A 15-year-old gymnast from Hove was all smiles after four confident performances in the first two of her three Commonwealth Games finals.
Hannah Martin was one of 16 competitors in the rhythmic gymnastics all-around final, having earlier taken part in the team final.
After four 90-second routines to music, performing with different apparatus each time, Hannah scored 49.35 points to finish seventh.
Just two extra points would have given her a bronze medal and 52.65 points proved enough for silver. But Diamanto Evripidou, from Cyprus, who took gold, earned an impressive 55.75 points.
Hannah performed her hoop routine with confidence and poise to Tears of an Angel by Amy Guess.
She gave a thumbs up as she left the floor at the Gold Coast Games in Australia.
The judges seemed to agree, awarding her 13.25 points – her best score of the day and enough to put her in fifth place after the first event.
Next she showed off her skill with the ball, to And the Waltz Goes On by André Rieu, picking up 12 points but slipping to sixth at the halfway stage.
She beamed through Happy by C2C for her routine with the clubs although she dropped her final catch after a dynamic performance. It cost her a full point. She scored 12.25 and ended the round in ninth place.
Hannah performed her final routine with the ribbon to Elizabeth – the Golden Age composed by Craig Armstrong.
Her score of 11.85 took her up to seventh place – and the best finish by an English gymnast.
She had already helped England to a sixth-place finish in the team event.
And Hannah’s performance with the ball in the team final earned her a place in the individual final which takes place tomorrow morning (Friday 13 April).
Commentators spoke of her potential. Hannah, who trains at the iStar Academy in Shoreham, is a multiple individual British junior champion who is just starting her senior career.
At just 15-years-old she is the youngest member of the English gymnastics team and one of the youngest athletes competing for Team England.
Hannah said before the Games: “It’s a real dream come true. It’s something I’ve been dreaming of for a long time and I’ve worked so hard for it and I can’t believe it’s happened for me.”
She spoke about the “need to work really hard … showing my best and doing my country proud”.
And she added: “The pride of competing for my country is something I can’t describe.”
Former Cardinal Newman schoolboy Charlie Grice, a member Brighton athletics club Phoenix, is also in action in the morning. He is due to take part in the second heat of the 1,500 metres.
