Ruby Harrold produced one of her best ever performances in women’s qualification at the 5th Individual European Championships to secure a place in the all-around (54.799) , beam (13.433) and bars finals (14.133); she will be joined in Fridays all-around final by first year senior Charlie Fellows who scored 52.566.
Becky Downie also shone with her superb bars routine (14.733) that placed her 2nd in the rankings and in the running for a medal in Saturdays final.
Ruby stared on bars where she has one of the most unique routines in the gymnastics world, she wowed the crowd who were delighted to see to see fresh skills; the judges were also impressed to score her 14.133 for 5th. After a long wait for beam in a silent arena she again looked strong with only tiny wobbles and a good dismount for 7th (with two per country into finals). On floor Ruby impressed with a mature neat performance that scored highly (13.400) and she completed her competition with a clean vault to finish 6th in the qualification standings.
Ruby Harrold: “I’m very pleased with my competition; beam In particular where I put up a personal best. My main focus here was on bars and then I hoped to go clean on the rest, I have an unusual bars combination that has taken time to perfect but it’s been worth all the training. It’s amazing to make the all-around final and of course the bars which was my target.”
Charlie Fellow joins Ruby in the all-around final after a neatly performed competition. Charlie, a first year senior looked focussed and completed a clean tidy competition, the highlight being her strong vault for 13.900 and her consistency across all pieces. With room for improvement on floor, after falling her first tumble, Charlie has the opportunity to produce an even higher score in Fridays final having placed 14th in qualifying.
Beijing Olympian, Becky Downie, who has suffered injury problems keeping her out of the team in recent championships, waited most of the day to compete her bars routine and showed no signs of nerves. Executing one of the more difficult routines of the day she remained composed with only slight deductions and a step on landing to score an impressive 14.733.
Becky Downie “I’m really happy that I got through it - it’s my best score this year. There was always a bit of added pressure having been out of the team for so long but I’ve had amazing support and always had self-confidence and I proved it today. I’m really excited about the final; I’ve been waiting a long time to go for a medal in a major outside of Britain so let’s hope for the best.”
For 15-year-old Gabby Jupp - a rising start of the British team and British Champion - her senior major championships debut did not end as hoped. She began on bars with a steady routine and onto beam she performed well showing high difficulty but an awkward landing from her dismount meant a premature end to her competition. Gabby looked to have landed slight short and fell to the ground, medical staff and British Gymnastics personnel attended immediately as she was carried from the arena. Her high score of 13.566 reflecting what a great gymnast she is. Gabby is being looked after by the British Gymnastics medical team and plans being made to fly her back to the UK for further assessment.
