Huntingdon Gymnast, Louis Smith, continued his march towards next years' London Olympiad by taking a Bronze Medal on Pommel Horse at the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, last weekend.  In a final riddled with falls and mistakes Smith, 22, managed to perform the most difficult routine ever seen at International level to take third place behind Hungary's Kristzian Berki, and Cyril Tomassone of France.  The result means a second World Medal for Smith, and adds to an already impressive tally of European, Commonwealth and Olympic titles.

Smith was pleased with the result and acknowledged that there was room for improvement ready for next year: 'I'm happy that I performed my most difficult routine under these stressful conditions, and feel that it prepares me well for improving the execution and fighting for the Olympic Title in the Summer'.

The result was a great boost to the GB mens team campaign following a disappointing start that saw them miss an opportunity to qualify 5 places for London by finishing just outside the Top 8 team places.  Southport's Daniel Purvis finished 4th in the all around final, with local boy Kohei Uchimura wowing the crowd with an incredible exhibition of faultless gymnastics that earned him a third consecutive World Title.  GB girls were also in high spirits after finishing fifth and qualifying a Team for the Olympic Games.  The mens Team now have to attend the test event at the O2 Arena early in January and finish with a Top 4 placing in order to qualify for the Games later that same year.  Huntingdon Coach Paul Hall reflected on the performance: 'Whilst it was disappointing not to qualify a Team at the first opportunity, the results from Louis and Dan Purvis do show that we have realistic chances for medals at the Olympics next year.  The preparation will be intense and our job is to now ensure that all the boys stay fit and healthy and focussed on next summer.'