Gymnastics: Olympic bronze medal in hand, Kiwi Dylan Schmidt setting lofty goal to become trampolining great

Kiwi trampolinist Dylan Schmidt has set himself a lofty goal to become one of the sport's greatest-ever athletes.

And the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist hopes to continue that climb at the upcoming world championships in Azerbaijan.

Residing in a quaint cottage in the Clevedon countryside, near Auckland, seems like a world away from the heights of that career-defining performance at Tokyo, but Schmidt, 24, wouldn't have it any other way.

After some downtime back home, he is ready to return to the world stage and make his mark again.

"I'm ready to take that next step in my career and build on this Olympic medal, and just progress, so obviously the podium would be great - but the goal is always to win.

Schmidt's had a limited build-up, with just five weeks of full training during Auckland's COVID-19 restrictions.

"It's not going to be easy, with not ideal training, but I know I'm strong enough to do it and I'm pretty excited just to give it a go." 

Schmidt admits the new accessory around his neck comes with a price. 

"You got to have a bit more credibility and, I guess, fight for that podium a little bit more.

"I'm an ambitious person, so I'm always looking to continue that and build a bit of a legacy, and be known as one of the greatest of all time in the sport, so that's where I'm heading."

Schmidt hopes this month's world championships will be a springboard for that goal.