Giarnni Regini-Moran was stunned after clinching Great Britain’s first ever men’s world floor title at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in front of a home crowd in Liverpool.
The 24-year-old Norfolk native beat newly crowned all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto with a score of 14.533, pipping the Japanese competitor to the gold by just 0.033.
Hashimoto’s compatriot, Ryosuke Doi, rounded out the podium.
“I’m lost for words,” said Regini-Moran. “I was up in the second half, I just took it routine by routine. I didn’t really pay too much attention to the routines the other guys were doing, and obviously you could hear the crowd when people fell.
“In my head I was just thinking, ‘Do your routine, land on your feet’. I was capable of a mid-14 score. I thought, ‘If I land on my feet, I’ll get that score’, and that’s what I did.
“I honestly can’t explain how I feel just now. I don’t really believe it’s happened, but obviously it has. Maybe it will sink in soon, I don’t know. I’m lost for words.”
Regini-Moran’s medal was Britain’s fourth of the event at Liverpool’s M&S Bank arena and their first gold.
Both the women and men booked berths at the Paris 2024 Olympics with silver and bronze medals in their respective team finals, while Jessica Gadirova also made history with the country’s first ever women’s all-around world medal after winning bronze.
Regini-Moran has a chance at another medal in the parallel bars final on Sunday, and said he is trying to keep a cool head before that event.
“I’m just going to chill out,” he added. “P-bars for me was a bonus. I always came here with a vision of trying to make that floor final, and obviously I’ve got the gold medal now, so that’s pretty cool.
“It’s just about having some fun really. I’m not expecting anything to happen. I qualified in eighth. I’m just privileged to be in that final.”
