Tweddle hoping for gymnastics medal

Great Britain gymnast Beth Tweddle is ready for one of the most important minutes of her life when she steps up to the uneven bars for her last chance to win Olympic gold in Monday's final.

The 27-year-old is Britain's most successful gymnast, with three world, six European and seven British titles to her name. However, an Olympic medal is the one thing that has eluded her during her highly decorated career, with a 30-second routine all that stands between her and a place in history.

Tweddle produced a near flawless bars routine to top the leaderboard in qualification with a score of 16.133, laying down a huge marker to rivals He Kexin of China, the reigning Olympic champion, and world bars champion Viktoria Komova of Russia.

The City of Liverpool gymnast has had a long time to think about what an Olympic medal would mean to her after she finished in an agonising fourth place in the final four years ago in Beijing.

"It would be the best way to finish my career," Tweddle said. "I just wanted to make that final. You've got to have luck on the day.

"If I go there and do the best routine that I can and it comes away with a medal, so be it. If it doesn't I've got so much to look back on in my career.

"I would have walked away very disappointed if I hadn't made a final. At least I've got that final to finish my career off."

Fifteen-year-old Rebecca Tunney, the youngest member of Team GB who competed in both the team and individual all-around finals, believes Tweddle will win her first Olympic medal. "She'll be fine," Tunney said. "If she just does what she does every day in the gym she'll be fine."

Britain also have hopes of a medal in the men's vault final where Kristian Thomas will be looking to add to the team bronze won last week.

Thomas qualified in fifth place for the final with a score of 15.983 but knows anything can happen with medals at stake. He said: "I'm going to keep exactly the same vaults and if I can nail it like I did in qualification who knows?"