Joe Fraser helps GB men's gymnastics team qualify for Tokyo Olympics in 2020
By Mark Ashenden
Last Updated: 08/10/19 12:52pm
The British men's gymnastics team have qualified for Tokyo 2020 after finishing fifth at the World Championships in Stuttgart.
Although the team will still be fully focused on the world finals, it will be a huge relief to guarantee making the stage at the Olympics, which are just nine months away.
They needed to finish inside the top nine, excluding those countries - Japan, China and Russia - that were in the top three at last year's World Championships.
There will be six individual finals in Germany on Wednesday, with Sky Sports Scholar Joe Fraser competing in the all-around and parallel bars.
James Hall is also in the all-around final, double Olympic champion Max Whitlock produced a fine routine to top pommel horse qualification, and Dom Cunningham qualified for the floor and vault finals.
Fraser told British Gymnastics: "With the competition being such an important one, to try to qualify the team for the Olympics is quite a pressurised situation.
"Being out there with this team, and the atmosphere we create for each other, it's unbelievable. You don't feel the pressure, you're just having fun with your mates. I'm grateful I'm part of this team.
"I knew parallel bars was a strong apparatus for me, but since the European Championships, I've increased the difficulty and that's what I did and now I've showcased that I can do it on a world stage.
"Scoring 15.000 is a big score, and I'm looking forward to the team final where I can hopefully do it again and help the team get to the highest score we can."
