Near miss inspires Martin to aim for Olympic medals

Abi Martin, the 18-year-old British gymnast, has been inspired by a near miss at the World Gymnastics Championships to aim for the Olympic podium at the 2028 Games. At the event, Martin finished fourth in the floor, sharing the same score as France's bronze medallist Maiana Prat. However, Prat's better execution score allowed her to take the bronze.

This experience marked the second time in a major event that Martin has narrowly missed out on a podium finish. At the European Championships, she had previously narrowly lost out on a fourth-place finish in the vault.

Despite her setback, Martin says that the near miss has given her a renewed sense of determination. She told BBC South West, "It actually gives me fire in my belly because I think I struggled last year when I won the bronze, as much as it sounds crazy, I struggled knowing what to do next. Whereas now, because I've got so close so many times, it's almost like next year I want to get it."

Martin also highlighted her unique achievement of making the floor final in both World Championships during this cycle, further boosting her confidence. She said, "I think I've taken from that that I am good enough to be in the mix and I know that I can be better."

The Paignton-based gymnast has previously won two silver medals and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games and helped Team GB secure a silver at the European championships. She also finished fourth at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. However, Martin had struggled with self-belief at the beginning of 2026. She acknowledged, "I feel like I go through stages.

At the beginning of this year, I actually had a bit of a bad time with training. I didn't really believe that I was good enough to do the stuff I was trying to do, which then affected how I was training and ultimately affected the results of the competitions."

With her restored self-belief, Martin is now firmly focused on the 2028 Olympics. She aims to help Team GB continue its streak of winning at least one Olympic gymnastics medal, which dates back to 2008. Martin expressed her goals, saying, "I would love to firstly make the team, but I think I have a lot bigger goals than just being on the Olympic team. I'd love to stand on the podium, I'd love to win a medal with the team and individually - and I think it could be possible."

As one of the most experienced competitors in the country, Martin's sights are firmly set on major championships like the European and World Championships, with the ultimate goal of securing another major medal and experiencing more major finals.