Rio Olympics 2016: Wolverhampton's gymnast Kristian Thomas set for medal showdown
Wolverhampton gymnast Kristian Thomas believes the Rio 2016 Olympic team final could be the making of this Great Britain artistic gymnastics squad after comfortably securing qualification on Saturday.
Despite a few wobbles on vault and the high bar, Thomas and teammates Louis Smith, Max Whitlock, Nile Wilson and Brinn Bevan finished with a total score of 268.670 to sit third, guaranteeing a final spot with only four teams left to go in the evening.
Thomas, part of the squad that won team bronze at London 2012, was disappointed with a fall of his own on vault but is adamant the skill and experience in this team will prevail in the final.
"It was a bit mixed, obviously I was disappointed with the first vault but these things happen," he said.
"The good thing is I have a chance to put it right for the team final in a couple of days.
"But overall I am pretty please with how it went. I thought the team did a great job, there are obviously improvements out there which is always nice going forward in a competition.
"The important thing now is rest and recovery, have a little meeting to look at things that might need to change and go from there.
"The Olympics is the pinnacle of an athlete's career and the great thing about this team is that we have so much experience on it now, which makes such a big difference on this stage."
The USA, China and Japan are all likely to give GB a run for their money when they contest the medals in team final on Monday.
But Thomas insists that any issues the team experienced were better discovered in qualification as they look to improve on their bronze from London.
"This was very much a performance which we needed," he added. "There were a couple of mistakes but it was important to make those today instead of the final.
"We've put ourselves in a good position heading into the team final and we will look forward to it."
