Torbay gymnast Abi Martin wins brilliant bronze in the World Championships

It has been a whirlwind 18 months for Abigail Martin, the student at South Devon College who spends her spare time competing at the top table of global gymnastics.

After winning a place in the Team GB squad for the Paris Olympics, 17 year-old Abi has had to battle back from injury and spent many long hours honing her technique at the South Devon School of Gymnastics.

Abi signalled her return to fitness with gold medal on the vault in the Paris World Cup last month, perfect preparation for the World Artistic Gymnastics in Jakarta over the past week.

The Team GB squad has been wracked with injury, catapulting Abi and her young team-mate Ruby Evans into the strange position of being relatively senior members of the party, and they have both loved up to the responsibility in spectacular fashion.

Abi stepped up to the plate first with a superb eighth-placed finish in the Women’s All-Around Final, starting with a solid display on the uneven bars. She had a slight wobble on the beam but recovered with outstanding performances on the floor and vault.

It all added up to Abi being confirmed as the number eight gymnast in the world, with Welsh team-mate Evans finishing tenth.

She told British Gymnastics: “I really can’t believe it, it’s completely unexpected. I secretly set myself a top ten target but to actually do that with all these incredible gymnasts is insane. I took a moment after to just realise how far I’ve come to be able to be 8th in the world it’s a very special moment for me. I still have the floor final to come and am already excited to go out there and perform again.”

There was no time to bask in that particular glory, as both gymnasts stepped into the Floor Final on Saturday morning.

Evans set the tone with a stunning routine, scoring 13.666 to put pressure on all the finalists, and Abi then came in with a tremendous 13.466 to take second spot, an amazing display in her first ever World Championships.

It was then a nervous wait for the British duo, as Japanese gymnast Aiko Sugiharo grabbed the lead with a gold medal routine. Abi now sat in third with three more gymnasts to go.

The next Japanese competitor fell just short and then it was over to the Romanian gymnast, who matched Abi’s score, but Paignton’s queen of the mats held on to third by virtue of her superior execution score.

And when the final gymnast from USA fell way short of the target, a brilliant bronze medal was confirmed for Abigail Martin, with her team-mate taking silver.

Wow Abi, just wow!