The nerves were almost unbearable for gymnast Alice Kinsella but she kept her cool to claim GB's first European beam gold in style.
Kinsella was first to complete her routine at the 2019 European Gymnastics Championships in Szczecin, Poland and scored 13.566, which was ultimately enough to beat all the other finalists – including new European all-around champion Melanie dos Santos by 0.1 marks.
It was a first European medal for the 18-year-old – taking GB’s tally at the Championships to four, following Max Whitlock's pommel horse gold and Ellie Downie’s all-around silver and vault bronze – although she was struggling to come to terms with her success in the immediate aftermath.
“There is so much going through my head right now – I can’t believe it,” said Kinsella. “It’s been a rollercoaster for me, my all-around competition didn’t go to plan but I knew I had this beam final to put that right.
“My acro series was a bit wobbly but I was determined not to fall, the rest of my routine went to plan.
“I was so nervous watching the rest of the girls compete, being first up is the worst! To come away with our first ever European medal feels absolutely amazing.”
After her beam success, Kinsella was straight back into action in the floor final and scored 13.100 to finish seventh, with compatriot Claudia Fragapane coming fifth.
Meanwhile, Brinn Bevan finished seventh in the parallel bars final, Courtney Tulloch was eighth in the vault final after failing to control both his landings and James Hall fell from the high bar, so didn’t complete his routine as a precaution.