NZ’s first female trampolinist aiming to reach new heights!

Maddie Davidson, was the first female from New Zealand to be selected to compete in the trampoline event at an Olympic Games, in Tokyo 2020, where she finished tenth in the qualification round. In April this year she was selected to represent New Zealand in Paris, after finishing sixth at the Cottbus World Cup in Germany.

It’s a world away from where the born and bred Cantabrian got her start, as a six-year-old playing around on a trampoline after seeing some family friends doing it.

“I tried to do the same things they were doing on the trampoline, and mum and dad were a bit scared because I was bouncing all over the show and had no control, so they thought, better get her into some lessons,” she says.

 “I loved it from the get-go. I was super competitive as a kid, so team sports weren’t really my thing, but jumping on the trampoline just made me feel alive.”

And throughout her nearly 20 years of jumping, Maddie has never been afraid of giving new things a go, which is just as well considering Olympic trampolinists can jump up to 10 metres high during their routines.

“My coach sometimes says I’m like a goldfish, I’ll try anything, I’ve got no fear really, and I just keep doing it over and over until I’ve got it right.”

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Overcoming mental barriers

While Maddie has been competing at an international level since 2011, it wasn’t all smooth sailing to get there; as a teenager she had to work hard to overcome a mental block that plagued her for several years.

“It was like I had this disconnect between my brain and my body, where my brain was trying to tell me I couldn’t do something that my body knew how to do and had done a hundred times before.”

In gymnastics this is also known as the “twisties”, where the disconnect between brain and body can cause the gymnast to lose control over a movement. American gymnast Simone Biles famously pulled out of the women’s all-round gymnastics final in the 2020 Summer Olympics with a case of the twisties.

Working with her coach Alex Nilov, a sports psychologist and support team, Maddie was able to overcome the mental block through a series of exercises, including practising visualisation and repeated movements to remind her body it was capable. 

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Her training for Paris

In the lead up to Paris, Maddie’s training was focused on trampoline practice with nine sessions a week, for two or three hours, alongside weight-training and cardio.

Being based in Christchurch, Maddie says the indoor cardio equipment at her local Flex Fitness is a lifesaver on the chilly Canterbury winter days.

“In winter it’s just impossible to get a sweat on outside - it’s way better to be in the gym. I’m stoked that Flex Fitness has made accessing their gyms possible for the New Zealand Team, and for me it means not having to freeze by going outside for a run!”

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Flex Fitness proud to support Trampolinist Maddie Davidson

As an official partner of the New Zealand Team, Flex Fitness is thrilled to stand alongside the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) and share our passion for fitness and excellence with the nation’s athletes.

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