'I had to keep calm when judging Team GB at Olympics'

Andrew Jones (right) said it was important to ensure the athletes remained the stars of the games rather than the judges

An Olympic trampoline judge said he had to keep his "haywire" emotions under control when officiating Team GB athletes.

Andrew Jones, 40, from Ipswich, was picked to officiate the games in Paris as an execution judge.

The trampolining, that started on 2 August, saw several GB athletes compete, including Bryony Page who went on to win gold.

Mr Jones told BBC Radio Suffolk he owed it to the athletes to ensure they were judged fairly.

Mr Jones gained his judging qualification in 2003 following his own athletic career

'Like winning a golden ticket'

"You are aware of the responsibility, but the responsibility on you is to do your job and to do your job well," he explained.

"When you're there judging, you're there in the zone.

"You've got to detach yourself from your emotions and be there to do your job."

Mr Jones had his own career in the sport before he found his passion in judging.

He previously described being asked to officiate the Olympics as like winning "a golden ticket".

'Everything crossed'

"Of course, you know the athletes, you speak to the athletes," he continued.

"I know Bryony [Page] very well and it's really hard when someone you've known for many years comes along and wins a gold medal, and you're sitting there judging them, but you have to control your emotions.

"Outwardly I tried to portray calm but, a bit like a swan underneath, my emotions were going haywire."

He added: "They have trained very hard over many, many years to get there and we owe it to them to make sure we get them in the correct order and the medals go to the correct people."

Mr Jones said there was nothing that could quite compare to the Olympics and he described the atmosphere as like a festival.

He added that he had "everything crossed" he would be picked to be a judge for the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles, in the United States, in 2028.