BRITS HIT MEDAL STRIDE IN MUNICH

GyMNASTICS star Jessica Gadirova put the disappointment of a fifth-placed finish in the vault firmly behind her by winning gold in the women’s floor at the European Championships in Munich yesterday.

The 17-year-old was below her best in the vault in the early afternoon, finishing fifth with 13.433, but she bounced back brilliantly a few hours later to retain her European floor title in style with a score of 14.000.

‘There was a big challenge in front of me to pick myself up,’ she said. ‘I wiped it away and thought: I have another final, another chance to redeem myself.

‘I tried to start fresh and that’s what I did. It came with the gold.’

Her twin sister Jennifer finished fifth with 13.466 and she was overcome with emotion watching Jessica’s win, having missed last year’s Europeans in Basel through injury.

‘It touched my heart,’ said Jennifer. ‘I’m so happy for her. Being there on the floor cheering her on, I couldn’t ask for any more.’

ondine Achampong won silver in the women’s balance beam with a score of 13.400, which left the 18-year-old overjoyed.

In rowing, there was an emotional victory for the Pr3 mixed coxed four given their cox Erin Kennedy was competing amid chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer.

The British crew of Frankie Allen, Giedre rakauskaite, Ed Fuller and ollie Stanhope finished 19 seconds clear of France. ‘Today’s been really emotional, I’m trying to hold it together,’ said Kennedy. ‘I’m just really proud, not for myself but for the team. They’ve picked me up every time.’ It capped a successful day for Britain at the olympic regatta Course, with Scots star rowan McKellar pulling out a medal double as a reborn British team topped the final table in Munich. After gold in Saturday’s women’s fours, the Glaswegian scored silver in Sunday’s eights as the Brits lost out to romania.

Coming fourth at Tokyo 2020 was the worst place to be, she said, but that could easily be bronze or better in Paris in 2024.

McKellar said: ‘That just shows that we were close and if we had a few more years training, we could definitely be in the medals. It definitely makes you hungry and it builds a little bit of confidence. And it is possible for the next for the next time around.’

With golds for Emily Craig and Imogen Grant in the lightweight women’s double sculls and for their team-mates in the para mixed coxed four, it took the UK tally to ten medals — six of them gold.

There was further heartbreak for Jack Carlin, however, after the Scot could only claim silver in cycling’s men’s sprint finals.

He won the first race in a best-ofthree series against France’s Sebastien Vigier, but lost the second leg by the width of a tyre before coming up well short in the decider due to exhaustion.

It is the seventh time in his career that Carlin has come off second best at a major championships, as well as two second-places at the Commonwealth Games and several bronzes, it is a wonder if Carlin will ever claim gold.

He gets another chance in tomorrow’s Keirin.