Paris Olympics 2024: Team GB's Harry Hepworth takes bronze in men's vault final, Becky Downie misses out on bars medal
Updated 04/08/2024 at 21:23 GMT+1
Harry Hepworth produced two excellent vaults and showed no sign of nerves in his first Olympic Games to secure a historic bronze medal in the men's vault final on Sunday. Team-mate and reigning world champion Jake Jarman had been heavily fancied for a medal, but it was Hepworth who rose to the occasion in his second final on the same day. Jarman finished fourth in a high-quality final.
Celebrations for Team GB's Hepworth as he bags Olympic vault bronze
Video credit: TNT Sports
Team GB's Harry Hepworth made history as the first Brit to stand on the podium in an Olympic vault final as he secured a bronze medal on his debut at the Games.
Hepworth vaulted second and produced two faultless displays to go into the lead with an average of 14.949.
The 20-year-old eventually finished third behind gold medallist Carlos Yulo and Armenia's Artur Davtyan, with team-mate Jake Jarman just off the podium in fourth.
Yulo won the Philippines' first gymnastics medal when he was crowned floor champion on Saturday and backed it up with another brilliant performance at the Bercy Arena with a blistering average of 15.116.
Davtyan was just a fraction ahead of Hepworth, vaulting last and posting a score of 14.966 in a high-quality final of razor-thin margins.
That was enough to push Jarman, who vaulted third, out of the medal places.
He became world champion on the vault in 2023 to add to his Commonwealth and European titles from 2022 but could not complete the set with Olympic gold.
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‘Elastic bands as legs’ – Jarman nails routine to seal impressive bronze
Video credit: TNT Sports
The 22-year-old posted a huge score of 15.1 on his first vault, but two steps back on his second vault cost him and he went into second behind teammate Hepworth with an average of 14.933.
Jarman, who was also competing in his first Olympics, has still had a Games to remember with bronze in the floor final behind Yulo and Israel’s Artem Dolgopyat.
NEMOUR WINS UNEVEN BARS GOLD WITH STUNNING ROUTINE
On a packed day of apparatus finals the women's uneven bars and men's still rings titles were also up for grabs at the packed Bercy Arena in Paris.
Kaylia Nemour was the name on everyone's lips ahead of the women's uneven bars final, topping qualification with a hugely difficult routine.
And the 17-year-old from Algeria duly delivered with a near-flawless routine, responding to the pressure put on her by China's Qiu Qiyuan, who set the mark to beat of 15.500.
Nemour's routine scored a dazzling 15.700, sending her to the top of the standings and guaranteeing her a medal with two gymnasts to go.
All-around bronze medallist Sunisa Lee of the USA went last and scored 14.800 with another excellent routine to add another bronze to her collection, meaning an emotional Nemour took gold.
Not only was it a huge achievement for the 17-year-old, it was also Africa's first gymnastics medal.
Belgium's defending champion Nina Derwael finished just outside the medals in fourth, just 0.034 behind Lee on 14.766.
But it was heartbreak for Team GB's Becky Downie, who was one of two gymnasts to suffer a fall midway through her routine.
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'No regrets' - Downie wants to 'keep inspiring people to never give up'
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She slipped off the bars and despite continuing her routine and finishing with a stuck landing, the fall put the 32-year-old out of contention for a medal.
Formerly a double European champion on the apparatus, she finished seventh with a score of 13.633, bringing an end to her Olympic career.
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HEPWORTH impresses on Rings
Earlier on Sunday, Hepworth's maiden rings final ended with a seventh-placed finish, an improvement from his eighth place in qualification.
Hepworth was the youngest man competing in the Paris rings final and the first British man to reach that stage.
The debutant from Harrogate posted a score of 14.800, notching an impressive 8.700 in execution but lacking in difficulty compared to some of the other finalists.
Rings specialists tend to skew older given the strength required, so this was an excellent first showing for the Brit, who is targeting gold in the LA Games in 2028.
Defending champion Liu Yang took gold for China, with compatriot Jingyuan Zhou taking silver and Greece's Eleftherios Petrounias bronze.
That made it three consecutive Olympic rings medals for the Greek, after gold in Rio and bronze in Tokyo.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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