Great Britain kicked off the Trampoline Gymnastics World Championships in Birmingham with a pair of gold medals in Friday's tumbling and double-mini trampoline team finals.
The host nation saw their women's teams scoop the world titles in both events, as the four-strong tumbling troupe successfully defended their world title from last year's Championships.
All team finals saw three gymnasts compete for their nation with a total of 15 points on offer in each round, five for the highest-scoring athlete down to a solitary point for the lowest-scoring competitor.
GB's female tumblers Saskia Servini, Naana Oppon and Megan Kealy - the 2021 individual world champion - made it back-to-back titles with 12 on the board, having each placed second in their respective rotations to win four points.
The trio finished one point clear of silver medallists France and third-placed USA, who had led the way at the top of the standings in their opening two rotations to take 10 points before Anastasia Katchalova finished bottom of the pile in her group to extinguish her nation's hopes of glory.
Incredible!
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 10, 2023
Megan Kealy helped Great Britain to win team tumbling gold! 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/3uQh93j0yB
Meanwhile, GB's double-mini women's team comprising Kirsty Way, Molly McKenna and Bethany Williamson exploded in elation as they took the world title thanks to a near-flawless performance, amassing 14 points to blow the competition out of the water.
McKenna and Williamson both clinched the maximum five points on offer in their rotations, while Portugal and Canada settled for second and third respectively with 10 points each - the former took silver on a tie-breaker owing to their superior difficulty scores.
However, the men's tumbling team - who had been crowned world champions again in 2022 - had to settle for second place this time around, as Azerbaijan, a nation on the rapid rise in trampoline gymnastics, stormed to the world title.
The efforts of William Cowen, Jaydon Paddock and 2013 individual world champion Kristof Willerton were good enough for 12 points, but Azerbaijan - led by 2021 silver medallist Mikhail Malkin - posted 13 to finish at the top of the pile, while Denmark took bronze with eight points.
Finally, GB made it a quartet of podium finishes in the men's double-mini final, where Lewis Gosling, Daniel Berridge and Omo Aikeremiokha combined for nine points to finish behind Spain (11) and world champions USA (12).
Ben Knapton
