Princes William and Harry were as thrilled as Team GB athletes when practically faultless performances propelled them to an Olympic silver medal. However, delight turned to disbelief in just a matter of minutes as the gymnastics competition continued as a rollercoaster ride for spectators.
The podium celebration, during which the athletes blew kisses to supporters, was interrupted by the news that there had been a mistake with the score, meaning Team GB was instead in line for bronze.
Japan appealed their fourth place after feeling they had been marked too harshly on one of their routines. A remark resulted in them being upgraded to second. China convincingly took gold. Louis Smith, 23, Daniel Purvis, 21, Max Whitlock, 19, Kristian Thomas, 23, and Sam Oldham 19, recovered from the shock sufficiently to acknowledge their fans with waves.
Despite the upset, it was the first medal for a British gymnastics team in 100 years. And the reaction from the team's captain Louis, a bronze medallist in Beijing, was very sportsmanlike. "This is a dream come true for all of us. For these guys, it's their first Olympics so to get a medal, a bronze medal, is unbelievable. "Silver, bronze, it doesn't matter. Our target was to get fifth in the competition and enjoy the competition. We enjoyed it and we got a bronze medal."
