Abi does Bay and country proud as Team GB almost grab Olympic bronze

Paignton’s Abi Martin came within a whisker of a dream Olympic bronze in the women’s team gymnastics event today.

On the night that Simone Biles became the most decorated US gymnast in history and led her nation to gold, Abi and Team GB came together to deliver some of the performances of their lives.

Abi, Becky Downie, Georgia-Mae Fenton, Ruby Evans and Alice Kinsella nailed each and every one of the 12 routines they performed but were edged out by Brazil for the bronze medal.

“I’m so proud of the team,” said Abi. “We gave it our all out there and we definitely had a lot better competition than qualifications.

“It’s always annoying being fourth, let alone being so close, but I’m just super proud of this team.”

Abi's family and members of her South Devon School of Gymnastics were in the crowd in Paris to watch her do her family, club, the Bay and her country proud.

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.

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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