Sunday 01 November 2015
Beth Tweddle, Great Britain’s most decorated gymnast of all time, has lavished praise on Glasgow on the final day of the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships at the SSE Hydro.
Tweddle, the London 2012 Uneven Bars bronze medallist, is no stranger to high-level competition and revealed that 2015 ranks highly in her experience of world-class events.
She said: “It has been fantastic. I have spoken to lots of gymnasts and coaches and the feedback has been immense. They have loved the new layout of the event, the show that it has become, and being able to go on stage for presentations and being marched on.
“From a spectator’s point of view, it has been fantastic. I have loved every minute of it. British Gymnastics has had an amazing World Championship and it’ll be one they won’t forget.”
Tweddle competed in her first World Championship in 2001 and went on to win three gold medals: on Uneven Bars in Aarhus in 2006 and Rotterdam in 2009, and on Floor in London in 2009.
Now an official 2015 World Gymnastics Championships Ambassador, she has been impressed by the support shown by over 55,000 spectators who’ve gathered over the 10 days of the competition.
“For the British team, in front of a home crowd, it has been an amazing worlds,” she added. “I have done a few home championships and you can’t beat it. To have this sort of atmosphere, the Hydro, as soon as you see a British gymnast, it erupts and obviously the success they have had really helps that.
“Scottish crowds are always good. They are there to support the home nation but they support everyone and you can see they appreciate the work of the gymnasts. They are crazy crowds but gymnasts love it.
“The girls have said that they feel like they are performing for the audience rather than the judges, which for them, is great. The whole presentation, they really felt like they were centre stage.”
Producing more medals than any World Championships in the history of British Gymnastics and with an unprecedented level of innovation on show at the Hydro - including the impressive ‘Mega Wall’ and an all-new format to the field of play - Glasgow will undoubtedly go down as a landmark moment for the sport.
The first All-Around Team medals for both GB men (silver) and women (bronze), as well as a 1-2 in the Pommel Horse Final from Max Whitlock and Louis Smith, the former picking up the first-ever World title for a British man, will ensure 2015 lives long in the memory.
For Tweddle, such has been the quality of the audience experience, venue and the level of performance, it is impossible to identify a single standout moment of the championships.
“I think it is too hard to choose one highlight. The British team have had a lot of success,” she concluded. “It was a special moment to see Max become the first British male World Champion. But also, the team medals were historic moments, as was Uchimura winning his sixth title.
“Best of all, the achievements of these championships really show that British Gymnastics is up there with the top four nations in the world and it is exciting times going ahead to Rio.”