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Friday, 26 July, 2002, 19:42 GMT 20:42 UK
England grab team title
The English team show off their gold medals
England's men's team successfully retained their gymnastics title in front of a sell-out crowd in Manchester on Friday.
The squad of five held off tough competition to win the opening gymnastics event of the Commonwealth Games. After taking an early lead, the English athletes never looked back, leaving Canada and Australia to fight over silver and bronze popular spectator event. They clinched the title with 162.075 points, while three-time gold medallists Canada claimed second with 161.350, and Australia trailed 2.250 points behind.
They were joined by Kanukai Jackson, 2002 European Championship vault bronze medallist, and Cuong Thoong, who who were in impressive form on the first full day of competition. Smethurst sealed the win with a fine performance on the high bar, and was greeted by his jubilant team-mates moments after landing on the mat. "It's got to be one of the best feelings of my life," said local boy Smethurst afterwards. "Kuala Lumpur was great because it was my first major competition, but to win gold here in Manchester, in front of everybody was amazing." Philippe Rizzo, who finished 29th in the all-round competition at the Sydney Olympic and won Australia's first ever World Championship medal, was in fine form for his country, but could not take them all the way. South Africa, whose squad included 1998 vault gold medallist Simon Hutcheon, failed to mount a strong challenge and settled for seventh place. It was even more disappointing for Wales, who clearly hampered by all-round champion Dave Eaton's knee injury and finished eighth with 142.525 points The teams competed in two sessions on Friday, rotating through the six gymnastic disciplines - the horizontal bar, pommel horse, rings, floor, parallel bar and vault. Competitors are marked by a panel of judges on their performance in each discipline. The top 24 gymnasts from the men's team competition, up to a maximum of three per nation, have qualified for the men's all-round final on Sunday. Qualified for all-round competition: 1. Kanukai Jackson (ENG) - 54.950 |
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