As Britain’s women’s gymnastics team caught their breath after a delirious team final at the world championships in Liverpool ended in their greatest team performance, a silver medal, they explained exactly what it felt like to deal with the pressure of the growing expectations on them.
A year ago, when they won a historic team bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics – a first team medal since 1928 – their success was a surprise to all. But this time they qualified in second place. There were no doubts about what they were capable of. “It gives us confidence but then it also gives us pressure because you’re like: ‘Whoa, we know we can get there but … whoa …’” said 18-year-old Ondine Achampong, her face a picture of fear, as her teammates laughed.
It is a level of positive pressure that they will have to grow accustomed to after a world championships that saw GB establish itself as one of the strongest gymnastics nations in the world. GB’s gymnasts left with six medals in total, with two golds, their best return from a world championships.
The team’s success is a legacy of that surprise Olympic bronze medal. It showed them what they were capable of and brought a tight team even closer together. Their success has underlined the changing attributes of the gymnasts as Great Britain has gradually established itself as a power nation, their strength on vault and floor propelling them to medals.
A year ago, Jessica Gadirova was already one of the best floor workers in the world, but her routine lacked difficulty compared to the best. Her consistency while competing with such a significant upgrade throughout the event, a full-twisting double layout, was remarkable and it propelled her to both all-around bronze and floor exercise gold medals. While she has shown her tenacity and an ability to rise to the biggest occasions, her challenge will be to become more consistent as an all-around gymnast.
As Gadirova, 18, celebrated her all-around breakthrough, Alice Kinsella finished with mixed emotions as the bronze medal evaded her in fourth place by 0.134 points. But as she also noted, a year ago she finished 14th in the world. After struggling in the big moments during the early years of her career, the growth is clear and, at 21 years old, hopefully continuous.
The British men had enjoyed an even greater season beforehand, bulldozing their competition at both the Commonwealth Games and the European championships. The confidence they built contributed to their spirited comeback to win bronze in the team final. After spending so much of his career persevering through serious injuries and surgeries just to make it onto the world stage, 24-year-old Giarnni Regini-Moran finally had the opportunity to demonstrate his talent as he performed at his best when it counted and became floor world champion. Courtney Tulloch, one of the team’s veterans at 27, finally secured a world medal on rings, his specialist event.
The potential of this team is reflected in the room it still has for improvement and its depth. While this was a great championship, not everyone was operating at their best. Jake Jarman stunned himself with an excellent fifth place in the all-around final, but mistakes on floor and vault in the qualifications ruled him out of those finals where he would have been a gold medal contender. Joe Fraser, the best men’s all-around gymnast, had a turbulent competition.
Meanwhile, it was not long ago that Jennifer Gadirova was considered the best of the Gadirova twins, having enjoyed a stronger junior career and then an explosive senior debut in 2020. Her trajectory has been affected by injuries and her subsequent time off has made adjusting her skills to her growing adult body even more complicated. There may come a time when she, too, explodes.
Continued improvement will be key to further success. The year after an Olympic Games always acts as a reset for the gymnastics world, with a new code of points forcing gymnasts to rebuild some of their routines while others take a break. The absence of Russia, banned due to the invasion of Ukraine, has undoubtedly led to greater opportunities. This team has the potential to grow throughout the second half of the quadrennial and arrive at the Olympics with most of their gymnasts either at or closer to their peak. The rest of the field, though, will only become tougher.
Beyond the home success, this was a championship particularly notable for two all-around champions attempting to mark themselves as the new dominant forces. In the men’s all-around final, Daiki Hashimoto followed up his Olympic title with his first world title at 21 years old, further evidence that he could lead his peers for years.
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil, meanwhile, arrived in Liverpool as the best gymnast in the world in all but name. She was not entirely at her best, but the 23-year-old fought hard and remained composed to clinch the all-around gold medal her abilities demanded. She is the first Brazilian all-around world champion, the oldest since 2003 and she is one of the most talented gymnasts that has emerged in a long time. After spending most of her career recovering from three anterior cruciate ligament tears, it also feels like she has only just begun.
