Sam Oldham ends European Gymnastics Championships with high bar silver
Tuesday 21 April 2015 21:57, UK
Sam Oldham just missed out on gold in the high bars as Great Britain secured a record haul of eight medals at the European Gymnastics Championships in Montpellier.
It wrapped up an incredible overall team performance in France as they followed on in stylish fashion 24 hours after golds for Louis Smith (pommel) and Kristian Thomas (floor).
From injury at the Commonwealth Games I’ve worked hard and been supported by so many people and to have this medal is amazing
On the final day on Sunday, Becky Downie (beam) and Sky Young Sportswoman of the Year in 2014 Claudia Fragapane (floor) won silver, while Sky Scholar Oldham capped off a stunning effort just nine months after suffering a career-threatening injury at the Commonwealth Games.
The 22-year-old from Nottingham has slowly battled back to fitness and only recently returned to action on all six apparatus at a single event event at the English and British Championships.
Oldham secured a respectable sixth place in the all-round on Friday and on Sunday looked fired up to get on the podium in the high bars and he didn't disappoint as he successfully retained his European silver to finish narrowly behind Croatian Marijo Moznik.
British Gymnastics were impressed with Oldham's efforts and described his performance as "confident", adding "his routine was packed with difficult skills, impressive height from the bar on his release and catch elements, the tiniest of hops on landing his dismount scored him 14.766 for his third European high bar silver".
Oldham said: "I’m really happy. Coming in to this final I felt tired but just kept saying to myself 'stay focused, go for it'.
"This championship has been all about the end of a journey, from injury at the Commonwealth Games I’ve worked hard and been supported by so many people and to have this medal is amazing.
"Competing in the all-around was a big moment for me on Friday and this was a bonus, more than I could have hoped for considering the last eight months, I’m really happy overall."
The focus for Oldham and his British team-mates now turn to Glasgow and the 2015 World Championships that take place October 23 - November 1 which will be the crucial event for qualification towards the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Sam Oldham is one of 12 athletes being supported through the Sky Academy Sports Scholarships scheme.
The Scholarships offer a programme of support tailored to each athletes specific requirements covering areas such as funding, media coaching, mentoring and wider developmental support.
