Alice Kinsella helps Great Britain win historic gymnastics bronze
Young West Midlands gymnast Alice Kinsella helped Great Britain win its first women’s team gymnastics medal since 1928.
Kinsella, Amelie Morgan and 16-year-old twins Jennifer and Jessica Gadirova impressed throughout and moved above Italy in the final rotation to deliver an extraordinary bronze at the Tokyo Olympics
Kinsella, 20, from Sutton Coldfield, is the daughter of former Aston Villa midfielder Mark and sister of Walsall player Liam. She trains at Telford-based Park Wrekin Gymnastics Club.
The Britons totalled 164.096, with the Russian Olympic Committee taking gold and the US team settling for silver for the first time since 2008.
Simone Biles’ bid to claim her first Olympic gold medal of the Tokyo Games suffered a major setback as she was forced to withdraw after one rotation.
Biles misjudged her opening vault, scoring 13.766, the lowest of the first rotation, before leaving the floor briefly with the US team trainer.
Although the 24-year-old returned, she put on her tracksuit and did not compete again as the Americans finished second.
As the Americans battled to overhaul an imposing 2.500 deficit at the halfway stage, the inexperienced Britons continued to impress with a series of solid displays.
Mistakes from the teams ranked above them gradually raised the possibility of the young team matching their fifth place finish from Rio in 2016, which was their best result since 1928.
But even deep into the last rotation there was little indication of the drama yet to unfold, with a series of Italian vault scores suddenly catapulting the team onto the podium.
It was a spectacular vindication of the British team’s selection policy, which was racked with controversy over the decision to omit former world medallist Becky Downie.
