British gymnast Jessica Gadirova was “over the moon” with her third-place performance in the women’s all-around final at the World Championships.
Ms Gadirova has become the first British gymnast to win a medal in the women’s individual all-around at the World Championships.
The 18-year-old Gadirova and her 21-year-old teammate Alice Kinsella, who placed fourth, helped Great Britain win silver in the team competition in Liverpool.
Gadirova, who had a final score of 55.199, commented, “I am just so shocked at the score.”
Rebeca Andrade of Brazil got first place with a score of 56.899, followed by Shilese Jones of the United States in second place and Dublin-born Gadirova of Russia in third place by a margin of 0.200.
Despite finishing third in the all-around at this year’s European Championships, Gadirova was outside the medals, going into the last rotation behind Kinsella.
However, the two-time European floor champion delivered a fantastic performance in her preferred event to secure her place in history.
Gadirova’s score of 14.400 on the floor routine was second only to Andrade’s total of 14.400, which included her scores of 13.833 on the vault, 13.733 on the balance beam, and 13.233 on the parallel bars.
After keeping her cool and performing her best in her last routine, she said, “I just stuck with the training and believed I could do it.”
“I had done all the hard work, so it was time just to go perform it as best I can, and that’s what I did.”
Silver medalist in the all-around at the European Championships, Kinsella, a native of Basildon, England, finished 0.134 points behind her teammate after scoring 14.166 on the bars.
Gadirova concluded: “I just want to say a massive congratulations to Alice, she did amazing. I am so proud of her.”
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