It was not quite the story that anyone had expected following the withdrawal of Simone Biles but it was hard to escape the feeling, nevertheless, that two British stars came of age on Monday inside the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Following their bronze medals in the team competition, the Gadirova twins – Jessica and Jennifer – were back for the individual floor final and, while they were narrowly outside the medals here, respectively finishing sixth and seventh, there was plenty to suggest that might change come Paris when they will still be in their teenage years.
Jessica went first, following Biles’s team-mate Jade Carey, the world championship silver medallist, who had laid down a challenge with a fantastic performance and score of 14.366.
Jessica’s difficulty level was significantly lower but, aside from a small sidestep following her biggest tumble – double-twisting, double-back – it was an otherwise flawless and typically expressive performance to score 14.00.
It briefly put her second but, with the competition wide open in the absence of Biles, a series of outstanding displays followed and she was gradually nudged down.
Angelina Melnikova, Vanessa Ferrari, Mai Murakami and Rebecca Andrade all followed with some of their best scores but were unable to dislodge Carey, who follows the likes of Biles, Nadia Comaneci and Olga Korbut as winners of the blue-riband Olympic floor event.
Jennifer had only qualified the final following Biles’s withdrawal and, while some of her landings were far from perfect, noticeable a buckle of the knees as she landed a double straight, there was also a charisma in her performance that suggests plenty to come.
The silver medallist, Ferrari, is 30 and Murakami, the Japanese 2017 world champion and bronze medallist here, is 24. It all suggests that Tokyo has just been the start for the Gadirova twins.
The other major news from Tokyo on Monday morning was Biles confirming she will compete in Tuesday’s balance beam final. She is set to return to action having pulled out of the women’s team final, individual all-around final last week and Monday’s floor final, to focus on her mental health.
10:15 AM
Here’s the podium:
09:45 AM
More context to Ferrari’s achievement here:
09:43 AM
Final standings
Finally it’s an Olympic medal for Ferrari and it’s joint bronze for Melnikova and Murakami!
09:40 AM
Jennifer Gadirova cannot challenge the medals
She stumbles slightly after a tumble. Then is slightly off balance on another landing. Like her sister, she is so expressive and is so confident. That might not be enough for a medal, but she did herself proud! As she walks off the floor, the first hug she gets is from her twin sister Jessica, as the pair complete their Olympic Games. What a debut they have had – Paris 2024 watch out!
The score comes through, and it is 13.233 – putting her in seventh.
That means Jade Carey is our Olympic champion. 24 hours ago it was tears of disappointment, today it’s tears of joy!
09:35 AM
Andrade steps out of the floor
On her first tumble section, she steps out of the floor as she did in her version of this routine in the all-around competition – costing her the gold medal. It was a big step this time, and could be a 0.3 penalty.
But she recovers so well, and sticks almost every other part of this routine, enjoying the crowd support as they clap along.
Such a shame she couldn’t bring her absolute best, and that will likely mean Carey takes gold. We wait for the score… and it’s 14.033. She’s in fifth position. Gadirova is last to come.
09:31 AM
Mai Murakami of Japan next
Japan’s gymnast in this final is the former world champion on floor – back in 2017.
This is her first Olympic Games and she delivers. She really looks like she is enjoying herself when she performs, not to mention her faultless tumbles…
The scores are up: 14.166. That is the exact same score as Melnikova, matching in difficulty and execution, putting them in tied position for bronze right now. But Andrade is still to come – she will want to push them out of the medals.
09:26 AM
Ferrari of Italy is putting it all on the line
Dramatic, operatic music to accompany her incredible performance here. At 30 years old, she’s the most experienced competitor on the floor and she is showing it.
She doesn’t want fourth again – she placed just outside the medals in Rio and London.
Her tumbles were near-perfect, her landings too, and that is going to be enough to push Jessica Gadirova out of the medals surely.
It is. 14.200 puts her in the silver medal position. She doesn’t look quite happy, but she will take it. Carey is still top, Melnikova in bronze at the moment, and Gadirova out of the medals now.
Three gymnasts left to go.
09:20 AM
Angelina Melnikova up next
The ROC’s gymnast is such a complete gymnast – she’s been across many of these finals and won all-around bronze.
She scored 14.000 in qualification, and today was very clean in her routine. She’s got her hands together praying for a good result. 14.166 is the score – and pushes Gadirova down to bronze. Can she cling onto that for the rest of this competition? Still some of the strongest gymnasts still to come – Ferrari is next.
09:17 AM
Jessica Gadirova goes into SECOND
Jessica has so much personality when she performs this routine, her expression and artistry as much a part of this as her confident tumbling. And she nailed that! She landed all of her acrobatic elements and was captivating. 5.600 difficulty is way down on Carey’s 6.300, but she executed it brilliantly.
The score is up and she gets 14.000. That’s the silver medal position at the moment and she’s very pleased.
09:12 AM
Jade Carey with a brilliant routine
Carey was disconsolate yesterday when her unbalanced vault lost meant she lost out on a medal. It was a real disaster and could have put any gymnast off.
But here she came out, just a day later, to pull off a flawless routine, full of difficulty. She is the best tumbler in this competition and her smile after it is great to see.
The scoring is slow today, but we finally have a 14.366 come up on the scoreboard. She doesn’t look completely happy with it, but that’s the score to beat folks. Jessica Gadirova up next.
09:08 AM
Listunova’s score is FINALLY up
She waited a long time for that. But finally it comes up as a disappointing 12.400.
Carey up next.
09:03 AM
Vikotoriia Listunova is up first
The ROC’s only gymnast in this final has a bad opening routine. She falls on one of her tumbles, and steps out of the floor a couple of times. The 16-year-old is unlikely to get a medal with that routine. What a shame.
09:01 AM
Who are the medal contenders?
Without Biles, this competition is genuinely wide open.
Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari qualified top. Her story is incredible – she is 30 years old and won gold in the all-around at the World Championships in 2006. Yes, you read right, that’s 15 years ago. Wouldn’t it be something if she could pull off a result here.
Then USA’s Jade Carey, who had a nightmare in vault yesterday, could bounce back here by getting a medal.
Then Rebeca Andrade, all-around silver medallist and vault champion, has proved herself a real competitor at these Games.
08:57 AM
Here’s your startlist
08:40 AM
Biles WILL compete
Confirmation from USA Gymnastics now that Biles will be competing in the balance beam final tomorrow:
08:37 AM
Hello and welcome…
… to our gymnastics live blog! Yesterday Max Whitlock won gold in pommel horse, successfully defending his title, and today we could well have more medals for Team GB.
We have not just one GB hope but two in the women’s floor final today. Jessica Gadirova qualified for the event originally, and her twin sister Jennifer got a late call up to also compete over the weekend. With Simone Biles’s withdrawal from the event, Jennifer got promoted from first reserve to finalist, and she will be relishing the opportunity to compete as she did in the all-around.
The 16-year-old sisters have already had brilliant Olympic debuts in merely making two individual finals, as well as team bronze. But – as with all of the events Biles has withdrawn from – the competition has been thrown wide open and there could be a chance of a surprise medal for GB here, and Jessica in particular. She won the European title in floor earlier this year, and is proving herself a real competitor when there are medals on the line.
With a bronze medal in the team final already last week, another medal here would be an incredible achievement for the teenagers.
While we follow the action from 10am, there is also huge anticipation building ahead of the balance beam final later this week after the start list was released today with Biles’s name still on it. Biles pulled out of every other individual final in Tokyo, prioritising her wellbeing as well as citing the fact she is suffering from a mental block in some of her tumbling routines which makes competing dangerous.
The beam requires the least acrobatic elements of all four women’s apparatus though, so fans were hopeful she could yet compete in the event she won bronze in at the Rio Games in 2016. As yet, she is still in the mix, so we will update you on any developments in that story as and when they come.
Stay with us this morning.