By Duncan Mackay

Louis Smith_wins_bronze_medal_at_World_Championships_Tokyo_October_15_2011October 15 - Britain's Louis Smith won a bronze medal at the World Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo today.


The 22-year-old from Peterborough finished third in the pommel horse discipline to add to his Olympic bronze in the same event and a silver in last year's World Championships.

Smith's score of 15.066 was enough for him to pip Hungary's Vid Hidvegi to a medal and but for a slight loss of balance on landing he could have finished higher.

Hidvegi's team-mate Krisztian Berki comofrtably defended his title, his score of 15.833 more than half a mark better than that of silver medallist Cyril Tommasone, of France.

Smith, who vaulted second in the final and duly had to wait to see what his rivals achieved, was happy with his effort.

"I'm so happy to have gone out there and put out my hardest routine but that was crazy having to wait to see how every got on," he said.

"I cannot believe I got the bronze but to go and there and do that routine that I've worked so hard on, no-one knows how good that feels.

"When I knew I was in the final I said to my coach 'I want to try the hard routine'.

"In training and warm up I felt really good, I woke up singing so knew I was in good shape.

"An unfortunate slip at the end but really happy overall."

All-round champion Kohei Uchimura, of Japan, took gold on the floor, while China's Yibing Chen, the reigning Olympic champion, was the rings winner for the fourth time in his career.

Like Uchimura, he was winning gold for the second time this week having been part of the Chinese squad victorious in the team competition.

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