Becky Downie welled up with emotion after overcoming family tragedy to mark her return to the Olympic stage after an eight-year absence in Paris on Sunday.
Downie steered her team-mates towards an expected place in the women’s team final in two days’ time – a date that will have extra relevance for the Nottingham 32-year-old.
“The team final was a big goal for our team coming here, and for me especially I know it’s going to be an emotional day because it falls on my brother’s birthday,” said Downie.
Downie’s 21-year-old brother Josh died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition in May 2021, less than a week before the start of the Olympic trials, from which she was forced to withdraw.
The fall-out from that incident, and its handling by British Gymnastics , threatened to mark the end of Downie’s chances of returning to a third Games, having made her debut at Beijing 2008 at the age of 16.
But after also opening up on the physical and mental abuse she suffered as a young athlete, Downie was persuaded back into the fold by a new approach to her training programme, and expressed pride at having given herself one last opportunity to return to the Games.
“As I was entering the arena I started tearing up, but they were happy tears,” said Downie. “I really wanted to enjoy today. It’s been the hardest three years of my life, and if somebody asked me to do it again I don’t know if I would.
“But I know this is going to be my last Olympics, and to have a moment like today and deliver the routines like I thought I could, it was really special.
“I knew there were a lot of doubters, but there were also people who believed it was still in there, and it was getting me to believe that that was really challenging, after essentially being at the top of the programme for so long and then sliding down to rock bottom.”
Ranking sixth after two of five qualifying rotations in the uneven bars, Downie’s score of 14.666 is unlikely to be enough to keep her place in the top eight, and with it a place in the individual final.
But Downie is set to return in the team final after a solid display from team-mates Georgia-Mae Fenton, Alice Kinsella, Ruby Evans and 15-year-old Abi Martin, the latter of whom held her nerves at bay to deliver an impressive performance on the floor.
Shorn of three of their best talents, the Gadirova twins, Jessica and Jennifer, and Ondine Achampong due to injury, Britain have little chance of repeating their shock bronze medal win in Tokyo three years ago. But for Downie, just being back on the Olympic stage is victory enough.
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