Amy Tinkler’s parents today said their “dreams have come true” after watching Team GB’s youngest athlete clinch bronze.
The 16-year-old helped round off a gymnastics medal rush by coming third in the women’s floor final yesterday. Shortly afterwards, Nile Wilson, 20, also won bronze, in the men’s high bar final, bringing Team GB’s gymnastics medals in Rio to seven, including two historic golds for Max Whitlock.
Tinkler’s father, Michael, said: “When we came out here we were just over the moon she had made the team, but never dreamed of this. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. It’s a dream come true. It’s every parent’s dream and every gymnast’s dream, but to do it at 16 is incredible. To see her on that podium, we were so, so proud, every emotion was going.”
Tinkler, from Durham, who was the first British female to make a floor final, came third behind winner Simone Biles and Alexandra Raisman, both from the US. Tinkler’s mother, Nora, a recreational gymnast who introduced her to the sport aged two, said: “I’m just lost for words, I can’t believe it, I cried and I never cry. Hopefully this is just the start.”
In Pictures: Team GB's medal run at Rio 2016 Olympics
She and Michael said Tinkler has always been “focused and disciplined” and achieved the “juggling act” of reaching Rio while sitting GCSEs. She missed the European Championships in the run-up to the Games for her exams and will receive her results on the day she returns home from Rio.
After she took to the podium, Wilson took bronze behind gold medal-winner Germany’s Fabian Hambüchen and the USA’s Danell Leyva. Wilson’s father, Neil, said: “We’ve been looking for a word that describes the pride, but we can’t find one.” On Sunday, Max Whitlock won gold medals in the men’s floor and pommel horse finals and bronze in the all-around final and Louis Smith won silver on the pommel horse. Bryony Page also won silver in the women’s trampolining.
