There was little sign of an injury hangover for Olympic bronze medallist Amy Tinkler as she and the rest of the British women’s squad followed their male counterparts with strong qualifying displays at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
Tinkler, winner of floor bronze at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio, scored 52.831 over the four apparatus to leave her well placed for the all-around final, where she could be joined by Alice Kinsella who finished on 51.365.
Claudia Fragapane topped the floor standings on 13.933 while Georgia-Mae Fenton did likewise on the bars with 14.533.
Competing in the first of five qualifying ‘subdivisions’, the British gymnasts must now wait until Wednesday evening to find out if they have made the finals.
For 17-year-old Tinkler, who only returned to competing recently from injury and has been suffering from a cold, the performance left her with plenty to smile about.
“I’m buzzing. I’ve had some injury difficulties this year and have felt a bit ill this week so to have made it through today is a huge relief,” she said.
“I’m top of the standings now but there’s a long, long way to go with some amazing gymnasts ahead so I’ll just be hoping I can keep my place.”
The gymnasts’ aim in qualification is to place in the top 24 of the all-around rankings (those gymnasts that compete on all six apparatus) or the top eight on each individual apparatus in order to make the World Championship finals.
Fragapane meanwhile put in an impressive routine on the floor, high on difficulty and full of energy, although wobbles during her tricky bar routine cost her with a score of 11.933.
However, the four-time Commonwealth champion was delighted with her showing on the floor.
The 2015 European floor silver medallist said: “I just wanted to go out and do my floor routine cleanly, I was so, so happy to have done that. There’s still some improvements to make so I’ll be working hard on them should I make the final. I’ve changed the order of my tumbles slightly so it’s good to show that to the world.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, the men’s apparatus finalists were confirmed with double Olympic Champion Max Whitlock making Saturday’s pommel final with Courtney Tulloch doing likewise on the rings while Nile Wilson will compete in Thursday’s all-around event.
Sportsbeat 2017