Trampoline Inventor Dies
The inventor of the trampoline has died
George Nissen, who invented the modern trampoline, has passed away aged 96.
A university gymnast, Nissen was inspired after seeing a safety net for circus trapeze artists. He felt that a smaller version would help him practise his tumbling.
The first trampoline was constructed a garage in the 1930s. Nissen called his apparatus the “trampoline”, from trampolin, the Spanish word for “springboard”.
Within a few years Nissen had taken his invention around the world, promoting the sport of “rebound tumbling”, as it was then known.
The first world championships were held in London in 1964. Nissen’s biggest goal was that he would live to see trampolining become an Olympic sport.
Trampolining made its Olympic debut at Sydney in 2000.
Nissen’s name lives on through the Nissen Cup (an annual competition in Switzerland) and through the Nissen Award for collegiate gymnasts.