The five-strong New Zealand’s artistic gymnastics team found the first day of competition hard going, but still managed to find a few positives from the day.
The team – Ethan and Sam Dick, William Fu-Allen, Mikhail Koudinov and Jorden O’Connell-Inns – finished seventh with a total of 231.6 points. The event was won by the impressive England team, which totalled 254.550.
The New Zealanders were good on the pommel horse (4th overall) and the floor (5th), but struggled in other disciplines.
With performances counting towards the individual competition, there were several successes.
Koudinov and Ethan Dick qualified for the all-around finals. Koudinov was 13th after the day and Ethan Dick 14th. The top 18 progressed.
Ethan Dick was extremely good on the pommel horse and his sixth position on the first day comfortably enabled him to progress to the final, with eight going through.
And Sam Dick’s eighth position in the parallel bars was just enough to earn him a spot in the finals as well.