17 May 2009

Beth Tweddle, the Be Number 1 gymnast and double European champion, completed another memorable double at the Glasgow Grand Prix yesterday, when she won both the asymmetric bars and the floor events, the same disciplines that earned her double gold in Milan last month.

Tweddle, 24, had the difficult task of leading off the field in the bars final after qualifying in top spot, but was still able to produce a more precise and fluent routine than in her qualification performance, when she mustered 14.850. Her score of 15.275 in the final proved to be too stiff a target for all of her seven competitors, although it was gratifying that Britain's Becky Downie, who qualified for the final in sixth place, should win silver with a total of 14.600. Russia's Ekaterina Kurbatova (14.425) finished third.

Although she was unable to match her qualifying mark of 15.025, Tweddle nevertheless produced another polished display in the floor final, with her score of 14.900 proving too much for the rest of the seven-strong field, much to the conspicuous delight of the partisan home support at the Kelvin Hall. Anna Myzdrikova, of Russia, finished second with a total of 14.700 while Spain's Ana Maria Izurieta (13.975) claimed bronze.