British Girls Post Record Performance
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October 12, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
The British girls produced a superb display at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships final to place fifth – a new record.
Beth Tweddle, Jenni Pinches, Danusia Francis, Rebecca Downie, Hannah Whelan and Imogen Cairns combined to post a total score of 169.670 and finish fifth, higher than Germany, Japan and Australia.
It was the best performance in history for GB at the event and adds to the delight of securing Olympic qualification just by making the final at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Three-time world champion Tweddle produced one of the displays of the tournament to notch a score of 15.666 on the bars and each of the team contributed to the final score.
The USA comfortably secured the title ahead of Russia, who took silver, and China secured the bronze.
The event started on the floor with Tweddle, Cairns and Whelan all scoring well, before Cairns notched an impressive 14.133 on the vault, a classification which had seen the men’s team come unstuck earlier in the championships alongside the beam.
With the USA and Russia steaming out ahead in the battle for gold, the competition moved to the bars where Downie followed up her excellent qualification performance with another top effort of 14.433 to add to GB’s total. Tweddle was next to take up her starting position and again produced one of the week’s best displays to score 15.666 and bring one of the loudest cheers of the entire event from the crowd.
The beam came next and is usually one of the trickiest aspects of the event but Pinches, in her only routine of the day, Francis and Whelan all gave near-faultless performances to secure the fifth-place finish.
“It’s amazing. After reaching the top eight in qualifying and getting the team to 2012, which was are number one aim, we knew we could just go out and enjoy the final and we definitely did that,” said a beaming Whelan afterwards. “Every girl did their bit for the team, even Laura Edwards the reserve cheering us on, so as a group we are really happy and proud.”
By Leigh Gruffydd Sanders
[Image courtesy of Wiiii]