Early stumble sees gymnast Sharul slip to last spot in floor exercise

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian artistic gymnast Sharul Aimy (pic) will hope to bounce back in the vault today after a poor start dampened his chances in the floor exercise.

The 25-year-old was the first gymnast to open the floor exercise final at the Arena in Glasgow yesterday, with the crowd cheering him, but he wished he could have redone his start.

He stumbled and slipped during the opening tumbling run, but the rest of his execution was done well.

However, the Terengganu-born athlete knew the shaky start cost him points.

His face said it all once he was done with his routine, knowing he could not hit more than 13.00 points or replicate his qualifying performance, where he scored 13.500.

Sharul was visibly disappointed when he was given 12.566 points and finished last out of the eight gymnasts.

England’s Luke Whitehouse, known as a floor exercise specialist, deservedly took the gold with a superb execution and great difficulty, captivating the crowd with a score of 14.566.

Canada’s Rene Cournoyer took silver with a score of 13.966, nearly hitting the 14 mark.

Bronze fell to Australia’s James Hardy, who scored 13.433.

Floor exercise: 1. Luke Whitehouse (Eng) 14.566, 2. Rene Cournoyer (Can) 13.966, 3. James Hardy (Aus) 13.433. Selected: 8. Sharul Aimy 12.566.

FINAL RESULT