Merci, Paris.. allez, LA

Cruise joins GB medal heroes flying flags at showstopper

- JEREMY ARMSTRONG

TOM Cruise performed a breathtaking jump from the top of the Stade de France as the Olympics came to a showstopping conclusion.

The Mission: Impossible star, 62, leapt 35m from the roof on a rope into the arena.

Once safely on the stadium floor, he drove off on a motorbike, carrying the US flag.

It was a classic finale to the greatest show on earth.

Team GB's flagbearers were two of our gold medallists who lit up the Games. Trampolinist Bryony Page and triathlon star Alex Yee smiled as they stepped into the arena, proud to have played their part in the spectacle.

Bryony, 33, of Crewe, Cheshire, who is retiring after the Games to join the Cirque du Soleil as an acrobat, and Alex, 26, from Lewisham, London, walked alongside flag bearers from 205 delegations representing countries from around the world.

They were soon joined by our team, dressed in Ben Sherman floral shirts, who danced and waved to the crowd.

Around 9000 athletes flooded the arena after French President Emmanuel Macron had thanked Thomas Bach, the retiring International Olympic Committee President.