Tweddle goes one better than Beijing as Brit takes bronze in uneven bars
|
Great Britain's Beth Tweddle has won bronze on the uneven bars at the North Greenwich Arena in her last Olympic Games.
The 27-year-old is Britain's most successful gymnast, with three world, six European, seven British and now an Olympic medal to her name.
Russia's Aliya Mustafina claimed gold with a score of 16.133, ahead of defending Olympic champion He Kexin of China who claimed silver with 15.933 with Tweddle's 15.916 earning her bronze.
Top three: Beth Tweddle (right) with Aliya Mustafina (centre) and He Kexin
High standard: Beth Tweddle claimed the bronze medal for her performance on the uneven bars
Tweddle was thrilled to win a medal despite missing out on claiming her first Olympic title.
She said: 'It means everything. I just wanted to win a medal, it didn't matter what colour.
'It's the best feeling in the world. Everyone knew coming into these championships it was the one medal missing from my collection.
'I always said I didn't care what colour it is. Bronze - I'm made up with it.'
Tweddle finished an agonising fourth in the uneven bars final four years ago in Beijing but went one better in London to earn her first ever Olympic medal and finish her glittering career in style.
He was first to compete and produced a near-perfect routine as an anxious Tweddle looked on.
It was slightly down on the Chinese's total in qualification but it set an impressive marker at the start of the final.
Twists and turns: Beth Tweddle had been working on a new, more complicated dismount
Victoria Komova, reigning world uneven bars champion who won silver in both the team and individual all-around, was next and scored a disappointing 15.666 despite a strong double-double landing after she caught the lower bar during her routine.
German Elisabeth Seitz, the last-place qualifier, moved into bronze medal position before China's Yao Jinnan overtook her and into silver with a score of 15.766.
Tweddle then stepped up to perform her routine to tremendous cheers from the home crowd.
The City of Liverpool gymnast produced a beautiful routine, brimming with complexity and with the maximum difficulty on her dismount, but needed to take a couple of steps on her landing after she struggled with the last rotation.
We have a winner: Russia's Aliya Mustafina took the gold medal for the uneven bars
The judges scored Tweddle's routine down on her 16.133 qualification mark, which moved her into silver medal position behind He.
Mustafina then stepped up and produced a breathtaking routine, pushing He into silver and Tweddle down into bronze medal position with two gymnasts still to come.
Japan's Koko Tsurumi did not trouble to top of the leader board as she went seventh, before American Gabrielle Douglas took to the bars with Tweddle hanging on to bronze medal position.
Douglas made uncharacteristic errors during her routine to finish in last place, sealing Tweddle's first Olympic medal in a dramatic finale.
Back down with a bump: Kristian Thomas failed to land his second vault
South Korea's Yang Hak-Seon won gold in the men's vault final at the North Greenwich arena.
Yang was the last man to compete and scored a huge average of 16.533 from his two vaults to be crowned Olympic champion ahead Russia's Denis Ablyazin who claimed silver with Ukraine's Igor Radivilov winning bronze.
Great Britain's Kristian Thomas finished in eighth place despite a huge first vault as he failed to land his second to average a total of 15.533.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-2184451/London-2012-Olympics-Beth-Tweddle-wins-bronze.html#ixzz22nMCjGwH