|
A medal haul never before seen in our nation’s gymnastics history - 7 Gold, 5 Silver and 3 Bronze medals!
NIA, Birmingham, Sunday 2 May 2010
The final day of competition at the European Championships in Birmingham saw the Individual Apparatus Finals for both the Junior and Senior women.
There was a noticeable buzz around the British camp on Sunday, 2 May, after Saturday’s success where the women’s team earned a historic second place finish. The NIA was packed with eager supporters, keen to see whether the Brits could repeat their performances for more podium places in the Apparatus Finals.
14-year-old Leilah Mackenzie was Britain’s only Junior to qualify for an event final and showed poise and precision on the Beam in a final that was littered with errors from several gymnasts. Mackenzie’s consistency earned her a reputable fourth place finish (13.425), while Russian sensation, Victoria Komova, led Russia to victory with a score of 14.900.
The atmosphere in the arena built throughout the morning in anticipation of the Senior women’s competition, and in particular British hopes were high that Beth Tweddle could live up to her reputation on A. Bars and Floor, where she dominated in the qualifying competition.
First to compete for Great Britain was 15- year- old Nicole Hibbert, who in her first year of Senior competition was representing the nation in the Vault final. This apparatus final was packed of difficulty from some experienced competitors and, last up to compete, Hibbert took a big step on her first vault and tumbled backwards on her second - a score of 13.025 left her in 8th place, but nevertheless a fantastic achievement for this young gymnast.
A. Bars saw two British gymnasts take centre stage. Becky Downie, who put in consistent performances in the qualification and team competitions, was hoping to prove that she could hit three clean routines and did not disappoint; 14.625 and a fifth place finish.
The crowd erupted when Tweddle’s name was announced in the hope that she might repeat her 2006 and 2009 gold medal success on her trademark apparatus. With a routine packed with difficulty, Tweddle’s experience and excellent execution shone through and with a score of 15.875 she was over eight tenths clear of the rest of the pack; a Gold medal for Great Britain.
Beam was the only apparatus where a British gymnast had not qualified for the final, and again the Romanians and Russians put in consistent performances to take the top three places; Elena Racea achieving 14.400 for the gold medal.
The final apparatus of the afternoon was the Floor. Two British hopes were competing; Niamh Rippin and once again, Beth Tweddle who as reigning World Champion had a reputation to live up to. Rippin gave a solid performance with some high difficulty tumbling to earn 13.400 pts for joint sixth place. The packed crowd were hoping for the fairy tale ending to a spectacular week of achievements for British Gymnastics, but Tweddle faced tough competition in the form of Anna Myzdrikova of Russia and 2007 Floor European Champion Vanessa Ferrari of Italy. Building difficulty throughout the routine with complicated dance, leaps and tumbling series, Tweddle held them all at bay to take the European gold medal with a score of 14.825.
This brings the medal haul for British Gymnasts over these two weeks of competition to an impressive 15, an achievement never before seen in our nation’s gymnastics history!
For more information and quotes see www.british-gymnastics.org
|
