Vasco Peso Leaves Tumbling for Cirque du Soleil Due to Low Pay

Portuguese gymnast Vasco Peso announced on Thursday that he is retiring from competitive tumbling to join Cirque du Soleil.

The 24-year-old reigning European and world champion made the announcement in an interview with Agência Lusa, stating that he can no longer make a living wage in Portugal through the sport.

“I don’t earn a salary just for jumping,” Peso told Agência Lusa. “So, I’ve always said that the only way to keep me in the sport for more years would be if they started paying me a respectable amount consistent with what I bring to Portugal in terms of achievements.”

Peso explained that he prefers to walk away at his peak rather than continue struggling financially. He pointed to the overwhelming dominance of football in Portugal as a primary reason for the lack of funding across other sports.

“I’m 24 years old, I don’t intend to live in my parents’ house until I’m 40,” Peso told Agência Lusa. “So, I have to start thinking about my life outside of gymnastics.”

“It was a forced choice, it wasn’t a choice I was allowed not to have,” Peso added to Agência Lusa. “I had to make it at some point in life. Unfortunately, I have to make it now.”

The athlete confirmed he has already been in contact with talent scouts for Cirque du Soleil. He plans to finish his current studies before joining one of the company’s touring productions.

“I’ve already had contact with the person responsible for hiring athletes,” Peso told Agência Lusa. “He showed a lot of interest in joining the team. He said that when I finish my course and my competitive career, I should send him a message and he’ll put me in one of the shows that has a discipline most similar to tumbling.”

Peso said that he intends to train through the 2027 European Championships, aiming for a bronze medal to close out his competitive career.

“If I were to finish now, I think I would finish at the best phase of my career and I prefer to finish on top,” Peso told Agência Lusa.