Pride despite a fall for Hucknall star Becky Downie in Olympic uneven bars final

Becky Downie did Hucknall proud as she finished sixth in the uneven bars final in the Olympic gymnastics. Photo: Getty Images

placeholder image — Becky Downie did Hucknall proud as she finished sixth in the uneven bars final in the Olympic gymnastics. Photo: Getty Images

Hucknall gymnast Becky Downie left with her head held high after finishing sixth in the uneven bars final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Downie, aged 32, was competing in her first Olympics for eight years and a full 16 years since her debut in Beijing back in 2008.

The British star had produced a brilliant performance earlier in the week to qualify for the final.

And her routine was going well until disaster struck when she slipped off the bar and fell – ironically while attempting the move named after her.

Despite all hopes of a medal going in that moment, Downie composed herself to finish the routine with a score of 13.633, placing her sixth of the seven finalists.

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Gold went to 17-year-old Algerian Kaylia Nemour with a score of 15.700, silver went to China’s Qiu Qiyuan (15.500) and American Sunisa Lee (14.800) took bronze.

Downie later posted on social media: “The amount of love I’ve felt today has been unbelievable.

“I always believe everything happens for a reason and Olympic medalist just wasn’t in my cards today.

"Against all the odds, I made it back.

"Not only that, but I made it to my third Olympics and first Olympic final and I have absolutely no regrets going after my dream.

"It might not be the ending I hoped for but I’m so proud of the fight.”

Downie had already helped the British women to a fourth in the team competition in Paris where her uneven bars routine qualified her for the individual final.

She also revealed that she was inspired by the memory of her brother Josh, a former Hucknall CC player, who died aged just 24 in 2021.

British Gymnastics paid tribute to Downie, posting on X (formerly Twitter): “A true gymnastics legend, so much to be proud of.”

And former British Olympic bronze medalist Beth Tweddle, commentating on the BBC, said: “Becky Downie knew that if she wanted to get that medal, she needed to up that difficulty. She did that and unfortunately it didn't quite come to fruition today.

“She can definitely walk away with her head held high and know that she gave it her all.

"I know that all of her family are out here so she'll be going straight to see them after this final.”