Tokyo 2020: GB gymnasts qualify for men's Olympic team event by reaching Worlds final
- Published
The GB men's team qualified for Tokyo 2020 with a combined total of 252.409 at the World Championships
Great Britain sealed their place in the men's team event at the Tokyo Olympics by qualifying for the final at the World Championships in Stuttgart.
The team qualified in fifth place, with the top eight reaching the final and top 12 winning a place at Tokyo 2020.
Max Whitlock tops the pommel standings as he aims for a third world title on that apparatus.
"Our main task was qualifying that team for the Olympics," Whitlock told BBC Sport.
"So I think everyone can be really proud," added the Olympic champion, who scored 15.266 on the pommel.
Russia qualified in first place for the final, with China second and Japan third.
The GB team of Whitlock, James Hall, Joe Fraser, Dom Cunningham and Giarnni Regini-Moran made a confident start on vault.
Scores on floor were also high, while Fraser contributed a fine 15.0 on parallel bars.
Despite the positive outcome from the six apparatus, the team did count falls on parallel bars, high bar and pommel - meaning there is the potential to improve on their scores in Wednesday's final.
Max Whitlock is going for his third world title on the pommel horse
As well as the team final, Whitlock (pommel), Fraser (parallel bars, all around), James Hall (all around) and Cunningham (floor) are also in line for individual finals later in the week.
Whitlock missed out on his third world title on pommel last year, settling for silver on a tie-breaker.
Irish Commonwealth champion Rhys McClenaghan, returning to major competition after shoulder surgery, had led the pommel qualifying standings after posting 15.2 before being leapfrogged by Whitlock.
Whitlock, who won pommel and floor gold and all-around bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympics, said he felt different going into this year's competition.
"There was a lot of pressure but I'm so happy to go through my routine the way I did," the 26-year-old said.
"To be honest, I haven't felt like that in a competition for a long time.
"For some reason I felt fresher today, I felt more comfortable, so I was well pleased."
On Tuesday, GB women take part in their world team final, hoping to improve upon their qualifying position of seventh.
The USA, led by Simone Biles, are once again the overwhelming favourites for gold.