GYMNASTICS: Smith has to settle for silver again

Louis Smith on the pommel horse during the British Championships at the Echo Arena, Liverpool. Picture: Nigel French/PA Wire.

Eye gymnast Louis Smith again had to settle for the silver medal when he renewed rivalry with Max Whitlock at the British Championships in Liverpool at the weekend (April 9/10).

On Saturday, Whitlock took the British title on the pommel with a score of 16.25 and Smith again finished second with 15.8 just as he did when Whitlock won at the World Championships in Glasgow in November.

Yesterday they were battling it out again at the Echo Arena for the Masters title and both posted huge pommel scores. But Smith’s 16.1 was bettered by Whitlock’s personal best 16.325.

Whitlock also set a stunning personal best of 92.7 to win the men’s all-around title on Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd of almost 10,000 and ended the night with four gold medals, topping the standings on the floor and the high bar in addition to his pommel and all-around wins.

It was not such a good championships for Smith, who slipped on his dismount on his only other piece of apparatus, the parallel bars, and scored a relatively low 11.9.