previously mastered. She shares her techniques for fighting fear including rationalization, writing in a diary, and working with a psychologist. "I felt embarrassed, I felt scared. You're going into a training session and you're going to struggle. You learn that fear brings focus and you have to bring your brain to focus on the things that will help you do the skill well and how you will feel when you do the skill well."

In today's conversation, we explore what makes Bryony the Olympic champion and leader she is, her inner thought process around learning from failure, and her hopes for the future. She shares,"I previously thought that the more I tried and failed, the further away [from my goal] I was getting. You are learning what doesn't work, so that's getting you closer to your goal."

This conversation is hosted by Maé-Bérénice Méité, 2x Olympian and 6x National Figure Skating Champion from France. This series Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris celebrates women from around the world seeking to compete in this summer's Olympics and Paralympics.

Episodes drop every Wednesday at 5am Eastern Standard Time through the Paralympics.

Photo credit in podcast tile: Bryony's instagram

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Flame Bearers is the world's first media and production company specifically illuminating the unsung stories of resilient women Olympians & Paralympians. We tell stories via podcast, video, and live events and are working towards a world where people feel more represented, empowered, and enlightened about the power of community.

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