She overcame family tragedy to make her return to the Olympic stage after an eight-year absence
Becky Downie welled up with emotion after overcoming family tragedy to mark her return to the Olympic stage after an eight-year absence in Paris on Sunday. Downie steered her team-mates towards an expected place in the women’s team final in two days’ time – a date that will have extra relevance for the Nottingham 32-year-old.
Downie’s 21-year-old brother Josh died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition in May 2021, less than a week before the start of the Olympic trials, from which she was forced to withdraw.The fall-out from that incident, and its handling by British Gymnastics, threatened to mark the end of Downie’s chances of returning to a third Games, having made her debut at Beijing 2008 at the age of 16.
“But I know this is going to be my last Olympics, and to have a moment like today and deliver the routines like I thought I could, it was really special. Ranking sixth after two of five qualifying rotations in the uneven bars, Downie’s score of 14.666 is unlikely to be enough to keep her place in the top eight, and with it a place in the individual final.
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