Georgia-Mae Fenton believes a mentality shift was the key to Team GB’s improbable run to the brink of a women’s team gymnastics medal.
On the night that Simone Biles became the most decorated US gymnast in history and led her nation to gold, Fenton and Team GB came together to deliver some of the performances of their lives.
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Gravesend gymnast Fenton, Becky Downie, Abigail Martin, Ruby Evans and Alice Kinsella nailed each and every one of the 12 routines they performed.
Heading into the last rotation on balance beam, the quintet were within touching distance of the podium but were edged out by Brazil for the bronze medal, finishing fourth.
“We really, really stepped up from qualifications and it was so nice to see everyone put on their best performances,” said Fenton.
“It’s gutting, obviously, missing out by that close. We really did think we had it and to have to do beam for a medal and for us all to stick our routines was a big testament to us.
“It’s definitely something that’s going to help us in the future.”
In the build-up, GB’s team medal chances were blighted by anterior cruciate ligament injuries to star names Jessica Gadirova and Ondine Achampong.
They were almost entirely written off after a shaky team effort in qualifications that saw Kinsella and Evans come off the uneven bars.
“I would say mindset is everything,” said Fenton.
“Obviously in our first competition at the Olympics, some of us were probably a little bit fazed or just nervous. But we wanted to go into this not regretting anything and going all out and we did more than that.”
In an almighty turnaround, the British charge for a medal really gained momentum on that piece as Fenton scored an excellent 14.000 before Downie nailed her stunning routine to the tune of 14.933, which was one of the highest scores for any single gymnast on the night, although it would not prove enough for a top-three finish by a margin of 0.234 points.
USA dominated the competition to claim gold by a cavernous margin of 5.802, with Italy taking silver and Brazil bronze, both breaking through to win their first-ever medals.
Downie said: “Honestly, gutted. It’s hard. But at the same time, I’m super proud of the team.
“We knew what we were capable of despite having some mistakes in qualifications. We came out and gave everything we had and we can’t ask any more than that.”
Downie showed remarkable bravery to compete so well on the three-year anniversary of the death of her brother Josh.
“It’s been an emotional day,” said the 32-year-old. “I felt really quite calm, if anything in qualifications I felt the emotions a bit more.
“I wanted to take it all in, I know that I haven’t got many of these moments left and I enjoyed every moment out there with the girls today.”
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