Gymnast Joe Fraser takes a tumble in Europeans
West Midlands gymnastics ace Joe Fraser experienced disappointment at the European Championships after finishing a lowly 52nd in the men’s all-around competition.
Fraser, who in 2022 became the first British male to ever win the title, endured a nightmare start in Italy when he fell off the pommel horse three times.
The former Sandwell Academy student failed to qualify for any of the individual apparatus finals, though his scores on the high bar and rings did help the British men qualify second for Sunday’s team final.
Fraser only recently returned to action after more than a year out with injury and revealed in an interview with the Express & Star earlier this month how at one stage he feared he might have to quit the sport.
The 26-year-old headed to Rimini in good spirits after winning last month’s British Championships but failed to replicate that form, with a disastrous pommel horse routine earning a score of just 10.000 and effectively ending his medal chances before the competition had really begun.
Fraser’s best performance of the night came on the high bar where he scored 13.866 but it was not enough to see him through to tomorrow’s individual final in that event.
There was also a solid performance on the rings but further stumbles, this time in the floor event, saw him fall down the rankings. Fraser’s total score of 76.098 was more than eight points behind the winner and new champion, Marios Giorgiou of Cyprus.
Fraser’s GB team-mate Jake Jarman finished fourth in the standings, one place outside the medals, following a mistake on the parallel bars.
