Great Britain’s Olympic team is officially set, featuring 2008 Olympian Becky Downie alongside her younger sister Ellie Downie in addition to Claudia Fragapane, Amy Tinkler, and Ruby Harrold.

The decision was mostly an easy one, with the Downies, Tinkler, and Fragapane all but locks thanks to their strong and consistent performances over the past year both in terms of the team and in their success as individuals. The last spot, however, was a tricky one. Harrold, Gabby Jupp, and 2012 Olympian Rebecca Tunney all fit in different ways, with bars the key factor between them. Though Tunney won the silver all-around medal at nationals this year, Harrold is generally the strongest all-arounder of the three, especially with Jupp only recently back from her second knee injury this quad. I thought Jupp’s ability on beam would secure the spot for her, but she would leave a hole on vault and floor in qualifications, making Harrold the biggest contender for the spot.

Harrold has had some issues with consistency on bars this year, missing routines at both the English and British Championships as well as in event finals at Osijek and in team finals at European Championships. Of eight routines, she’s hit half, making her a bit of a liability compared to Jupp, who has hit six of her nine routines, including in team finals at Euros, and consistently outscored Harrold both there and on beam. But given that neither Jupp nor Becky Downie currently compete vault and floor, the team would be forced to go with a three-up three-count lineup on the two events in qualifications, which could really hurt them if someone else fell.

And so Harrold, who has a reliable DTY and a solid enough floor routine, got the spot while Jupp, Tunney, and Kelly Simm were named alternates.

“I’m really, really excited and pleased to be selected,” the elder Downie told British Gymnastics. “For me personally it was a big decision to carry on for this Olympic cycle but I knew I had more to give and feel like I’ve proved that.”

Amanda Reddin, the women’s head national coach, said: “We have selected a team of gymnasts who have experience at the very top level. All of the team members were part of our line-up that made history by taking the world championship team bronze in 2015 and we have continued with further successes at this year’s European Championships – so we go in to the Games full of confidence. The priority now is to fine tune the routines as we build up to Rio.”

The Russians defeated the British women for gold at Euros in early June, but the teams are close enough to go back and forth and it’ll all come down to whoever hits when it counts.

Article by Lauren Hopkins