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British gymnast Becky Downie will breathe a sigh of relief after being assured of a special trial to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. Becky, who can compete in her third Olympics this year by qualifying, had skipped the final trials in Cardiff last weekend following the death of her cricketer brother Josh.
The selection of the four-women team for the Tokyo Olympics will be postponed until early June, British Gymnastics said in a statement.
“We felt it important in such an unprecedented situation to take time to look at how we might be able to grant an extension to the selection window to allow for a further opportunity to complete the trial. In such difficult circumstances, we feel strongly that this is the right thing to do,” British Gymnastics said in a statement.
Hopes pinned on Becky Downie for Tokyo Olympics after World C'ships feat
Tributes had poured in for Downie's brother Josh, who died of a heart attack during a cricket net session in Birkenhead, near Liverpool, on May 6. He played for several cricket clubs across Great Britain, including Hucknall CC, Fikserton & Thurgarton CC, and Burton Joyce CC.
"The hardest 3 days of my life but I didn’t come this far to only come this far. I know Josh would want me to take it as far as I could go & I owe it to myself to finish what I started. Doing it for us both," Becky Downie wrote on Twitter.
Downie, a 2019 World Championships silver medalist, will fight to become one of the four women picked by Team GB for the Tokyo Olympics. Her sister, Ellie, who won bronze in vault at the World Championships, is also looking to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Downie has been targeting this year's Olympics as the crowning moment of a glorious career which was scarred by her inability to qualify for the London Olympics and failure to advance to the Rio finals. She competed in the Beijing Olympics and finished in the 12th place in the all-around final event.
