Great Britain arrived at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago as heavy underdogs with low expectations. Not only were they a young and inexperienced group but they had to ignore ample criticism about the team composition after the omission of Becky Downie. At the end of a chaotic, unforgettable night in the team final, though, they held their nerve and emerged as surprise bronze medallists.
The British team have continued to be the revelation Gymnasts can sometimes struggle to replicate such lofty successes, but a year later, they won a first world team silver medal on home soil in Liverpool. This year, they became European champions for the first time and finishing second in qualifying here showed they have not let up.
On Wednesday they will be among the favourites to win another team medal behind an imperious USA, which scored 171.395 points to lead Britain by more than five points in qualifying.
As Britain seeks to solidify its place at the top, Simone Biles will take another step towards becoming the most decorated gymnast of all time.
Biles, who has won 32 medals at Olympics and world championships, will draw level with Vitaly Scherbo should the USA finish on the podium as expected.
Britain’s success has been driven by the core duo of Alice Kinsella, who at 22 years old is the oldest member of the team, and Jessica Gadirova, who continues to establish herself as one of the best in the world. But the tight-knit group have also shown their depth with numerous others contributing over the past three seasons. Ondine Achampong, Georgia-Mae Fenton and Ruby Evans will play key roles in any success on Wednesday night.
The competition is only getting tougher. Once one of the top powers in women’s gymnastics, China had fallen away in recent years but they have shown significant improvements this week, finishing half a point behind Great Britain. Brazil qualified a point and a half behind China, their success driven by the genius of Rebeca Andrade, the all-around champion last year, and a solid group around her. Italy also have the potential to compete for medals despite a disappointing qualifying performance.
Everything is different in the final, though. In qualifying, four gymnasts compete on each apparatus and the best three scores count. In the team final, three gymnasts compete on each apparatus and all three scores count. There is no margin for error. The British team have shown they can not only handle the pressure that comes with this format, but thrive in it. China, Brazil and Italy will try to catch up.
The absence of Russia, the men’s and women’s Olympic champions – banned after the invasion of Ukraine – remains conspicuous. Despite significant opposition from other national federations, the International Gymnastics Federation said it would begin allowing individual Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete “under strict conditions” from the start of 2024 provided they are not involved or associated with the Russian or Belarusian governments.
It seems unlikely that Russian gymnasts would be able to fulfil even the most abstract definition of “neutrality”. Almost every member of the Russian gold medal teams has attended pro-war rallies, they have worn Z symbols in public, some train at clubs affiliated with the Russian military, others are members of the National Guard and the men’s gold medal team bought a drone for Russian troops.
Russia’s most prominent active gymnast, the former world all-around champion Nikita Nagornyy, is head of the Young Army Cadets and a key figure in the Russian state’s efforts to spread its propaganda to the youth.
