Abi Martin finished fourth in the floor at last month's World Championships
By
Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport England
and
Andy Birkett
BBC South West
- Published3 minutes ago
Abi Martin says a near miss at the World Gymnastics Championships has inspired her to aim for the podium at the 2028 Olympic Games.
Martin, 18, had the same score as France's bronze medallist Maiana Prat in the floor, but the French gymnast's better execution score saw the British competitor finish fourth.
It was the 2025 floor bronze medallist's second fourth place in a major event this year, having narrowly missed out in the vault at the European Championships.
"If anything 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," she told BBC South West.
"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."
She continued: "Something that I've taken which I didn't actually realise is I'm the only gymnast that made the floor final in both World Championships in this cycle so far, so last year and this year.
"So 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.
"I think I made a slight mistake on the last tumble which showed that I can do it and I have been working hard, but I know that there's still more."
Olympic ambition
Abi Martin helped Team GB win European team silver in 2024
The Paignton-based gymnast won two silver medals and a bronze at this summer's Commonwealth Games.
She was also part of the Great Britain squad that won European team silver in 2024 and finished fourth at the last Olympic Games in Paris.
But despite that experience and her championship pedigree, Martin says she struggled with her self-belief at the start of 2026.
"I feel like I go through stages. At the beginning of this year I actually had a bit of a bad time with training," she said.
"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.
"But luckily I had like the best team around me to pull me out of that hole and I've achieved a lot since then."
Her restored self-belief has helped Martin firmly set her sights on Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics.
As one of the country's most experienced competitors she says her aim is to help Team GB continue its run of winning at least one Olympic gymnastics medal that stretches back to 2008.
"I would love to firstly make the team, but I think I have a lot bigger goals than just being on the Olympic team," she added.
"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.
"I think next year my aims are to make the major championships again, the European Championships and the World Championships.
"The aim for the team, it's going to be a big year, is we need to get the Olympic qualification.
"For me personally I would love to aim for another major medal and a few more major finals."
