Nottingham gymnast Becky Downie has scooped a silver medal at the World Gymnastics Championships after putting in the performance of a lifetime on the uneven bars.
Becky, 27, shed tears of joy as she said the accolade meant 'so much' to her, after bouncing back from an injury-ridden few years and rumours of retirement.
Younger sister Ellie, 20, walked away with a bronze on the vault at the competition in Stuttgart on Saturday night, scoring a double victory for the sisters.
Becky, who has never won an individual medal before, said: "It just means so much. It's taken so many years. I can't believe I've done it.
"It's a routine I've been working on for so long. I'm just super proud of the performance.
"I didn't know if this was going to be my last worlds so I've put my heart and soul into it."
and even considered retiring at one point, but she produced a brilliant routine on the uneven bars, scoring 15.000. To put this in context, a world-class, gold-medal winning routine could score up into the 16s.
For a long time it looked like that might be enough for gold, but she was eventually pipped by Belgium's Nina Derwael, who successfully defended her title with a score of 15.233.
Nottingham-born and proud, the Downies have already, undoubtedly, put Nottinghamshire on the map in the gymnastics world and this triumph in Stuttgart will only take them a step closer to household name status.
Younger sister Ellie, who started gymnastic lessons when she was just three years old, took bronze on the vault behind American Simone Bilessaid.
Speaking after her success, she said: "I'm absolutely over the moon."
Tweeting a picture of their medals after their success, Ellie said: "WE FREAKIN’ DID IT"
WE FREAKIN’ DID IT pic.twitter.com/1cw26xpcUz
— Ellie Downie (@elliedownie) October 12, 2019
Helen Downie, the pair's mum, said she was proud of her daughters.
She told Nottinghamshire Live: "Yesterday was just amazing, I can’t quite believe it. I am a very proud mum.
"There is nothing quite like witnessing your children achieve their dreams."
Katie Foster, the head of women’s artistic gymnastics at Notts Gymnastics Academy, where the sisters are members, said: "Everyone at Notts Gymnastics Academy is incredibly proud of Becky and Ellie’s results at the world championships.
"They have worked tirelessly to pursue their goals and have beaten injuries and challenges to reach this point.
"They are inspirations to all of our young gymnasts and we couldn’t ask to have better role models in our gym.
"They truly deserve these medals and we can’t wait to celebrate with them when they return to the gym!"
Earlier this month, the pair were nominated for Nottingham's 30 Under 30 - a partnership between Nottinghamshire Live, Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies and The Prince's Trust, which highlights rising stars who "represent the spirit, drive and energy of a thriving city".
The sisters, who went to the Rushcliffe School, have also teamed up to launch their own brand of leotards as the first step in preparing for life away from competition.
