Jake Jarman's Olympic hopes given a huge boost by a superb year

Taking Max Whitlock out of the equation, Jarman’s fifth was Britain’s best showing in men’s all-around for 11 years.

Jarman scored 82.865 in the final, 2.366 points shy of a medal with Japan’s Daiki Hashimoto winning gold.

“I totally surprised myself out there,” he said. “Qualifiers didn’t go exactly to plan so I just wanted to enjoy myself, especially after the huge relief of the team competition.

“I was targeting the top 10, but to finish fifth, I honestly never thought it would be possible.”

Finishing fifth in the world was the culmination of a fine breakout year for Jarman that has yielded four Commonwealth gold medals and two European titles, and a team bronze at the World Championships.

It has been one big bounceback from being named as reserve for the Tokyo Olympics and tearing a ligament in his left ankle last year.

Jarman added: “Coming fifth is a real motivator for me. Standing out there and knowing I’m literally two spots away from the podium, it’s given me a boost of confidence and belief that one day I can push to be top three.”

Jarman now has 18 months to ramp up the difficulty of his routines across all six apparatus with Britain’s Olympic quota places guaranteed a year ahead of schedule by Wednesday’s battling team bronze.

The 20-year-old has shown he is among the best twisters in the business on floor and vault but is clear on how he plans to glow up for the Games.

“I definitely want to work on my pommel, high bar and rings,” Jarman said.

“When I’m really on it on the other three, I know I can hit really well but the other three pieces are areas I can work on.

“Now we’ve got a nice long time to rest and collect myself but when I get back in the gym, I’ll be looking to focus on those three areas.”

Jarman has played his part in a brilliant Championships for Britain, with the hosts the only nation to win a full complement of 10 Olympic qualifying spots at the first opportunity.

“Having a home crowd and a place we’re very familiar with has definitely helped get the best out of us,” he said.

“We have the British Championships here but the Worlds atmosphere is very different. I’ll definitely miss it.”

The World Gymnastics Championships Liverpool 2022 will be one of the largest international sporting events ever to be held in the city. Over 500 gymnasts from more than 70 countries will compete at the M&S Bank Arena from 29 October to 6 November 2022. Tickets are available at www.2022worldgymnastics.com/tickets.