Tweddle wins record bronze

By Sam Marsden, North Greenwich Arena

 
Beth Tweddle won Britain’s first ever Olympic medal in individual women’s gymnastics, but missed out on gold as she brought her hugely successful international career to a close.

Tweddle recovered from emergency knee surgery in May, which nearly ruled her out of the Games, to be awarded bronze in the uneven bars final with a stunning, ambitious routine marred only by an awkward dismount.

The gymnast admitted that she cried herself to sleep 12 weeks ago when she thought that her injury would prevent her from taking part.

“Tonight it will be easy to sleep because I have a medal,” she said.

Insisting she was not disappointed by the result, she said she had “finished my career perfectly” by winning an Olympic medal to go with her three world and six European titles.

“I’ve got other medals to my name and this was the one thing missing. I would have been devastated tonight walking away with no medal,” she said.

“I will definitely miss all the competitions and the atmosphere, but I won’t miss the training.”

At 27, Tweddle was significantly older than all her competitors. The gold medal went to 17-year-old Russian gymnast Aliya Mustafina and the silver to China’s He Kexin, 20.

Tweddle came top in qualification on Sunday and went into the final as the favourite to win.

In front of a cheering near-capacity crowd in the 16,500-seater North Greenwich Arena, she performed a complicated routine including her signature move, the Tweddle, where she catches the bar with her hands crossed.

The judges marked her down for her landing, when she stumbled slightly as she hit the mat, giving her 7.0 for difficulty and 8.916 for execution, making a total of 15.916, which put her in the silver position.

Mustafina then produced a near-flawless performance that was awarded 16.133 points and secured the Russian gold, pushing Tweddle into third.

There was a nervous wait for the remaining gymnasts to compete, but a huge cheer went up when the judges ranked America’s Gabrielle Douglas, 16, in last place for an uncharacteristic mistake, securing a bronze for Team GB.

Tweddle, from Cheshire, who was desperate to achieve a medal after finishing in fourth at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, said she was “over the moon” at the result.

“I wasn't bothered what colour it was. I saw myself in third and I thought, 'please don't be fourth again’. I just can't put into words what it means to me,” she said.

Her father Jerry added: "We waited a long while for that and she just looked so relieved and so happy. It was the first time I've seen her shed a small tear. That's unusual for her."
Telegraph