Trampoline gymnast Dylan Schmidt says winning New Zealand's first gold medal at the Youth Olympics in Nanjing makes up for a tough year where he bombed under pressure.
The 17-year-old Aucklander won the trampoline gymnastics final on Friday after scoring 57.340 in front of China's Liu Changxin on 56.935.
Bronze went to Portugal's Pedro Ribeiro Ferreira.
His coach Jarod Heirot said he was worried that Schmidt's long time rival Changxin would edge ahead of the New Zealander.
China received a score of 24.600 for difficulty, the same as Schmidt, and 17.735 for time of flight while the Kiwi received 17.340.
But it was Schmidt's difficulty score of 15.400 that handed him the gold, compared to Changxin's 14.600.
"I was worried about China, but in the end Dylan got him and it was amazing," said Heirot.
The coach said Schmidt had gone through a tough year where nerves got the better of him when he competed in the 15 to 16 age group at the world championships on the back of winning a handful of junior titles.
"He felt the pressure a bit there and he bombed, which is when you fall off the trampoline," said Heirot.
But things began to turn around for the teen after he qualified for the Youth Olympics by defeating Australian and Kiwi rivals.
That boost to his confidence gave him the edge he needed for these Games, his coach said.
"He needed to be able to get up here and prove himself today," said Heirot.
Schmidt said beating the gold medal favourite felt good.
"I've wanted to do it for a long time, he's the guy I wanted to beat," he said.
"To come out here in the biggest competition I've had in a long time and win - it's crazy."
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