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Utah Valley University student Simon Smith competes against the best in the world in the double-mini trampoline event.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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Utah Valley University student and world-class trampoline athlete Simon Smith is shown with his coach, Andy Bryner.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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Utah Valley University student Simon Smith competes in the double-mini trampoline event in Birmingham, England, in November 2023.

Courtesy Utah Valley University

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Simon Smith, a 22-year-old pre-dental student at Utah Valley University, and three “Team USA” teammates won the team gold medal in the double-mini event at the 2023 FIG World Trampoline Championships in Birmingham, England, last November.

The win is a testament to Smith and the team’s commitment to the sport. His appearance at the 2023 world championships in Birmingham marked the second time he has participated in the international competition and followed his debut in Tokyo in 2019 where he and the team placed second in the team competition. Smith finished 12th individually. One of Smith’s Tokyo performances can be seen on the FIG Youtube channel.

The double-mini is a narrow trampoline with a slanted and a flat level. Athletes run toward and jump onto the slanted level in a forward flipping motion — similar to a vault in traditional gymnastics — then land and bounce off the flat level. Once in the air after hitting the flat level, they flip again and try to land in a red painted area on a mat. They receive points according to how close they can land to the red target and the type of flipping skills they perform.

In July 2023, Smith and his teammates competed in the double-mini event at the 2023 Trampoline World Cup in Coimbra, Portugal, where Smith was one of 40 elite athletes representing Team USA. Smith placed fifth in the individual competition. In November 2023, he and his team won the gold medal, marking the first gold in the team category for the United States in over a decade.

Smith’s road to performing on the world’s biggest trampoline gymnastics stage has been an adventure to say the least. His journey began in earnest about six years ago when Andy Bryner began officially coaching him while he was still in high school. Bryner owns Utah Valley Trampoline & Tumbling in Orem.

Bryner noticed Smith’s talent when he was taking his first trampoline and tumbling class in his gym. “He was in artistic gymnastics but was looking for something different, ‘something fun,’ and he made it clear that he didn’t want to compete, which still makes me laugh,” Smith said.

Smith trained diligently for his first competition in 2017 but was derailed because he broke his leg in a dirt bike accident during a Baja Race in Mexico. Despite surgery requiring rods and pins that included frustrating complications, he began jumping and training again within six months of his medical procedure. Smith eventually earned a spot on the Senior National Team in 2019 and was selected to participate in the 2019 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, on the Men’s Double-Mini Team.

After his first world championship in 2019, Smith took a two-year break to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For some athletes, a break this long could have led to retirement, but for Smith, it was only motivation to continue pursuing his passion.

“I missed gymnastics every day I was gone,” Smith said, reflecting on his decision to come back to the sport. “After putting all of my time and energy into something for so long, it was really hard for me to take such a long pause from it. I tried to stay fit while I was away, and I was so mentally ready to start again that it felt easy for my body to catch back up.”

Unlike many student-athletes, he competes with a privately owned club rather than a collegiate team due to the unique nature of his event. The absence of collegiate support makes it difficult to compete on such a high level. Undeterred, he actively works toward raising awareness of his sport, hoping to see it included in the Olympics and eventually in collegiate programs.

Looking ahead, Smith has set his sights on the 2025 World Games in China. With the games only happening once every four years, this competition is considered the most prestigious for the double-mini discipline.

Smith also understands the importance of higher education. He attends UVU and is enrolled in the pre-dental program, which prepares students for dental school. He dedicates the majority of his non-academic hours to intensive trampoline gymnastics training at Utah Valley Trampoline & Tumbling. However, since most gymnasts retire in their early 20s, Simon has been working to obtain an education and have a dental career waiting for him once his journey in gymnastics comes to an end.

Avery Green is the presidential intern with University Marketing & Communications at UVU.

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