2021 2nd British Olympic Trials Results

/ May 11, 2021

The 2021 2nd British Olympic Trials were held from May 7 through May 9 in Cardiff, Wales.

Trial 5 All-Around Results

Rank Athlete VT UB BB FX AA
1 Georgia-Mae Fenton 14.225 14.000 13.100 12.925 54.250
2 Amelie Morgan 13.625 13.800 13.125 12.975 53.525
3 Ondine Achampong 13.650 12.475 13.125 12.875 52.125
4 Kelly Simm 13.975 13.075 11.575 12.450 51.075
5 Emily Thomas 13.475 12.700 11.825 12.850 50.850
6 Alice Kinsella —— 13.925 13.525 13.400 40.850
7 Becky Downie* —— 13.925 13.475 —— 27.400
8 Jessica Gadirova —— 13.475 13.475 —— 26.950
9 Jennifer Gadirova —— 13.100 13.000 —— 26.100

Trial 6 All-Around Results

Rank Athlete VT UB BB FX AA
1 Ondine Achampong 14.450 13.200 13.450 12.675 53.775
2 Georgia-Mae Fenton 14.375 12.575 13.450 13.175 53.575
3 Kelly Simm 13.925 13.950 11.700 12.600 52.175
4 Amelie Morgan 13.800 12.925 12.400 12.950 52.075
5 Jennifer Gadirova 13.950 12.375 13.875 11.800 52.000
6 Jessica Gadirova —— 13.750 13.550 —— 27.300
7 Alice Kinsella —— —— 12.525 13.275 25.800
8 Becky Downie* —— 14.450 —— —— 14.450

*Competed over the weekend of May 21-23

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34 thoughts on “2021 2nd British Olympic Trials Results”

  1. To be honest the results raise more questions than they answer, but I’m fairly confident to predict that Jessica will be in Tokyo!

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    • As a response to this and everyone who has commented so far, agree that things look SO unclear! Jessica is my only lock, honestly…based on the final weekend of trials here I’d go with Jessica, GMF, and Alice, but I’m undecided on the fourth..Jennifer being injured and not at full strength concerns me, though her VT BB FX potential can’t be ignored. Amelie looks to be a bit behind here but I think proved that she’s capable of consistency based on Euros. Then Becky and Ellie, bless them…I don’t think I’d include Ellie on my list based on the first three trials in March, and same with Becky, who didn’t have strong bars at any of the meets with just one 14+ routine (and I think she’d need 15+ to be worth taking, given that she’s only doing two events, putting the team at risk in qualifications with only 3 up on VT/FX). It’s going to be incredibly difficult to choose. I so wish they had an extra non-nominative berth from Euros so they could just send Becky in that spot.

      But I think based on the early trials, Euros, and this weekend, if I had to pick a gut team, I’d do Jessica, GMF, Alice, and Amelie, with Jennifer as the alternate. But all of this will depend on how Becky and Ellie are able to do in their trial…I wouldn’t take either based on what they’ve shown so far this year, but that was two months ago, and obviously a lot can happen in that time! What they’ve been through this week has been so wildly horrific, I can’t even imagine trying to get through trials at a time like this, but I hope they’re able to come out strong.

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  2. Selecting this team is going to be a nightmare. Someone will be mad no matter what. The way I see it, Jessica is the only lock for the team, based on decent trials and great Euros. Jennifer, Becky and Ellie need to prove they can get back to the level they were at to get on the team. Amelie, Alice, Ondine and Georgia are showing better scores than the previous three right now, but they’ve all had inconsistent moments. If you pick based on medal potential, it would be the Downies and the Gadirovas. But if British Gym picks based on results now… Jessica really is the only lock. They could go with absolutely any of the other seven girls and justify it. Who do you think will get picked?

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    • I don’t know if they can justify Ellie based purely on the results we’ve seen, although of course the selectors know the full picture and there have been squad camps etc going on as well.
      It’s so hard to know, with Jennifer, Amelie and presumably Ellie all coming back from injury. The picture could be much different in a months time.

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      • i do think that jessica proved that she could absolutely make the vault final so it makes her case. i also think Alice should not be counted out. If she had competed vault on day 1 i think she absolutely would have won. Georgia did surprise me but yes she is extremely inconsistent all quad. It’s a tough call i really wonder what their plan will be. We shall see in two weeks i think they announce

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        • I fail to see how they would not include Kinsella on the team … unless these trials are useless. She is top 3 on FX and BB. On VT she’s in the DTY /14s group and has the difficulty on UB (just like a couple of others). She’s potentially in the 55.00points (just add aVT score to her Day1 score), like Fenton actually, but is much more consistent. Kinsella is GB’s number 2 AA right now (which she already was at 2 of the 3 trials pre-Euros).

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  3. Pingback: 2021 British Olympic Trials Results – SportUpdates

  4. GB has got the best depth right now in Europe. These trials only confirmed what we knew: picking the team will be a nightmare. Fenton was impressive and I certainly did not expect that DTY from Achampong.
    I guess Phoebe Jakubczyk is injured and Claudia Fragapane not ready enough.

    A big thought for Becky and Ellie Downie in such tragic moment. It’s good to know they will be offered a second chance.

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    • The Academy where Phoebe trains conformed that she was sitting out this trial with a small injury which most likely the end of her elite career as she is going Oregon State this full

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  5. Given their stated criteria both Downies must be considered (medal potential all quad) but this all makes things SO unclear. GMF can be SO inconsistent, and to me Alice doesn’t add a whole lot. She is a good alternate IMO. This week has been so crushing for Becky and Ellie.

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  6. As much as I love the Downies (and would love a Downie/Gadirova team!) I honestly think the 5 girls will be the Gadirovas, Kinsella, Morgan and GMF – no idea who is the reserve out of these though!

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    • I agree…I would honestly just name five and wait until the latest possible time to see who looks the best. I wouldn’t take Jennifer based on this weekend, but she’s coming back from injury and who knows how she’ll look in six weeks?! It seems a waste to not include her if she could potentially be back to her full potential on her 3 best events. Same goes for the Downies, tbh…with the hell they’ve been through this week, I’m worried their trials won’t go well, but think they too could benefit from more time. I wish they could just name a 7-person training squad and pick in late June.

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        • Yes, it’s horrendously sad…it’s so heartbreaking that they have to deal with this. Obviously dealing with their loss trumps training, but I was happy to see that both seem to really want to move forward with doing trials for the Olympics, and that British Gymnastics is willing to push back the date for naming the team to make it fair for them. I hope they crush it.

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  7. Personally think BG have made a mistake trying to name the team so early and having so many trials starting back in March. It’s hard to compare scores from people injury free in March to people who may have been timing their training to coincide with final trials. Throw Euros into the mix and it’s just a hot mess. I think BG have put themselves under unnecessary pressure by trying to select this way.

    Let’s face it, what is the chance the named team in May will be the same team that goes to the Olympics in any case? What with GB’s history of injuries.

    UK Sport’s criteria for future funding has gymnastics as a whole bringing back 4-6 medals from the Olympics, BG has an internal target of 1 medal from the women’s program.

    UK Sport does not care if the team has a great qualifying and then finishes 4th in the team final, but wins no medals. It would see this as a failure. If, however, no one registered a score in qualifying except Becky Downie on bars and she qualified to final and won a medal, then for funding purposes this would be seen as a success.

    For that reason BG have a problem. One they have had for a number of years, but which is highlighted by the reduced team numbers for Tokyo – to go for the best team total (which probably won’t win a medal anyway, unless other teams falter) or go for the best chance of a medal. Given the importance of the UK Sport funding, I don’t see how the selection committee can do anything else other than give the spots to those most likely to win a medal.

    For me, that means taking Becky Downie – subject to her being mentally and physically ready. Is she most deserving based on trials to date and scores across 4 pieces? Probably not. But how can the selection committee do anything else? They are going to be having the same issues with the men’s team. Max Whitlock is still the most likely to get a medal for the men. But he only seems to compete 1 piece these days.

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    • You make very good points, though I would say the same applies to all countries, not just GB. And MAG and WAG. Paseka Wevers Zonderland HeKexin etc. only made the Olympics because of their one-event capacity to get a medal. An olympic medal is everything (media, fundings etc. ). Good or bad thing is another story. The problem is : can Becky Downie be at the level she was at the 2019 worlds ? Because with a 14+ on one event … as Lauren pointed out she is kind of useless to the team. If she prooves she cant a get a 15 then just send her to the Olympics ! Same applies with Ellie on VT. If both sisters ar ready on their one event, let them go. And it’s OK if they are average elsewhere on another event (nobody actually expects Ellie Downie to be at her AA past form).

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      • Absolutely agree. No point Becky going if she isn’t at the required level.

        However I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on the 14 she scored months ago. You would expect someone of Becky’s experience to have tailored her training to peak for the Olympics / final trials.
        I’m sure the coaches know the real situation and come to the right conclusion, whatever that is!

        I agree other countries have the same issues. Apart from maybe the top countries where the AAers also qualify for event finals.

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        • I think the routine she showed on bars during Euros was super promising and very exciting, but all of the other athletes are going to be selected based on what they did at all of the earlier meets unfortunately, so her low scores are also going to count against her…I don’t think they should count basically any of the March trials because almost no one was ready back then, sans Alice and Jessica…but since they’re picking the team so early, it’s hard to select gymnasts based on “potential” (in which case Jennifer and Amelie, both coming back from injuries, would also be much higher on my list). They really need to just have a weekend of trials in mid June so everyone can be as close to Olympic shape as possible…or pick a training squad of 6-7 now and then determine the 4 on the team and the 2-3 alternates in June. But picking the 4 now seems so rough when several aren’t at full potential for various reasons. Now they’re going to have to use the March meets to gauge consistency, which makes zero sense for a competition not being held until late July.

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      • Becky just posted almost full routines on bars a few hours ago, but she is clearly shaken up and her concentration is very low (which is totally understandable). My biggest dream now is a Gadirova – Downie team, please god I will give anything to make that happen

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        • Her UB routine from a few weeks ago looked really promising and exciting…if she can do something like that I’d absolutely need her on the team. I’m worried that with everything she’s been through, she might not be putting out that level. Just hoping for the best for her at this point!

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  8. So nationals happened in China where there were multiple athletes present and looking good enough to medal, as well as several likely team medal configurations. BG … not so much. Just saying.

    I’m incredibly underwhelmed by this meet and disappointed BG didn’t put everyone on YT as promised. Jennifer is a lock if she stays healthy, but the rest are questionable. Let’s face it, there’s no chance for a team medal, being in the team competition isn’t even a lock, so it seems like the smartest thing would be to send those that have a slim chance at a medal. That all said, what was the criteria laid out? If fairness is the name of the game, they should stick to that.

    I appreciate what you do Lauren, but come on now … let’s hear about China!

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    • I’m fairly confident Lauren will cover Chinese nationals when she has time, ya know, in a post that’s not headed “British Olympic Trials Results”.

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    • Hi! I moved on May 1 and live alone which meant packing up and then unpacking a full one bedroom apartment by myself as well as handling all of the other tasks that come with moving to a new state, am having surgery tomorrow which required 4 doctor visits plus 2 COVID test visits in the last 2 weeks, and I work 60+ hours a week at my actual job, so the past few weeks have been busy, to say the least, which is why I haven’t covered literally anything (China, Canada’s tech trial, Mexican trials, the American Classic) since Euros (during which I woke up at 4 am every day and spent between 8-12 hours watching meets, live blogging, and posting results while multitasking my job).

      I had a spare 10 minutes to put up the British trial results the other night after finishing work and have spent a few minutes commenting about my thoughts on the team situation, but still haven’t watched a single video. I RTed everything I could re: Chinese nationals on Twitter thanks to the Chinese gymternet diligently sharing results and videos, but posting full results from a meet with nearly 100 competitors doing QF, AA, and EF is a lot harder than putting up the British trial results, which had 8 competitors, especially because I have to transliterate the Chinese results. To then cover the meet, I’d have to watch it, which would take ~5 hours just for WAG between the multiple days of competition, in addition to then analyzing and writing about what I think based on those videos (another ~1-2 hours).

      Roughly 2% of my mental energy over the past 3 weeks has been spent on following anything in gymnastics, but please definitely assume that it’s because I don’t care about China and not because I have 100 things going on outside of watching people flipping. A few people have emailed and DMed me asking me if I’m okay, because they haven’t seen me active on this website given that I went from posting 10x a week to zero, but no, your response is also chill and normal!

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  9. My biggest dream is that Becky Downie makes the Olympics. I would give anything to make that happen. When is her and Ellie’s trials?

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