Downie taking break before decision on future

British gymnast Becky Downie has not ruled retired a return to competitory gymnastics aft surpassing her expectations astatine this year's Olympic Games successful Paris.

The 32-year-old narrowly missed retired connected a squad badge and qualified for a fiercely competitory uneven bars individual final, though her chances of a podium spot were ended aft a autumn from nan bar.

"I'm still really bully astatine what I do, and I really bask what I do," Downie told BBC East Midlands Today erstwhile asked astir her early successful nan sport.

"I went to Paris really believing it would beryllium my past and benignant of knowing it would beryllium my last, and tried to return successful each acquisition arsenic if that was it."

Her quality astatine nan Paris Games came 16 years aft Downie first competed successful nan Olympics.

And contempt featuring successful 3 Olympics successful that clip and collecting medals connected nan world, European and Commonwealth Games stages, she admits she near France emotion arsenic if "I didn't execute rather what I wanted".

She added: "I'm still bully astatine it and needed Paris for maine to judge that, truthful I don't cognize what's going to happen.

"I'm decidedly taking a break and that's what it is correct now."

Downie said she had not been backmost successful nan gymnastics gym since her clip successful nan French capital.

"It was truthful overmuch much for maine than what happened successful Paris, it was everything that happened from nan Tokyo clip to that point," she said.

"I was conscionable go, go, spell for truthful agelong passim that cycle, I didn't person nan clip to process it."

The Nottingham-born gymnast made her Olympic debut for Team GB successful Beijing successful 2008, besides competing astatine London 2012 and Rio 2016, but missed retired connected Tokyo successful 2021 aft failing to qualify.

It was a turbulent clip for Downie, who was mourning nan decease of her 24-year-old relative nan week anterior to trials.

She besides garnered accrued nationalist attraction having, alongside her sister Ellie, spoken retired astir maltreatment wrong British gymnastics.

They helped to trigger nan Whyte Review, which resulted successful reforms wrong nan athletics and led to some women earning MBEs for their services to gymnastics.

While Ellie retired astatine 23, her older sister continued her training to make different Olympic Games - but nan tiring activity is not thing she is fresh to dive backmost into conscionable yet.

"To beryllium capable to make it to Paris was a immense accomplishment sloppy of nan results," she said.

Downie is continuing her activity towards creating affirmative alteration for women successful sport, having precocious joined a run to beforehand patient assemblage image alongside Team GB weightlifter Emily Campbell.

"Growing up successful nan athletics of gymnastics, it's a athletics wherever you are really scrutinised connected your body," Downie said.

"One of nan large stats that I've learnt coming retired of this run is that complete a 3rd of women are dropping retired of sports because of tegument consciousness - it's crazy to maine that it's still a thing."

It is not astonishing Downie still possesses truthful overmuch passion for utilizing her level to advocator for change, fixed that she feels nan activity she has done disconnected nan mat is more valuable than immoderate of nan 12 medals she won successful her elder career.

"I ne'er imagined that what some maine and Ellie managed to do successful our athletics would past transportation into different sports," she said.

"It's conscionable an honour, being capable to move our struggles into a spot and an plus is thing to beryllium really proud of.

"It's been a travel for sure, 1 that I tin support continuing, immoderate that looks like."