Harry Hepworth vows men’s vault bronze on Olympic debut is ‘just the start’

Team GB gymnast Harry Hepworth has vowed that his bronze medal in the men’s vault is “just the start”.

The 20-year-old finished third in the competition on Olympic debut following a brilliant start and a strong second vault helped him fly into first with a score of 14.949.

He finished behind Carlos Edriel Yulo of the Philippines, who claimed gold, and Armenia’s Artur Davtyan, who took silver.

Hepworth’s bronze medal success comes just over an hour after finishing seventh in the men’s rings final and he admitted the afternoon was a “crazy” experience.

Hepworth made an impact earlier in the week in the team final event, where he was the youngest member of the Team GB quartet, and believes there is still far more to come from him.

He said: “It’s just the start, I’m going to be working on that strength when I get back, getting the big boy moves, I’ll definitely be in medal contention next time.”

His success on the Olympic stage is all the more remarkable given his struggle with injuries, which began as a child after being diagnosed with Perthes’ disease, meaning he was unable to do sport for three years.

He said: “I think it was around February I had a stress response in my back so I couldn’t do floor for four months and had to take a month off vault not too long ago as well because of the same thing.”

Hepworth paid tribute to his family for their support, giving a special thanks to his grandmother for her lifts to the gym.

“I’d like to thank my whole family. My grandma, she’s been taking me to the gym every lunchtime for the last four-and-a-half years because I haven’t passed my driving test yet.

“I’d like to say sorry but thank you to you grandma.

“I’d like to say thank you to my coaches, they’ve put so many hours into me. I could never have paid them. And my girlfriend and her family. So thankful.

“If I can get a bronze medal at the Olympics, I should be able to pass my test.”

Hepworth’s team-mate Jake Jarman finished fourth in the vault after a strong finale from Davtyan meant he slipped out of the podium positions.

The 22-year-old had claimed his first Olympic medal and Britain’s first in artistic gymnastics this Games on Saturday with bronze on the floor and admitted the standard of the vault competition has increased.

He said: “To be honest even though I missed out, I think the average score I got was definitely better than qualifiers and it’s very consistent if you look at the competitions I’ve competed in over the last few years.

“It means to myself that I just need to up my game a little bit. In my eyes, it’s nothing that I can’t do and makes me super motivated for the next four years.”

Either side of the rings and vault competitions was the women’s uneven bars, where Great Britain’s Becky Downie endured a difficult seventh-placed finish.

The 32-year-old began her routine well but lost her grip on the bar and slipped off, crashing to the floor.

Despite recomposing herself to finish the routine, she could only score 13.633.

She said: “I did know coming into this it was highly likely it would be my last, which is why I wanted to soak up every moment and take it all in.

“Who knows what the future holds, but 99.9 per cent that was probably my last performance.”