Ellie Downie just missed out on a top-ten finish in the World Gymnastics Championships all-around final but insists her comeback is only just getting started after an impressive performance.
Downie, the 2017 European champion, finished 11th in Doha on her return to competition following a wretched year ruined by injury.
The 19-year-old required two ankle operations and missed last year’s World Championships and this year’s Commonwealth Games, but she produced a promising performance to finish as the highest Brit.
Teammate Kelly Simm finished 19th, while USA superstar Simone Biles won gold – becoming the first female gymnast to win four all-around world titles.
She scored 57.491, ahead of Japan’s Mai Murakami and USA’s Morgan Hurd while Downie scored 54.233.
“I’m really, really happy. I’ve had a tough time being out with injury and I really feel like a gymnast again,” she said.
“My difficulty still isn’t back to what it can be so to still finish 11th in the world is really encouraging.
“It’s very special competing in a world final, especially when I put out a good performance. This gives me a massive boost of confidence to keep working and be even stronger next year.”
Downie started her round on the uneven bars and secured a strong 13.900 before solid performances on both the beam (12.700) and the floor (13.233).
However, she saved the best until last – nailing her vault attempt and scoring a big 14.400.
Simm also impressed on the vault (13.900) and the uneven bars (13.900) and went on to finish with 51.799.
Sportsbeat 2018